What and WHO is The Cajun Couponer?

For starters let me tell you a little about me! I am a stay at home mom of 4 beautiful babies ages 15, 6, 3, and 1. About a year ago money got really tight for my family when the bottom fell out of my husband's job. We held on for awhile through the help of family members, but things were and are still really tight. With 4 children to feed, a $2,000 a month house payment, a $350 a month car payment, $900 a month in child support and all of the other bills that go along with life I realized that we had to do something. I had dabbled in couponing for awhile, but I knew it was time to get serious. 

A friend of mine sent me the link to ABC Nightline where a man named Nathan Engles and a woman named Jill Cataldo saved tons of money on their shopping trips using coupons, and it inspired me. If they could do it then I knew I could do it also! I started by going to the news stand and getting 4 newspapers that first Sunday. I watched the blogs, watched the forums, matched up a few sales, and I was hooked! The next week I bought 6 papers, and matched up a few more. I knew it would take me a month until the savings really started, but I was doing ok. By the time week 3 came I was getting 10 papers, and when in my fourth week I saved over $300 in one week at a clearance sale at Walgreens I  knew I was in hook, line, and sinker.

Then I realized we didn't have any stores that doubled coupons. WRONG! We do have some. They are not the best stores, but we do have them. One of them is definitely not price competitive, and the other is a dollar store with limited groceries. However... they are there. Mostly what we have is one big box store (Wal-Mart), another small big box store (Target... not even a Super Target *gasp*), and a few local stores that have great produce, great meat, but not very competitive prices for those of us looking to save. So I started shopping around, paying attention to prices, and working hard at saving. 

I then realized I could indeed do this savings thing. I might not get a 90% savings every week, but I could do it! 

I started to get successful, and now I have people asking me all the time, "How do you do it? How did you get started? What should I do? Where do you get these deals?" I LOVE to help people save, but saying the same thing eleventy-ten times a day was getting rather repetitious. So here is a blog to help you other people learn to save.

In this blog you will see deals ranging from Cannata's in Louisiana, Rouse's in Louisiana, Fred's Dollar Store, Wal-Mart, Target, Walgreens, and CVS. I may do some Albertson's deals and a few other Baton Rouge stores since I loooove going to Baton Rouge. If you are not from Louisiana you will still find great deals on this blog since I do a LOT of shopping at the drug stores and Wal-Mart, but Cajun people don't have the fabulous stores like Krogers, Food Lion, Publix and such so we tend to get discouraged with coupons. However.... good news to all you Cajuns! There ARE savings to be hard even at Rouse's and Cannata's! This week alone I was able to get Parkay for .25, Heinz vinegar for .29, free Duncan Hines brownies, .25 Dawn dish detergent, free Yakisoba noodles, .99 Purex Crystals, free Degree deodorant, free Purex 3-in-one sheets, free Tide, free Nivea body wash, $1 Clean and Clear body wash, a money making deal on Luster White toothpaste.... the list goes on and on!

I can't wait to share what I have learned with all of you! 

~The Cajun Couponer