Couponing Works for Me!!

Today was a great day for me to finally see my Extra Care Bucks (ECB) put to use! This week CVS had Kingsford Charcoal on sale for $4.99. Because I have done so well  using my coupons on items that earn ECB, I was able to purchase the charcoal for $0.45 with a savings of $6.49.

After purchasing my charcoal, I went to Winn Dixie to sign up for a rewards card. * NOTE: Winn~Dixie has meat on sale weekly, BOGO. I was able to purchase 8 items for $12.39 with a $6.55 savings. I did not use any coupons on this trip, I only purchased items that were BOGO and a pack of water. Couponing saves you money,but you are also able to catch deals at our local grocery stores and drug stores when you purchase BOGO items.

Just a quick update on my trip today! (Photos Listed Below) ---- HAPPY SHOPPING!!!

Becoming Comfortable With Other Brands

I am stepping outside of my box and using other brands on sale at the stores of my choice. I wouldn't say, I am a brand loyal person, however, when you grow up with a product, you have the tendency to compare brands. This is my second week of couponing and I must say I have really impressed myself. I have saved a total of $32.08 on $82.17 worth of groceries at Publix and $49.02 on $74.36 worth of groceries at CVS for the w/e 6/25/11.

The most important tip I learned this week is to pay close attention to the coupon limit you're allowed. Although I had three coupons for Cologate toothpaste, CVS only allowed a limit of 2 coupons that could be used. However, I over-thought my shopping and purchased 3 tubes because I had 3 coupons, but spent roughly $1.50 that I didn't have to (note to self: pay attention to the coupon limit per sale item). There are great sites like couponmom.com  I would suggest many first time couponers / bloggers to use. The site allows you to watch tutorials and dig deeper into the art of couponing :)

Attached are my weekly deals and items I have began to stockpile. Stockpiling is when you purchase items in advance that are on sale, but also items you use. Find a space within your home to put all of your stockpile items. My stockpile is located on two shelves in my pantry, others may have a spare bedroom, garage or kitchen drawer they use, but it's totally up to you, the shopper :)

~HAPPY SHOPPING~

HAPPY SHOPPING!!!

The Fears of Grocery Shopping

Ok, so this is my FIRST week to COUPON & I am extremely nervous. I have a million things running through my head, "Will I remember everything I learned in class?" This is the first time I have ever been so nervous about something so minor. The first store I chose to experiment with was PUBLIX, thank God, I went during the time of day where I was 1 of 3 people in the store :) To prepare for my first mini grocery trip, I checked the Sunday circulars for coupons, went online and viewed each selected stores' coupon policy as well as their sale paper and compared them to my coupon binder filled with coupons I had recently collected.

Tip 1: Make sure to have your coupon binder organized so that you can find your coupons easily.
Couponing does not take all day to collect the items you need, just time and patience once you begin to understand how it really works. Yes, I spent hours on top of hours trying to figure out, "Is this really worth the hassle," but later realized it's short and straight to the point if you know what you're doing.

Tip 2: Choose only the stores you would like to purchase your items.
My problem with beginning couponing was thinking about all the stores and their sales instead of focusing on the store I was shopping at for the day / week.

Tip 3: Set a Budget and stick to it!
I am very price conscious so I set a budget and roll with it. If I went over a few dollars, cool, but I wasn't too worried.

Conclusion: Applying all the tips I learned from couponing class (not included in this article) assured me that this is definitely a hobby that has to be practiced before entering for the TLC show, "Extreme Couponing" - lol. My first grocery spree as a "couponer" I saved $18.54 at Publix & $38.99 at CVS (photos of items attached).

Have A Wonderful Week & Remember, "Saving Leads to Prosperity"

My Road To Couponing

I have been unemployed for the past 6 months and thought it would be great to save money on my everyday necessities and groceries. I had been watching a show on TLC called "Extreme Couponing" and thought to myself this is a wonderful hobby and a great way to save moolah $$$$ :)

One day my mom and I were searching for a wedding venue and the conference manager began telling me how he and his wife-to-be had taken a couponing class and were seeing great results in a short period of time. As anxious as I was to sign-up, my mom was glad also due to the class savings her money on MY weekly grocery bill-lol. I contacted the teacher for the class and gathered my things to begin "Couponing 101". Upon my arrival, I was a bit weary that I was taking this whole couponing to the extreme, but I later realized, "There's nothing wrong with having a budget and cutting back if possible." I learned so much information at my first class until that's ALL I would talk about to my family was  "COUPONS". As I set out to be the best I could be, I asked my dad to gathering coupons from his Sunday circular so I could begin with a bang.