Helpful (Money-Saving) Husband

i frequently hear from other women that a) their husbands are embarassed to use coupons and don't want to be with them when the wives are using them, b) their husbands think it's ridiculous to use coupons and that it can't possibly save that much, and/or c) their husbands just think it's too big of a hassle to use coupons.

i'm so grateful that M is just the opposite. not that he clips coupons himself, but he supports me in using them, he goes to the store with me when i'm using coupons (and usually he has pockets on his shirt so he gets to hold the ones i know we're using), he is amazed by how little we pay for groceries and household items now, and he brags to all his friends about how awesome i am for saving all this money! he even thinks to pick up coupons from the blinkie machines when he sees them and i'm not with him.

now, i'm not saying that it's not dangerous to send him to the store by himself, because it is! he is irresistably attracted to the meat section and to really, really expensive steaks! but now he asks me where certain items are on sale this week and he waits until stuff is at a sale price. for example, he participates in several BBQ cook-offs during the summer months, for which he buys 2 slabs of pork ribs, 2 briskets and maybe 1 chicken for EACH. at non-sale prices, ribs and brisket aren't cheap. however, i had noticed that just before each of the major holiday weekends, and sometimes in between, one or both items went on sale for a really, really good price. so instead of just picking up these items while he was out, he waited until i found a great sale, and then we stocked up so he had enough for all of his cook-offs.

before i started couponing, M and i would go to the grocery store every sunday after church, load up a huge cart of stuff, and shell out anywhere from $100-250. i think about that now, and i'm just appalled! that didn't even include things like cat food, that we don't buy at the grocery store. in the entire 3rd quarter of this year, we only spent $291.11 for all groceries, household items, pet supplies and even some gifts. for 2009 so far in total, it's just $1209.72, almost half of which was in the 1st quarter when i was still learning. and don't think that we're starving or only eating beans and rice! M would never stand for that - he's a carnivore who has to have meat at every meal! we have a huge upright freezer, and a small chest freezer, in addition to the freezer portion of our fridge, and all are completely full. and they're full of good stuff - lots of meat of various kinds, frozen veggies, pasta, and hordes of ice cream (M can plow through a whole carton in 2 days!) we've not changed what we eat, we've only changed how we buy it.

thanks M for being the best husband ever.