Frugal shopping, you had me at 'Hello.'

I know what you're thinking:

Is coupon-clipping and bargain shopping really worth the time and effort? Can't I save as much or more by only buying generics and store brands?

I was there about a year ago. I compared prices at my grocery store, and I never saw how shopping with coupons on brand names would ever cost less than purchasing store brands.

Then I discovered what has affectionately been dubbed The Drugstore Game. People all over the country are hitting drugstores like Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid and combining store sales, rebates, manufacturer's coupons and store coupons to get sack-fulls of products for free. The pros are even making small amounts of money for taking these products home. 

It's true. And you can do it, too!

The introduction to The Drugstore Game has led me to implement frugal shopping techniques at grocery stores, supercenters, and all sorts of other retailers as well. The payoff has been huge for my little family.

So I would answer, YES, emphatically yes, couponing and frugal shopping are worth the time and effort. It does take some work, but here is the beautiful part: There has never been a better time to get into couponing. The Internet Age has made it exponentially easier to find and take advantage of the best deals. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of websites dedicated to helping you do this. Other people are doing the work to match up coupons with store sales and promotions. All you have to do is gather coupons, follow the frugal blogs to find the deals, and bring home the loot.

I've had many family and friends ask me how to get started with couponing. This blog is the answer to that request. God has really used couponing and frugal shopping to provide for Lucas and me and our family. I look at it as a gift from Him, and I want to share that gift with others. 

Lucas and I have also been able to donate and give away hundreds of items that we didn't need but got for free to people who did need them. My hope is that The Frugal Muse will help other people to do the same- save money for their own families, and give more to other families at the same time!

Over the next two weeks, I will be posting a series of articles to help you get started. You can consider it your Coupon Boot Camp. Here are some of the topics we'll cover in our Boot Camp:

• The Drugstore Game

• Seven Items You May Never Have to Pay for Again

• Accumulating a Stash of Coupons

• The Internet: A Couponer's Best Friend

• Samples and other Freebies

• Couponing Ethics

• Stockpiling

• Getting Organized

We're going to have a great couple of weeks here at The Frugal Muse! Of course, we will continue to post great deals in addition to our Boot Camp. Invite your friends to follow along- I know they'll be glad you did!