"Beware
of the little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship." Benjamin Franklin
Section I
Couponing eBook & How To Get Started Couponing
Would you like to adventure off into grocery couponing? It can be a whole lot of fun as well as stretch your food dollar. Learning the fundamentals gives you a great advantage into the world of grocery couponing. Check out the eBook below.
Grocery Coupon Fundamendals 101
You can learn to grocery coupon. You can save a lot of money using only the fundamendals. To see my eBook click on link below. Do not click on image to access this info.
Section II My Grocery Couponing & Budget Stretching Sites That Sizzle
E-Couponing or electric couponing is the new kid on the block. You can retire your scissors. You can print out coupons and/or load coupons directly onto your store loyalty card. The savings comes off at the register. These coupons however do expire and have to be monitored closely.
The only down side I can think of to using electronic coupons is that you are limited a great deal of time by the manufacturer. The norm is about 1 - 2 coupons you can print out. Whereas with the regular coupons you can clip all you want, although you may have a limit per transaction. I think any savings whatsoever is a good thing. Even if you can save enough to offset the tax that's awesome in my book. Check out my favorite sites below.
Is A Coupon Clipping Service 4 You? Check out my favorite ones below:
Being new to grocery couponing you may be asking yourself is a coupon clipping service for me? Bunches of grocery couponers coupon without using one, however I recommend a coupon clipping service especially if you are a beginner. A quality coupon clipping service can be the tool you need to get your stockpile going quickly if you can squeeze it into your budget. My only suggestion would be to not just buy on price.
The Coupon Is The Tool
Learning how to coupon is a big undertaking. I know all of this couponing information seems so foreign to you, and that's because it is. The truth is everything is foreign to us until we make the the decision to take that first step. A lot of us will try couponing half-heartedly and say it doesn't work. However, deep down you know that is does work and it can work with a little knowledge and the right attitude.
Just put on your big girl panties and get started today. If you know absolutely nothing about couponing it might be a good idea for you to check out my eBook that you can order off this blog. You can get grocery coupons from a lot of places. You might want to coupon with free coupons until you get your feet wet, meaning you do your own clipping.
Remember the coupons themselves are always free. I very much am an advocate of coupon clipping services. There are many of them out there for you to choose. There is no one size fit all. They all will present to you different coupons with different cost, policiesand procedures. They are very easy to use. In general you create an account, choose your coupons, pay and they are mailed to you. Pay close attention to expiration dates and shipping cost. You don't want the coupons to expire before you get a chance to use them.
Coupon Clippers is a very popular clipping service and has been featured on many shows. Some join more than one clipping service. Some have a better experience with one service over another. When your time is limited using a clipping service in my opinion could make the difference between success and failure in meeting your couponing goal.
You do have to have the expertise to know how to maximize that coupon. However you do have to have coupons to work in order to do that. The coupon is the tool. And with that tool in hand you put in the work to take that new skill a far as you want to take it. It's totally up to you. We all know that a tool in and of itself is not much value. However a tool in the hands of somebody who is constantly learning how to maximize that coupon to meet their savings goal is what this whole couponing thing is all about. To check out coupon clippers, click on the image below:
Monday, April 29, 2013
Helpful Coupon Acronyms BOLO Be On The Lookout BOGO Buy One Get One Free OAS On Any Size OSI On Single Item WYB When You Buy B1G1F Buy 1 Get 1 Free DND Do Not Double FAR Free After Rebate AR After Rebate AC After Coupon WSL While Stock Last POP Proof Of Purchase RC Rain Check IP Internet Printable Coupons MFR Manufacturer Coupon How You Can Work a BOGO Deal
Now that you have your foundation down nice and strong let's go ahead and start building. How do you work a BOGO, or a buy one get one free deal? If you master this savings tool you will stretch your budget considerably. It will take some time but stick with it.
A BOBO deal is a technique that is fluid. You can work a BOGO deal countless ways. It's just very important that you fully understand a particular store's policy so you can work within the guidelines. Let do one that very basic so we can get a general idea of one could work.
XYZ Product $8.00 Your Store BOBO $4.00 Off free one One MFR Coupon $2.00 Off one Another MFR Coupon $2.00 Off the free one FREE
Anything you scan is technically a purchase. You do have to scan the free XYZ Product like is is a regular purchase. Many stores will allow you to use 2 MFR coupons on a BOGO deal. Even if I use just 1 MFR the savings is awesome compared to not grocery couponing at all. Just refer to the store policy. Don't rely on the cashier. I think it's worth the time and the effort to learn this valuable skill.
Section III Organize Your Coupons
Food today is very expensive and I cannot imagine walking in without having at my disposal some money saving strategies. Grocery couponing is a major player in my frugal tool box. Couponing like any other tool has to be maintained. It's not rocket science. What you care about and care for flourishes, expands and vice versa.
Coupons that are accessible get used. A huge part of grocery couponing is organization. The sky is the limit on how you choose to keep your coupons at your fingertips. I like the binder method. For this method you normally choose a 3 ring or double sided 3 ring zipper binder. I customize my binder to meet my specific needs.
Like a lot of people I organize by store isles. Chances are you will see others grocery shopping with coupons using the binder method. It is very popular. I used a coupon box for years, and finally gravitated to the binder method as an add on. I like to include all my store couponing policies in the back for a quick reference.
I clip coupons weekly and sort into the coupon inserts that is specially made for couponing. If you are also a rebater, add a section for rebating. I also have an area for recipes I'm shopping for.
So as you can see my binder is a one stop shopping tool designed to budget stretch those grocery dollars. I include my name and contact information just in case my binder gets misplaced. For a wonderful selection of organizers, check out the image below. Create Your Own Coupon Binder Click On Image Below
I now use the binder method to organize my coupons. You can use the baseball type card inserts or whatever you like. I hear Dollar Tree even have inserts that can be use in the coupon binder. I happen to like the ones above which are very very durable, and will survive a lot of wear.
Section IV Antivirus Protection On Your Computer Is A Good Idea
As a computer user you probably already know that you must be cautious downloading any information online, and coupons are no exception. In my opinion, a good antivirus program is a must have on any computer.
If you are going to print from various coupon sites you probably need good antivirus protection with a firewall. Print from little well known coupon sites with caution. There are many antivirus programs available. Check out the antivirus programs below.
Section V Frugal Home
Economics
Couponing
is a great budget stretcher, however, there are other vehicles that will help
us save. One of those vehicles is batch cooking. Get your feet wet
with the program below. Just like we batch our mending of socks, it also makes
good economic sense to batch our cooking.
It's
frugal to cook for more than one meal. Take a day or a few hours and cook
for the freezer or simply double a recipe . I freeze in freezer ware that
goes from the freezer to oven to plate.
Also,
if I am going to use the leftovers from a meal the very next day, I don't
bother to freeze. It depends on what it is. But, in the majority of
cases I cover and refrigerate the whole pot after it cools down completely to
decrease the probability of spoilage. It is critical that the pot cools
down completely prior to refrigeration. I never refrigerate a warm
pot. It works for me.
I use a
refrigerator thermometer to make sure my fridge temperature matches the
setting. Making sure your refrigerator and freezer is kept at proper
temperatures is critical in keeping food safer.
It's
wonderful to have meals ready to go in the freezer. A freezer in my
opinion is a must have for any frugal kitchen with a mindset to eat healthy and
save as much as possible. The secret to not having to run out for takeout
is pre-planning. Click below for more information.
You Save On Takeout, You Get Ideas On What You Might Like To Batch Cook And Much More. This Is A Great Frugal Tool In Your Frugal Tool Box That Can Save You Money. Take Your Batch Cooking To A New Level With This Program. Check Out The Video.Click Here!
Are You Ready To Stop Smoking?
Cigarette smoking pull out a big plug in your household budget. There is a new product called eCigarette that may help you or a love one stop. For more information click below.
I Love BH
Cosmetics
Have you heard of BH Cosmetics? You get good value and
high quality makeup for your dollar. Discover the BH Cosmetics world renowned
eye shadow palettes and makeup products. To learn more click below.
Budget Stretch Using Gift Cards Gift cards are a wonderful way to save time and money. There are some many gift cards available today. Just keep in mind that some of them do have expiration dates. I include my gift cards in my coupon binder so that they are not forgotten.
Have You Heard Of thredUP? Dinner Made Easy For Less
There are days when we need a break from the kitchen. Check out the sit below for ideas on how to do it for less.
A local coupon website where consumers can find great offers in their local area. I love this site! For more information click on image below.
e-Couponing 101 The New Kid on The Block
Let me first say that e-Couponing is also done on the internet but there is no paper involved. It can be confusing to the newbie because a lot of times no distinction is made between the internet printable coupons and the digital e-Coupons that are loaded onto your store loyalty card. I would also like to say that paper coupons in my opinion are still king in the grocery couponing world. That's why you see extreme couponers hand over 80+ coupons to the cashier at checkout. You simply don't have the limits as you do with the other methods.
With that being said e-couponing still rocks. You are limited to receiving one or two coupons per product. The first thing I do is create a master food list of every product I purchase at the grocery store. I use this list to locate the coupons that I actually need. If I see a new product that I would like to try I load it also.
The next thing to do is to obtain a store loyalty card. You will be electronically loading coupons onto this card. You sign up as a member on a given participating site and create your password. After you log on to a given site you start browsing for the coupons you want to load onto your loyalty card. Click on the ones that you want to load unto your loyalty card. After you have finished selecting coupons, click add coupons to card. You will be asked what store you want to add your online coupons to. If you add them to your Kroger card for example, you will not be able to go to Randall's and redeem them. You would only be able to redeem coupons loaded onto your Kroger card at Kroger.
Some stores like Kroger, Randall's, and others accept paper coupons, internet printed coupons, and the new kid on the block the e-coupons. How wonderful is that? Not all stores however offer e-couponing. To redeem your e-coupons you give your loaded store loyalty card to the cashier at checkout. Now this is just in general what you do. The face value of the e-coupons that you loaded will be deducted from your grocery bill at check out. What coupons you don't use will expire again just like paper coupons.
In addition to loading your card with coupons, let's say at a Kroger site, you can also go to sites like Shortcuts and Cellfire to load even more coupons. This is awesome. With this new technology you can now save a great deal of money without clipping even one single coupon. I like to combine e-couponing with paper couponing. However, some stores will not accept internet printed coupons, so being able to e-coupon now is awesome.
Paper Coupons Anyone?
This blog as you can see has some nice sources where you can obtain coupons. You might however only use the paper coupons in the beginning of your couponing experience. The couponing eBook above will cover good sources. However, another source for paper coupons is a magazine called All You sold exclusive at Walmart or via subscription. From time to time, this inexpensive magazine has some awesome paper coupons that you might like. Click below for an All You subscription.
Section VI
The Frugal Baby
Don't Forget Recalls
Keeping up with consumer recalls is especially important to the
frugal shopper. A lot of times you find good deals on toys and furniture,
but do not get the opportunity to fill out a product registration card.
It's a good idea to be proactive and stay up to date on all
recalls by signing up for alerts, and doing whatever else out there that can
keep you abreast. One agency you can sign up with is recalls.gov.
There has been a lot of media attention about infant cribs.
Be sure and do your homework prior to purchasing your crib. Do not
just buy looks, buy safety too.
Baby and Toddler
Mamasource offers money saving local and national deals. They also host a thriving community where moms can connect with each other in a supportive online environment. Four million mothers regularly connect on their sister site Manapedia.com. Check out there budget stretching deals below.
Final Note
Well by now, and especially if you have read my grocery couponing eBook on the fundamentals, you might be asking yourself is it worth it. This is a lot of work. Well my answer to you is yes this is a lot of work and yes again it can be worth it.
Anytime you can save, perhaps 50% off of your grocery bill, I would say yes to that achievement every time I'm at checkout. Of course in the beginning it is a lot of work because your couponing skill is new and has not yet become habit.
For example, think back when you first learned to drive and how much work in the beginning that was. After some time it got easier, although driving is still work. Cooking too is a lot of fun and of course work especially in the beginning when you are learning the fundamentals of how to cook. After a time it usually gets easier and you decide for you how far you want to take this new skill. There is always something new to learn in cooking just like with couponing.
So you just decide you want to grocery coupon and take that first step and thereafter keep stepping to whatever level that makes you happy. It's different for everyone. Most people don't learn how to drive on the freeway. However, a lot of them eventually enhance their driving skills and gravitate to freeway driving. I do know however some people that get where they want to go and never take the freeway and that's OK.
I think that whatever couponing knowledge base you achieve you will be able to put that skill to work to stretch your food budget tremendously. In my book, any savings is a plus.
I hope you enjoyed my coupon site. Bookmark it and visit often. Don't forget to tell-a-friend. A tele-a-friend button has been provided below. A reprint of one of my published couponing articles provided for your convenience:
"Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible and suddenly
you are doing the impossible" Saint Francis of Assisi
I have many savings tools in my frugal tool box, and couponing happens to be one of them. Couponing can be a hard working tool in your frugal tool box. Using grocery coupons can be a great budget stretcher. Would you like to adventure off in to the world of grocery couponing where consumers like yourself save a lot of money?
Couponing can be a lot of fun too whether you are doing it with someone, or you are going solo. What an experience it is when you are at the register listening to every beep bringing down your total as your coupons are applied reducing the retail price of your goods. All your time, effort, and hard work is paying off as they play your favorite beep song in subtraction mode.
Equipped only with the fundamentals you too can realize a great deal of savings. Couponing, however, in the beginning is a lot of work, because your couponing skill is new and has not yet become habit. Learning couponing can pay off big, however, if you stay the course. For example, think about when you were learning to walk. It wasn’t easy but you stayed with it. How about when you learned how to cook, the amount of work it was in the beginning. But after you mastered the basics, you could almost cook in your sleep.
So you want to know how to get started grocery couponing? Couponing like any skill requires knowledge. Grocery couponing can be so frustrating, and almost impossible if you don’t equip yourself with the fundamentals first. Those of you who accept this challenge may be wondering how to get started. Well the very first step is to commit to the necessary work that will be required in learning how to grocery coupon. No one whether they be extreme couponers or not, was born knowing. Extreme couponers paid a price to know what they know. Contrary to popular belief not everyone does extreme couponing.
Everyone whether they be extreme couponers or couponers using the fundamentals will have mastered certain skill sets on how to coupon. Your savings will be in direct proportion to what you know. And contrary to popular belief you can save a lot of money using the basics. Too many people think you shouldn’t have to work at learning how to grocery coupon. They think perhaps this is a skill that should come natural. Well if you clip out a grocery coupon now and then and that’s the beginning and ending of your grocery couponing, then I guess that would come natural.
However, if you want to do some stretch your budget kind of couponing, you will need to acquire some knowledge as to how to do that. You will need to know more than just how to operate a pair of scissors. After you have the basics under you belt, then is up to you how far you want to take this new skill. Just like with cooking or any other skill there is always something new too with couponing. The more you learn the more you save.
You decide how much you want to coupon. It’s different for everyone. In my book any savings is a plus. There is no one size fits all. You can also learn at you own pace as long as you continue the course. There is absolutely no need to jump in head first. You can enter the water gently. If you decide to venture off into grocery couponing you too might discover how useful this hard working frugal tool can be. Give it a try. You might discover a new budget stretching hard working tool that plays your favorite beep song. Just do what you can do. Enjoy the music. It’s an awesome song.
More Information:
I am a home economist who appreciates the opportunity to grocery coupon. I have been grocery couponing for years. It is my sincere desire to help more people become grocery couponers. Couponing really is an awesome frugal tool.
"Believe you can and you are halfway there.” Theodore
Roosevelt
