Coupon Clipping step 3 to saving money

Now I have you clipping traditional coupons, clipping e-coupons, utilizing a coupon book and saving money.  Are you ready to save even more money?  If the answer is yes then it's time to talk about buying groups or lots of the same coupon on e-bay.  Sounds crazy but sometimes you have to spend money to make money!

Buying coupons on e-bay is very easy and can save you a ton of money if you are disciplined in your planning and buying.  The first step is to pull up e-bay food coupons http://home.shop.ebay.com/Food-Coupons-/57742/i.html?_catref=1 I supplied the direct link but you can also find it under home and garden. 

Then next step is to go through the store ad and start entering in the search bar the different products you like that are on sale.  When you find a coupon make sure you are finding a good one.  I personally like the .75 cent off coupons because my store will double them.  When I find a coupon I like I try to find the cheapest price, closest shipping location, and check the expiration date.  This is where you need to be careful....I make sure I apply the store savings and make sure I am getting a good enough deal to make it worth my spending money to buy the coupons.  Now please note coupons usually come in lots of 10 or 20.  If you think about buying 20 because it's such a great deal please give it some more thought.  Can you store these items and will you eat all these items before they expire?   I then buy the coupons and use paypal to pay for the item.  Make sure you buy your coupons as soon as your store ad comes out because there is nothing worse then getting coupons late and having your store sale end.

It's that easy! Here is an example of some cereal I am buying this week.  I bought coupons that were .75 cents off and .70 cents off.  Let me just give you the following example of the .75 cent coupons I used.  My 20 coupons are for .75 cents off and they cost me about $2.79.  The sale is for 4 for $10.  When I use my coupons the price per box of cereal will be $1.  So I will get 20 boxes of cereal for $20.  With no coupons I would pay $50 for 20 boxes.  This is a great deal and makes spending money to buy these coupons worth it.  Now to make the deal even better I will get 20 cents off per gallon of fuel with each purchase of four boxes!  What do I do with all this money I saved?  Once again I invest it into my online store http://www.etsy.com/shop/DesiredSimplicity and make more money!  Right now it is important that I save as much money as I can from my groceries so that I can find vintage items for my store.  This way I am sure to have a nice selection for the Christmas holiday season soon to come.

The next question is what in the world am I going to do with 20 boxes of cereal?  Well we eat them of course for breakfast and snacks!  I also find recipes to make cereal bars,  muffins and rice crispy treats.  It's a little work but I just make sure I plan my purchases into a  menu to ensure we eat what we buy.  I also make sure to keep an eye on the expiration date and donate if we do not seem to be eating an item quick enough.   

Good luck with your new knowledge.  I hope you save tons of money!

Coupon Clipping Step 2 to saving more money

Now that I have you clipping coupons are you ready to save even more money?  I think I heard a cyber YES so the following will discuss e-coupons.

What in the world are e-coupons?  E-coupons in my world are coupons that I find on my grocery store web site.  I frequently log on to my grocery store web site and scourer the online coupons they offer before I go on a shopping trip.  They describe the coupon and have an expiration date.  I simply click on the tab if I am interested and the coupon will be applied to my savings card that I use at that grocery store.  Later when I go to the store and purchase the item my card applies the e-coupon to my total savings.  Just a quick tip, I always print out what e-coupons I select.  There is usually an option to do this and I slip the copy in my coupon book.  Photo below is an example.

With this tip you can save some big money if you have a store sale on an item you want, combined with a traditional coupon and an e-coupon.  If you take a look at my example above you will see I have an e-coupon for yoplait yogurt (save .75 off 2).  Yoplait yogurt is on sale this week...4 for $8.  I also have coupons (save .75 off two).  My store will double my traditional coupons turning the coupon savings into save $1.50 off two yogurts.  After I apply all my coupons and the store sale itself, I will buy 2 yogurt packs and end up paying $1.75 instead of $4.00.  I don't know about you but that is a great savings to me! 

But wait I am not done yet with my shopping trip yet.  I still have three .75 off two yogurt traditional coupons left because I clipped and saved them in my coupon book like I instructed you to do in my last post.  The savings will not be as huge because the e-coupon was only for 2 packs of yogurt but I will still save money.   Remember the sale is for 4 packs of yogurt for $8.00 and my store will allow me to buy as many as I want for $2 each.  With my three .75 off two coupons I need to buy 6.  The store will double my coupons so my total will come to $7.50 instead of $12.00.  I am essentially buying them for $1.25 instead of $2.00.  A savings of $4.50 for the stash of 6 packs I bought. 

The question now is what do you do with that extra money you saved.  You can buy more groceries or save that money!  What I do with my savings is I make more money.... I use my money saved to buy vintage jewelry or vintage home goods to sell in my on-line store  http://www.etsy.com/shop/DesiredSimplicity.  In a later post I will give you the details on how I have created my store that has been a fun hobby for me.

Now are you asking what in the world am I going to do with a total of 8 packs of yogurt?  Why eat them of course!  My family goes through yogurt like crazy.  But I do take note of the expiration dates when I buy groceries, finding the best date possible.  I keep an eye on this date while they are in the fridge and if I have to I will freeze the yogurt.  My family loves yogurts frozen or with the cup yogurts we poke a hole in the top and insert a plastic toddler spoon in them to freeze.  Both ways result in fun yogurt popsicles.

So get on-line, find your favorite grocery store and look for those e-coupons.  In my next post I will discuss buying coupons on e-bay. 

   

Coupon Clipping step one to saving money

We have to face and accept that tough times are here and things will continue to be tough as prices continue to rise due to this wonderful economy.  I feel these tough times in my wallet every time I go grocery shopping which is why I am an avid coupon user.  Did I just here you say "clipping coupons STINKS"!  I think some individuals banned coupons in their life due to past frustrations with them.  Such as spending the time to clip them, tossing them into an envelope or purse and then simply not using them.  I speak from experience!  I did the same thing and actually did not get organized till I started buying coupons on ebay.  After a few months of this I thought why am buying these when I could clip them as well!  So I plan to dedicate my next few posts to coupons and tips on how I manage my food bills on a tight budget.

So lets just get right down to it and get started.  First of all I have three newspapers I have access to.  One is from work, one from home and the last is from my mother.  Just ask the ones in your life if they use their coupon inserts and see if you can get them weekly.  Try a neighbor, close relative or co-worker.  As you collect these inserts from your contacts please don't start clipping yet till you collect them all!  I made that mistake at first.  You save much more time if you first collect them all and then clip them all at the same time.  Now when you have all your inserts I lay them out on the table and start working.  As I go through my inserts I find my coupon, tear that page out from all three, very carefully match up the three coupons and clip all three at the same time.  Be careful, you don't want to clip off the important stuff...there are some tough cashiers out there that won't stand for an imperfect coupon!  Next I lay out my clipped coupons in dedicated piles according to dairy, meat, and etc...this helps when it's time to organize all the coupons I clip.

I do want to take a moment and note that I only clip what I am comfortable feeding my family.  I have had so many food intolerance and allergy problems I am now much more aware of what ingredients are in food.  I no longer buy the really bad stuff that sometimes has great coupons!  Now don't get me wrong I still feed my family what I call unhealthy "filler food" because we are on such a tight budget I have no choice.  I am just more selective with my choices and not driven by a coupon.

Now we have our coupons the next step is to get a binder book to place these coupons in.  Don't use envelopes, don't use those plastic accordion wallets, don't toss them into the bottom of your purse because we are not going to use these coupons right away.  We are going to use a binder that will enable you to turn pages and see each and every coupon per page.  Note when you buy your binder find one that makes you happy and one that you will feel comfortable taking into stores.  Yes I said it....you are going to take this binder into a store when you reach that comfort level.  As you put your coupons into your binder organize them according to your favorite stores isles.  I have meats first, then drinks, baking etc....this makes it easier when you take your binder into the store.  Also make sure your binder will allow you to add in more pages in between a section.  I seem to always need to add pages into my paper products section and health and beauty. 

Our next step is to wait on the sale flyer for your store.  I like to use my coupons at stores that double coupons.  Once I have my grocery store flyer I go through my book first and glance at what I have in coupons.  With that fresh in my mind I go through the flyer and pull out the coupons that match the sale.  I make my grocery list as I go and list the item, how many coupons I have and how much I am going to spend total.  As you go don't be tied to a certain brand like I used to be.  I came from a brand oriented family and I have come to realize that most of the products out there taste the same.

Now it's time to head for the store with your coupons and your binder!  Before going into the store I flip again through my binder real quick and get a visual of what I have.  I then head on into the store and place the binder in the child seat section of the grocery cart and start collecting the items on my list.  Why bring the binder?  Well I will tell you why.  I now love using coupons and can't tell you how many times I have come across a great deal that is not in the store flyer.  I tell myself I have a great coupon at home for that and I will have to come back and get that with my coupon.  The problem is I never seem to make it back to the store in time or I simply forget!  So now I bring my binder and get the item right away to add to my stash!

So that is it in a nut shell.  Clipping coupons can be very simple.  As your comfort level increases you can then take the next step and increase your coupon stash with some online sources. 

My next post will touch lightly on ebay coupons and your grocery store web site.

Saving summer

Morning is my favorite time of the day until summer break came to be!  My quite mornings turned into the TV blaring, computers buzzing and game systems roaring!  Everyone was involved in their own screen...me included!  I finally had to save this summer and incorporated a rule that no screen time was allowed in the mornings.  The result...at first moaning and groaning the first day, then something amazing happened!  Books came out from under beds, guitars were picked up and new songs were learned, conversations were had, board games played and so much more!  But the most important result is that we were interacting with each other and not interacting with a screen so early in the morning.  We all now start our day off in such a simple and healthier way!