Special Sunday... go Seahawks!!!!!!

Sorry, bronco fans, I am from Seattle!    

The next step in our groceries on the cheap journey should be, meal plans, but I would be remiss if I didn't talk about coupons or my version of extreme coupons.  Don't loose me, I, not talking 40 hours a week or 90 bottles of red pepper sauce.  LOl

I used to think that coupons were just for junk food and stuff I never buy.  I watched some couponers on the u tube that were taking a practical approach to couponong.  I also went to a free class with my daughter at a local church.  It opened my eyes to a more practical approach to couponong.  I spend little time on couponing, but save an average of sox dollars a week om coupons,   That's 312 dollars a year.

I buy one paper from the dollar store a week.  My friend sometimes brings me her inserts.  I put them in a binder clip by month and stash them in a cubby on the office area/ computer hall .  that's maybe a two minute chore.  I made a coupon book.  This os a once in a lifetime chore.  I picked up a binder at a flea market for a dollar.  I got some dividers and a pencil pouch from the dollar store.  I out a pen, a small calculator, and a small pair of scissors in the pouch.  I bought photo sleeves  from office max.
They fit printable coupons perfect.  A small coupon  envelope will get you started just fine.  Or take envelopes from the recycle bin and staple or glue them together.  Mark them with categories.

On the first of the month coupon.com loads the new monthly coupons on their site.  I go on and print TWO of everything I might use.  If you put this chore off, you loose, because there is a limited amount of coupons and when they are gone they are gone.  The biggest dollar values go first.
I only print coupons for toothpaste, soap, dairy, and anything that I can make a meal of.  Taco shells come to mind.  I buy cream of mushroom soup because my husband likes to make tuna casserole and he doesn't want to make white sauce.  I have been getting soup starter coupons because they are for .50 off and they are .50 at the dollar store. They are cheaper than buying tomato sauce or making white sauce.  I file the printable coupons in the coupon binder.

After I pick my stores to go to for the week, I look on our coupon matching site to check the ads and the coupons that match up with the sales. They will link the printables and tell you which insert has a coupon to match up.  This can be very advantageous to you.

For example, Rite Aid this week has light bulbs for 3.99 with a 3.00 up reward.  Up rewards put money on your store card to be used  the day after or beyond . ( usually good for ten days.) that leaves .99 .  There is a coupon for a dollar for them.  That makes them pay you a penny to take them out of the store.  There is a similar deal on  maxi  pads, but it haven't found a coupon and neither did the coupon match up site.

Coupon matchup sites are regional.  Ours is couponconnectionNW.com.  It is free.  You can google coupon matching  and the nearest big city and get one for your area.

This makes couponing manageable.  It probably doesn't find you all the coupons, but it also doesn't consume you.  Watch for coupons on the labels of jars etc.  some are instant and if you don't point it out to the checker, they probably won't use them.  Also, there are sometimes coupons that come out of the cash register with your receipt.  It pays to be aware of coupons.

Case in point.  One day I went to Joann's to get something I needed for business.  My husband ran over to SAFEWAYS to get a package of hamburger buns I needed.  He got a coupon for 1/2 off any one item for Joann's.  He didn't look at the receipts that were given to him, I could have got my item for half off.  It pays to be aware of any coupons that come your way.  Not all of the, will be useful, there is a lot of garbage out there.  I compare it to thrift store shopping.  You have to sort through a lot of garbage to find a true treasure.  A family member not long ago found a sterling compote for two bucks!  Treasures are there, but you have to bypass the garbage.

Next time, meal plans

Thanks for stopping by

Please share

Jane