couponing

It's official: I have become a couponer. Or at least I am trying to become one. We are now (once again) poor students, so we're on a very tight budget, and nothing is quite so motivating as desperation!

If you're not familiar with the idea of couponing, here is the gist: you subscribe to newspapers and online couponing sites to get access to as many manufacturers' coupons as possible. Then, you wait for sales and/or coupons at local stores, combine all the offers, and get really good deals. I haven't gone extreme yet--I still get only one copy of the newspaper--but I have certainly been able to save us some money on groceries and toiletries.

Today, I went to Walgreen's and got this stuff for $6.14 (plus $3 off my next purchase):

There were originally four Dove bars, but I already ate one...

Overall, I saved 78%! (Granted, Walgreen's is a bit more expensive than other stores to begin with, but any way you slice it, it was a great deal.)

Emerson likes to help me out by keeping track of my coupon holder.

And by having a nice blanket lollipop, of course.

I'm hoping that couponing will help us save even more money throughout our law school years, and maybe I'll love it so much that I'll do it forever....yeah. Probably not. It's way too much work. :)