Coupons + Sales = Big Savings

I found the world of coupons to be somewhat daunting ~ in that: I rarely clipped coupons, I had no coupon filing system, I rarely looked at sales papers for local stores and I rarely buy name brand items.

Why?

I've always thought that Aldi's was cheaper.
I make homemade recipes ~ including cleaners, laundry detergent and soap.
I always thought name brands were too expensive (and that money goes to marketing, right?!)
I'm a "walks-to-the-beat-of-her-own-drum" kind of girl.

So, in my 1 month of couponing, I've begun to see the light!!

I still make my own cleaners (I can post recipes), but when I spotted the Lysol products 50% off at my local Dillon's and I also had coupons that when doubled, would mean that 1 item was under $.50, I couldn't pass it up!

Also, the Country Crock was on sale, plus with a doubled coupon meant that the big tubs were just $1 each. The Knoor sides were $.37 each. Hot Pockets, Toaster Strudels and Gatorade were a special purchase -we certainly don't have these on hand normally, but again, on sale and with coupons made these a good buy for a specific event.

In the past month, I've made a coupon binder, begun refunding, joined an online community of Coupon Queens and begun stockpiling.

At first, it was very weird to have multiple tubes of toothpaste - I mean, my "before couponing" way of shopping was to just buy what I needed, picking the cheapest item from Aldi's, Dollar General or Wal-Mart.

I have found some very good reasons for shifting the way I shop. Here are a few blogs that explain it much better than I can:

Moms Need To Know
Bliss Tree
The Checkout Chicks
Coupon Queen
Mom Advice
2 Thrifty Moms
Money Saving Mom
Mommy Snacks
Coupon Psycho

So, how do you shop? Stockpiler? Couponer? Meal Planner? Frugally?