Yes, I have joined the bandwagon. Not because it’s cool or trendy, but because I LOVE a good bargain! Am I extreme like the crazy people on TLC, absolutely not! But, I am learning a LOT! Let me start from the beginning.
I have been clipping coupons for years. I mean, let’s face it. With a few minutes of work while you watch TV, you can save money! Some people say “ yeah but it’s not worth it to me to save five dollars on a shopping trip.” Well….if you go once a week and save five bucks a week, that’s $260 dollars a year! Does it seem more worth it NOW? And that’s JUST saving five dollars!
It never occurred to me that there is a “method” to couponing until it recently became popular. I just clipped coupons for products I needed and then that was that. I never looked to see what was on sale, thought about getting multiple coupons, combining coupons, etc. This is serious business!
Here are just a couple of things I have learned. Totally just scratching the surface here!
1.) Look for sales, then match the sales with coupons you have for extra savings
2.) Combine! For instance, Target will let you use one manufacturer coupon and one Target coupon on the same item. If that item is also on sale, you can get things for pennies or even free! (Go to target.com and scroll to the bottom and click the “coupon” tab.)
3.) Say bye bye to brand loyalty. There are some things will will not compromise my brand on. But you will be much ore successful couponing if you are willing to try other brands/get what’s on sale/what you have coupons for. You may even find a new favorite!
4.) Check out couponing websites, they will post new deals for you so you don’t have to do all the work. Here are a couple of my favorites:
Start slow, it can be TOTALLY overwhelming, there is still so much I have to learn. I am excited because I just ordered a Sunday subscription to the newspaper so I can have more coupons and all the sale papers to see where I can match coupons to sales. I did the math, and it comes out to $1.61 a newspaper to have it delivered. When you think about how much I will save a week from that $1.61 paper, it is TOTALLY worth it. I used two coupons yesterday, two, and saved almost four dollars. (I just had a couple of things to pick up, it wasn’t a full blown shopping trip).
Sassy says “CCCHHHHEEEEESSSSEEE!”
Just think about it. If you can save JUST $15.00 a week using coupons and sales, that’s $780 dollars a YEAR! WOW! That is not a hard amount to achieve a week if you put forth a little effort. With the price of gas and groceries going up, it is even more worth it to me than ever!
Yesterday I had an awesome Blueberry Pomegranate Yoplait smoothie which leads me to another point. I got a $1.50 coupon just for liking Yoplait’s Facebook page. So do some searching for your favorites!
Moving on!
*yesterday I took a rest day. I didn’t sleep well the night before and just wasn’t feeling it. Today I am going to do my last day of week 5 of 6 weeks to 6 pack. I can’t believe next week is my last week! Pressure is on!
*giveaway coming soon. I probably won’t post it till Sunday or Monday, but it’s coming!
*Don’t forget if you are planning a trip for the rest of 2011 to anywhere, I can book for you, at NO COST to you! e-mail me at heather AT travelwiththemagic DOT com for more info.
QOTD: Do you coupon? What are your tips?
I do some couponing – but find that the coupons tend to be for things we don’t buy. We don’t eat much processed foods (basically just chips and cereal), find some coupons for dairy items, and hardly any for produce (which we buy a lot of). I do look for coupons on tolietries (cleaning supplies, shampoo, body wash, etc.) since those amounts can add up!
Thanks for the coupon blog ideas – I also have http://hip2save.com/ in my Google Reader and see if there are any products of interest to me as well. I’ll have to follow them too!
haha thanks for the tips I have heard of the crazy coupon ladys but havent gotten into using them much myself… I need to start i cant believe the savings!
I definitely need to get on the whole coupon thing! Sometimes I find them and print them out, and then totally forget to use them. You are so right, it really does add up if you use them all the time! Thanks for the tips 🙂
I love this! I’ve read a little here and there about couponing, but the new show on TLC has convinced me this is what I NEED to do:) Of course in moderation…I’m not about to start storing extra stuff in my closet or bathroom:) Thanks for the links!
I tried to comment earlier, but I guess it didn’t go through. Oh well. Thanks for all the different sites. I was going to post something next week about using coupons. I love using them! You can save so much with them! Those people on the extremem coupons show are crazy with how much stuff they store. I could never do that!
Hey I just checked my spam folder and for some reason your comments were going to my spam folder. Sorry!
That is okay. Thanks for checking it out for me! I appreciate it!
I don’t coupon too much, although especially with a little one, I really need to start. You probably already know about this website, but for online shopping http://www.retailmenot.com is a great resource. Also for any moms out there, definitely join Amazon Prime! Two day free shipping is awesome!
Oh my gosh I am so into couponing these days. I love going to Target and stacking coupons for items on sale. I’ve definitely become better about stocking up when things are on sale and I have coupons.
I also go to websites for products that I love, like Stonyfield Farms yogurt, and I download coupons and join their loyalty programs. I get lots of free product that way.
Found the post, still getting caught up from last weeks traveling but thank you thank you! I will have to work on the “brand loyalty” because I am awful at just sticking to what I like! Love your big picture thinking though, I would love to save $800 a year! Hope your doing good! XOXO!
there are some things I am still brand loyal to, but I realized most things arent really THAT different from each other