I have fallen in love with...

Coupons!! I have never been a coupon person as generally I found they were for things I wouldn't normally buy or if I would buy them the off brand would be cheaper. Add to that that for a while the commissary (the military grocery store) wouldn't accept coupons printed off the internet. If I came across a coupon for something I would normally buy I would go ahead and use it but that was far and few between.
Well since moving here I have met a new friend named Nichole and she runs a blog Alaska Coupon Diva with a friend and I have fallen in love with it. She inspired me with her stories of going to Target and buying $100 worth of stuff and only paying $30. Her site focuses on a lot of deals we get here in AK but a lot of them are nationwide. I also found out about Dolly Parton's foundation Imagination Library through this site. Dolly Parton set up a foundation to foster reading in kids that provides children with free books to keep from ages 0-5. Check it out and see if your community has it. I've signed my kids up and I can't wait for the books. Free children's books once a month. What could be better?
Yesterday I went to the commissary and Target. At both places I saved $15 each with coupons, and while I bought more of the items than I would have normally (some of the coupons you had to buy two of the items) it is all stuff I use all the time and would have to buy again anyway. I probably could have saved more at Target if I had spent some more time researching as Target will accept one of their coupons and a manufacture's coupon for the same item. But my favorite thing? I had 2-$2 coupons from Welch's.com for sparkling grape juice and it only cost $1.89 a bottle at the commissary. So I got 2 bottles of Welch's sparkling grape juice for absolutely free and the $.22 that was left over from that went towards my other groceries! Can I tell you that that just makes me really happy?!!
Just wanted to share my happiness!