A penny saved is a penny earned

That is a motto I grew up hearing. My mom has always taught me the importance of saving money, but more importantly, never paying full price for anything. And I don't. At least, very rarely. And if I do, it's probably because I can't get the darn thing, whatever that 'thing' may be, off my mind. Sometimes I've just got to have that cute dress, or shoes, or shirt, or pants, or...but like I said, that's very rare. I think...

I'm not a cheapskate, even ask my husband. But I love me a good deal.

So, when my sister started talking to me about CVSing, and all this extreme couponing hoopla, I decided to give it a go. I'm usually a sucker for good discounts on clothes, shoes, and other non-essential items, but I'm now discovering that good deals on groceries and the like is probably a bit more practical.

I may not be the best at it, at least not yet anyway. I'd definitely consider myself a newbie at all of this stuff (does dumpster diving for coupon inserts qualify me as an intermediate couponer though?), as I'm still learning the ropes and whatnot, but surprisingly enough, I'm finding some steal of a deals. And I mean that in a literal sense of the term here.

This week I built up the courage and tried out my beginner level skills at the grocery store, and I walked away with all of this for a whopping $23!

Like I said, I'm still learning the ropes of this game of stealing, at least that's what I feel like it is. But it's stealing I feel ok about, and that's what matters here. Sadly enough, this whole game of what-deal-can-I-score-next, just made grocery shopping a whole new adventure for me.

Any "extreme' couponers out there? I'd love to know your trips and tricks to getting a good deal.