So I'll admit, I've dabbled with couponing and am starting to get more involved with it. But don't expect to see me on an episode of "Extreme Couponing" or "Hoarders" for that matter, any time soon.
While the idea of saving money is obviously something that I'm drawn to, I just can't see the point in clipping coupons in order to get 20 bars of soap for free. So I've decided that while I'll clip all the coupons I find and do my best to put them to use, anything that I don't absolutely need will be donated.
Before Wes and I endeavored upon starting our new budget, (which follows many of Dave Ramsey's principles) our grocery budget was....non-existent. We pretty much just spent however much we wanted to on food, but soon realized that our average monthly grocery bill was a staggering $350. I was APPALLED! So I made it my personal goal to knock that number down to just $200 a month, and though it's been a bit difficult (month before last we had a big cookout at the house and just 2 weeks ago I had a baby shower at my house), we've managed to stay on track.
It does get to be quite funny come the end of the month however when we are close to being out of grocery money and start to "eat poor" as we like to say. Though this doesn't consist of just rice and beans or anything like that, by the 25th of the month, I'm certainly not making Chicken Cordon Bleu, that's for sure.
With all that being said I feel like we're doing tremendously better than we had been, but I know we can do even better than that! That's where couponing comes in. Is it a little time consuming, yes, to begin with. But once you get yourself started, you'll realize it's quite easy to maintain!
Every Sunday, I purchase two newspapers, from Dollar Tree, NOT the grocery store or convenience stores. Our Sunday paper is regularly $2.50 here in Norfolk, however Dollar Tree sells it for a cool $1.05. Check your local Dollar Tree and see if they offer a discount on your paper as well.
I clip all the coupons from the inserts and go through all of the weekly store ads to search for deals and circle the ones that I want to look into.
Then I visit all of the stores' websites to print more coupons and see if they have any info about upcoming Double Coupon Promotion days. (Farm Fresh doubles coupons every day up to .99 and on Wednesdays up to $1.00, but what I'm looking for is when they offer Double Coupons up to $2.00. THOSE are the money making days.) K-Mart also offers Double Coupon days regularly, almost once a month.
After that, I visit Coupons.com and websites of the major brands such as Kelloggs, P&G, Crest, Suave, General Mills, etc just to see if there are any additional coupons that I've missed. Also check brands' facebook pages! It's another great resource to getting deals and/or freebies!
And finally after I've printed and clipped all the coupons that I want to, I input them into my coupon master spreadsheet. This is how I keep track of the coupons I have, their value and expirations. That way, when I'm in the store, it's quite easy to spot something on sale and say "I've got one for that!".
If anyone would like me to send them a copy of my blank master spreadsheet to help them get started, I'm more than happy to do so.
So for this week, so far I've taken advantage of a few good deals that I'd like to share. (Obviously I'm not sure if these are nationwide, but are at least in the Virginia area. Check your local ads to see if they are available in your area) If you didn't get the Sunday paper this past week, ask your neighbors, visit the local stores to see if they have any left, call the newspaper company to see if they have any left (which they may sell to you at a discount rate), ask people at church, or even look on Craigslist under the "Free" section.
Dollar General:
* Large bags of Cheetos are currently buy 2, get 1 free.(regularly priced $2.95 each) In this Sunday's paper, there was a coupon for $1.00 off 2 bags, so that makes it $4.90 for 3 bags, $1.63 each. And yes you can mix and match for regular, flamin' hot and cheese puffs. :)
* Palmolive Dish Soap bottles available for $1.00 each. Purchase 2 and there was a coupon this sunday for $1.00 off two bottles. That makes it a cool $.50 each for these dish soaps. :)
Walmart:
* Wholly Guacamole (prepackaged in the veggie section coolers by the pico de gallo and jarred dressings) is priced at $2.14 per package. You can go onto Wholly Guacamole's facebook page, like them and print 2 coupons, each at a value of $1.50 off. Then you can purchase 2 packages of Wholly Guacamole for a cool .64 each! That's cheaper than 1 avocado here!!
Navy Exchange:
* Colgate Toothpaste is currently on special, 2 for $3. There was a coupon in the paper offering 1.00 off 2, so that makes these $1.00 each! :)
* Zest Bodywash is on sale 2 for $4 and there was a coupon for .50 off so that makes them $1.50 each. (Not a huge savings, but still a good deal!)
Farm Fresh:
* First of all they have TONS of buy one get one deals available this week through the 8th, so definitely check them out!
* Mission Flour Tortillas is part of the buy 1 get 1 special AND there was a coupon in the paper for $1.00 off 1 package. So you can grab 2 for $1.79, that's just .90 per 10 pack!
* Lays Potato Chips (any flavor, not baked) are on special, 2 for $5 and the coupon was for 1.00 off two, so that makes them $2.00 per bag. (Not a huge savings, but great if you have a bbq this weekend! But if you are having a bbq and need more chips, check out the Food Lion deal)
* Hamburger Helper twin packs (where it comes with 2 meals in one box) is currently being offered for $1.79. There was a coupon in the paper for .75 off three. So purchase three and it comes out to $4.62 for 6 MEALS!! That's .77 each!
Food Lion:
*Lays Potato Chips (any flavor, not baked) are on special, buy 1 get 1 free. SO you purchase 2 at the regularly priced $3.49= $6.98 and use the coupon from the paper that is $1.00 off two, making it $5.98 for 4 bags of chips, $1.50 each!!
* Starbucks new Recharge drinks are $1.49 and there are 2 coupons to get them for free in the paper, so you just pay the tax, a WHOPPING .10. :)
And now for the DOUBLE DEALS!
Okay well I have a TON available for BJ's (it's like a Costco or Sams) but I'm assuming most people may not belong to them so we'll skip it and move onto Target. (I haven't made it to the Target to do the price checking, but these are still some good deals!)
Target:
* Clairol Natural Instincts hair color, there is a coupon on Target.com available to receive $2.00 off 2 boxes and then in the paper there was a coupon for $5.00 off two boxes, so that is a savings of $9.00 off two boxes!
* Covergirl products, there is a coupon on Target.com for $1.00 off two products and the newspaper had 2 coupons available, each for $1.00 off one item. So take all three coupons and you get $3.00 off two products! Pick out something less expensive like a small eyeshadow or lip liner to stretch your money further!
There are TONS of other deals available, but those are the ones I've found and am using or have already used this week. Do yourself a favor and invest in couponing. It's a great way to save money on things that you would normally buy anyway.
Have a great week and happy savings!
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