Forty - one ...

... buck-a-roo's is how much I saved using coupons today.

(I know you were thinking that is how many days I've been away from my blog ... close, but not quite :) )

• $8.38 at Jo-Ann's
• $5.84 at Archiver's
• $9.00 at Target (this includes the $5 gift card I got for cashing in on their Kashi 4 for $11 plus a $5 GC deal)
• $20.15 at Wal*Mart (about 15% off my total spent)
  
• $41.14 GRAND SAVINGS (less an SB Iced Tea as my reward :P)

I know some people hate cutting coupons ... for me it's always seemed like "free" money, which in our current economy is not a bad thing to come by. I'm pretty good about only cutting the coupons (in Sunday's paper) on items we use or would use. Recently I've started lurking on some great sites (thank you Janna for the tips) for some greater savings (see below) tips and online coupon sources. Clearly this was an extra good week ... I'm usually pretty happy if I can save enough the justify my iced tea!

www.moneysavingmom.com
www.stretchingabuckblog.com
www.hotcouponworld.com

And there you have it ... with laundry almost done from our trip, Ethan completing his first day of preschool, a fully stocked fridge and pantry and the majority of my errands ran, I feel like I've got a great start on the week.

Now to share where I was all those lonely blog days ... for a sneak peek, click here.

Happy Tuesday (or what feels like Monday for me)!!