Couponing 101

Couponing 101: Tips for Saving 50 to 100% on groceries (warning: couponing is addicting!)
It all started with a harmless Google search. For some reason, I typed in coupon and mom and the rest, as they say, was history. I was immediately hooked! The first site that caught my attention was couponmom.com. I love this site because Stephanie Nelson, the creator of the site, teaches you how to organize your coupons and save tons of money. She has a couple of video tutorials on how to start couponing that really helped me get organized with my coupons. It also teaches you how to use her site. Since using this site, I have never paid more than $.50 for toothpaste or floss. The best part of the site is the drugstore deals. These are where you get the best deals on personal care items as well as nonperishable foods.
So, how do I save 50 to 100 % on groceries? Well, it does take a little bit of work but it is so worth it!
Here’s how I do it:
1. I organize my coupons with a coupon organizer that I bought at Staples (actually, I have 2 now since the one was overflowing!)
2. I sit down once a week, usually Thursday or Friday with all the flyers (most of the ads come in the mail on Thursday). I try to only buy items that I have a coupon for AND that are on sale. I circle these items and then make a list and e-mail it to myself so that I have an organized list when I get to the store that I can check from my SmartPhone. If you don’t have one, you can simply write them down or take the flyers with you, whatever is easiest for you!
3. I plan my meals according to the flyer. If the Giant flyer does not have chicken breasts on sale, then I don’t buy them that week. I prefer Giant for most of my shopping because I think they usually have the best deals overall. I use the Giant Foods flyer first to plan my major meals. I used to dread planning my meals out but now using the flyer makes it much simpler because I have to make what is on sale. I also look at the other grocery stores in case there is a really good deal that I cannot pass up. For instance, I went to ACME because I got Odwalla Power Bars for free with a coupon that I printed from coupons.com.
4. Here’s an example of how to get stuff for free. Giant had a deal last week to buy 4 GM cereals and get $6 off plus a $4.50 off coupon for milk. So, that’s $10.50 off. Plus, I used 4 coupons ($.50 for Total, $1 off Chex, $.75 off Honey Nut Cheerios, $.75 off Honey Nut Cheerios). My total for the cereals came to $4.50 after using all the coupons and taking off the $6. I used my milk coupon immediately after it was printed, thus all the cereals were FREE! I did this twice last week:)
5. Here’s a great tip I learned from the Coupon Mom. Most coupons rotate on a 12-week basis. So, if you think you will need the product in 12 weeks (3 months), then you should definitely use the coupon for it or you will probably end up paying full price.
Happy Couponing!