Couponing 101

I have had a lot of request about how I have been doing my couponing and save our family a ton of money.I sent this email to several friends who are not in my area.If you are in the area I am holding a little how to on Feb 19th at 12.Even if you are coming here is some info we will be going over.happy Saving everyone.

Ok this is going to be a little different since we all live in different areas.But I am just going to tell you what I do.Then you can customize to stores in your area.

SS=Southern Savers Website

First here are the websites I go to.If they have alerts and such sign up for them.Coupons via the internet can only be printed a certain amount of times.So you want to get them as soon as they are available.You can download them twice per computer though.I highly suggest that you do that.My First site is highly recommend.She is the expert on all things saving.She also has a facebook page.She has tons of info on her site also read her Learn to coupon tab.I have two rules with all this.I never buy if it is not on sale.I try to make sure I have a coupon for every item I buy as well.It is really hard to find coupons for Milk and bread so I don't count Items like that but I do like to wait till it is on sale to buy and then I buy 2-3 (same with meat).So remember on sale and coupons equals the biggest savings.

http://www.southernsavers.com
http://www.grocerycouponcart.com/
http://www.cellfire.com
http://www.kroger.com
http://www.smartsource.com

All these sites can also be accessed through Southern Savers.Ok so here is my drill.

1.You need to find out what day your preferred store runs their ads.Mine is Kroger so my ad runs Sunday through midnight Saturday.On Sundays I get the Birmingham paper and the Columbus Ledger Enquirer.These have the circulars in them in my area.SS also has a tab so you can check when the circulars will run and which papers run them in your area.I also suggest that you get two of each paper.So you can get double manufacture coupons and can buy more than one when it is on sale.For instance this past Sunday I received 2-$1.00 coupons off All detergent.Well they were apart of Krogers Mega Deal and were priced at 2.99 with coupons they were 1.99.I had 2 so I got 2 detergents for 3.98

2.Get something to keep your coupons in.I use a notebook and a coupon binder.I sort mine by what they are.Such as Food, Baby, Dog, Household,Beauty etc...You can organize in several ways but this has worked best for me.So after I have mine cut and put in the right place I then go to SS she post Krogers on Sunday morning and I see what is on sale and what I have coupons for.She also has several printable coupons listed by items so you can get the coupons you don't have as well.She also post the unadvertized deals that she finds in the stores.Read the comments as well cause others tell what they find too.

3.I start making my list and I calculate what each item will cost me after the sale price and my coupons.This helps me know what I am going to spend before I even get to the store.I work on this every night once I get the boys to bed.Cause I will not kid you it does take time and I also like to check other stores to make sure I am getting the best price on my items.This is also found on SS.She does almost every place known to man.

4.This is my favorite function of SS site.You can print your grocery list right off her site.So I print my list and out beside each item I write how many of that item I am going to buy.I do one last quick look to make sure my numbers are right and then I go do my shopping.Do not purchase anything that is not on your list that you take with you.This is by far my biggest rule!

5.The checkout process:ok also before I go to the store I get all the coupons I am going to use ready as well.My kroger doubles any coupons that are 50 cents and under.Example last week Kroger had Colgate toothpaste for 1.00 I had 2-50 cent coupons off the toothpaste.So they doubled to a dollar a piece.So we received 2 free tubes of toothpaste!

SO I let the cashier process my order.I DO NOT give my Kroger Plus card till all items are scanned.This is why, cellfire and kroger websites load right to your kroger card.Even if you don't have Kroger cellfire has tons of stores to choose from.Plus I want to see the total before any savings, it doesn't always print out on the receipt.I then give them any coupons that are 50 cents or under so I can watch the screen and make sure that they double.Then I give all other coupons.

6. There is also a theory on picking a cahier most big couponers say young men are the best to go to.I have had great Cashiers and the check out process really doesn't take that long cause you have all your stuff together before you even enter the store.So far with my checkouts, People have made comments on how amazed they are at what I saved, my cashiers have even asked how I save so much.One man told me "man I wish my wife would do this".So I have not had one negative experience thus far.

I suggest that you all call your favorite store to see what their coupon policy is.Each is different even if they are the same company.Apparently management gets to make a lot of these rules per inside their own store.My kroger will take one manufactored coupon and one Kroger or cellfire coupon per item.So if you have a manufacture coupon, in store kroger coupon and cellfire coupons you can use 3 coupons per item.This is huge savings!!! Also when Kroger does 10 for 10 you don't have to purchase all ten to get them for a dollar a piece you can get however many you want or have coupons for.

One of my big savings this week was Cottonele toilet paper was on sale for 9.99 20 mega rolls. I had a 3.00 off coupon from Kroger.com so it cost me 6.99

I purchased 65 items this week and my total was 94 and some change.This means I got each item for 1.45 a piece!This included a ten pound bag of dog food, the toilet paper, 2 laundry detergents,papers wipes, and 3 pounds of meat so big ticket items with a ton of savings.

Please feel free to email me with any Questions! I hope you all start saving tons of money! I am sure I left out something so Qustions are always welcome so I can help you guys any way I can.Since I have started this I have just been amazed at what we have saved.I could almost cry thinking about all the money I have wasted over the years by not doing this.I will never pay full price for most of my items ever again.