Tip O' Me Hat To: $5 Dinners

Many of you are familiar with Erin Chase's blog, $5 Dinners. In her blog, she demonstrates how she makes meals for $5 or less for her family of four, herself, her husband, and two sons, 4 & 2 with a 3rd child on the way. She scrupulously searches only for the best sale items and clips coupons to stay within her budget. She's fortunately enough to live in the Midwest where food prices are relatively inexpensive. I often wonder how she'd favor over here on the East Coast, or at least in my little town. Our stores are EXPENSIVE!!

I was inspired by a post Erin had a few months back about her coupon binder. The Rachael Ray show invited Erin to New York for a segment about saving money, and viewers got a glimpse of her coupon binder. In answer to questions about this binder, Erin posted some very helpful information about her binder. I have been using the same coupon organizer for a few years, but it is rather worn out and doesn't hold all my coupons too well. Click here to see a picture of my coupon organizer and why it just doesn't work for me any longer (and why I've had several coupon giveaways!).

After reading about Erin's coupon binder, I decided that sounded like a great idea and something that I definitely needed to invest in. It's taken me awhile. I eventually found a pretty pink 3-ring binder. It was gently used, but still in great condition. I also found a stack of clear plastic business card inserts, and I bought a large package of baseball card inserts. And last night, I finally got to work sorting through my coupons and putting them into my plastic inserts and binder.

I admit that I'm a little O.C.D. or anal retentive, however you want to look at it. I have always kept my coupons in order based on the layout at the grocery store. And my new coupon binder is no exception. I made sure to have everything in "order," leaving a few slots here & there empty because I know I'll come across a coupon or two that I can fill it with. ;-D

A big thank you to Erin Chase for her coupon binder tip! Check out her site for some other helpful hints and tasty recipes.