A Coupon Journey

Here are my list of couponing tips for any newcomers to it. Most of my friends are old pros by now, but maybe there is someone out there that isn't. I started doing couponing three years ago when Cole was a baby and I was no longer working. I started by just using diaper and baby wipes coupons. I collected them from my mother and mother in law. That quickly turned into me starting to reduce our grocery bill. The first few weeks I saved an average of $12, not great but it added up to almost $50 a month and that covered the extra we were paying to buy diapers for Cole. In a few weeks I had the system figured out pretty well and begun using forum and blogs to match up store deals. I was able to reduce our grocery budget significantly! Now we spend an average of $40-$75 a week on groceries which includes everything such as toiletries and toilet paper etc... We don't eat badly, buying filet, crab etc.. It is just about timing and stocking up. I now use Amazon Mom to purchase diapers and wipes and am able to get those for free using swagbucks and gift cards I earn doing surveys online. It has been fun for me teaching others how to save too and this has become part of my job of being a stay at home mom. Our savings have been enough to cover Cole's preschool tuition.
Here are some starter tips!
I would love to help you if you are interested in reducing your grocery budget. Now if I only had a way to get cheap gasoline!

Lindsey’s Shopping Tips:

Coupons:

• Before Sunday use the internet to see what coupons will be featured in this week’s paper. Can you definitely use at least $1.00’s worth ,then buy the paper. The weeks that Procter and Gamble put in coupons can sometimes warrant buying two papers.
• Which coupons should I bother keeping?

Keep coupons for products that if you could get them for free you would do so, pass along the rest to friends.

• Find a system for sorting your coupons. I sort by store aisle. This way while I am in the store and looking at the yogurts, I know where to look for any coupons I may have. Always take all your coupons with you!
• Use sites like coupons.com to print high value coupons. Here is a link to a list of all the coupon printing sites you may need.

http://www.heyitsfree.net/free-coupons/

• If you like a particular product, join the members club for rewards or call the company directly asking for coupons to be mailed to you. You will want to set up a separate email account when you begin signing up for these groups. I recommend a gmail account.
• Cell fire allows you to load coupons to your store card for additional savings on some brands
• Look for blinkie coupons in the stores and file away for future shopping trips.
• At stores like Target stack both manufacturers’ and Target coupons for better deals.
• Join word of mouth programs like Psst! and Vocalpoint to obtain free products and coupons in the mail.
• When using coupons, often getting the smaller package turns out to be the better deal. This is the case often when purchasing diapers.
• Compare the generic brand to the name brand price with coupon. Often times the generic turns out to be more expensive.
• Match your coupons with a store sale as much as possible. You can use the site couponmom.com or a fullcup.com where there are lists of coupons matched to store sale items. My favorite blog is living rich with coupons where I match my store coupons weekly.
• Be familiar with common prices your prices. Know what a truly good sale is and when one occurs, stock up!! Get enough so it will last till the next sale.
• Buy your meat on sale and separate and freeze it.
• Share your successes with friends!