Coupons....Ching! Ching!!

Our economy is in the crapper, and it is affecting everyday Americans in a huge way. Most of us have been living life flying by the seat of our pants, getting what we want and worrying about it later....now reality has set in and we are in trouble. Even if you have been living well, I'm sure that you are now having to tighten your belt and figure ways to cut corners.


I used to hear stories of how people used coupons, saved hundreds of dollars and sometimes even got money back. Of course I never truly believed it was possible. I cut coupons and they stayed in my purse until they expired. Then reality hit and our financial situation changed dramatically. As I desperatley searched the internet for frugal living ideas, I backed into a site that taught me how to work the coupon game.


Making coupons work for you is really easy, and it has cut about $400 off of my monthly grocery bill. Although I have not mastered the art of couponing, I am learning and can not imagine why I never did this before. Let me tell you how I managed on my very first trip to Kroger with coupons:


3 Tubs of Koolaide
2 Tubs of Country Time Lemonade
2 Bowls of Kraft microwaveable mac & cheese
1 Box of Velveeta and Cheese
1 Bottle of Kraft BBQ Sauce
1 Bottle of Kraft Ranch Dressing


My total was $5.83!!!!


Needless to say, after this trip I was hooked. It has become a way of life for me and I have become obsessed with seeing just how much I can save. Some easy tips to get started:


1) Ask friends and relatives for their Sunday circulars to get as many coupons as possible.


2) Cut all coupons....even if it's something you don't normally buy because of the price.


3) Organize your coupons by whatever method you choose.


4) Check your sales circular. Mine comes out on Wednesday. I mainly shop Kroger because they will take any coupon that I have, up to .60, and double it. I look for items that are on sale and I then look to see if I have coupons to match. If I do not have a coupon from the newspaper, I will see if I can find one online to print. (NOTE...most computer printed coupons will not double)


5) There are a couple of sites that you can go and load coupons onto your store card.
http://www.shortcuts.com/ and http://www.cellfire.com/
Go to these sites and sign up completely free. You can upload e-coupons to your store card and at most places you are able to use that e-coupon WITH your paper coupon. It all depends on the store, but it works for me at Kroger. You will only get the e-coupon once, but you can leave and come back and it works again.
EXAMPLE....PB Toaster Strudel on sale for 1.69. I have an e-coupon for .75 off 2. I have a paper coupon for .75 off 2. Total would be $3.38 with the sale price only. After using the paper coupon and the e-coupon kicks in automatically your total for 2 would be $1.88 or .94 ea.


6) When I find items for a really good price I stock up so that I don't have to pay full price later. This works great for items such as ketchup, mustard, toothpaste, deoderant...you get the idea.


One site that I have found extremely helpful has been http://southernsavers.com/. Even if you aren't real sure how everything works....check this site out. It is very easy to follow and they "spell out" the sales and deals for many of the chain grocery stores and pharmacies.


Organizing is a HUGE key to success. I first organized my coupons in a little accordian style folder and I was saving a lot of money, but it took a lot of time for me to get through the grocery store while trying to pinch every penny. I decided to try a different method and organized my coupons in a 3 ring binder using baseball card inserts. The savings from this method was unbelievable!!! I didn't miss any coupons or waste a lot of times flipping through stacks. Everything was there at my fingertips and all I had to do was flip the page.


I won't lie and say it doesn't take time and effort, but once your get a system in place it is soooo worth it.