"Thank You for Shopping at Kroger...You Saved $16.57"

These are words to my ears since we have begun our 'Financial Peace University' with Dave Ramsey. If you know me well, you know that I love shopping. Not just clothes or shoe shopping, but even grocery shopping. I love walking around a store, taking in all the colors, feeling all the textures, looking at different brands, comparing prices and finding the perfect 'something'. I have read every book in the 'Shopaholic' series and think I could be Becky Bloomberg. There is something about the hunt, the chase, and then finding the perfect top, or distinctive purse or a beautiful dress ~ it is literally a high for me and for a long time I couldn't get enough. And my bank account shows it.

Enter Dave Ramsey. We started this class because it was highly recommended to us by my father-in-law after he took a look at our finances one day. I have learned through this class (and my hubby), that debt is bad, cash is good and the perfect pair of shoes are actually not a need, but a want and something that can wait until we have the money to pay for them. So, I have bought into the plan and we have started an emergency fund, started paying down our bills and have begun saving for major purchases using an envelope system. Things are getting on track...

The funny thing is, as I have bought into the program, I feel that same adrenaline filled high, only instead of for clothes it is over coupons! I used to scour the Sunday paper for the department and furniture store sales, but now I'm the coupon queen, clipping them, making a list of what coupons I have and when they expire. I even have a granny-esque coupon envelope in my purse that I try to discretly hide, in case anyone where to get the idea that I might enjoy this different kind of hunt. Now, instead of online shopping, I'm online coupon hunting..which brings me to the best thing I've discovered in a long while ~ automatic coupon uploads!

Now, you can upload coupons automatically onto your Kroger card, so when you check out, it will automatically deduct the savings for you ~ in addition to the regular Kroger card carrying discounts! It's awesome! All you do is go to http://www.kroger.com/ and enter your card number. Then you can upload the coupons to your card. Once you check out, the discounts are taken automatically! There aren't many coupons on there, but in this economy, every little bit helps!

So, we are on our way to becoming debt free. I have become obsessed with coupons and tracking our spending. We only eat out once a week and we are being intentional with our money. This week, we paid off our first bill and it felt good! As Dave says, "You have to live like no one else, so eventually you can live like no one else!" Here's hoping!