Couponing Category

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

Thrifty Thursday — Couponing Links

Online resources for couponing are abundant.  There are people out there who find the deals and post them often days before the sales start, so any “I don’t have time to figure it all out.” excuse is not valid.  Trust me, it doesn’t take a lot of time!  Over the past several weeks I’ve found quite a few places that I like to go to get info and learn new tricks.  Here’s a few:

  1. Hot Coupon World — This site has forums, coupon databases, link to sites where you can print your own, etc.  It has good info, but can be overwhelming for newbies.
  2. Taking Stock — This is a blog by a Raleigh N&O reporter.  It’s a lot of local information on couponing.  And because I had a hard time figuring out how to do an RSS feed (I am RSS stupid) for my blog reader, I’ll just link you up to that, too.  And if you want even more access to info, you can follow her on Twitter @sue_stock.  Look in the left hand column for links to some basic information on couponing in this area.
  3. Southern Savers — This blog has lots of deals for Southern grocery stores.  She’ll lay out all of the deals for you…all you have to do is find the coupons in your super-organized coupon folder.  There are also some good posts about getting started.

Those three sites alone give me pretty much all of the information I need to plan shopping trips to maximize my savings.  I don’t spend more than a few minutes scanning the sale papers each week because most of the good deals are spelled out on those sites.  That means my couponing time investment is in clipping and organizing on Sunday nights.  (Or whenever I get to it…sometimes Tuesday afternoon!)  That doesn’t take more than a couple of hours if I have no interruptions.  And it’s well worth the time if you’re looking for an easy way to save some money!

Posted in Couponing, Money/Finances, Thrifty Thursday | No Comments »

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

Super Doubles

Super Doubles start tomorrow at Harris Teeter.  This is when they double coupons up to $1.98, so you can get all of those coupons for $1 and $1.50 doubled.  Someone has already figured out where the best deals are, as usual.  Check it out here. Or read this post.

It sounds like the deals are not as good as they could be, but I’ll be taking this opportunity to use all of my higher value coupons for things I need.  After all, $3 off is always going to be better than $1.50 off!

Posted in Couponing | 1 Comment »

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Couponing Basics

Let’s back up just a little.  The coupon stacking is good info, but I feel like I got ahead of myself.  If you’re a couponing newbie then you’ll want to start with a few basic steps.

  1. Get organized. Find a method that works for you.  The woman who taught the class I went to suggested a zippered binder and baseball trading card pages with categorized tabs.  This has worked really well for me, but I realize there are other methods out there.  Figure out a system that works for you…if you don’t, you’re not going to be able to maximize your savings.
  2. Purchase the Sunday newspaper. It’s best to get the largest one available in your area.  In Sanford, that’s the Raleigh News and Observer.  There are other sources of coupons, but this is the best way to start.  I get at least 2 copies.
  3. Cut and organize. When I go out to buy my papers, I try to grab a kid’s movie from Redbox.  Sunday evenings, while my husband is at church for a class, I put in the movie for the kids and go to work.  I staple the like pages together (if you only buy 1 paper, this isn’t necessary) and clip them together.  This saves a lot of time if you have multiple copies.  Just be sure you don’t staple or cut the barcodes.
  4. Know the rules. Each grocery store has their own rules.  You can usually find a store’s coupon policy on their website.  If not, ask at the service desk. They’re all just a little different, so to maximize your savings you’ll need to know how best to use your coupons.
  5. Know what things cost. Make a list of things you use frequently.  Then, every time you go to the grocery store, write down the price of those things in a pricebook.  Do this for at least 2-3 different stores.  This will give you lots of extra info and help you plan where to use your coupons.
  6. Find the deals. The forums over at Hot Coupon World will pretty much tell you where to go, what coupon to use, and how much you’ll end up paying.  It takes a lot of the guesswork out of the process and helps me to plan my trips ahead of time.  With 3 kids, I need to plan ahead as much as possible!

It’s not that hard, but it does require some work and research to get the best deals.  And it has already saved us a LOT of money.  I’ve been doing it for a month and have saved over $300 already.  All for the price of a couple of papers on Sunday mornings and some office supplies.  I finally feel like I’m doing something to help my family save money and that is a good feeling!

Posted in Couponing, Money/Finances | 1 Comment »

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Thrifty Thursday — Coupon Stacking

Last month I was invited to a “coupon party” where someone taught me how to save a lot of money by using coupons.  Initially I was skeptical…I thought it was a waste of time, that I couldn’t find coupons for the things I use, that I saved more money using generic, etc.  Now I feel compelled to share what I learned because it’s already saved me a ton of money!  Bear in mind that I am a newbie at this, so I’m still learning myself.  Hopefully this info will be useful to someone else.

On Monday afternoon, I went to the Lowe’s Foods here in Sanford and got:

  • 4 single serve packs of Whitehouse applesauce.  That’s 24 applesauce cups total.
  • 4 cans of Chef Boyardee canned pasta.
  • 2 boxes of Uncrustables.  That is 8 sandwiches total.
  • 1 box of Snyder’s pretzel snack packs.  That’s 10 small bags of pretzels.

Do you know how much that would cost without coupons or sale prices?  At Lowe’s, these items would come to a total of $23.17, without tax.  I paid $6.61, plus tax.  That’s a savings of almost 78%.

So how did I do it?  For all of these items, I had both a Lowe’s store coupon that saved me some money off of the regular price, some giving me a discount even on the sale price.  And then I had manufacturer’s coupons on top of that.  This is called coupon stacking.  Usually (not always…check with the store) a store that puts out it’s own coupons will let you “stack” manufacturer’s coupons on top of theirs, allowing you to save big.

Take for example the Uncrustables, normally $3.09 per box.  The Lowe’s coupon made them $2.00 each.  I also had a coupon that allowed me to save 75¢ per box.  Because Lowe’s doubles manufacturer’s coupons up to 99¢, this saved me $1.50 per package.

So the final breakdown is:

  • $3.09 each (or about 77¢ per sandwich)
  • minus $1.09 for store coupon = $2 each
  • minus $1.50 for manufacturer coupon = 50¢ total for each box (or about 12.5¢ per sandwich)

If I’ve done my math correctly, that is an 84% savings on that item alone.  And yes, this is an item I will use.  They’re great for days when we’re running behind and can’t take time to put lunch together.  Normally I can’t afford them, but with coupon stacking I can buy a few boxes to keep for those rough mornings!

Posted in Couponing, Food/Recipes, Free Stuff, Money/Finances, Thrifty Thursday | 4 Comments »

  • I am a mom to 3 living in Sanford, NC. I am a wife. I am a student. I am a Christ follower. I am a friend. This is the craziness of my life.
    • Subscribe

    • Powered by WordPress

    Blossom Theme by RoseCityGardens.com