LOOK AT WHAT WE WOKE UP TO!!

IT MAKES FOR A PRETTY PICTURE...BUT WE SHOULD HAVE STAYED IN BED!! OVER 125,000 PEOPLE (INCLUDING US) WERE WITHOUT POWER THIS MORNING. THAT'S JUST COUNTING THE ONES IN THE KENTUCKY UTILITIES AREA. OUR ELECTRIC COMPANY WORKED THEIR BUTTS OFF TO GET IT BACK ON AND THEY'RE STILL OUT THERE WORKING!! (THANK GOODNESS WE HAVE WOOD HEAT THIS YEAR) WHILE WE WERE OUT CHECKING OUT THE DAMAGE, THERE WERE TREES AND LARGE LIMBS FALLING DOWN ALL AROUND US. VERY SCARY!! EVERY TIME I HEARD A CREAKING SOUND I HEADED FOR THE DOOR. AS SOON AS MY BATTERIES RECHARGE, I'LL POST SOME MORE PRETTY PICTURES...WELL, BETTER GET SHOVELIN'!

THIS WEEK AT MEIJER AND A FEW OTHER THINGS THAT MAY INTEREST YOU

Here's just a few things from Meijer this week that caught my eye.



MEIJER:

• LIPTON RECIPE SECRETS $1.00/EACH USE 0.75/2 CPN FROM 11-16RP TO GET EACH PACK FOR 0.50



• AUNT MILLIES BREAD $1.25/LOAF USE 0.50/1 CPN FROM 1-11RP TO GET EACH LOAF FOR 0.25



• KEEBLER CLUB OR ZESTA CRACKERS ARE 1/2 PRICE USE $1.00/2 CPN FROM 12-14RP



• UNCLE BEN'S BOIL-IN-BAG RICE OR BROWN INSTANT RICE 2/$4 USE $1.00/2 PRINTABLE OR USE $1/2 CPN FROM 1-11RP TO GET THEM FOR $1.50 EACH.



• CHI-CHI'S SALSA $0.99 USE $1/2 CPN FROM 12-7SS TO GET THEM FOR 0.50/EACH



• DINTY MOORE BEEF STEW $0.99 USE 0.55/1 CPN FROM 1-25SS TO GET IT FREE!



• PLANTER'S PEANUTS DRY ROASTED OR HONEY ROASTED $1.88 USE $2/2 CPN FROM BUD BOWL COUPON BOOKLET TO GET THEM FOR $0.88 EACH



• NABISCO TRISCUIT OR WHEAT THIN CRACKERS 2/$4 USE $2/2 CPN FROM 1-25SS TO GET THEM FOR $1 EACH.



• PORK STEAKS $0.99/LB

AND FOR THE FEW OTHER THINGS THAT MAY INTEREST YOU:

RED PLUM DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME

I RECENTLY POSTED ABOUT A CPN FOR A FREE 2-LITER OF DIET DR. PEPPER HERE but here's another one: ANOTHER FREE 2-LITER OF DIET DR. PEPPER THERE'S A LIMIT OF 1 PER PERSON, BUT YOU HAVE TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST 2,000,000 TO REQUEST YOUR CPN. BETTER HURRY!!

Get a NASCAR®-Licensed Pitcher for free when you buy three family size boxes of Lipton® Iced Tea Brew or Lipton® Cold Brew. YOU CAN GO HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS AND PRINT OUT YOUR FORM

OUR KROGER "MEGA DEALS" AND A FEW FREEBIES FROM WALMART

There are too many items to list each one with their original price, cpn amt, and final price, etc... so I'll just list what all we picked up and total it at the end. I'll start with the "mega deals" first

• QUAKER INSTANT OATMEAL
• 3 BAGS ARMOUR MEATBALLS
• 4 CANS ROTEL TOMATOES
• 2 JARS PACE PICANTE SAUCE
• 6 BOXES KLEENEX WITH LOTION ($0.19 EACH...AND THEY COULDN'T HAVE COME AT A BETTER TIME...sniffling and sneezing as I am typing...lol)
• 5 BOTTLES FRENCH'S MUSTARD
• CATTLEMANS BBQ SAUCE
• 2 BOTTLES KEN'S SALAD DRESSING
• 5 BOTTLES FRANK'S BUFFALO WING SAUCE
• 2 JARS KRAFT MIRACLE WHIP
• 1 JAR KRAFT MAYO
• 12 BAGS GREEN GIANT STEAMFRESH VEGGIES
• 4 CONTAINERS DAISY SOUR CREAM
• 4 PKGS KRAFT SLICE CHEESE
• 6 PKGS KRAFT SHREDDED CHEESE (I WAS HOPING TO GET SOME CPNS FOR THIS, BUT THEY WERE ALL GONE.)
• 2 GLADE AIR FRESHNER SPRAYS

NOW FOR THE "NON MEGA ITEM DEALS"

• 4 COFFEEMATE CREAMERS
• 2 ROLLS JIMMY DEAN SAUSAGE
• 3 NEWSPAPERS
• 4 PKGS. QUAKER RICE CAKES
• GAIN LAUNDRY DETERGENT
• 4 PKGS HAMBURGER & HOTDOG BUNS
• 6 JOHNSON & JOHNSON BUDDIES BAR SOAPS
• 2 BIG BOTTLES ELECTRASOL DISHWASHER GEL
• 2 JARS KOSHER DILL PICKLES
• 1 BAG OF CHEETOS

THAT SHOULD BE 89 ITEMS. THE TOTAL BEFORE COUPONS WAS $154.72.

THE TOTAL OOP WAS $60.88.

AND DON'T FORGET TO PICK UP YOUR COUPON BOOKLET OVER BY THE BEER AISLE. THERE ARE COUPONS FOR HIDDEN VALLEY RANCH DIP MIXES, CHARCOAL, KC MASTERPIECE BBQ SAUCES, HORMEL PARTY TRAYS, HORMEL PEPPERONI, HORMEL CHILI (WHICH REMINDS ME...SOMEONE TOOK ALL THE HORMEL CHILI ALSO!!!) , PLANTERS PEANUTS, NABISCO CRACKERS, AND JOHNSONVILLE BRATS, SAUSAGE, AND COOKED SAUSAGE. PLUS THERE ARE $85 WORTH OF REBATES ON EVERYTHING FROM DELI ITEMS TO TV'S. ALL OF THESE COUPON AND REBATE OFFERS END 2/01/09.

WE ALSO MADE A QUICK TRIP TO WALMART. MY DH NEEDED SOME HAIR GEL AND I HAD 4 MORE GILLETTE COUPONS I WANTED TO USE. WE PICKED UP THE 2 BOTTLES OF HAIR GEL AND THE SPOT ON THE SHELF WHERE THE SMALLER SIZE BOTTLE OF GILLETTE BODY WASH WAS FOR $2.00 IS NO LONGER THERE. SO, I DIDN'T GET TO USE THOSE COUPONS. BUT...I DID SNATCH UP 3 TUBES OF SUAVE HAND LOTION($0.97 EACH) FOR FREE BY USING THE $1.00 OFF 1 SUAVE LOTION CPN. WELL, GUESS THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SHARE FOR NOW. HOW DID YOU DO THIS WEEK?

FREE 2 YEAR MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION AND A LITTLE REMINDER

FREE 2 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION TO PARENTS MAGAZINE Better hurry, some of the free subscriptions don't last long!!

And a little reminder to mail in those receipts for your $120 P&G coupon book. You can read more about that HERE . I mailed mine out this morning...can't wait till they get here!

JUST WANTED TO SHARE A FEW GREAT COUPONS

COFFEE-MATE 15oz LIQUID OR POWDER $1.50 OFF 1

COTTONELLE TOILET PAPER 0.50/1 4 roll pack or larger. MORE FREE TOILET PAPER (use your browser's back and refresh button to print this twice.)

FREE BOTTLE OF SUAVE BETTER HURRY...THIS OFFER ENDS AT 11:59 PM TONIGHT

NOT A PRINTABLE BUT STILL A GREAT COUPON...FREE 2-LITER BOTTLE OF DIET DR. PEPPER IN FEBRUARY 2009 ISSUE OF COSMOPOLITAN MAGAZINE PAGE 39

MEIJER COUPON MATCH-UPS (1-11 to 1-17) AND A NEW FAMILY FAVORITE RECIPE

We just finished supper and this is what we had: ASIAN CHICKEN WITH PEANUTS. It was delicious!! And, I'm stuffed!! So, I thought I would take my "can't move cause I ate too much time" and try to match up some meijer deals with some coupons so I can send DH on an after work run. This is what I've come up with:

• HORMEL PEPPERONI: $1.00 each use 0.55/1 cpn from 11-9-08 ss? = FREE
• CHEX MIX $1.00 USE 0.50/1 cpn from 12-7-09 ss = FREE
• TOTINOS PIZZA ROLLS $1.00 (15 count) use $1.00/1 printable coupon (I printed this one a while back from coupons.com. I believe it's no longer available, but there are cpns in 1-11-09 ss for 0.35/1 which would make them 0.30/box) Total price=FREE-$0.30/box
• AUNT MILLIE'S ENGLISH MUFFINS: $1.00 use 0.35/1 cpn in 1-11-09 ss to get them for $0.30/pack
• PILLSBURY GRANDS $1.00 use $0.25/1 cpn from 11-23-08 ss to get them for $0.50/each
• SKIPPY PEANUT BUTTER: $1.33/each use 0.40/1 cpn to get them for $0.53 each. (Looks like DH will be making a couple of stops at Meijer because I'm stocking up on this. We go through ALOT of peanut butter lol)
• BISQUICK: $1.99/40 oz box (Another great stock up item) use cpns from 12-14-08 ss for 0.60/1 = $0.99/box
• BIRDS EYE VOILA COMPLETE MEALS : 2/$6 use printable cpn HERE to get them for $2.00/ each
• 3 lb bag yellow onions $1.00
• PILLSBURY TOASTER STREUDELS $2.00 use $1/1 printable cpn HERE to get them for $1.00 each.
• Betty Crocker Frosting: 3/$4 use 0.50/1 cpn from 12-14-08 ss to get the frosting for 0.33/each. There is also a cpn for the "supreme" brownie mix (also on sale at 3/$5) in that insert, It's also 0.50/1 and that will make the brownie mix 0.67/each
• Pure Protein Bars : $1.00/each use 0.50/cpn from 1-04-09 RP to get them for 0.50/each

This was just a quick matchup, so I'm sure I'm missing a few good deals. If you know of any more, please feel free to share. And don't forget that on the 10/$10 items, you get the 11th item FREE. I haven't had a chance to look through the Kroger paper yet, but I'll try to get some cpn matchups for there when I get home from work tomorrow evening. Well, supper has settled and now my Sleep Number Bed is calling me. (yeah, right...I wish I had a sleep number bed...anyone have a cpn for that? lol )

My Kroger Deals for the Week Of Jan. 5

First time I've done any shopping since the New Year...and I must say, I didn't do too bad!! I'll start with the P&G Promo that's going on...Buy $25 worth of stuff/get back $5 on non P&G products...So, here goes:

• 5 BOTTLES PANTENE SHAMPOO: 3.29 EACH = 16.45 MINUS 5/$2 CPNS FROM DEC. INSERT = $6.45/5 BOTTLES
• DAWN DISH SOAP: 2.50 MINUS 0.25 EQ AND 0.50 CPN FROM DEC. INSERT = 1.25
• CREST PRO HEALTH: 2.50 MINUS 1.50 EQ AND 1.00 CPN FROM DEC. INSERT = FREE
• 2 FOLGER'S COFFEE:5.48/EACH NO CPN :{
• GILLETTE FUSION RAZOR:4.99 MINUS 4.00 CPN= 0.99 + USED A CPN FOR BUY GILLETTE FUSION RAZOR, GET GILLETTE SHAMPOO FREE.
• GILLETTE SHAMPOO: FREE + GOT BACK 2.00 FROM GILLETTE SHAMPOO EQ :}
• 1 ROLL BOUNTY PAPER TOWELS 1.03 MINUS 0.25 EQ AND 0.25/CPN DBLD TO 0.50 = 0.75 OFF WHICH = 0.28/ROLL

NOW FOR THE NON P&G ITEMS:

• 2 COTTONELLE'S: FREE
• 2 RICE-A-RONI RICE PILAF 1.19 EACH USED 2/0.50 CPNS DBLS TO 1.00 EACH = 0.19/BOX
• 2 STARKIST TUNA POUCHES 1.85 EACH USED 2/0.55 CPNS FROM SMART SOURCE MACHINE DBLD TO 1.00/EACH = 0.85/EACH PLUS USED A THIRD CPN B2G1F AND GOT THE THIRD ONE FREE.
• 11 POWERADE ZEROS 0.89 EACH USED 11/0.40 CPNS DBLD = 0.09 EACH OR 0.99 FOR 11 BOTTLES
• 2 SUAVE HAIR SPRAYS: CLEARANCE PRICE 0.83/EACH = 1.66/2 MINUS 0.50/2=1.00/2= 0.66 FOR 2 BOTTLES
• KROGER POTATOES-2.48/10 LB
• KROGER ONIONS-1.99/3 LB
• 2 BAGS NO YOLK EGG NOODLES: 2.09/EACH MINUS 1.00 CPN = 1.09/EACH
• 2 BAGS WACKY MAC: 1.89/EACH MINUS 1.00 CPN = 0.89/EACH
• 2 BOTTLES MAYBELLINE FOUNDATION: 7.99/EACH MARKED DOWN TO 4.79 EACH MINUS 2/3.00 CPNS = 1.79/EACH
• FRANK'S RED HOT SAUCE: 1.19 MINUS 0.50/CPN DBLD TO 1.00 = 0.19
• 2 BEN & JERRY'S ICE CREAM (PINT); 3.49 EACH - 2/3.00 CPNS = 0.49/EACH
• 9 SOFTSOAPS HAND SOAP: I SCREWED THIS ONE UP!! I PICKED UP 4 SOFTSOAP KITCHEN'S AND THEY RANG UP @2.19EACH. THE OTHER 5 WERE 1.00 EACH USED 9/0.35 CPNS DBLD TO 0.70/EACH = 0.30 FOR THE 1.00 ONES AND $1.49/EACH FOR THE KITCHEN ONES :{ (YOU WIN SOME...AND YOU LOSE SOME)
• BIRD'S EYE STEAMFRESH MEALS FOR TWO...SHRIMP ALFREDO...FREE BECAUSE I PLAYED THE GAME ON THEIR WEBSITE AND WON A FREE DINNER!!
• 8 JOHNSON BUDDIES USED 8 1.00 CPNS = FREE
• SUAVE DEODORANT 1.00 USED 0.55 CPN DBLD=FREE
• KROGER KETCHUP 1.19
• 2 JARS RAGU PASTA SAUCE; 1.79 EACH = 3.58/2 MINUS 0.50 EQ AND 0.50/2 CPN DBLD = 1.00/2 TOTAL OF 1.50 OFF = 2.08 FOR 2

I THINK THAT IS IT? THERE SHOULD BE 65 ITEMS... TOTAL OOP = $44.84... WITH A TOTAL SAVINGS OF $119.49. SEE, I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T DO TOOO BAD...

NOW…GO SHOPPING!!!!!

OK…You know how much you can spend on groceries this week, you’ve cleared out some areas of your home to use for stockpiling, you know your store’s coupon policy and your coupons are somewhat organized…so let’s get shopping!! Let’s pretend that you set your grocery budget at $100/week. Can you use a small amount of that to put towards building your stockpile? Great!! Even $10 a week can create a heck of a stockpile over time. Let’s say your family uses ALOT of spaghetti sauce and you’re always buying at least 2 jars a week. That’s 8 jars a month. You have been paying $1.85 per jar. This week, your store has a great sale price of $1.25/jar. Because you currently purchase 2 jars each week and have been paying $1.85/jar, purchasing several of these now while they’re on sale would be saving you $0.60 a jar or $1.20 a week. BUT to make this deal even sweeter, you have 10 coupons for $0.50 off 1 jar. (this is where multiple coupons come in handy) Your store doubles coupons up to $0.50 so that would make that coupon $1 off that item. Since this is something you normally purchase often at $1.85/jar, this would make an excellent “stockpile” purchase. Go ahead and use your coupons to get all 10. You just paid $2.50 for 10 jars of spaghetti sauce that would have cost you $18.50 over the next 5 weeks!! Congratulations… you just saved $16 and you have just started your stockpile. And you still have $7.50 of your “stockpile” budget for other items!! Now, let’s pretend toothpaste is on sale for $1 (which happens all the time). You also have a coupon for $0.50 off of that brand. Again, if your store doubles, that’s $1.00 off which makes that FREE! But wait…you have 10 coupons for that toothpaste. So there you go, you’ve just stocked up on toothpaste and spaghetti sauce. And you still have $7.50 of your stockpile budget left. If you don’t see anything else that is a great buy with your coupons, hold on to that remaining $7.50 and add it to next week’s stockpiling budget. Do you get the picture? Just watch your sale ads & match them with your coupons and purchase multiples of the things that you use at a rock bottom price. Before long, you will have your own little stockpile built up & you’ll start noticing that when you go on your weekly grocery trip, that there’s not much that you need anymore, because you can start shopping from your own “little grocery store” . But be careful when shopping because if you’re picking up something that you know you or your family won’t use or like, then you’re just wasting your money and that would be defeating the purpose of couponing. So, get those coupons, watch those ads, and start saving your hard earned dollars!!

LESSON #4: THINGS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE YOU GET STARTED

1. What is your stores coupon policy? Does your store double coupons? If so, how many coupons can be doubled? Kroger's in my area has unlimited double coupons. Meijer in my area will only double 2 like coupons. Can you use store coupons with your manufacturer's coupons? This is called "stacking". Meijers & Walgreen's are good examples of store's that allow you to stack coupons. Walgreen's has their store coupons in their weekly ad. Meijer's has printable coupons in their Meijer Mealbox section on their website. You can also go to the bottom of my blog to print the Meijer Mealbox coupons. The store coupons combined with manufacturer's coupons can add up to BIG savings and often times free groceries!!

2. Where are you going to store everything? If the only freezer you have is the small one above your fridge, you don't want to go out and get 50 boxes of frozen waffles just because they were free with your coupons. Using multiple coupons with store sales will allow you to get extra items of things you already use for very cheap or free. This is what stockpiling is all about. Purchasing the items you already use when they are at rock bottom prices, then combining them with coupons and stocking up on it so that you don't have to pay full price for it the next time you need it. Here's an example: Kroger used to carry Cottonelle toilet paper in the 4 roll packs for $1 a pack. If you had a coupon for $0.50 off 1 pack and your Kroger's doubled coupons, that made that pack free. If you had 50 of those coupons that was 50 free packs. Do you have the space to store 50 packs of toilet paper? We'll get into stockpiling a little later, but right now look around for places to store things. Often times I hear people say they can't stockpile because they don't have anywhere to put anything. Be creative! Do you have an extra drawer in a chest? This would be a great place to store toothpaste, deodorant, freezer bags etc. Buy some risers to raise your bed up and use the space under your bed to store things. What about the space between your kitchen cabinets and the ceiling? Look through your kitchen cabinets? When's the last time you used that bloomin' onion maker or that massive collection of butter bowls you washed out because you thought they would be good to store leftovers in? Where there's a will...there's a way!! (just don't forget where you put everything...lol...)

3. Expiration dates! Be careful with this one and watch those dates. Example: Your store has Kraft Miracle Whip on sale for $3 for 2 jars. That's $1.50 a jar. You have a coupon for $1.00 off 1 jar making that an incredible deal at only $0.50 a jar!! You think "WOW this is a deal I just can't pass up" so you use your 30 coupons to get 30 jars for $15.00. You get them home and notice that the expiration date is next month. Can you really use all of that by next month? Probably not...so you're out all of that money! And if you do notice something in your stockpile that is close to expiring and you don't think you'll be able to use it in time...DONATE IT. There are plenty of food pantries, churches, etc that would be thrilled to receive these.

4. Rainchecks! There's an awesome sale this week with items to add to your stockpile, you've got your list made out, clipped your coupons, and are ready to shop. You get to the store only to find out that the shelves are empty!! (trust me, this will happen quite often if you live near me!) If your store offers it, ask for a raincheck. That way when they restock that item at a later date, you can still get it at that awesome sale price.

5. READ THE FINE PRINT! Read each coupon carefully. Most coupons state "one coupon per purchase or per item". Each item that you buy is a purchase. If you purchase 10 of an item, then 10 coupons for that item may be used ( again, check your stores policy also. Meijer's in my area will only allow you to use 4 like coupons in each transaction) There are some coupons that state "one coupon per person" or "one coupon per transaction" which means you can only use one coupon per trip/transaction.

6. Rebates and Try it Free offers! Keep all of your receipts! You never know when a rebate offer will come out. If you throw away your receipts than you could miss out on a whole lot of money back offers!

7.  Last but not least…You WILL mess up on a deal at one  point or another.  I think we all have.  Don’t let one little mess up discourage you.  Hold your head up high and learn from the mistake.  The total saved in the future  will be FAR GREATER than one little error!!

I HAVE MY COUPONS…NOW WHAT DO I DO?

 

Getting the coupons is the easy part… 

ORGANIZING THEM IS THE NEXT STEP,  and this is the part that will give you the most headaches.  There is no right or wrong way to do this.  It’s more of a “try it out and see what works best for you” way.  There are several ways that you can organize your coupons.  There is the file the whole insert method, the binder method, the file box method, etc.   You can do a google search to find out more information on each method.  But I will tell you about my “try it and see how it worked” ways.   My very first couponing trip was to KMart when they had a Double Coupon Day.  I had just started couponing and I didn’t have alot of coupons at that time, so I shoved all of them into a business sized envelope and went shopping.  I didn’t do too bad for my first trip, but since there was no organization of my coupons, it was a pain in the $%#^.  So I decided that if I was going to do that again, I would be organized the next time.  YOU CAN READ ABOUT THAT HERE.  This method worked out great for a while, but as I started to collect more and more coupons, I quickly outgrew this setup.  So I purchased a small photo album with 2 4x6” sleeves to each page.  I used the first book that I mentioned earlier for food items, and the small photo album for non food items.  This was working out great!!  They were small enough to sit in the front of the cart and easy to get to …BUT… then I started to receive more and more coupons from multiple Sunday paper purchases and friends and family that were saving them for me.  Now it was getting as bad as the first method where I shoved them all into the business sized envelope!  (The next two methods is where I’m getting my headaches)  Next, I tried the “file the whole insert method”.  I really love this method!  This is where you get your Sunday paper, glance through the coupons, leave everything intact and file the whole insert.  I have 2 baseball card binders (these are very big binders and they hold alot of inserts)  one for the RedPlum inserts and one for the SmartSource inserts.  I have inserted Page Protectors in each binder and each Sunday I write the date on the front of the inserts and slip it into the page protector in the appropriate binder.  I can slip 10  of the same inserts into one page protector!   And I currently have 6 different inserts in these binders and it’s still able to hold alot more.

Here’s a pic of my binder for the whole inserts:

 

And this is how I have them labeled.  EXAMPLE - All of 5-3-09 RP’s (RedPlum’s) are in this one sleeve protector.

 

 

This is the method that takes the least amount of time, which I LOVE because I work 14 hour days.  This method works great but there are a couple of drawbacks…First, If you go shopping with only the coupons that you clipped for that particular trip and you come upon several items that are on clearance, then you’ll be missing out on a lot of good deals.   Items that you could have really used and could have gotten for free “if only you had your coupons with you.”  Ask me how I know that :(   The second drawback to the file the whole insert method is not knowing what coupons you have.  Sure there are coupon databases that tell you what insert a particular coupon is in, but if your computer crashes and you don’t have access to another computer, then it takes forever to search through your inserts.  Ask me how I know about that!  :(  Then there is the binder method.  I am currently using this method AND the “file the whole insert method”.    This smart lady, Laura Williams, started this method.  She gives you very detailed steps to setting up your own binder.  Thank you Laura!!  You can see my binder here.  I haven’t used this method long, but I really love this method also!   “My” only drawback with this method is that I am not disciplined enough to get all of my coupons cut and filed  :(    Which is a problem that I need to work on!!  So some of my inserts are dated and filed whole into my “stay at home” binders, then some are clipped and filed into my “carry to the store” binder.  But whenever I make up my mind on the method that works best for me, I’ll come back and let ya know!   Whichever method you choose, your coupons will have to be organized in some manner to make the most of couponing.  I know I probably wasn’t much help in the organizational part, but all I can say is…try several methods, don’t get discouraged, and see which one works best for you.  

WHERE DO I GET MY COUPONS

You can get these  by buying a copy of your Sunday paper.  There are 3 major coupon inserts. They are Red Plum (RP), SmartSource (SS), and Proctor & Gamble (P&G). Sometimes there are extras like a UniLever (UL) or a General Mills Insert (GM).  (Get familiar with these abbreviations, because you’ll be seeing quite a bit of them) Sometimes you’ll only get one insert, sometimes two, and there may even be times that you’ll get more than three.   

You don’t have to buy the Sunday paper.  There are oodles and oodles of other ways to obtain coupons:
Inside your food packages is one place to look.  I can’t tell you how many Betty Crocker Warm Delights I have gotten for free and how many Gorton’s frozen fish products I’ve bought very cheap because of these coupons. 
Peelies:  Sometimes, the coupons are right there on the product.  Now don’t go peeling all of those off just to get coupons.  Yes…people do that and it’s one of my biggest pet peeves.   Only peel off  the ones you’ll be buying!!
Magazines,
Blinkie machines.  Have you ever noticed those little boxes with the blinking red light with a coupon sticking out them.  They are located right by the product that the coupon is for?  I bet your kids have lol.   Many grocery stores have them and the coupons can be used at any store that accepts coupons, not just the store that you found them in.
Tearpads:  The name says it all.  These are the coupons, you see hanging by some products that you simply tear off.  (I’ll bet the kiddos have found these as well)  They are usually manufacturer’s coupons that can be used at any store.

You can ask your friends and family for their inserts if they don’t use them. 
You can buy entire coupon inserts from coupon clipping services and on Ebay. (I have not gone this route, but there are plenty of people that do.) 
Internet printables:  There are also many online coupons you can get.   Before you try online coupons, ask your store if they accept internet printable (IP) coupons (there‘s another abbreviation for you to learn).  Many stores will accept them, but it’s always nice to know in advance.  If they do, then you can go directly to the  manufacturer’s website for printable coupons, such as General Mills, Kraft, Kellogg’s etc. Or you can go to coupon websites such as Coupons.com or SmartSource.com 
Catalina’s:  These are the coupons that the cashier hands you when she hands you your receipt.  I have received many high value coupons this way! 

There are so many ways to get your paws on some coupons, so get out there and get them and then come back here and I’ll show you what to do with them next!!

WHERE DO I START

 

 First things first…you need to figure out how much you are able to spend/already spending towards groceries.  Does this amount include eating out, health & beauty aids, cleaning supplies, pet food?    This is where creating a budget helps out tremendously!!  Not sure how to create a budget?  Here’s just one of many  good online resources:  BUDGETING YOUR MONEY .   I won’t get into the whole budgeting issue, (I’ll leave that to the professionals),  but your grocery bill is one of the very few areas in your family’s budget that you CAN play around with and make changes to.  From this point on the money that you can & WILL save by using coupons and combining them with your stores sales will be as much or as little as the effort you put into it.  So get working on this first step because without a budget how are you going to know how much you are saving if you’re not sure how much you’re currently spending/able to spend.

 Now…make a list of items that you and your family use and how much of that item you go through.  We all use soap, shampoos, toothpastes, toilet paper, laundry detergent etc..(I hope we all use this stuff).  Now write down how much of a stockpile you would like to have.  3 months, 6 months, a year?   Here’s an example:  We use about 6-8 rolls of toilet paper a week. That includes what the dog gets a hold of because someone doesn’t know how to shut the door behind them.   If I wanted to create a 3 month stockpile of toilet paper, I would need approximately 96 rolls of toilet paper to last us for 3 months. (8 rolls x 4 weeks=32 rolls a month x 3 months = 96 rolls needed for 3 months)  192 rolls for 6 months.  384 rolls for a one year supply.  Does your family eat spaghetti at least once a week?  (we are spaghetti/lasagna eating fools)  If so write pasta, spaghetti sauce, ground meat on your list. And again write down approximately how much you go through in a 3month,6month,or 1year period.  Do you always have a salad with that spaghetti?  If so, write down salad dressing, croutons, etc.  (only write down things that will store well) These are the types of items that you will want to start watching the sales for and stocking up on when they have reached their lowest prices.  Now, I’m not saying run out and purchase 96 packs of toilet paper all at once…lol… (unless they are free after coupon, then hell yeah!!  But be nice and don’t clear off the shelf.  Spread it out throughout the sale week.)  I’m just saying, get an idea of how much your family goes through and slowly build up your stockpile to that amount.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!!  Let’s move on to the next lesson.      

In LESSON #2  I’ll cover different places to get your coupons.