Shopping

Today we went to one of my favorite stores Target because we had to get a birthday gift for a party tomorrow. I haven't been there in awhile and ended up spending way more then necessary.  One of the things I realized about trying to save money is to always go to the store with a list and try to stick to it.  That's always the hard part for me is sticking to a list, especially at Target.  Today I had no list at all, so I ended up spending too much and probably bought stuff we didn't even need. I find if I plan my trips I spend less, plus it's less stressful because bringing kids to the store can be stressful enough.  So, usually on Sundays I try to go through the sales paper and coupons and decide on one grocery store and one drug store to go to that week depending on coupons and what we need. One store I have started to love is CVS with coupons and ECBs (extra care bucks) you can get tons of toiletries super cheap. I used to only go there if I needed something quick, and go to Target for my main shopping. I have found though that I can get stuff cheaper at CVS lots of times, plus I don't do as much impulse shopping there since they don't have as much fun stuff.  As I said before I'm just learning to coupon and I don't expect extreme couponing results (I don't think that show is very realistic for the average person). I get excited if I can save $20 or more on a trip, and slowly I'm getting better and better at it. Any advice would be appreciated if you've been doing it for awhile as well.
Thanks:)