My Top 3 Couponing Tips

I've gotten pretty serious about my couponing around here. In fact, I've found that I sometimes have a hard time reading the fine print on those things (what?? Those expiration dates are really tiny!) so I even got some reading glasses to facilitate my couponing.

I don't have any super-amazing deals to brag about, but I have been doing pretty well lately on a non-extreme scale.

So what I wanted to share with you all today is a few great tips I've learned that I never knew before I started my Not So Extreme couponing adventure. For me, these are the most valuable tips that I have found.

1. In most stores, if an item is on Buy One Get One free sale (BOGO), the store will accept a coupon for both items (the one you buy and the one you get free). For example, if Mayo is on BOGO at Publix and you have two $1 off Mayo manufacturer's coupons, they will accept both of them. So if the mayo was originally $5 per jar, you get one free, then with your two $1 off coupons you also save $2. You end up getting two jars of Mayo for $3.

2. Many stores accept one manufacturer's coupon PLUS one store coupon for EACH item. For example, in the above Mayo scenario, if you also have two store coupons for .50 cents off Mayo, you could use them in addition to the manufacturer's coupons. So you would end up paying $2 for those two jars of mayo.

3. Many stores also accept competitor's coupons. So, if in the above scenario, you don't have a Publix store coupon for Mayo but you do have one from one of their competitors, you can use that instead. Check with your store to see which competitor they accept coupons from. Publix now posts a large list inside all stores. You can find store coupons both in the stores, and on the stores' websites.

It pays to know your store's coupon policy. Some stores even double coupons on certain days, although that's very rare in my area, unfortunately. It also pays to get more than one paper, and if your friends or family don't use coupons, get them to give theirs to you.

The more time you spend, the more great deals you get. I don't spend an "EXTREME" amount of time on this, but I still find some pretty sweet deals.

And that makes me HAPPY!



P.S. My internet is broken. =( The USB thingy I use to connect to the internet broke, so I will be here & there until this weekend, which is my son's graduation weekend so I won't have a lot of time then either! Hope all is well in your world. xo

Not-So-Extreme Couponing

I don't know about you, but it seems like for us, there's always too much money going out and never enough money coming in.

I've clipped coupons here and there before, but never really been a committed, organized "couponer".

But the more I read about couponing, and the more I see about it on TV, the more interested I've become. One of my friends is a serious couponer, and often posts his deals on Facebook. Someone asked him how he does it, and he said "All it really takes is time and lots of printer ink."

So, finally, I decided to get on this bandwagon. I got a printer. I asked my couponing friend to add me to the email list he sends out weekly, in which he finds sales & combines them with coupons, and tells you where to find and/or print the coupons. I joined other coupon sites. I bought a coupon organizer & labelled it (I had a small one but I knew I'd need a big one for this!).

I have no aspirations of becoming a true Extreme Couponer. I have no interest, nor enough room, to store things like 75 bottles of mustard and 8745 rolls of toilet paper.

All I'm really going for here is a full pantry, full extra freezer, and a smaller grocery bill.

So this weekend, I did my first couponing shopping trips.

For the first one, I went to Publix. They have a lot of Buy One Get One Free deals, and when you combine those with coupons, you can get some really great bargains. At Publix I saved $51.49. I paid $73.56 for $125.05 in groceries.

Then on Saturday, I went to Winn Dixie, which also has a lot of BOGO deals. I can't find my receipt from Winn Dixie (and I'm so mad about that!) but I saved right around $47 and paid $56 for $103 in groceries. So all total this weekend I got almost $100 worth of free groceries. I think that's awesome for my first time!

Another thing I had to do was put aside any embarrassment I had about couponing. I always felt like people were judging or whatever, and I myself always teased my parents for using their senior citizens' discount wherever they went. Well, no more! I am doing something smart, to benefit my family, and I won't let anyone make me feel badly about that. I won't hesitate to go up to the service desk to ask questions or clarify policies (I did that at both stores this weekend). I will watch each coupon get scanned and make sure I get the money taken off as it should be. I will walk into a restaurant and use a coupon and not care what anyone thinks of it.

The funny thing is my kids think it's great, even the teenagers! They are totally impressed by what I've saved already. Elayna found a coupon on the floor at a store the other day and proudly brought it to me.

If you have any interest in couponing, let me know and I will share some links with you. It definitely takes time. Since I work part time, I'm literally considering this sort of a part-time job. The time I spend on this pays off, so it's worth it for me. You have to have a printer; the newspaper inserts are great but to save a good chunk of money, you need to use printable coupons as well. You also need to learn your stores' coupon policies. You can't rush through the store; you have to take your time and organize your coupons as you go, make sure you're getting the correct product, etc.

It's also a lot of fun, and a rush when I read my receipt and see all that money I've saved. It's fun to spend time online hunting down deals. It's fun to post them on Facebook and impress my couponing friends!

Good luck, happy couponing!