Today My Shampoo Ran Out!!

I was about to wash my hair when I realized my shampoo container was empty! So I had to go get more. Right then, right there, I ran to the....cabinet under my sink and had to make a choice, is my hair feeling a little dry, or would I categorize it as normal?? Normal it was, so back to the shower I went! Shampoo is something I always forget to buy when I need it and I used to just buy the cheapest I could find, which left my hair feeling dry and tangly(sounds like a shampoo commercial doesn't it? Well its not, keep reading!)! In May, shortly after I jumped back to crazy couponer status there was a fabulous sale on John Frieda's Root Awakening Shampoo and Conditioner. This stuff is usually $6-7 a bottle, but with a huge sale and great coupons I was able to get them for a mere 3 for $1. At that price I stocked up, I mean really stocked up. I have enough to last myself and my daughters for at least a year, perhaps longer now that Adrienne's hair is so much shorter and Annalina and I are going to get ours cut as well!

So why did I mention this? Often when the topic of coupons comes up, people say, "we just don't eat that way, coupons are only good for unhealthy foods". Then why are my closets filled with free or almost free toilet paper, room fresheners, paper towels, pain relievers, batteries of all shapes and sizes, tampons, razors, soap, laundry and dish detergent and the list goes on and on. Lets see, since May I have also gotten about 20 pounds of seafood at about $1.50 a pound with coupons, and I have cereal to last a lifetime, yes some of it is the sugar coated stuff, but I also have a lot of Kashi, Rice Crispies, Cheerios, what Jake considered to be ok to eat. We also have about 30 jars of peanut butter stored away for back to school, a 6 month supply of tuna fish, lots of graham crackers, Wheat Thins, Gogurts in the freezer, oh and a bunch of A&W Root Beer, its Richard's favorite. I also have salad dress and BBQ sauce to last a long while. Yes, there are bargains on the not so healthy food choices, last month I got Ben & Jerry's ice cream for .25 a pint and half gallons of Breyers ice cream for .50. Organic juices, fresh fruits and veggies, lunch meats, bread and milk....these things are all available for 50-95% off if you know where to look(and no, I am not talking about the outdated stuff). One of the great benefits of coupon shopping is that I rarely pay retail for anything. When it goes on sale and I can match a coupon with it, I buy enough to last a few months at least. Then when the next big sale comes along, I can pick up some more and I am never buying stuff at full price when I desperately need it(when the price always seems to be the highest).

Right now the focus at all my favorite frugal blogs and websites is on how to get school supplies for a bargain! It is a fun and useful hobby. It can be time consuming, but right now before I go back to school in the fall, its a good time for me to focus on building up our food supply. And I am not spending a fortune doing it. Our food budget has dropped incredibly in the last few months, which it would have had to anyway, we just don't have much in the budget right now. I am grateful to be able to help support our family in this way! Some of my favorite sites for checking out the bargains are listed below. There is a lot of info to sort through and it can be overwhelming, but once you get the hang of it, the sky is the limit!

http://www.frugallivingnw.com/

http://krazycouponlady.blogspot.com/

http://www.fabulesslyfrugal.com/