Pulling Coupons For Grocery Shopping

I thought I would give you an idea of how I organize my coupons and get ready to go grocery shopping.  We generally shop for groceries once or twice a week.  Our second trip usually involves getting some fresh vegetables or dairy.

The first step is to go to a couponing website such as Southern Savers.  Try to find a site that specializes in the stores in your geographical area.  I use this site to make my grocery list, taking advantage of the BOGOs (buy one get one) listed in order to build up my pantry.  I am particularly looking for the BOGOs that can be combined with coupons for that product.  This site allows me to print out a list that details which coupons I need to pull and where those coupons can be found.

Next I go to pull and clip the coupons I need from my coupon storage.  I use the file method in which my coupon inserts are filed by date in a file box.  Previously I used to clip all of my coupons and carry them in a binder, but as the coupons built up it became unwieldy.  If you've ever seen someone shopping with two overstuffed binders in their cart you know what I mean.  Now I pull and carry only the coupons I need.  This also helps me control impulse purchases (if I don't have a coupon for the product I can't buy it).

Then I paperclip my coupons to the back of my list.  I make notations on the list of how many of each product to buy and the number and type of coupons I have for that item.  My personal shorthand is MC for manufacturers coupon and SC for store coupon.  Of course, it's always nice to have both kinds of coupons for one product.

This has proven to be the best method for my family.  I follow the same procedure when preparing to go to the drug store or Target.   It is simple and, hey, frugal.

God bless,
Pam

The Coupon Fairy Visited Publix Today

This morning I went grocery shopping at Publix.  I was feeling a little down as it was raining and I didn't pull as many coupons as I normally do.  With my small amount of coupons and list in hand I set out.

Well, I was very happy when I finished shopping because a coupon fairy had visited Publix.  A coupon fairy is someone that leaves coupons that they are not going to use by the product.  Some fairies even carry tape to attach the coupons to the product.

Imagine my surprise when four products that I had on my list had a coupon taped to them.  Only one coupon on one package, not peelies on all of the packages.  Yep, sure sign that a fairy had been hard at work.

We all can be coupon fairies.  Just leave a coupon that you know will expire before you can use it attached to or on the shelf next to the product.  You will help someone out and make someone's day a little bit brighter.

Thank you coupon fairy!

God bless,
Pam

Coupon Shopping At Walgreens

This post should be titled:  "I Love Walgreens", but I do need to show some restraint.  Living in Florida it is hard to equal the savings seen on Extreme Couponing because our stores do not double coupons.  The one exception are the savings available at Walgreens each week.

Walgreens does not double coupons, but they do have such great sales in conjunction with coupon releases and Register Rewards that I am frequently able to get products for free.

Some of these sales are not always listed in their ads so it is important to go to sites such as True Couponing or Southern Savers to find the hidden deals.  Also read the ad carefully, because these coupon sites do not always catch all of the deals available.  Once you've compared the two make your list and start cutting coupons.

I make sure I count how many products I will be buying compared to the number of coupons I will use for my purchase.  If I have more coupons than products I will need to buy filler items.  There are usually candy sticks and other items for 25 cents near the register.  Just make sure the number of items and coupons matches.

So how does it work out:  Today I bought 4 Oral B toothbrushes, 1 Starburst, 1 six pack paper towels, 1 24 pack drinking water, 1 2L Pepsi, and 4 Ajax cleansers for 82 cents.  The toothbrushes and cleanser were free.  I wouldn't have paid anything if I hadn't have gotten the Starburst for dear daughter.

The Bottom Line

This is why I love Walgreens and these types of savings are available every week on a few items.  By stocking up when things are on sale, I never have to run to the store to pay full price.  I just shop from my home storage supply.


God  bless,
Pam

Extreme Couponing Becomes A Series

The special called Extreme Coupon is becoming a series on the Learning Channel.  The first two shows will be shown on Wednesday, April 6th at 9pm and 9:30pm EST.  Then it moves to it's regular time of 9:30pm for the rest of the season.

This show highlights the good, the bad, and the ugly in the world of coupon shopping.  You decide if any of their hints apply to you.

God bless
Pam

Using Coupons Effectively: An Example of Stacking

I want to give you an example of how you can "stack" coupons to save more. This is a purchase I made today at Walgreens:

3 deodorants at $5.49 each = $16.47
minus store deal of buy one get 50% off second = $13.73
minus coupon for buy 2 get third free = $8.24
minus coupon for 50 cents off one = $7.74
Total spent is $2.58 per each deodorant

If I had two more of the 50 cents off coupons I could have save a dollar more. Stacking takes a bit of time and creativity, but it can definitely be worth the few extra minutes of time.

God bless,
Pam

Using Coupons Effectively: Organization That Works

After struggling with my little accordion binder for several months, I decided to look for a better way to organize my coupons.  I found one system online that I liked, but the $60 dollar price tag put me off.  So, off I went to Office Depot to see if I could recreate the expensive system for less money.

Here are my results:

For $28 I purchased a binder with magnetic clasp, 3 x 5 photo plastic pages, trading card plastic pages, business card plastic pages, package of 8 organizer label pages and a paper pad.  I chose three different types of plastic pages because coupons come in so many sizes.  With time I may decide that one size works better, but most people use the trading card pages.

I used the organizer label pages (with plastic tabs) to divide the organizer into 8 sections:  grains, vegies, fruit, dairy, snacks, drinks, healthcare and sundries.  Some people divide their coupons alphabetically and since I used pencil on my labels I can always change them if I need to.

A pad in the back pocket will be great for lists or to keep track of what is in my cart.  An automatic pencil finishes off the back section (I had a pack at home).

In the front is a business card sized pocket which I will use for my name and phone number.  I don't want to lose my organizer and not give the finder a way to return it to me.

Now I get to put my coupons in my new organizer and give it a test run.

God bless,
Pam

Using Coupons Effectively: Organization That Doesn't Work

Here it is:  my pathetic, overstuffed and hard to use plastic file.  It worked fine for me when I was only occasionally using coupons; you know, two or three at a time.  But now that I am committed to saving more money with coupons, it is not very functional.

The problem with this type of file is that when I am making my shopping list and am looking for a particular coupon, I have to look through every coupon in one section to find what I need.  This is especially difficult when I spot an unadvertised special while I am shopping and I want to see if I have a coupon that that item.

Sooo, now I am on the hunt for a better system and, especially,  a better system that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.  I just saw one online that cost over $60 dollars (not frugal!!).  If you have a system that works well, let me know.  Off I go to check out a couple of office supply stores.

God bless,
Pam

Using Coupons Effectively: Websites

I was going to write all of this information myself, but then I found a wonderful website that explains using  coupons and provides shopping strategies for each store.  The site is Southern Savers and its creator has set up a site that really does it all.

Southern Savers does provide links to coupon services, but the three big ones are Coupon.com, Redplum and Smart Source.  Just Google them, click on the coupons you want, then hit the print coupons button.  All of the coupons you selected will print at once, three coupons per page.

Each of these coupon services will ask to place a cookie on your computer.  You have to say yes for the coupons to print.  If you are not comfortable with this, then stick to the coupon inserts in the paper.

It helps to buy a small paper cutter for coupon cutting.  You can stack the pages of coupons you print from a site and cut them all at once; they line up beautifully.  Have your children help when you are clipping from paper inserts.

We'll talk about organizing coupons another time.

God bless,
Pam

New Show On Coupon Shopping

Tonight on the Learning Channel at 8:00 pm EST there is going to be a show called Extreme Couponing.  I have no idea if this is going to be an informative program on effectively shopping with coupons or some sort of sensationalized junk.  It's probably worth turning on, if only to see if there is something to be learned.

God bless,
Pam