Coupon Queen: Experience a weekend of saving money

I love to save money in every aspect of my life. I don't think twice about it; it's become second nature throughout the years. I live, breathe and dream in coupons, but honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. Last weekend wasn't any different. On Thursday, a friend and I were chatting over the phone about a new book released by one of our favorite authors. We sipped on our drinks while comparing which books from the author were our favorites and discussing new podcasts we had discovered. As soon as I got home, I added my name to the waiting list for the new book from the library. Of course, if it were something I had to have, I would have happily spent the money, but I was content with waiting for a couple of weeks. On Thursday evening, my son shared his plans for his Halloween costume. Off to the costume store we went to see what we could put together. While he was looking for his perfect outfit, I searched the website for a coupon I could use. After just a few minutes, one appeared in my email box after subscribing to their newsletter. It took only a few minutes of my time to save about $15. That's a win in my book. Friday came with a ton of errands to do. I took a trip to the grocery store to pick up necessities, filled my car with gas, and quickly ran into Target to grab laundry detergent. I used some type of savings at each stop, including coupons at the grocery store, my Advantage Pay card at the gas station, and a rebate app at Target. The next day, I left early on a day trip to Columbus with my girlfriends. After walking around IKEA and grabbing some must-have finds, I quickly remembered at the register to check my email for a possible coupon. To my surprise, I found a $20-off coupon. After shopping, we grabbed a quick lunch, and I attempted to save money by using my Wendy's app. Unfortunately, it gave me a bit of an issue, and while we didn't save money, I did earn points for my purchase. We drove into the downtown area for the main reason we were there; to see the Broadway production of "Hamilton." I've wanted to see "Hamilton" for years after falling in love with the soundtrack. I can sing and rap almost every note, albeit a bit off-key. As the first musical note played and the curtains drew back, tears sprung to my eyes. No, not because of the cost of my seat but of the true beauty I was about to partake in. I consider myself frugal, not cheap. I, as do you, have choices of what we want to spend our money on and how we want to save it. I choose to scrimp and save on things I can do so easily, so I can spend money on something that brings my family and me joy. While the money-saving decisions I made above may seem like they don't add up to a lot over a month or year, the savings can add up by just making minor adjustments. Are you just starting your savings journey? Start small, and don't get overwhelmed. Write down your goals and stick to them. Choose one way to save and then build from there. You'll reach your financial goals by saving one penny at a time. This week's deal Here's a deal to grab this week at Walgreens. Buy 2 Purex liquid laundry detergent bottles — 2/$5 Pay $5 Get $1 cash back via Ibotta app (limit 5) = $2 cash back = $3 total — just $1.50 each! In addition to her weekly column, Rachel Krych has a blog, Couponing With Rachel, which earns her compensation from Google for ads it places there, and from entertainment marketers whose promotional codes she touts. She doesn't write about entertainment in her column. Email her at couponingwithrachel@hotmail.com.