Make sure you read Part 1 of Jennifer’s guest post. It introduces you to her and has great ideas for savings!
Click here to see part 1.
Part II- Payday!
Where are the coupons?
Well, I get a Sunday and Wednesday paper (no, not at full price, haven’t you been reading?) I buy a 6 month subscription for $19 (less than $1 per paper) on LivingSocial or Groupon with a one month hiatus in between so I qualify as a “new subscriber” by the fine print of those deals. In that month I have to truck it to a Dollar Tree that sells a Sunday paper for, you guessed it, $1 when it is $2 everywhere else. You should be getting the ads in your mailbox if you don’t receive the paper every Tuesday. Man I love saving everywhere! But, look out it gets addicting.
Savings!
Online:
Store coupons sites:
CVS.com (printed out at the store with a CVS rewards card)
Walgreens.com (or printed out in booklets monthly in the store)
Sprouts.com (or printed out in booklets monthly in the store)
Other:
Brand websites
Facebook pages for brands
At the store with the catalina coupon printer (you know the thing that spits out a whole bunch of paper next to your receipts when check out that the cashier might be throwing away in the trash…eek Money!)
What you should know about online coupons is when you print them off, usually they are set up to only let your computer print them two times and sometimes just once. This is where having a second computer comes in handy. You have to download a lot of coupon printer software as you go, but once its set up, you’re golden.
Combining coupons:
My personal favorites for Super Savings is Target because you can use a store coupon, a manufacturer coupon, cartwheel (to be discussed in the next entry if you’re curious), and a sale. A lot of times I can get things FREE or very very cheap if I’m paying attention. If you add a red card there’s an extra 5% off your purchase too.
Rules:
The rules for couponing are…read the fine print. Some only allow you to use a few per shopping trip and one per product purchased. Also, know the store’s coupon policies. Most have it on their website, but you can always ask a manager for it if you are in the store without it on hand. While you can probably get away with using more with an absent minded cashier, it doesn’t mean you should. Save by the rules please! That way this beautiful way of keeping your money in your pocket instead of the store’s pockets keeps on happening!
Now that you’ve got all those coupons you have to find a way to organize them in a way that works for you. The couponistas out there use binders. I have 3 kiddos that go shopping with me 95% of the time and that little precious basket seat at the front is taken so there is no room at the inn for a behemoth binder. I use a coupon organizer that I got at Target in the office organizing aisle and that goes with me everywhere. Just in case I run into a store unplanned to pick up something. Nothing hurts like knowing you have the coupon for something but its not with you.
Coupon Organizer
Big thing here…do what works for you. If its not manageable, you won’t stick with it. If you don’t stick with it, then you’ll be missing out on A LOT OF DOUGH over time! Happy saving!
The Crazy Hat Box 
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