...though I do think it nice that this woman donates food her family doesn't need - she is basically carbon offsetting because while I didn't read the article completely, if you are spending close to $800 a month is food, you got at least two kids.

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Frankly, anyone who does not buy their produce IN season (that means no "summer" fruit in "winter" ladies) and from local CSA's or Farmer's Markets is not doing our earth any good at all. But that is a separate conversation.

I buy Whistling Train Farm (1 hour bike ride from my house) and Thundering Hooves & Skagit Valley beef and pork (which offers Meat Buying Clubs once monthly in Seattle)

But I'm digressing....off topic about useless coupons

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Ok, I'm in Canada. What produce should I be buying that's in season? ;)

Seriously, our local season for produce is wicked short, so there is not always a ton of options.

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Coupons: I M DOIN IT RONG.

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In other news, I'm a dork. Some kind of grocery dork. Special.

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She says: "Coupon Queens don't shop like normal people. Normal shoppers go to the store with a list of things they need, and then try to match coupons to those items. You wander up and down the aisles and spend hours trying to find the right coupon to go with the right item. In the end, you discover that generic is often cheaper, and the hours you spent using coupons saved you under $15. Doesn't exactly seem like its worth the effort.

But that's not how a Coupon Queen shops. We go into the store armed with a list of things we know are on sale, and coupons for those items. 75% of the time those items are free. I don't shop for items I need. Wait, did I say that? I can see the confused looks on your faces….because I was confused at first too. I don't shop for what I need. I shop for what's free."

You can read the whole post here: [littlemissknowitall.net]

I kind of gave up when I read it, since I just am not going to work that hard.

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On to plan B where I save a million dollars by not drinking lattes!

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I routinely save 15-25% off my total grocery bill buying for two people and two cats, buying primarily ingredients (not premade meals) and lots of organics. And I have never bought cheese food in my life.

Great coupons include:

*Baking supplies, including flour, baking soda, sugar (all the time!), occasionally yeast, and particularly spices. (Spices are expensive little MFers, and the coupons are pretty regular.)

*Dairy, including organic dairy. But not eggs, the coupons are only on the "premium" brands.

*Coupons from the X Association -- apple growers, american dairy, whatever. You can generally use these on ANY apples or ANY milk or ANY whatever in the store.

*Coupons for the few packaged foods we do eat -- in particular my husband's syrup and my granola bars. I'm not picky about what brand they are, so I go for coupon or cheapest, as long as it's tolerable. (Like the store-brand version of Special K bars? Not tolerable. Store brand of nutrigrain? Fine.) Also included here is salad dressing, ketchup, and other condiments. These coupons run very regularly for almost all brands.

*Pet supplies. IAMS runs coupons pretty regularly, often for 50 cents or $1, but sometimes for $2. Those are my faves. Litter also has pretty regular coupons, as do cat treats. These really add up.

*Canned soup and soup stock. I actually DO make my own soup and soup stock, but I like to have Campbell's comfort-food soup on hand for when I'm sick, and if you cook a lot, you can go through soup stock pretty fast.

*Personal care products. If you buy from major national brands for any personal care products, there are probably coupons at least monthly. Drugs like Tylenol, NyQuil, etc., also run frequent coupons. Sometimes the store brand is still cheaper, but sometimes these are buy 1, get 1 or $2 coupons or whatever. Neutrogena runs great coupons. Feminine hygiene products also run good coupons.

*Household supplies, including toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, kitchen cleaners, etc. Some of these I buy "green" brands that don't usually coupon or make my own at home, but others coupon frequently.

I usually clip them Sunday nights while watching the Simpsons or something, pop them in a little sorter, and make a grocery list while poking through the sorter for coupons. I only clip coupons for things I would buy anyway even without the coupon. (Except sometimes sweets, my husband has a real sweet tooth, so if there's a good coupon for some candy he likes, I'll buy that even though I wouldn't usually.)

If I put actual effort into it and matched the coupons to sales cycles and things like that, I could save quite a bit more. But it's easy to save 15% just buying the things you normally buy and the brands you normally like. (Some things I buy generic because I don't care, but other things I like one particular kind, so I buy the brand.) Even if you're only couponing household supplies and personal care products, that can really add up.

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All kidding aside, fly-over =/= obnoxious. Coasties have foibles too, ya know.

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AND I AM FROM THE NORTHEAST!

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The non-linguist in me groans and agrees.

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