Couponing: Building Meals from Your Pantry NOT a Grocery List

Couponing is a crazy process that requires loads of patience.  I was introduced to couponing a few years ago and found myself addicted to saving, but spending more than I ever was before.  It was impossible to plan meals, find coupons to go with my shopping list and actually SAVE money! I decided to take a break from it because I obviously wasn't getting it.

When my husband and I found out we were going to be parents for the second time, our lives changed in many ways.  The main change was my shift from being a working mom to being a stay at home mom.  I calculated that my take home pay after childcare expenses would be about $500 a month...I could make that working part time if it became necessary.

With this change came a renewed interest in couponing.  I had time to perfect the science behind my shopping so that I was actually saving money.  This opportunity for trial and error shopping and saving caused an epiphany that would lead to a future full of savings: to save using coupons you must buy what's on sale and make meals from your pantry stockpile!

This isn't easy at first. You will spend a lot of time at various stores hunting good deals.  You may initially see small savings; 10% here, 30% there.  But, eventually, once you have stockpiled ( and I by no means mean HOARDED) you will find yourself spending less and saving more.   On average I save about 50 to 60 percent.  I very rarely spend more than $30 on a grocery shopping trip and I almost never make a list.
This means you have to be creative when it comes to meal planning. We've had lots of great meals with this new way of grocery shopping.  If we are missing a few ingredients for a recipe, I simply search my pantry for suitable substitutes and play it by ear.  This works for me because I feel like I have a bit of an inner chef trapped deep down inside of me.

The best part, about cooking from my pantry is that pretty much every ingredient was purchased with a coupon! The meals that I make probably cost 50-60% less than what another person would have paid for the ingredients.  Saving tastes A-MAZING!