Jan 07 2009
1st things 1st
okay. I know so many ways to save money that it is hard to know where to start. After organizing my thoughts a little bit I have decided to blog first about coupons! Believe it or not, a few short months ago I could say that I had never clipped a coupon in my life. Sure I’d used the occasional diaper coupon that the company mailed me or that was inside the last pack I bought…when I remembered that I had it…but I honestly did not see the point. I attended a “coupon party” a few months back and was absolutely amazed to say the least! And I began seeing the savings immediately! I have already more than cut my grocery bill in half! …that’s right…in half! …and I am buying name brand products and more of them. So, let’s get started.
My main source of coupons is the Sunday paper. I usually buy 2 (my area has a double Sunday pack available) but I know many people that buy more. I clip almost every coupon. My rule of thumb: If I can get it for Free, would I want it?…then clip the coupon. I have a 3 inch binder that I purchased baseball card inserts for. I have my binder divided into sections with tab dividers:refrigerated, frozen, dry grocery, cleaning products, paper goods, baby products, misc. As I go down each aisle in the store I open my binder to the section of the store I am in and match the products to the coupons that I have. When I first got started I did not have that many coupons but now that I have been saving coupons for a few months I am just amazed. I also collect coupons from the blinkie machines on the grocery store aisles and save them for future trips when the items go on sale.
One more important tip: I shop at stores that double and triple coupons. In my area Kroger and Albertsons triple coupons up to .39 and double .40 to .50. So each week I bust out my sales ads and match the ads up with my coupons. Many times they have 10 for $10 sales…you do not have to buy 10 items to get the item for a dollar. Let’s say you have a coupon for .35 off an item that’s in that sale…that coupon triples becoming $1.05 and that item is on sale for a dollar. The store is actually going to pay you .05 to tote it out of the store for them. That when buying multiple papers comes in handy!
This is a lot of information to take in but its a start. I will blog more about coupons and store policies tomorrow.
