Why do I coupon?
Well, I coupon because I have to. I'm not a hoarder, I'm not stealing. I'm using the coupons that manufacturer's print out or give to be printed out to make my groceries more affordable so that I can pay other bills. I just recently got back into the swing of things and I can honestly say I've saved more money in three weeks, and have more food then I had total last month. It's all a matter of balance, balance out your savings with the stuff you don't have coupons for. It's not hard, it's basic match and work. It takes some dedication and this is something anyone can do.
Where do you get coupons?
The Sunday newspaper (or whenever your coupon circulars come out in your area), I get them by signing up for companies email lists and snail mail lists, I get them from friends, I join online coupon trains. Wherever I can.
Make a list of the products you buy. And then start emailing those companies and tell them how much you love their products, 9 times out of 10 they will send you some type of coupon be it for a free full size product or cents off coupons. Today I received three coupons for Ore-Ida products .75/1 which will double at my local store to $1.50 off and I'll get mostly a free or very cheap product especially if I can match it up with a BOGO (Buy one Get One Free) sale or a discount sale.
There are people who also call their local newspapers and ask if they would deliver just the coupons and in multiples for whatever is left. Currently I am in talks with the Charlotte Observer for my area. :)
What do you get with coupons?
Everything from food to beauty items to diapers. Anything you can think of, you can find a coupon for it somewhere.
Where do YOU shop?
I shop at Bi-Lo, Walmart, Target, Food Lion, and Harris Teeter.
Bi-Lo: In the Charlotte/Concord area, Bi-Lo doubles up to .99 on their coupons everyday. Make sure your bar code begins with a 5 as those are usually the ones that will double were-as if they start with a 9, they will not double. Also Bi-Lo has been known to have triple coupon days where they will triple a coupon and those are the days I live for!
Walmart: Always make sure you have a copy of the Walmart coupon policy, you can get it straight from the Walmart website. I have been told before from a cashier that they do not take "printable" coupons and their policy states that they do, you can even print off coupons directly from their website. Walmart does NOT double or triple but their prices are awesome on a lot of items.
Target: Target is awesome in that most stores will allow you to stack a Target coupon with a Manufacturer's Coupon. So if an item is $4.99 and Target had a printable for $2 off on their website and you were able to find another coupon for $1 off on the manufacturer's website then you get to take $3 dollars off the price of that item, which is awesome. They also do a lot of cool coupons for their own brand of items.
Food Lion: I've had trouble with some of their stores recently not wanting to accept "printed" coupons, just check at the service desk if you are feeling iffy about it. They do NOT double coupons, but if you can match a great coupon up with one of their BOGO sales you can get some really awesome deals.
Harris Teeter: In the Charlotte/Concord area, Harris Teeter doubles up to .99 everyday. So you can get really nice prices by matching that up. I'm not a huge Harris Teeter fan as I think most of their prices are a little higher then Bi-Lo or Walmart, but sometimes they triple coupons and that's when you can rack up on some great sales.
Always read your sales circulars, matchup your coupons for items you use with online coupons as well as coupons that you've gotten in the paper. I make a spreadsheet that I use to fill in what I have, what sale is available and what I can do with my coupons. I print it out and paper click my coupons to the spreadsheet so I know I need 18 cans of Chef Boyardee. If you don't receive all of your stores circulars in the mail go to their websites and you can view them straight from your computer usually before you receive them in the mail.
Make friends with your managers or your cashier! They usually have the 411 of when coupon specials come up, tripling, extreme doubling (up to $1.99 on coupon doubles).
I hope this quick little guide will help you out, just remember to match, match, match and always wait for a great price to come up, unless its something you have to have now. When you start to buy like that though you will notice food starts to pile up around you, that's a GOOD thing, just make sure the non-perishable items are stored in a nice place so that you are able to keep a great stockpile. The more you coupon, the more you save, the less you have buy. So, it's not about being a hoarder, it's about being smart and prepared.
You can do it!
Well, I coupon because I have to. I'm not a hoarder, I'm not stealing. I'm using the coupons that manufacturer's print out or give to be printed out to make my groceries more affordable so that I can pay other bills. I just recently got back into the swing of things and I can honestly say I've saved more money in three weeks, and have more food then I had total last month. It's all a matter of balance, balance out your savings with the stuff you don't have coupons for. It's not hard, it's basic match and work. It takes some dedication and this is something anyone can do.
Where do you get coupons?
The Sunday newspaper (or whenever your coupon circulars come out in your area), I get them by signing up for companies email lists and snail mail lists, I get them from friends, I join online coupon trains. Wherever I can.
Make a list of the products you buy. And then start emailing those companies and tell them how much you love their products, 9 times out of 10 they will send you some type of coupon be it for a free full size product or cents off coupons. Today I received three coupons for Ore-Ida products .75/1 which will double at my local store to $1.50 off and I'll get mostly a free or very cheap product especially if I can match it up with a BOGO (Buy one Get One Free) sale or a discount sale.
There are people who also call their local newspapers and ask if they would deliver just the coupons and in multiples for whatever is left. Currently I am in talks with the Charlotte Observer for my area. :)
What do you get with coupons?
Everything from food to beauty items to diapers. Anything you can think of, you can find a coupon for it somewhere.
Where do YOU shop?
I shop at Bi-Lo, Walmart, Target, Food Lion, and Harris Teeter.
Bi-Lo: In the Charlotte/Concord area, Bi-Lo doubles up to .99 on their coupons everyday. Make sure your bar code begins with a 5 as those are usually the ones that will double were-as if they start with a 9, they will not double. Also Bi-Lo has been known to have triple coupon days where they will triple a coupon and those are the days I live for!
Walmart: Always make sure you have a copy of the Walmart coupon policy, you can get it straight from the Walmart website. I have been told before from a cashier that they do not take "printable" coupons and their policy states that they do, you can even print off coupons directly from their website. Walmart does NOT double or triple but their prices are awesome on a lot of items.
Target: Target is awesome in that most stores will allow you to stack a Target coupon with a Manufacturer's Coupon. So if an item is $4.99 and Target had a printable for $2 off on their website and you were able to find another coupon for $1 off on the manufacturer's website then you get to take $3 dollars off the price of that item, which is awesome. They also do a lot of cool coupons for their own brand of items.
Food Lion: I've had trouble with some of their stores recently not wanting to accept "printed" coupons, just check at the service desk if you are feeling iffy about it. They do NOT double coupons, but if you can match a great coupon up with one of their BOGO sales you can get some really awesome deals.
Harris Teeter: In the Charlotte/Concord area, Harris Teeter doubles up to .99 everyday. So you can get really nice prices by matching that up. I'm not a huge Harris Teeter fan as I think most of their prices are a little higher then Bi-Lo or Walmart, but sometimes they triple coupons and that's when you can rack up on some great sales.
Always read your sales circulars, matchup your coupons for items you use with online coupons as well as coupons that you've gotten in the paper. I make a spreadsheet that I use to fill in what I have, what sale is available and what I can do with my coupons. I print it out and paper click my coupons to the spreadsheet so I know I need 18 cans of Chef Boyardee. If you don't receive all of your stores circulars in the mail go to their websites and you can view them straight from your computer usually before you receive them in the mail.
Make friends with your managers or your cashier! They usually have the 411 of when coupon specials come up, tripling, extreme doubling (up to $1.99 on coupon doubles).
I hope this quick little guide will help you out, just remember to match, match, match and always wait for a great price to come up, unless its something you have to have now. When you start to buy like that though you will notice food starts to pile up around you, that's a GOOD thing, just make sure the non-perishable items are stored in a nice place so that you are able to keep a great stockpile. The more you coupon, the more you save, the less you have buy. So, it's not about being a hoarder, it's about being smart and prepared.
You can do it!
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