Getting Started on Couponing

So you asked how I do coupons.

Here's what I do.

Invest in a 2 Extra Large Binders, and a box of clear protective sheets that you can stick into those binders. Both of which you can get very very cheap at Staples or Office Depot.

First, every Sunday get the newspaper, there is always at least 2 coupon inserts, 1 Smart Source, and 1 Red Plum. During the first week of the month there is also and Proctor and Gamble insert as well. The key to this is getting as many inserts as possible. So if you know of people (or your local Starbucks) who would normally just pitch the coupons, grab them. Once you have them, you don't need to cut out anything. What you do is stick the date on the front of them and file in your binder in chronological date order. I like to save at least 3 months of coupons total.

Every week in the Wednesday paper, is the Publix store ad for the sales that will begin on Thursday. Take the time to go through the ad and match the "Buy One Get Ones - BOGO" or the sales to this site: Coupon Mom (I think that you have to sign up, but it is free). Once you have done so, on the left hand side of the site is a button for "Grocery Coupon Database". Once you have opened it, select your state and then "Go". Once you are in the new window, start entering in what is on sale and see if a coupon comes up. For example, I searched for "Cottonelle" and this came up.


04-18 S 05-29 Kleenex Cottonelle Toilet Paper any two 4 pack or one 12 pack or larger $0.50 1


Which is your directory 04-18 S is the date 4/18 insert = Smart Source, 05-29 is the date the coupon expires, then it's the coupons description and then the amount of the coupon and the number 1 is the amount that you have to purchase.

Remember when I said that the key is to have multiples of each insert? It's because if Cottonelle every goes BOGO then you can use 2 coupons, one for the "Buy One" and one for the "Get One" making the deal that much sweeter.

The other key point, is to stockpile on the non perishable, After doing this for a while you will notice a pattern of when things go on sale. For example, Pepsi and Coke alternate weeks of going on sale. Thomas' English Muffins are usually BOGO every 5 or so weeks. So you purchase enough of whatever product you need to get you through the pattern.

So that is the basic system to couponing. Then after a while you get VERY addicting to saving money that it will become a game. Today I save 65% of my grocery bill by combining coupons to BOGO's.

The other sites that I love for saving money are:

Hip to Save (this women is AWESOME, this women makes it idiot proof, she breaks down Target, CVS, Walgreens and several other stores and tells you how to get the deals. She also tells you about EVERY freebie down the road. We get Glamour, Cosmo, Muscle and Fitness (yeah still trying to get the muscles and fitness into my routine), Road and Track, Baseball Digest, Elle, Metroplitan Home, Parents, Parenting, Working Mother, Golfer's Digest, Better Homes and Garden's, Oprah, Real Simple, and a TON of other magazines for FREE!!!!!

The thing that I love about her sight is that every week she breaks down Target's ads for me and so I can stockpile things like deodorant, soap, shampoo, paper towels, and toilet paper on the CHEAP!! The other key thing to her site is to check it often, if you can throughout the day.

IheartPublix.com ( If you don't want to match the ads yourself, she does most of the matching for you. Sometimes, she misses a couple of things so I like to use her site first and then go over the ad again for a review.)

The other thing to do is SAVE all the loose coupons you find in magazines, product boxes, and wherever else you find them and scan through them to see if you have any match up to the sale ads.

My personal next step is to conquer the CVS, Walgreens thing because I have heard that you can save TONS and get lots of free stuff there too.

I know that this seems like a lot of work, but saving $50 dollars or more is worth the amount of time it takes. Think of it this way, you will be making more than $50/hr if you take the time and you will spend less time wondering around the store. You will also, go into the store with a plan and spend less because you won't impulse buy.