Does Couponing Work in California?

Sorry for the long wait! This is what my system has come down to and what is working for me in my crazy busy life:

Couponing does work to save money so I will continue with it after my summer experiment! But only on certain items, mostly non-edible items, such as soap, toothpaste, detergent, cleansers, etc. These are the things I stock up on.

The first of each month new coupons come out, so I check http://www.coupons.com/ and www.couponnetwork.com for online coupons, but only print those I know I will use, such as laundry soap, cereal, yogurt, etc. I don't print many as the cost of ink outweighs the savings in most cases. I always check www.kelloggs.com also.

I save the newspaper inserts each week, and would love to clip all coupons so I have them with me at the store in case I come across a sale or clearance item, but I just can not possibly find the time to keep up with them, so I save the entire insert, date & file them.

Each week I check my favorite site, which is still www.couponmom.com, for extreme deals. When I need to grocery shop I check the store flyers and www.couponmom.com for sales on things I actually need that week. (I keep a list on the fridge & add to it as I run out of things.) I modify my grocery list if needed to substitute for sale items or add something I can't pass up. I print my list, then pull & clip those coupons. Then I check for store coupons or any other coupons I may have to go with these. I keep these in an organized binder.

If I'm going to Safeway, I check my personalized Just For U prices & card holder prices, add the savings to my card, make my list online at http://www.safeway.com/, print it, write the rest of my shopping list (any items that were not online) at the bottom or on the back & write the amount of each item I want next to it (usually based on the # of coupons I have for that item or sometimes the limit you're allowed to buy for sale price) & take it shopping with me. I don't bring the binder, just my little mini coupon organizer folder that has the coupons I will be using in it. In the back of it I may have coupons I might use after I check prices when I get to the store. It's not always possible to know ahead of time how much something is, or if another brand will be a better deal.

I always check the clearance section! And then do my shopping. Watch to make sure your coupons scan correctly at the register & your card savings are applied! And always check your receipt before you walk away from the register. Yes, people behind you will be impatient, but there's always mistakes. Of course I don't always see them till I'm home because I don't operate well under pressure!

I love Costco, and always check their coupons before going there. I go once a month to stock up on things I use a lot of. I have made a price list of things I always buy, so I can make sure I'm getting the best price at Costco vs regular stores. It's hard to tell since you're dealing with bulk amounts if you don't know how much they normally are and in what amounts. Some things there are awesome deals, others not at all.
I always buy bread, tortillas, frozen chicken & ground beef, and freeze them. And you can't beat their milk & eggs if you'll use that much, which my family will!

RiteAid is my favorite for most household items/non-edible stuff. I really like their +UP rewards program. You can save a lot if you pay attention to what rewards you'll get. Buy those items first. Then buy your other items & use the rewards you just got on that second transaction. CVS has a similar program, but RiteAid has so far had better & more deals, I have found. Also, RiteAid lets you use multiple manufacture coupons if they're different, on the same item, where CVS does not. I compare prices at theses stores and sometimes Walgreens (as these are the drugstores in my town) and sometimes with PetSmart or Petpals if I need cat food or litter. I have been getting canned cat food (Friskies or 9Lives)at .30 per can if I have coupons and/or there's a good sale. Costco sells it for .50 per can when you buy a flat. Which is still pretty good.

I still shop at Trader Joes, they have great prices to begin with and healthy yummy food. Just can't beat that! I like to stock my freezer with dinner's from there. And the farmer's market is the best for produce. I go to the Dollar Tree a lot for pretzels, popsicles, rice, dried beans, candy, etc.but you have to be careful there that your food is healthy (check those labels for MSG, high salt, & high fructose corn syrup!). And sometimes things seem like a good deal, but you may be able to get them for less than a dollar elsewhere.

I make sure not to buy just because it's on sale or a great deal. If I don't need it, I don't buy it. At first I spent way too much! And I'm careful not to stock up on something I haven't tried. I have had to give away things because my family didn't like it! I do buy extra if it's an extreme deal and give all the extra to my church food pantry. They give it to the needy in my community. Not just food, but toothpaste, deodorant, etc, they need all that stuff!

I try to send expired coupons to the military. At first I sent them tons, but now that I'm not clipping all my coupons, I only send what I have clipped and that's if I have time to pull them out of my binder before they've been expired for more than a month. 

To keep up on it as much as possible, I date and file my inserts each Sunday. After I print any or get coupons elsewhere, I file them right away in my binder. While I'm filing, I check the page I'm on for expired coupons as I am putting the new ones in. I put the expired ones in a designated box to sort and send to the military when I have a handful. I also file right away when I get home with coupons I didn't use. If I don't do this immediately, I never will! They will get mixed up, lost, and/or ruined. So that's something I have to force myself to do & put off other things till it's done, but if I don't, this whole coupon thing will be a waste of my precious time!

If done right, you can save quite a bit of money! I don't think you can save tons and ton here in the middle of California, where we have no double coupon days. It may be also because I eat healthy. If you buy lots of junk food, you probably could save more. There are always coupons on chips, candy, frozen foods that are not the best for you, etc...

But every little bit counts! It does add up quickly. It is a bit of work, but just being aware of the sales, how to use rewards, and check for special prices you can add to your store card, etc, can save you a lot!
You just need to find a system that works for you that is manageable & not overwhelming.

If I think of something else I already do that really helps or come across something new and wonderful, I will post again. Otherwise,

HAPPY COUPONING!

Slow Going

I've been so busy this summer, visiting family or family visiting me... I haven't been able to keep up! I have not printed any coupons (which I don't think is worth the ink for me anyway) and I haven't had time to clip a single coupon! I did, at least, file my inserts with the date on them. Well... file, meaning I put them in a pile on a side table! I really need to get this under control again! My binder is full of expired coupons. I'll have to stay up late a night and go through it.

I have made a couple small shopping trips. I saved $65 at Safeway, mainly using their online coupons you can add to your savings card, and the prices with their Just4U savings program. I was glad I brought my binder because I got Frosted Flakes cereal that was in clearance (due to the box being partly damaged), and with my coupon it was only about .50!

I also shopped at Rite Aid & bought a bunch of toothbrushes for only .99! I thought I'd get a bunch of +UP rewards, enough to cover the rest of my purchases, but only got $1.50. Apparently there's a limit for one reward on some items. Oh well, it was still a good price and the rest of my items were all good prices too with the sales & my coupons!

I was excited to get my husband's favorite toothpaste (the only kind he will use!) for only .74 each last week at Save Mart, too! They were on sale for 2 for $3 and I had coupons for .75 off each one. I bought 10 of them! Half I'll give to charity, but we'll be stocked up for a while!

I think my new plan will be to date and save the whole insert, but cut out the coupons I know for sure I'll use, since I do like to have them all with me when I'm at the store. We'll see if I can keep up with that!

I had a bunch of insert from the last couple weeks stacked up, so I've been staying up late trying to get my binder put together and everything clipped and filed. I was feeling totally overwhelmed all week because they were taking over my table! Lots of movie nights on tv dinner trays in the living room! But I finally got it under control and as long as I keep it up (clip them & file them once a week) it shouldn't get too overwhelming.

 

I was thinking yesterday, why I am clipping all these for stuff I'll never buy! But I remembered, I've only been doing this a month and I want to really try it the way the pros do (even if I don't get to double). After this summer if it's not worth it, I can narrow it down to only the coupons I will really use. For now, I don't want to kick myself later because I could have bought something I can give away and get something I need with it free. Does that make sense? Seems like most coupons are good for 2-3 months out, so I'll keep it up for that long.

 

I feel like a weight has lifted now that I got my last coupon filed (this morning), for now! I just need to keep up a schedule to stay on top of it. I think every Sunday night or Monday I will clip and file. The first day of the month I will print coupons,  and once a month I'll remove expired coupons and send them to the military.

 

This past Sunday we stopped by Savemart so my husband could get something to BBQ. Didn't have time to go home to get my coupons & I was thinking, "NO! I don't have them!" We bought a few things I knew I had coupons for & I cringed! I had to laugh at myself. What have I become?! We bought ice cream, too and then last night as I clipped, I found some coupons for ice cream. Darn it! Lol!

Me, My Much Needed Glass of Wine, and My Coupon's

Yesterday's post was actually from a few days ago, I just finally got it finished yesterday. However, since then some of my opinions have changed.

I've been trying to resist shopping. I have this nagging feeling like I need to go stock up on everything I can, immediately, and not miss any sales! Especially after Sunday's coupon's came in the paper. I bought extra copies since I knew the Proctor & Gamble coupons would be out. And then my neighbor's gave me some as well! I dated them all & they are in a neat pile on my table as I have yet to find a place to file them. I planned to file them each week by date and only pull them as needed, like the http://www.couponmom.com/ system says to. Seemed smart not to cut all the ones you don't end up using. I still had the rest of my coupons in a very full wallet size accordion file.

There are some great deals at Walgreen's on some items I regularly use, so I broke down and decided to go stock up yesterday! I spent ALL day planning this trip! I was SO frustrated! Luckily my husband was home, so he watched the kids. I logged on to the database and selected all the items I might buy. Then I went through all my inserts to cut the coupons. It took forever to find them all. I tried putting like pages together to cut them all at once and ended up cutting a bar code off one. So I just did a page at a time. I was very upset to find that some of the same SmartSource inserts from the same date, had different coupons or some were on different pages!

I couldn't spread them all out like the experts say to, since I did not have the space and I can't clear my whole table every time I want to make a shopping list! I was getting more and more frustrated! I finally had a mess of coupons everywhere, cut up pages I hope are back in the right piles, cranky kids,... you get the idea!

I then had to decide which items to actually buy and what order. I did not have all the prices. They are priced on the database, but the original price doesn't always seem to be the right price to me. And the final price often is after register rewards. I was very annoyed about that because I still have to pay for the items before I get rewards and have to use the rewards on something else!

I was (and still am) upset it was taking so long, but am trying to give myself some credit since I am half brain-dead most of the time when nursing (I currently am nursing my baby girl), and not sleeping through the night yet. Plus being interrupted every few minutes by my kids doesn't help. Somehow I finally managed to have three lists and an envelope for each with the corresponding coupons in the same order in each. I wrote 1-3 on each list and envelope & paper clipped them together. I brought my accordion file also, in case I needed any other coupons while there. And clipped my cereal coupons to the back of the last list because I wasn't sure which I would use. I was sure I had more cereal coupons??

I went to Walgreen's, which was baking hot inside! My husband wanted to come, too, so he got his own cart and took the kids to wander while I concentrated on shopping. I bought my first items, put them in the car, & got some rain checks for things that were out of stock. One of my first items was the Walgreen's coupon book, which I found out is free! The database had said $1, which is another reason I had that first list separate! Oh well. I took my stuff to the car and clipped a coupon I needed out of the book.

I went back and to my hardest, second, list. This one, had pricier items, like razors, which would give me register rewards so I could use them on my next purchase. But I had to look at each item and decide if it was worth it and how much I would be spending. And I wanted to make sure to get $10 of participating items, so I would get another $3 in rewards. I was so tired of thinking and anxious, since it was so hot and I knew my kids wouldn't last too much longer. Though they were across the store from me, I still felt pressured! I finally chose my items and then found my husband. My baby was hungry and starting to fuss. She wanted her mommy, so I had to hold her. My third list was simple, so I just grabbed the rest of my items & threw them in my husband's cart. Along with the toys he found, but they were deeply discounted, so I was fine with it! Oh, and they didn't have the kind of cereal I liked, so I didn't get any this trip.

We checked out. He took my son out, since he was getting too wild, but I had to hold the baby. It came to around $50 for my second list of items, but dropped down to about $30 after coupons and I got $8 (I think, I forgot to count them) in register rewards. I was aiming for $18, but I didn't get a lot of the items I planned because they were still too expensive even with the sale price and coupons. And some were out of stock. I got more rain checks for those items. But only the sale price. They can't rain check the rewards. Bummer!

The last list came to a little over $100! I about peed my pants! But I was so miserable, I didn't even care. I wasn't about to take everything out of the bags and pick and choose what I would and wouldn't buy! And my ice cream was melting fast! I was aiming at about $30 when I left home! But then I remembered to give her the coupons and then barely remembered to give her the register rewards from the last transaction. It dropped down to $53! Considering the toys being added and the tax I didn't account for, oh and I realized later I had forgot to give her some coupons for my fabric softener (so mad about that!) I was right on! I guess the database prices were mostly right.

Later, after I had nursed the baby, we had all had ice cream to cool down, and I could breath again, I tallied up my three receipts. I spent a total of $95.72 (OMG! Why did I do that?! Yes it's all stuff we'll use, but I'm trying to save money here and I still need to go get produce this week! Very mad at myself.)  However, I saved a total of $96.10! So I basically got double the groceries and I will not need plastic wrap or laundry soap for the rest of the year. I feel a bit better.

I stayed up late last night after everyone went to sleep, just me, my glass of wine, and my coupons! Oh heaven! I put all my clipped coupons in my binder. I will cut and put the insert ones in there as soon as I have time. I have decided I can find them easier that way. I can see them all without taking a bunch out of the accordion file! (Oh, I found the rest of my cereal coupons! I had stuck them in the wrong spot the accordion file!) Plus they are clipped and ready to make prepping for a shopping trip faster and easier. Also, since I will be sending expired ones to the military, they'd have to be clipped eventually anyway. Now I can just pull them as I see they've expired.

I do not like the couponmom system after all! I'll still use the website for the lessons, database, and forum, but I can't handle going through all the inserts, searching for coupons. And I like having them all with me at the store in case I come across something I know I have a coupon for. I think I will clip all my Sunday coupons once a week and I can clean my binder out as I go through it then. I hope I can get this system down so my next trips will be easier!

So Much to Learn!

I've been reading http://www.krazycouponlady.com/ & I love how easy the step by step for beginners is! And that it's cleaner, less ads than http://www.couponmom.com/. But I like the couponmom system better, where you save the whole insert & don't cut the coupons out till you need them. Saves cutting & filing all those coupons you won't actually use. And I don't want to lug around a huge binder. Just bring with me the ones I need for that trip. However I can see the advantage of having them all with you in case you see a clearance item or something you know you have a coupon for. I also like the couponmom database much better.

Anyway, I read all the beginner stuff on thekrazycouponlady. I was trying to find out if I should print all online coupons right away, or just as needed, but they may be gone by the time I need them. I couldn't find anything helpful, so I finally joined the forum on couponmom & asked the veteran couponers. It's a half & half (same with whether to use the binder system or save entire inserts). So that didn't help! I decided to print all the coupons I would use because I know they'll be gone by the time I see a sale. If I don't find I'm using them, I'll stop printing. I better start refilling ink rather than buying expensive new ones! ;)

And since I now have a ton of coupons from online & other sources besides the paper inserts, I really need to organize! My little coupon organizer from the dollar store is packed & I can't find anything in there. I happened to be at OfficeMax yesterday & I bought a big fancy binder! (My camera died & I got a gift card to replace it & ended up getting a cheaper camera so had extra $. woohoo!)

So I'm going to do both, save inserts by date, but file everything else in a binder so I can see it all.  I just need to get card holders to put in the binder. 

The most helpful thing I've read is to slow down! Don't get overwhelmed. I don't need to hit every sale. Stockpiling takes time & bigger savings come with time. Especially after I've got a good stockpile, then I won't need to buy as much each week. And there will always be more sales! Also, learn one store at a time. So I'm staying focused on Riteaid & Safeway until I have them down. Then I'll add CVS & Walgreens, etc.

Also, I found out military families can use expired coupons! So I will mail the expired coupons to the military. You can look it up on http://www.thekrazycouponlady.com/. 

Great Site for Begining Couponers

A friend referred me to this site and I love the step by step info for beginners: www.thekrazycouponlady.com.

I watched the new episode of Extreme couponing on TLC Wed, and was annoyed that every person they showed got to double their coupons. No stores do that where I live! It's so unfair! Can I really save enough money in my everyday shopping to make this worth while?

We shall see.

Sugar Coupon to help fight hunger

Forgot to mention, you can get a coupon for sugar, $.50 off any C&H Sugar Product, if you go to www.chsugar.com/bakesale. And they will donate $.10 for every coupon used up to $50,000 to help end childhood hunger in America! Get you coupon!!
And if you are really ambitious, host or participate in a bake sale for the Great American Bakesale!
mmm, brownies sound good...

Print your May Coupons!

I've learned that online coupon sites, such as http://www.coupons.com/, www.couponnetwork.com, etc, change their coupons beginning each month. So, as it's the last day of the month, I spent the morning searching and printing coupons so I wouldn't miss any I might use before they're gone.

I got my first delivered paper of the Santa Cruz Sentinel on Sunday and was so disappointed that there were no coupons! And Memorial Day sales at my local grocery stores were also disappointing. Glad I did my grocery shopping last week when there were great deals!

I did not get the San Jose Mercury News delivered yet, and didn't have a chance to pick one up Sunday. Anyone know if there were coupons in that paper? I searched the database on www.couponmom.com and didn't see any coupons listed for that date, but I don't want to miss out!

They list the coupons Saturday before they come out in the paper so you can make sure to get the paper or even get extra papers, when you see coupons you want!

Best Site Ever! and What's a Coupon Data Base?

I think I just found the best site ever!
I was checking out the P&G website, www.pgeverydaysolutions.com, looks like their coupon book is coming out in the June 5th Sunday paper. Woohoo! (oh, the things I'm excited about these days!) And I came across a tutorial video from www.couponmom.com. I went there and am so upset I did not know about this site from the beginning! How to coupon, info on stores, what deals are going on... Plus a coupon database! I didn't have any clue what that was, so I watched a tutorial video on it. It's a list of ALL the coupons that have come out and where to find them! You can search by item, brand, date it came out, expiration date, and even by locality. OMG! I can't wait to get started! This will make my searching and matching up SO much easier. I did like the site I mentioned before for matching up and store info, but I don't think they had a database. And this site has so much more info and seems easy to find everything. Love it!

Extreme Couponing Show Doesn't Show...

I've watched the TLC show a few more times, trying to glean tips from it. I've realized that they only show people buying junk, like soda and candy or 100 boxes of pain reliever and 70 bottles of laundry soap! Even though the total is $1,000 worth of groceries and they get it down to like $10, they only bought three or four items, just lots of it! So they must still have to spend money like the rest of us to buy their regular groceries, like fruits, veggies, eggs, and milk. They just save on certain things they can stock up on. I don't have room in my house for much of a stock pile. Nor do I have time or gas money (or the desire) to drive around from dumpster to dumpster or steal people's recycling. I just can't imagine how they get 100 of the same coupon without doing that. And how can they be saving money with gas prices so high?!

Another point is we don't have recycling bins where I live that are at all easy to get into. They're the tall blue ones; I'd have to tip it over and I'm sure my neighbors would not appreciate it. Plus I have two young kids, where do I put them while I'm crawling into the trash? I'm just so curious! I'd like to see step by step what these extreme couponer's actually do!

I'm going to continue couponing, but I don't think I'll ever get to that extreme. I don't think I want to! It's worth paying a little more on groceries to save gas and spend time with my family doing better things!

Excellent Safeway Shopping Day!

Sunday I went and got my papers only to find no coupons in one. Only a few in the other. Bummer. I spent money to get nothing. I hadn't yet signed up for the papers to be delivered, but I did do that later in the week and there was a special going on for one of them, so I'm glad I waited!

My daughter's 1st birthday party is this weekend, so I looked though my coupons and local store sale fliers, then came up with a menu somewhat based on them. Safeway seemed to have the best sale going on, lots of buy one get ones on things I could use. I signed up for the Just for U program with Safeway online and got coupons, promo prices on certain items, and I could load the savings onto my store card, so I didn't have to carry in paper coupons. I printed a list which included all the coupons I had loaded to my card, the items I wanted with Just for U promo prices, and regular card holder discounted items. Everything was listed by category (ie, dairy, bakery, etc) It included the expiration dates, which I thought was great! I earned a free carton of eggs, and I thought great, I just bought a huge carton at Costco, but then noticed I have till Aug to pick them up for free! And all I will have to do is show my store card. woohoo!

I paper clipped my manufacture coupons that matched up with some of the sale items on my list (I really didn't have many) to my list and sale flier. I tried to search online, but couldn't find any more that I could use. But then I decided I had better read Safeway's coupon policy and found out you can use manufacture coupons along with store coupons, but not multiple manufacture coupons. Also If you get an item free, you can't use a coupon on it. So I was bumbed about that. I didn't think I could save as much at this store if I had a serious pile of coupons, but I only had a few and had already planned my trip.

I began to look up prices online, but it took way to long to find the first two, only because I have slow DSL and I had to look them up one by one. Maybe there's another way, but I don't yet know it! So I gave up & decided I would get what I need regardless of cost. I have a party to plan and a baby who could only stay ready to go for so long! My son was staying home with Daddy this time so I could concentrate!

Off we went. I had my flier with circled items, my coupons, my coupon book in my purse (which is just a tiny wallet size thing as I just started this adventure) in case I came across something I had a coupon for that I had overlooked, and my printed list of items, with the remainder of items written on it that were not on sale, but I had to have.

The printed list was so helpful since it was categorized and I didn't have to search around like I usually do on my handwritten shopping lists! I found even more items that were buy one get one, such as pickles! I had to get a different brand than usual & they were sliced, not whole, but it was on sale & one was free! How could I pass that up! Soon enough my cart was filled to the brim, hard to push, and I was trying to peer over the huge infant car seat where my daughter sat. Luckily she was being very well behaved and we were both in a good mood!

I left off a few things that I had safeway coupons for that were still a bit costly even with $1 off, but I did get everything I needed for the party, my regular groceries for all my meals and snacks at home, and lots of freebies to stock up for later use! I was nervous about the total price, though. I did not have more than $200 in the bank and was hoping for closer to $150 for everything. Normally my shopping budget would be about $60-$80, but this was including a party, too!

I headed to the cashier and loaded the biggest haul I'd had in a very long time, maybe ever! The total came to $244.91! Aack! I handed over my club card and enjoyed the "bing, bing, bing" of prices dropping! Like a slot machine pouring out the cash! I gave her my few extra coupons and the total was now $157.92. A tad more than I wanted, but I could definitely live with that! I paid and she gave me my receipt, including a coupon for Gerber baby food for $1 off! I had just bought some for .99 so I wanted to run back and get one more, since it would be free! But it wasn't worth it for just one thing, so I moved out of the way to go over my list.

All the coupons and promo prices I had loaded to my card were applied! Except, the boxes of soda were on sale for buy 2 get 2 free + 2 free boxes of Nabisco crackers. I was charged $2.50 for each box of crackers. I went to the customer service desk and had to wait for someone, but it didn't take long. After verifying she gave my $5 cash! Just like that! I went back and got creem cheese, which I had forgotten, and my son can't live without! I planned to get that free baby food, too, which would even earn me 1 cent with the coupon I just got, but I was tired and forgot.

I loaded my haul in the car and still can't believe I just got $91.99 worth of groceries for Free!! All stuff I needed or will need in the near future!

Did I save money? Yes! And have begun a stock pile of meat in the freezer, and cereal, crackers, condiments, sauces, etc in the pantry, so it will save us even more in the future! Without coupons and looking for sales & promo prices ahead of time, I would have gotten a very few things, probably a few that were on sale as I saw them in the store, but would have had to make do with a lot less in our kitchen and for the party! I am ecstatic!!

Couponing at Rite Aid

I didn't get out of the house till late afternoon with my husband and two kids. I was tired an hungry, the least ideal time to go to the store, especially when I want to be paying close attention to what I'm getting and the prices!

I found most of the items on my list. Some I had brought coupons for and planned to check the price since I could live without them if they were too much. Most were too expensive even with my $1 off coupon or whatever I had, so I skipped them. Toothbrushes were on sale for a great deal and I would get extra care bucks via my Wellness+ card, so I ended up getting 4 instead of 1. My husband kept the kids busy so I could concentrate, and I was soon ready to check out. My total came to $74.34!!! Holly Cow! How did that happen?!!!
I handed over my $3 off $15 purchase coupon, but he said I had to give him my Wellness+ card first. So after running that, the cost went down to $51.29. I handed over my coupons and it went down to $41.94. Yikes! My kids were acting up, as well as my anxiety! There was a line, and it was all basically stuff I needed, so I paid for it and left. Luckily I had just enough to cover the total with tax of $45.37.

I felt very disappointed after all the work I put in. But upon examining my receipt later, I did see that I saved $23.05 with my store card, $9.35 in coupons, and earned $8 in Extra Care Bucks to use on my next shopping trip. Plus I got another survey and so earned another $3 off my next $15 purchase. That's a grand total of $43.40 in savings! Which is not too shabby for a first timer!! So now I'm very proud of myself and imagining how much I can save with more coupons and more time to prepare!

I just need to figure out how to get a much closer pre-shopping estimate on my shopping list. Maybe a trip to the store before I'm ready to buy to write down the prices? Or at least shop when I'm fresher and not with kids distracting me so I can track prices. I'll need to come prepared with pen, paper, and calculator. Other stores, like Safeway, have all their items online, so maybe I can get all my prices that way if I'm headed to one of those stores. All in all, I'm proud of myself and think I can save a lot and get the hang of this with a little practice.

Preparing for my Rite Aid expedition:

I went online and printed the Rite Aid coupon policy. I made sure my Wellness+ card was linked to my Rite Aid account I had set up to get emails. I read a little about the Wellness+ program, you can get coupon rewards after accumulating so many points (who knew?). They have an allergy program, I signed up to get special discounts for allergy meds. And they also have Single Check Rebates; after signing up, if you buy certain marked items, then enter some simple info off your receipt online, you get checks mailed to you! Sounds good to me! I entered a receipt I happened to still have in purse from a few days ago, but it didn't have any eligible items. However, I noticed at the bottom of the receipt a note about taking a survey to get a coupon for $3 off $15 purchase. So I did it! Short survey & I printed my coupon!

I went through my coupons and had to read each one and the sale add to make sure they were the same brand, same size, etc. This took some time, especially since my coupons are all a big jumble! If I continue, I definitely need to find a system of organization that works for me.

My main question is how do people use their coupons before they expire?! So many I clipped, expire in a week or two. And how do you keep track of which ones are only for a specific store?

Anyway, I made a list of exactly the items I wanted, including name, brand, and size (or range of size I could get per coupon), and how many of each. I had 3 of the same coupons for some and only one for others. Most coupons are only good for one item. But you have to read the fine print. ugh.

I finally got all my coupons in order of my list, and was wondering what my total would look like before and after coupons. Some prices were listed in the sale flyer, but others just said buy one get one for 1/2 off, etc. So I'm wondering how people know what they will be spending?? I wasn't getting too much, and based on the prices I did have, I guesstimated around $25 or so. Hoping to at least cut that in half with my coupons.

Week 1 of Couponing

Where to start? It seems to me, from what I've gleaned from the Extreme Couponing show on TLC (I'm not an avid watcher, but have seen two or three episodes), in order to save the most, you need multiple coupons for one item and the item needs to be on sale. I don't have room to stock up like they do, but maybe I could get a few if I have enough coupons for the same item.

First step: I need coupons! I don't get the paper, but I do get the Smart Saver coupons in the mail. I normally toss them in the recycle bin without hardly looking at them, but not this time! I saved them. I also went and bought three Sunday newspapers! Wow, didn't know they cost so much now. I'll have to look into a subscription, but I really don't want a whole paper, just for the inserts. Maybe I can find someone who doesn't use them to let me have the inserts...

For this to work I've realized I need to not be choosy about brands. If I can find deoderant coupons and find it for sale, I should use them. I'll have deoderant, though it's not the brand I'm used to buying.  I cut out all the coupons I found that I could possibly use and for now threw them in a little box. Not the best idea, but I'm not going to buy a bunch of organizational stuff for this project till I know it's worth it!

Next: I browsed online to get advice. The first useful sites I came to were: http://www.weusecoupons.com/ and http://www.myfrugaladventures.com/ . I found they do matchups for you so you don't have to search every add to match up your coupons, they tell you where to find coupons, info on store policies, and tons of other great advice! I'll be going back again and again to these sites!

I need more coupons, so I created a new email account just for couponing. I then signed up with some coupons sites: http://www.coupons.com/, http://www.couponnetwork.com/, http://www.shopathome.com/, all my local stores and drug store (they'll email me coupons & deals, plus I made sure I had a store card for each). I signed up for a few brands I use regularly, such as http://www.generalmills.com/, http://www.kellogs.com/, and  http://www.earthsbest.com/.

This is just scratching the surface. The wheels in my head are now turning of all the places I can sign up & get coupons & deals from! But this is more than enough for now. I shouldn't overwhelm myself with emails!! If I haven't already! I can see how this can get addicting. I've begun to dream of coupons and I haven't even had my first shopping trip! Oh no, maybe I will become the that crazy coupon lady?! I even asked my husband if he would be embarrased if I did, and he said no, he thinks it's great if we're saving money. Yay for a supportive husband!

I can also see how this can get some people into trouble. You see all the great deals and want to jump on them while you can! Luckly I am the type of person who sticks to my list and always just get what I need. I won't get carried away buying just because it's on sale.

I don't need a lot right now because I just spent my grocery budget at Costco, but some things I still need that I couldn't get there, or didn't want in bulk.

I looked through the store sales flyers that were in the paper or came in the mail. This is a first for me! I found quite a few things on the Rite Aid flyer for sale that I needed and also that matched up with my coupons! The cereal prices were awesome, 2 for $4.88 (with your Wellness+ card) for certain brands and they were even some I liked! Even without a coupon that's a great deal! I searched online for more coupons and found some for what I wanted and printed them out.

MY MISSION: match up coupons for things I need or will use in the near future with the sale items at Rite Aid this week. Currently I need cereal, deoderant, Shout stain remover (some things I will not sacrifice for other brands!), diaper cream, toothpaste, and toothbrushes.

Beginning Couponing

So I'm going to start using coupons for the first time and see if it's worth while. I've never been much of a coupon user, mainly just for pizza. Never for groceries. I've been wanting to use coupons, but never took the time to find them and if I did come across something useful, I would never remember to bring them with me! However, I've decided to give it a real try. My goal is to continue through at least the summer because I figure I'll start with small saving and as I learn more tricks, my savings will grow. I hope!

As I've thought about doing this, strange things have been happening! First, at my mommy group meeting two weeks ago, they passed out a flyer with a bunch of coupon websites. Then I went to Costco and the basket I grabbed happened to have a half used coupon book for Costco in it! I looked though it and used a few of them on items I was already planning to buy! Something is telling me I should be doing this! I saved $7 dollars! That may not sound like much, but to me it's a lot! Every little bit counts. I didn't even know Costco had coupons! I guess you could say that was my first coupon using trip. But I plan to do more research and see if I can save more.