Couponing Part 1

I have been asked to blog about my couponing so here we go! My first coupon trip my bill was $68 after discounts and coupons it was $38. It's actually more exciting than it sounds lol When I first got introduced to couponing my big sis April had just watched a bunch of episodes of extreme couponing.  She started to clip and use them.  She saved money but nothing compared to the people on the show.

For those who don't know extreme couponing is this show on tlc about these women who have freaking MASTERED using coupons#CouponGurus.  They have stock piles of food in their homes.  It's very inspiring cuz they make it look easy.  It's#toMe is an art form#lol.  These women have $400 grocery bills reduced to under $50 or less!  If you haven't and you have Netflix I HIGHLY recommend you watch it.  It's not only addicting but it pushes you to try this.

Ok so my sister stopped couponing because the savings she was getting wasn't worth the time that she was putting into it#dontBlameHer.  My husband and I watched the marathon spring2013 and were determined to do this and get the same savings as these women did.   We are saving for a house and had a kid on the way so it was definitely worth trying.  I started to coupon but then I got sick and dropped it. Until I saw that the show was on Netflix and being at home,I figured if I watch a crazy amount of this show it will click.  Guess what people#wht? I caught on!!!

Ok this is where we get right to it#boutTime! Now on the show they always went to stores that had a savers card.  With the savers card you save even more because of the stores deals.  The idea is to match coupons with the deals that they have going in the stores#veryImportant#writeDown.  Also remember the rule of thumb is if u want more savings you need to have 1 coupon PER ITEM.  So if you want to save on two of the same item you need a coupon for each. 

Now where do you get these coupons?#gladUasked You can get them in that horrid junk mail that tries to sell you checks and figurines that you get once a week or is currently filling up a drawer in your house#likeMe.the main ones are red plum and P&G..Another way is buying Sunday's paper...most people buy more than one so you get multiple coupons.  The last way I know how to get coupons is to go on coupon.com and print your coupons off.  With printing coupons you need to make sure the coupon is not faded or warped in anyway because the stores will not take it...so make sure your ink isn't empty..

Ok#on2TheExample let's say that the store has a sale on Progresso soups. The sale is 4/$4 with the store card and you have a manufacturers coupon for $0.50 off just ONE CAN.  Say that previous sunday you bought only 2 papers because you're just starting out.  You now have 2 coupons for $0.50 off the soup.  You can get even more of a discount on 2 cans of soup because you have 2 coupons.  Remember you save per item, per coupon#unless otherwise specified on the coupon..so your savings on the soup is $1.00#inTotal and instead of paying $4 for 4 cans of soup you are paying $3.  That is just one example.

Another important thing you need to do is to check the store's coupon policy.  Most stores have it on their websites...Some don't.   I went to a store that didn't and asked the lady their coupon policy and she looked at me super strange and said "why....what are you trying to do" like couponing is illegal or something lol.  The worst thing is to be at the register, planning on paying a certain amount, and you can't because of the stores coupon policy.

Now that you are couponing it's a good idea to plan your shopping trip.  Having a list of what you are getting, if you have a coupon for it, your projected savings. There are coupon websites that have these templates.  I don't use them because I do a excel spreadsheet#forNow. I even went as far as getting a store map so I wouldn't be in the store all day.

The sites that I have visited are couponmom.com & coupons.com...there are a bunch of coupons sites you can go to.  When I find another one I'll definitely let you guys know.

Now there is a coupon queen right here in my town and I'm lucky enough to have her work with my husband.  We are going to take her out to eat so she can share what we didn't get off the show.  She has shown reciepts of $300-$400 and she paid less than $20 on all of them and thata in storea like kmart and target!!! When I get this info I will give you Couponing Part 2. If you have questions leave them in the comment section below :)

Til Next Time...

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~W$@HM~