It is so easy to go over your budget when first starting out couponing! I went over for a while and eventually, just had to tell myself to stay away from the computer for a week. I was getting a high off of hunting and getting good deals! I would suggest sitting down and really trying to get an idea of how much you really spend on groceries. Then come up with a nice budget that you can live with. I tried to cut back too soon and paid for it in the long run. After six months I have been able to cut our grocery budget down by $85! To help me stay on budget I have several “lists.” I have a list of things that we are starting to run low on (currently Ziplock bags and paper towels) and I have a list of things NOT to get unless they are FREE or just a few cents (& then I donate them)! I use these lists to help prioritize my purchases. I know this may seem like over kill, but when I first started using coupons, I would probably make two to three different lists before going to the store! When prioritizing my list I would make two columns; a MUST get and a would LIKE to get. All things that we would need for meals and were running out of would go in the MUST category, all of the things that were just good deals would go in the LIKE category! I would then use this list to make my grocery list!

How do you stay on budget while using coupons?