couponing; the new way to shop (new to me at least)

 (photo source)

last week, my life changed! no really, it did. ok, well at least the way i shop changed. i took a coupon class. yes, yes i did. i channeled my mother-in-law's deal-finding ways, and signed myself up for this class that would put me right alongside those women who are constantly facebooking and twittering their "i bought 50 items for $0.23" shopping excursions. after taking this class, i now have one of those experiences under my belt, and feel as though i must shout it from the rooftops! actually, i can't shout too loudly yet, because i'm still figuring it all out, but here's the bulk of what i learned with a lot of details in-between.

stack your coupons. which means use multiple coupons on one item that is already on sale. revolutionary!

of course there is so much more to it, so i highly recommend taking a similar class, but if you live in the st. louis area, i am in the process of figuring out how to host a class at my house. let me know if you're interested in coming.

as a stay-at-homer, i've been convicted recently that part of my responsibility is to figure out how to get the most mileage out of our finances. i haven't always (ok, never) been great at doing this, so i'm pretty pumped about becoming a little better.

some handy resources: (i'm sure there are millions of others, but again, i'm new to this, and this is where i'm starting!)
Coupon Kadie
Money Saving Mom