Couponing 101

My coupon holder

           

You know you are all dying to know how I organize my coupons, right?!? Ha! Well, I'm going to show you and tell you how I maximize my savings when I go shopping.

First, I always get 4 Sunday papers. I buy two of one that has all the inserts (usually Red Plum and Smartsource weekly and P&G and General Mills once a month or so) and then I buy two of another paper that has everything but Red Plum (because in that area Red Plum is mailed). If you are luckier than me your local paper has a super thick thing of coupons. It's why I buy two of the closest cities paper as well. Our local paper's coupons stink but it's the only way I can get a couple of Red Plum. Anyway, if you really want to save money grocery shopping, I really reccommend getting some sort of Sunday paper. I know it's money, but in the long run I save more even after spending to buy the papers.

Then I write the date on the front of the insert. I used to cut out every coupon and file under different categories like baked goods, frozen, etc. But I don't use all the coupons in every insert and it was too much to cut them all out. So I started writing the date on them because the sites I use will tell me which insert on which day. I file mine in a big accordian file (picutred below) according to month. So if it says SS 4/13 I go to April and find the Smart Source with the date on the front that says 4/13. I can then find my coupon.

        

         
Well, usually I can. Coupons vary from town to town and even newspaper to newspaper. Our local newspaper has a thin insert while the closest city's that I buy has much thicker and more coupons. Then I go to the sites I use. These sites tell me what's on sale at my local store this week along with the coupon available. It tells me what the final cost will be so I can decide if it's low enough to buy it. It must be a savings of at least 50% for me to even consider buying it. Here are some of the sites I use:
couponmom.com-free
thegrocerygame.com -paid $10 every 8wks but your savings is more than this cost if you do it right
hotcouponworld.com-free

I also have places I go for printable coupons.
coupons.com
smartsource.com
redplum.com
thegrocerygame.com has printables you can use as well even if you aren't a member

And you can often go straight to your favorite products website and often times they will have coupons as well. I also subscribe to various blogs that sends me emails about deals and coupons all over the place. My favorites are the following;
moneysavingmom.com
thefrugalgirls.com
christianclippers.com
momsbyheart.net
couponsandfreebiesmom.com

Overall it takes me about one hour to get my list and coupons ready and then it takes me about 2.5hrs to shop. I go to 3-4 different stores to get all the good deals and then the essentials I need that aren't on the list. I have not had to pay for toothpaste, deoderant, and a few other things for over a year now because of coupons and sales. I buy as many product as I have a coupon for and then I am stocked up until the next sale.

You can even buy coupons on ebay for very cheap. I usually only buy dog food coupons because our dogs only eat one brand and since dog food is expensive I buy about 10-20 coupons (usually $1 or less for all of them) and then when it goes on sale for a good price I buy 10.

So I hope this was helpful. I know it was very lengthy but this is how I save on groceries. I usually don't buy it if it's not on sale and I don't have a coupon!

Next up: how to save on clothing and household goods.