Alright ladies, here it is. My coupon-ing adventure.
It all started about a month ago when I realized that I was tired of paying full price, or even the "sale" price at the grocery store. Part of me wanted to give up and just go to Wal-mart ... but the other part of me saw this as a challenge. I now shop cheaply at grocery stores (Smiths -- kroger affiliate; Safeway; Albertsons, Target, & CVS). It takes time, A LOT of organization, and some storage room. There are a few "start up" costs involved, such as Sunday Papers (yes, plural), An organizational system of your choice (I chose the binder method), ink (computer printing coupons -- it's the best way to go!), and perhaps a shopping adventure for coupons via the Internet (mainly ebay, but other 'clipping services' are available).
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My Coupon Binder. Notice the tabs
(21) and handmade pockets. (You
can purchase this from me for 20.99 plus
shipping! Read the article for more
details) Each additional Pocket page
is .50 c each |
Ok, first and foremost: organization of the binder coupon file. Those cute little accordion files you see for $1 at Micheal's and Target? STAY AWAY. They aren't big enough -- especially if you are going hardcore. You want to be able to see your coupons and expiration dates. My recommendation is to stay away from the cute accordion file (or even the bigger ones). Go the binder method.
Get a nice 2-3 in binder with a zipper closure and some sort of pockets on the inside and outside. Dividers that are durable and have pockets are a must!! You want to put these in sections that you are comfortable with; such as numbers 1-24, or groupings of popular items (baby, freezer, breakfast, health, beauty, etc...). You will also need either premade baseball card slots (with 9 pockets on each side), or handmade pockets. I made my own pockets, b/c i wanted larger pockets (the baseball ones are super tiny). I am going to start selling zipper binders complete with dividers (21) and handmade pockets (21) (the binders will vary in color, but I'll do my best to get you close to a color you want; the binders start at 20.99 plus 4.00 shipping (or 9.00 for priority mail) -- email me at
cdeurmeier@gmail.com if you would like to place an order. Binders will take at least a week to arrive)
COUPONS! I need COUPONS!
Next is to cut, search, download coupons. You will find a plethora of blogs online that devote themselves to couponing and saving money. Google one or more of the following to find amazing deals!
- Totally Target
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My Smith's Adventure: 24.04... Seriously!
Milk - FREE (bought cereal [4 - used coupons] = free milk!
Powerade .39 c each (bought 36)
Pasta -- all free! On sale, paired with coupons
Classico Pasta sauce -- on sale for 1.49,
had coupon for -1.00 ea! (used four coupons) |
- Coupon Divas
- Hooked on Bargains
- The Krazy Coupon Lady
- Simply CVS
coupon sites:
- smartsource
- redplum
- cellfire
- target.com
All of these sites are bookmarked in my browser -- so I can check these sites daily for good deals. Coupon printing is limited to the first two prints (per computer), and you will find amazing deals on facebook too! (I downloaded a coupon for 2.00 off challenge butter -- it's 1.98 at walmart! = FREE)
You can also use a clipping service, or ebay. Now ,"supposedly" you aren't paying for the coupons, just for the time to search, clip, and mail the coupons... but funny how high dollar coupons cost more. At anyrate -- I usually get the Sunday paper, find out if I really should buy more of those coupons -- and spend less than 4 bucks to have 5 SmartSource coupon packs to me. It's really not that bad of a deal when you consider how much you will receive. I also bought bulk amounts of certain coupons ( i.e. 2.00 off of dentastix for the dog ... meaning i paid less than $1 per bag of treats -- I now have MORE than a year supply).
Cut, print, collect your coupons...then separate them on the table, floor wherever, into your specific groupings that you have in your binder. Then, use those handy divider pockets -- put those piles of coupons in the pockets, then after that -- place them in the pockets.
Now, that is how to organize, how about how to use those handy dandy coupons?
Check and print out all coupon policies for the stores you plan to shop at; read through them, and keep them in your binder. Stores like target and CVS take "stacked coupons." and walmart honors those stacked coupons. But you have to do it in a certain way.
Stacked coupons:
scenario --
Bounty paper towels at target:
Reg price 15.47, on sale for 10.00
- 1.00 Target coupon
- 1.00 manufactures coupon
= 8.00 for paper towels
Hand your target coupons first, then manufactures coupons.
If you plan to use this method at walmart -- hand the target first (they will adjust the price) then the manufactures coupon -- that will deduct from the price.
I know this is super confusing -- but you will get the hang of it!
Coupon the heck out of a sale:
Sign up for all of the "coupon cards" or shoppers cards for each store you visit (such as Kmart, CVS, Grocery stores, etc)
Look for cheap buys (typically on the front page of the weekly brochure for a store), such as 10 for 10 deals, or buy 10 of these items, get 5.00 off, and pair those sales with coupons. I "bought" free pasta today!! The pasta was regularly 2.99, it was 'on sale' for 1.49; if I bought 10 participating items (mix and match) i could get the pasta for .49/ a box. I had coupons 1.00 off two boxes -- meaning the pasta was free....
A little on "CVS-ing"
First and foremost -- bookmark "simply CVS." her site is AMAZING!
Second: Get a CVS extra care card.
CVS Lingo: ECB = Extra Care Bucks -- Money you earn off of shopping
Look on her website for "how to start" CVSing. Also, check out her 5 and $10 scenarios for getting started at CVS. -- I'm addicted!
Stockpiling:
should i stockpile? YES! Even if you only have the small area in a closet, find space, and stockpile. Buy ahead -- this will save you a lot of money. If you have an extra freezer -- even better! (I'm saving for one!) I use a Food Saver to freeze meats and cheese...
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Part of my stockpile. Here is a sampling of my
deals: Dog treats ($1 ea), starkist tuna (.39c ea)
Gummies (.49 each), Fruit roll ups (free!), Pasta
(most for free! no more than .49 c a bag!), Cereal
(ALL less than 1.00 each) |
For instnace, if pasta is on sale this week (or free!) buy as much as you need for the next 3-6 months. Check expiration dates; dig to the back of the shelf and get the latest expiration date as possible.
Another thing to stockpile is health/beauty items. I paired target coupons with manufacturer coupons and "purchased" free mascara -- I now have a 6 month supply! Also, look for clearance items at target (end caps!!) and pair target coupons with manufactures to get even more of a deal! I purchased 10 bars of my fav soap for 2.00 (It was originally 8; marked down to 4, -$1 coupon (target) and -$1 manufactures coupon. 2.00 for almost a year supply of soap! crazy, right?
Stockpile the heck out of things such as: pasta, cereal (check expiration's!) laundry detergent, dish washing detergent, health/beauty items (shampoo, soap), diapers, wipes ... the list is almost endless.
Ok, I hope I haven't confused you too much!! I'm sure I have missed something, so contact me! You can email me at
cdeurmeier@gmail.com or
asouthernlegacy@gmail.com if you ever have any questions. I will post more later...but hopefully this helps a little bit.
Keep motivated! You CAN do this!
Cyndie :)
5 Kraft bbq sauce
2 laundry detergents
My next trip was to Smiths (Kroger Affiliate)
Let me know what you think!