Couponing

Beginning late January and early February Blake asked me to become dedicated to couponing. He wants me to focus my attention on saving us money via coupons. I used to cut them every now and then, but never was dedicated to it or anything.

The journey began. I visited all the coupon sites and began learning how “My coupon heroes” feed a family of three on $50 a week. I signed up for all the food websites I could, and (yes) I receive annoying emails in my in-box. It’s worth it to receive that coupon though. Below are my thoughts and my coupon habits thus far:

-Couponing takes time!! It takes me about an hour to visit all my sites and print off the coupons I need. Then I visit my two favorite grocery stores to figure out who has the best buy one get one free items and that’s where I go shopping for the week. Here in Chattanooga it’s either Publix or Bi-Lo. I’ve got to say that I love that Publix takes competitors coupons!!

-We don’t receive the newspaper, but my work does. I look through the coupons in the Sunday paper. I’m amazed how many coupons are not in the paper. Online is my coupon friend!

-Coupons take more time!! I’ve learned you’ve got to make your grocery list and weekly dinner list according to your coupons. Not vice versa.

-More time!! I then make a grocery list adding a C by the item if I have a coupon and B1G1 if it is buy one get one free. Yes, I’ve totally learned the couponing lingo. M is for manufacturing coupon. Of course, my goal is to be able to stack the coupon with the B1G1 deal.

-Staying organized is the key. I’ve not excelled yet at this. This absolutely bugs me!! I’ve tried separating my coupons by envelopes and baggies. I think I’ve come to the realization that I’m going to have to get one of those coupon organizers. Right now I am that woman standing in the corner of the super market going through a whole stack of coupons to match with my buggie of groceries. Yes, I’m the lady that all the stay-at-home moms look at and think BEGINNER!! Hey-you’ve got to start somewhere. Anyways, I’ve got to figure out a system that works with my type A self.

-Next I’ve learned that all the B1G1 are on a 6 week cycle. I’ve yet to really grasp this concept or set up a system to keep up with it. I’m sure if I really sat down and concentrated on the cycle I could create a spreadsheet or something. I’m still in couponing 101. Perhaps, I’ll do that in couponing 102.

-I begin looking and cutting coupons every Friday. In fact, I’ve even gotten good (If I say so myself) at finding coupons for restaurants, clothing and other areas of interest. If I know you like a certain type of brand of something, I’ll send you the link to the coupon. I also now carry coupons for restaurants and clothing stores in my purse and/or car. Instead of the “bag” lady, I am the coupon lady.

Where has this gotten me so far? The most I’ve saved on a grocery bill thus far has been $50. Each week I try to save more. I’m literally that person who grabs the receipt from the cashier and goes right down to my savings analysis to review my savings. I’ve learned most of my savings come from B1G1 rather than coupons.

Once I get better at groceries, I plan to move on to using more coupons and extra care bucks etc. at CVS and/or Wal-Greens.

Thus far, my man is happy with me (which makes me thrilled). I have a feeling of accomplishment that I’m helping our family out by couponing. That’s the best feeling in the world. I’ve got to admit couponing is addictive because you want to save more and more!!! I’ll keep you all up to date as I continue on the couponing journey. If you have any insight, please do share with me.