How to Save With Coupons

  SAVING WITH COUPONS

 

 

A co-worker recently asked  me to teach her how to coupon, so I wrote this up for her and thought I would share it with everyone.

In our town we only have a few choices for grocery shopping, Publix, Wal-Mart and Winn Dixie.  So some of this is geared towards those stores. Plus we have CVS & Walgreens were I get lots of the best deals.

 

Ok so where does one start?

 

 1) First you need coupons. On Sunday buy two papers. You will need at least two sets of the coupons for the best deals or you can buy coupons online. Check out eBay or Google "coupon inserts."  

 

 2) Then print coupons for items you know you will buy. Check the following sites for printable coupons: All these sites will let you print each coupon twice.  

  

Coupons.com

 

Red plum

 

Smart Source

 

Coupon Network

Target which has a great link to store coupons 

 

 3) There are several great sites to use, they do the leg work and tell you where the sales are and where the coupons are. They all also have Facebook pages:

 

The Krazy Coupon Lady-  http://thekrazycouponlady.com/

 

I heart Publix- http://www.iheartpublix.com/

 

Southern savers- http://www.iheartpublix.com/

 

Raining Hot Coupons- http://www.raininghotcoupons.com/

 

 4) Learn the basics from my other blog post. Check under my 2011 postings:

Look under June for:

 

Where do I get my coupons

 

Drugstore Game

Starting Binder System

Good Cutting Tools

Coupons Stacking

 

 5) Other tips:

 

One thing I learner about couponing is, we end up buying and eat the stuff that is on sale. We stocking up on products we normally buy while they are on sale so we don't have to buy them till they are on sale again which is usually every six to eight weeks. Everything is on a cycle. So you eat pasta once a week, When it's on sale B1G1 and you have coupons buy six boxes. So you don't have to buy it when it's not on sale. I have gotten pasta many time for .25 cent a box.

 

Get organized or it gets out of hand, a binder or file folder is helpful.

 

If you don't already have a CVS store card get one and do the same at Walgreens.  The drugstore game is fun. This is were you buy a products that give you reward bucks. They are given by the store for buying specific products, then you use them to buy other products that give you more reward buck. SO once you start, your rotating  your bucks every week to getting more bucks. This is how people get cheap and free products. It's how I get the best  price on toothpaste, shampoo and deodorant.

 

Stacking coupons: If a store offers store coupons you can use a manufacture coupon and a store coupon on the same item. Giving you double the savings.

 

At Publix if an item is Buy 1 Get 1 (B1G1) you can use one coupon for each item. Be sure to read the coupons good. Say you have a $1.00 off coupon and you have two of that coupons you will get two dollars off the B1G1 free price. That is usually the best deal we find in our area. Some coupons will say $1.00 off two. Be sure you are reading the coupons.

 

In our area Wal-Mart is the only store that lets you make money. If an item is 88 cents and you have a $1.00 coupon Wal-Mart will take $1.00 off your total.

 

Most stores set limits so you should go to the store's web page and print out there coupon policy. Know the store policy before you go shopping.

 

Some stores will call a manger if a coupon is more than $5.00 or if you have more coupons then items. This can happen when you stack store coupons with manufacture coupons. At Publix you can still use the coupons the cashier just need a key turn from the manager first. At Walgreen or CVS you need to have as many items as coupons. We call this needing fillers. Find a cheap item to make up the count. Right now Walgreens has school supplies for .19 cents. So if you have 8 items and 10 coupons you would need to add 2 of the .19 cent items (fillers). If your coupon is $2.00 you are still in the green when adding a .19 cent item.  

 

At times you may find a Facebook page that will offer coupons. Sites like Raining Hot Coupons will tell you which companies are offering a coupon.   

  

Wal-Mart sells a magazine called ALL YOU it has coupons too. If you save my coke rewards you can get the ALL YOU for free.

 

Coupon preview- This site tells you what coupon inserts will be in the paper. Weeks with a holiday have no coupons. - http://www.sundaycouponpreview.com/

 

Watch the old episodes of Extreme Couponing. IT'S NOT WHAT WE ARE DOING, but sure is cool to see other people killing it.

Have fun!! Make it a game and let your kids help you. Happy saving.