My coupon journey began when I was watching a local TV program. They were beginning a special series called "Living on Less." Since my husband and I are on a very strict budget, I knew I could use some advice on how to save money. That is when I discovered coupons were the answer.
I got on the internet a looked up a website called "Pinching Your Pennies." I joined the Forums there and learned the basics of coupons. (If you are new to coupons, I suggest visiting this site to see how others do it!) From there, I learned that Manufacturer's Coupons can be printed off the internet (called Printables.) The following are some of my favorites resources for doing this
But soon, printables were not enough. I learned that some stores don't take printables and I couldn't always find coupons for what I needed on the internet. So I began looking into subscribing to the Sunday Paper and found a special deal for only 75 cents a week.
It was great, I was swimming in coupons. Too many coupons. I struggled to keep up with those that were expiring and riffled through a large stack everytime I went to the store. I decided to get organized. I pulled a small empty scrapbook off my bookshelf. It had plastic sleeves and a hard bound cover. It was perfect!
So, being the organizational freak that I am, I labeled each little "pocket" with a different category and began filing my coupons. I found that I could keep up with expiring coupons by putting them in order by expiration date. I also seperated the printables from the other coupons knowing that some places would not accept the printables. The following is a list of categories I currently use.
Baking, Cereal, Soup, Dairy, Yogurt, Fruit, Snacks, Veggies, Packaged Meals, Condiments, Desserts, Meat, Drinks, Baby Food, Baby Other, Hygiene, Medicine, Cleaning, Restaurants, Other, Trade.
Well, I began to see that I had coupons that I could never use like coupons for dog or cat food. I went back to "Pinching Your Pennies" and found a Trading Post and something called a "Coupon Train" (See "Pinching Your Pennies" for a description of Coupon Trains.) Now I have an outlet to trade what I can't use for coupons I can use.
So now that all the hard work of research and organization is done, it is easy to maintain. Each Sunday night (or Monday morning, depending on my time) I cut out my coupons and file them in my notebook accordingly. I then search the ads for local stores I frequent. (Walgreen's and Rite-Aid are my favorite.) I make a list of the deals I could use for each store and then search for coupons that will work for those deals. Then on Monday or Tuesday I go to the stores I've selected and make my purchases.
Then on Tuesday or Wednesday, I recieve my local grocery store ads in the mail. (Macey's and Albertson's have the best deals.) I go through these in the same manner and do my grocery shopping on Wednesday or Thursday.
Yes, I visit more than one store per week! If you shop for sale items, you have to go where the sales are. Fortunately, the stores are all within several miles of my home and clustered together.
I find some great deals on my own through this process, but I'll admit, I don't always find all the deals. So, I check several websites daily to find additional deals including freebies and samples online. Here is a list of my favorite money saving websites.
Well, that is my story. I've been wanting to get this all out for a long time. Even if you don't want to use coupons or save money, I thank you for reading my blog. Sometimes you just need someone to listen! Happy Saving!!!
Oh my goodness Sandra. You're like me on steroids. That's OUT OF CONTROL, but way to pinch the pennies. I'm not the hugest coupon gal, but boy do I read my grocery ads at least twice a week :)
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