Couponing for Fun

This is my blog just for couponing deals, pics and brags. It's so much fun saving money! Follow me and post your own great deals or ask questions. I don't know everything, but I'll try to help if I can. Yay for savings!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

CVS 6/23

Spent $2.68, saved $11.92 and have $4 in rewards for next week's trip!

Posted by Emily at 6:11 PM

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Emily

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Couponing Guide

How-to Couponing Spreadsheet

A lot of you have asked me how to coupon. First of all, it doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s not about stressing out and spending way too much time just to get some good deals. It’s a fun hobby that will save you a ton of money. But it needs to be fun for you. Start out small and work your way up to more deals and more coupons. If you need help, please let me know. This is a great escape for me and helps me feel like I have a purpose in helping my family save money. I love it because it makes sense and I have time for it (when the little one sleeps).

There are four steps (which you can go as much into depth as is comfortable to you).

1. Get coupons- obviously you can’t “coupon” without coupons. Stores accept one kind of coupon per item, so 1 coupon= one amount off of 1 item (unless it says “off of 2” or “when you spend x amount”).

2. Sort coupons- organize them so you can find them when you need them

3. Match coupons with Weekly Sales Ads- use coupons with store sales for seriously low prices

3½. Prepare your shopping list- yay for lists! But really it’s good to know what you’re getting and how much of it before you wander throughout the store

4. Go shopping- the fun part! Take your list and coupons and watch as your total goes down and down and down….

That’s it! Okay, get started! Just kidding! I have each topic listed separately for your better understanding. But seriously, if you’re the kind that likes “do-it-yourself” stuff, see what you can do with just those 4 steps. Just don’t get overwhelmed; it really can be so much fun!

This is a great site that pretty much says everything I’m saying here. It’s just on a bunch of different pages to navigate through.

http://www.southernsavers.com/learn/

1. Get Coupons

Where do you get coupons? There are four basic places:

1. The internet

There are a lot of websites that specialize in printable coupons. You don’t have to go on a printing rampage and run out of ink in a day, though. Print what you think you’ll use. Usually you can get 2 of each coupon per website (by hitting the “back” button), but not always.

www.coupons.com This is the one I use most.

http://www.grocerycouponcart.com/print-coupons

http://shortcuts.com/printablecoupons

http://www.allyou.com/coupons-deals/

http://www.couponnetwork.com/

You can also order coupons in bulk from websites like these:

http://www.couponkutters.com/

http://thecouponclippers.com/

www.ebay.com

This costs money, but sometimes you save so much with the coupons that it’s worth the $.0.10 + shipping a coupon. It is cheaper to order these in bulk with friends so there is just one shipping charge.

2. Manufacturer’s website / Facebook-

Some, like the Better Crocker website listed, have a bunch of different coupons you can print. Others, like the Excedrin website listed below, just have a couple for their specific product.

http://www.bettycrocker.com/coupons-promotions/coupons/coupons

http://www.excedrin.com/products/migraine.shtml

If you “like” certain pages on Facebook, you can get great coupons, too. And you can unlike it afterwards.

Some websites require you to sign up. Mostly they’ll just email you coupons for their products. This website for Procter and Gamble will give you free printable coupons, mail you coupons for free, and give you free samples of their products.

http://www.pgeverydaysolutions.com/pgeds/index.jsp

3. Newspaper-

Since Jackson County doesn’t carry the Atlanta Journal Constitution (except in certain places Sunday morning and that’s a mad rush to get them before they’re gone), you can order your coupons in bulk from “whole coupon insert” websites, or buy the ones you want from the coupon websites listed above. I used to order them from

http://wholecouponinserts.com/

You can also order these Saturday night and avoid buying stuff on Sundays!

An alternative is a person named Courtney West. She has a “Couponing with Courtney” page on Facebook and sells newspapers. $3 a paper, you pay monthly, and you pick them up at her house (in Jefferson) at the beginning of every week.

4. Stores-

These print out as you buy things, can be found on the store’s websites, or you can find them in the store’s weekly ad flyers.

*Complicated note- there are two kinds of coupons: store coupons and manufacturer’s coupons. They say on the coupon which it is, and at some places (like Rite Aid, Target, Walgreens, CVS, and Publix) you can use BOTH a manufacturer’s coupon and a store coupon on one item.

For example, if Publix has Huggies diapers for $19.99 and you have a store coupon for $3.00 off and a manufacturer’s coupon for $2.00 off, you can buy the box of diapers for $14.99.

Drug stores have rewards which mean “off your next purchase.” These can be kinda confusing, so take baby steps when using these.

For example, if Rite Aid has toothpaste for $3.50 with $3.50 in “up rewards” when you buy it, it’s like it’s free but you don’t get the “up rewards” until the transaction is done. They print with the receipt. If you get another tube of toothpaste, you can use the “up rewards” you just got and pay nothing but tax for the 2^nd toothpaste (which will also give you $3.50 in up rewards when the 2^nd receipt prints). Confused yet? Then totally ignore this paragraph and come shopping at Rite Aid with me sometime.

2. Sort coupons

This can be as easy or as hard as you want. Here are some options, going from easiest to hardest. Or find your own method. Whatever works best for you and the free time you have/can make.

1. Put the coupons someplace safe, like a container or bag. Sort through them when you need them. Put the “coupon inserts” (from newspapers) into a place sorted into dates (2/27, 3/6, etc.). Cut those out only when you need them.

2. Put the coupons in a container into different categories (like produce, cereals, and candy). Either leave the inserts in dated slots or cut them out and sort them, too.

3. Get a binder you can take with you to the store and separate the coupons into categories. Cut out the inserts coupons and put them in the notebook, as well.

Here are some categories I stole from http://www.southernsavers.com/2009/06/extreme-couponing-organization/, which is also a great site to reference when starting out.

Baby, Drugs, Breads, Cereals, Snacks, Meat, Canned/Boxed goods, Condiments/Seasoning, Desserts/Baking goods, Other Food, Frozen, Refrigerated, Cooking Helpers (Ziploc bags, aluminum foil etc.), Paper Goods, Cleaning Goods, Other Household (bug spray etc.), Store Specific (Store coupons, CVS ECB’s etc.), Body Care (soap, razors, deodorant etc.), Tooth care, Hair Care, Facial/Makeup

3. Match coupons with Weekly Sales Ads and Prepare Shopping List

To make the most of couponing, stack coupons with stores’ weekly sales to save the most money. Luckily, in this day and age you don’t have to spend hours looking at sales ads and visiting every store to find the best prices. There are a lot of blogs that already do the hard work for you. Use them! I primarily use www.southernsavers.com and http://www.iheartpublix.com/ (on Mondays for Publix’s upcoming Thursday ad) but I also get email alerts from http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/.

This way, you know what’s at the lowest price everywhere and what coupons to use with them.

For now, I suggest starting just at Southern Savers. It’s the most convenient if you can get past all of the links.

Go to this website. http://www.southernsavers.com/

Find the place that has the stores listed (top of the screen, on the bottom of the green) and click on a store that you already shop at. I started out only looking at the Kroger, Publix and Rite Aid lists because that was what I could handle.

Click on the “Weekly Sales Ad.” This has all of the items in that store that are on sale and has the price listed. It also lists the coupons that go with them. The coupons from the newspaper inserts are listed with SS (Smartsource), PG (Procter and Gamble), or RP (Red Plum) and the date of the newspaper. The printable coupons have a link that will take you to the print site.

*complicated note: the list has ALL of the coupons you can use for that item. You can only use one coupon per item, though (unless you can combine store with manufacturer), so don’t try to find 3 different coupons if you just want one item.

*complicated note 2: Kroger and Publix double any coupons that are $0.50 and under. So if an item is on sale for $1.29 and you have a $0.50 off coupon for it, it’ll be $0.29!

Click on the items you plan on buying. When you get to the bottom, click on the button that says, “Create List.”

A list will come up with all of the items you said you wanted to buy with each of the coupons you’ll need to bring with you. Go through and gather all the coupons. Don’t forget to print your list! Also, you can delete lines on the list. When you scroll over something and a line goes through it, click and it will disappear. This is how to shorten the list when you don’t need all the coupons listed.

*complicated note 3: After I print my list, I write the number of items I want to buy next to the item. If I have 20 coupons, I write (20) next to the item so I’ll know how many to buy. I’ll write the total price that number will cost as well so I know about how much I’ll spend. Sometimes I write the aisle number, too (in pencil or a different color than the amount), so I don’t wander too much.

4. Go shopping

This is the fun part! Go to the store and buy all that you have on the list. It helps to have a highlighter and cross off the items once they’re in the cart. When you check out, the total should be really high. Don’t freak out! Give them the coupons and watch as you save more and more and more! Stock up as much as you’re comfortable with/ have the funds for, and soon you’ll be able to shop for things only when they’re on sale, using your surplus until the next sale!

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Thursday, June 23, 2011

CVS 6/23

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