Aren't Coupons Just for Junk Food?

I get asked this question all the time! You won't believe how often I get asked this :) If you coupon and share about your experience, I bet you have been asked this too. Or, I get told that there are better deals at Aldi. Yes, I know that as well :) I think there is a taboo that comes with people's thoughts on couponers-they must be buying only name brands all the time, they must be spending more than if they would just buy store brands, it has to be all junk or processed foods...
The only 'junk' or processed foods in my cabinet or freezer/fridge from this last shopping trip are-

snack packs for my husband's lunches (which I save right there when he takes a lunch instead of buying)-bought these with a coupon and it equals out to about 25 cents per package and will last him about 3 weeks.

frozen item-bought with coupon and it cost me only $1-this will be a quick dinner for DH one night when he doesn't want to eat leftovers-lol! He is not a leftover sort of guy unless I disguise it.

another frozen item-bought with coupon and it cost a $1-another quickie dinner for DH.

mac and cheese-store brand that I bought with a rancheck issued for a sale from 2 weeks ago. Quick meal for a busy night accompanied by good veggies and a protein.

Now, I know I have other processed things-these are just a couple deals I wanted to share. But I do have far more healthy things in my kitchen than processed. Yes, some were bought at Aldi, but some were bought using coupons and getting better deals from other stores with those coupons.

Frozen peas-used a coupons from Coupons.com and got the peas for 75 cents. These will last us a few meals.

Dish soap-big bottle, used coupon from Coupons.com and got it for 78 cents. This should last me over a month!

soy candles-free with coupon from a previous Sunday insert-and they smell so lovely!! Will be nice to light up when the cooler weather comes in :)

seasoning salt-also a coupon from Coupons.com-msg free and it cost me only 36 cents-almost free :)

Basically-what I am trying to say is that coupons are out there for things you need or want-they are not just for cakes, frostings, junk foods, etc... And you can find some good deals. My trip to one store saved me about $2-not alot, but combine that with my trip to Walmart and I saved about 25% or more on my total shopping trip this paycheck! We have a budget of about $300-$350 each paycheck (depending on what I might need to stock up on or what we may be out of that particular week) and this time around, I kept my bill under $300. To be a bit more precise, it was right around $286-and that was with a special trip to Reasor's last night to pick up some sodas on sale for Labor Day and  for my DH's lunches. I am stocked up on ground beef for probably the whole month. I have a whole chicken that will make one meal this paycheck and a soup later on when the weather is a bit cooler. I have preformed burgers from Aldi for Labor Day cookout and some will be left over for another meal or quick dinner for DH. I even was able to buy a couple items for when the Holidays come-Im trying to stock up now so money will not be so tight during those times :)

Junk food-nope! Not even close! No good deals-hey, free candles are fun (and if there are no scents you might like-how about adding them into a present for a friend-or use it in a gift basket ;), and it is always a blast to buy items for less than a $1 or for almost free!! It does take time to learn all this coupon stuff when you start out, but it does add up! I estimated if I save even $20 per paycheck-paid bi-weekly-I can save us $520/year! That could make a nice family vacation for us! Or, it could be put aside into an emergency fund. Right now, it is blessing us to make it paycheck to paycheck :) Eventually, I hope to tuck away atleast half of what I save and keep it for a goal-like Christmas, a family trip, whatever we can decide on :)