Mommy Goes Green

I really dislike grocery shopping. I do it because it’s a necessity but I get in and I get out as quickly as possible.  I go about 2 times per month and I do 90% of our grocery shopping at one store – Trader Joe’s.  I pick up our bread and bagels at the local bakery outlet once a month and then make the occasional trip to the nearby (super expensive but totally convenient) grocery store for last minute items.   I’m not much of a coupon clipper because a) most of the items I buy do not regularly have coupons and b) I don’t want to go to multiple stores to use their coupons.

But recently I started following a blog that posts the greatest deals on everything from groceries to school supplies to movie tickets to restaurant gift cards. I’m getting some great bargains on group purchasing sites I’ve never heard of (like Eversave and Homerun) and coupons for Target that I never knew existed - and I love me some Target.

But the thing that I’m really getting curious about is grocery coupons.   She posts the available coupons, the tricks of the “coupon trade”, hosts a database with gazillions of coupons and shows pictures of everything she got.  And I’m telling you – she is a bargain shopper.  She gets tons of stuff for pennies on the dollar. 

I’m starting to wonder if it’s worth my time to get in to the coupon thing to save money but then I would have to visit multiple stores.  I’d also have to spend the precious little free time I have searching for coupons.   I’m also not convinced that there are very many things I buy that have coupons.  Plus, Trader Joe’s has already great prices on the organic food we buy.

So moms, how do YOU grocery shop?  Do you visit one or multiple stores?  How often do you go? Are you a coupon queen?  Is it worth the effort?