Well, for those that I've driven nutty with my couponing ...or that you've driven me nutty, begging for a Q Class (q=coupon) ... just know that tomorrow would be a GREAT day to get started in this great money saving adventure! I just want to encourage you to pick up a paper or two or threeor five. :-) ** There will be ** 5 ** coupon inserts in tomorrow's paper!!!
** Can you tell how excited I am???
It's a great time to get started saving your family an INSANE amount of money!! YES you can save by couponing ...WAY more than even buying the generic (WalMart) brand of items. You don't have to go insane with it...just check these websites for coupon match-ups & use them as the stores have their sales.
I had hoped to prepare a couponing class for those that have asked, but I still have not had an opportunity to do so. So...my recommendation is to just dive in & do a little bit of research as you can. Perhaps over spring
break or summer I can pull together everything I need for a great class.
Otherwise, below are my thoughts & some baby steps to get you going...
Here are the blog sites that I use frequently:
www.passionforsavings.com http://www.passionforsavings.com/
www.hip2save.com
www.totallytarget.com
www.wildforwags.com
www.southernsavers.com
www.iheartthemart.com
Just a note on coupons...there is a difference! There are RP (Red Plum) SS(Smart Source) GM (General Mills) Pillsbury - all of these are inserts that you might get in your paper. Big city papers 'generally' have the higher dollar coupons, because those cities generally have stores that double & triple "up to xx amount" (usually 50 cents), so those papers will have high dollar q's, and the smaller cities (such as NWA that have a lot of WM stores that don't double coupon) will have the smaller dollar amount coupons. So,
you're best bet is to try & pick up some of both. I am blessed to liveclose enough to both borders (AR/MO) that I can pick up KC, Joplin & Springfield and NWA papers. So I get a lot of different coupons, both high
& low dollar ones.
BEFORE you close that door on the newspaper dispenser, make sure your coupons are in there!! Those machines are the LAST to get coupons. The newspaper office has a 'priority list' of who gets them & who doesn't...depending on how many they get (as I understand it). For instance...in Pea Ridge(Arkansas), some stores have papers, and they will have coupons in them, and some don't have coupons (especially machines).
Dollar General Stores newspapers generally have coupons, but the machines outside of Marvins IGA & Fred's sometimes do & sometimes don't. So it's best to buy them from somewhere that you can check the paper before dropping those coins in. (Wal-Mart or Dollar General for example)
Just know you can get as 'deep' into couponing as you desire. Couponing a little will save you 'a little.' Any amount saved is money for something else. Couponing a lot can save you so much you wonder why you didn't start sooner. There is no right or wrong for your family...I just encourage you to try if you can carve out an hour a week to get started.
Every time I go shopping I get stopped as least once, usually more like 2 or 3 times, and people generally ask me these questions:
I'm not an organized person, how can I keep up with them all?
You will have to find the right fit for you. Personally, I've used every method known to man...but am very happy with using a 3 ring binder (trapper keeper type) with baseball card holders as my coupon holders.)(Thanks Tina P & Jo Anna R for your encouragement) I file them alphabetically by manufacturer. No special 'organizing' skills needed! I have an excel spreadsheet of manufacturers that I created awhile ago, so it's not 100% up to date, but email me if you would like a copy. IT will overwhelm you if you're not an organized person, as there are 600+ catagories. I recommend you start small, with a coupon box that you make your own file tabs for.When your box is overflowing, move to the binder. I cut & clipped the spreadsheet labels & taped it on the card holders. It's a work in process, as you can't just have one 'card holder' for, say, Pillsbury...I have two pages for them...so 18 slots!
What do you do with all those expiring coupons?
This is one of the biggest questions I get when I go shopping. Generally, I don't worry about it. I'm in my binder 2 -3 times a week, so as I see expiring coupons, I pull them. Usually, when shopping, I will pull the
coupons that are expired and put them in the bottom or my cart, or in a 'produce/trash' bag that I tie to my cart. The next to the last week of the month I (try) to sit down with a sheet of paper & jot down the name of all the q's that are high dollar that will expire in the next week. I'll take that to WM / Dollar General or Walgreens and just check clearance or prices to see if I want to use them. Generally speaking, don't worry about it...those great deals WILL come around again! Don't stress, and (for me) since I live so far out from 'town' I rarely will make a special trip, just for expiring coupons. The exception was year end...man I got some crazy bargains on many things, because those q's expired 12/31.
Just a note: You can send those expiring coupons to overseas military families...they are allowed to use 6 - 12 month old expired coupons. I haven't gotten to that point yet...not politically correct, but I just haven't found the time to do so...they ask that they are organized & totaled up prior to sending.
Coupon Match-ups:
All the blogs listed above will tell you what coupons to use, when to use them, and where to use them! That's the WONDERFUL thing about couponing with our technology! Generally each site will tell you what store has the best deal...and you will see that they each glean info from each other. I'm not a huge Target shopper, but will occasionally go there because they might have the best deal in town on something.
How do you keep up with it all?
Well, borrowing a GREAT idea from my dear couponing friend Amber B :-) as you cruise through the blogs & you see a great deal at one of the stores, copy and paste it into a Word document. I have two that I keep open all the time: Deals in NWA and Deals in SWM (because I'm in a border town). Just type in each stores name as a title & paste the deals under the appropriate stores title. Print the doc before you go shopping. No biggie.
I don't want to run all over town!!
Then don't :-) Make a nice route to go by each store that you don't have a sales ad for & go to Wal Mart. I love, love, love Wal Mart's ad matching policy! It is a huge time saver when I just don't want to shop around. I love to shop around though...I'm not a clothes & jewelry girl, but OH give me a great deal on shredded cheese & I'll happy dance all the way home!!
This is also another GREAT reason to file your coupons by manufacturer! Go to the clearance isle & it's easy to cruise through & see if you have any great coupons for all those things that are being sold dirt cheap anyway!
I don't want to clip **All** the coupons!!
This is one I had to really get over myself! I thought, what in the WORLD would I do with baby formula? I don't have a baby!!! Well, currently, I have a 1/2 of a case a baby formula that I will be donating (tax benefit) to the Women's Shelter that I actually MADE MONEY ON! What a blessing to give a basket FULL of toiletries to a family that is on disability & food stamps! Did you know that you cannot buy toiletries with those benefits? I didn't realize that until a family mentioned it recently. How fantastic to be able to minister to them with soap, shampoo, hair styling products, shaving supplies...and all of these items cost you nothing! You will regret not clipping them all...trust me...I speak from experience!! I've missed
many deals by skipping some q's, then later seeing a fantastic deal that I could have gotten for free...then given away.
How much money do you save?
Generally speaking, before my family discovered living on a budget & while I still worked, we spent $800 - $1200 monthly...sometimes more! <
Now, as an average, our family of four spends about $200 a MONTH on all the items we need from the store. That's an average $50 a week. Your savings can be more or less, depending on the time you want to invest. Personally, I coupon very heavily from October to December...and spend more than $50 a week on several of the weeks, because it's a great time to stock up with all the sales going on. The rest of the year I usually don't coupon at all...although this year I think I will, just because I'm really enjoying it. You have to find the right balance for your family. Again, there is no right or wrong...just big opinions :-)
I hope I've inspired some of you to at least give it a shot. Don't be overwhelmed...just tip toe in & do what you can with the info you have. Try to understand a little bit more every week, or every month, or every year. That's what I did. Remember, someone will ALWAYS be more organized, save more and do more than you do. Do what's right for you and your time and your family.
Blessings to you & yours this year!
Kriss Spencer
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