-Abbreviations and Coupon Lingo
-Walgreens for Beginners
Up until about a year ago, I always assumed couponing was a waste of time...I can remember as a young married woman sifting through the Sunday inserts and finding coupons for things like overpriced vitamins, unnecessary cleaning items and frozen dinners manufactured by some company I'd never heard of! When I did find a coupon I could use, it was only a few cents off - so I figured what's the point?
Then one day I stumbled across a video at couponmom.com that shows how to save big bucks by combining store sales and coupons. In this economy and with 5 kids to feed, I thought I'd give it a try. And the rest, my friend, is history!
Over time, I have gathered information from a variety of sources and formulated a system to save BIG at the grocery store. Here's my system step-by-step:
1) SET A GOAL TO ESTABLISH A STOCKPILE - As you collect coupons, keep in mind that you are purchasing to build a stockpile of nonperishables: canned goods, paper products, toiletries, etc. Think about setting a goal to have 6-12 months of these products on hand. By doing this, you eliminate buying out of necessity, which is when you pay the most. For example: if you have a stockpile of shampoo, you'll be able to wait three months until it's at its rock bottom price before buying more. In contrast, if you're out of shampoo, you'll gladly pay the shelf price for it!
Don't worry, stockpiling won't cost you any extra out of pocket. Just figure out how much you spend per month on these items and use that (or a portion of that) as your stockpile budget. I'll show you how to make it s-t-r-e-t-c-h!
2) START YOUR COUPON STASH! - The two best places to find coupons are the internet and newspaper inserts. Lets talk about those first.
-Newspaper Inserts - Consider buying multiple copies of the newspaper (I buy 5). Just remember: not all newspapers are created equal. You may not be getting ALL the coupons available on any given Sunday in your local paper. So how do you know which one to buy? Once a month, Procter & Gamble has a special coupon insert dedicated to their products - available only in select papers. Visit THIS page to find out which ones carry the P&G inserts, and you'll have a pretty good idea which one is your best bet for other coupons too. Then get a sneak peek at coupons in the upcoming paper (available Thursday evenings) by going HERE. You can adjust the number of papers you buy to fit the quantity/desirability of the coupons!
-Internet Printables - Hot Coupon World and A Full Cup both offer a comprehensive list of internet printable coupons. Both have a search feature so you can see all the available coupons for each product. Bookmark these sites!
3) MATCH COUPONS WITH SALES - This is where I lose most people. I start to hear the "it's too hard/too confusing/I don't have time" excuses. Well, I'm not buyin' it, sister! I'm not denying that it can be overwhelming at first. But it's like anything else - you learn the ropes slow but sure, and get into a routine. Pretty soon it's a breeze. Start by visiting Moms by Heart each Saturday morning to see my Walgreens coupon match ups. Plan to buy one or two things free with coupon until you feel comfortable enough to fill your cart with freebies.
Okay, now back to step 3 - matching coupons with sales. Here's an example that shows why it works:
If Softsoap hand soap is $2.29 and you have a $.35 off coupon, that's not going to do you much good right? But if you wait for the soap to go on sale for $.99 THEN use your coupon, your OOP will be $.64 or 72% off the regular price! If you have 3 coupons for Softsoap, you will pay less for 3 than you normally do for 1. The extra two go into your stockpile and you don't have to buy hand soap until it goes on sale again! Taadaaa!
The easiest way to match coupons with sales is to visit the Grocery Gathering over at Be CentsAble for a listing of blogs that cover match-ups for each store. The work is done for you! Compare savings ideas of each blog, make your list, grab your coupons and GO!
Read more: http://www.momsbyheart.net/2008/09/intro-to-couponing.html#ixzz0mpwmfMyz
