Hi – I’m Jaime from Momumental Savings.
- I have always been a crafter and have thought for many years that being a DIY-er and a being couponer really go hand in hand! Both can save me tons of money! As a mom to three kiddos 7 and under, I have to make the most of every dollar I spend at the grocery store (so I can spend money on my craft projects! Tee hee!).
- When my first daughter was born 6 years ago, I started couponing. After living (and couponing) in three different states in the last 7 years, I know there are some basic principles of couponing everyone must know to get started. I am not one of those “Extreme Couponers” like you see on TV–my entire routine of clipping, making a list and shopping takes me under 2 hours a week! It’s more like “Couponing for the Rest of Us.”
- After 7 years of couponing, I have found some no-fail strategies that I am happy to share with YOU!
Today I would love to share 5 ways you can get fiscally fit by using coupons!
Subscribe to your local newspaper and get multiple copies!
Most local newspapers have deals for subscribers. Call your local paper and find out what is available for your area. Keep in mind that there is value beyond the Sunday paper. I get coupons in the form of peelies for local retailers on the outside of my newspaper, coupons for free appetizers or desserts in the local “calendar” section and even store coupons within the weekly grocery ads!! And don’t just stop at one! Get as many copies delivered as your paper allows (I get six) in order to maximize your savings.
- Get organized
Where to begin? I don’t clip my coupons until I need them. It saves me time, and makes it quick and easy to get all my coupon inserts in order and put away fast. If you want to see more about my “Clip later” method, click the “Videos” link on my website.
- Know the rules
Knowing your individual store’s policy on coupons and price matching can really help you save money. Each store varies in how they price match, accept competitor coupons and even double coupons. Other stores have a store loyalty card that can save you money at the point of purchase as well as earn points for things like money off your fuel purchase. Make sure you ask for a copy of the policy (Many times available on the company’s website) to keep with you so you can ensure you are maximizing all the savings options that store provides.
- Stockpile when items are on sale
When you see a great price on an item, why buy just one? Think of this: If you buy a box of toaster pastries at $3.00 a box once a week, for 6 weeks, you have spent $18. However when they go on sale and you can match it with a coupon, you could get it for around $1.00 a box. Buy 6 and stockpile and you will only spend $6. That is a savings of $12 on just one item!
- Know when to hold ‘em!
Hold on to those coupons! Many coupons have expiration dates that last 6-8 weeks or more. By holding on to coupons and waiting for that item to go on sale (sometimes 3 or 4 weeks later!), you can then use the coupon WITH the sale to double your savings.
If you want to learn more about coupons and frugal living, follow me on Facebook: MOMumentalSavings and read my blog which has videos, tips and more ways to save in ALL areas of life! http://www.momumentalsavings.blogspot.com
If you are local to the Orlando area, contact me about teaching a FREE coupon class to your friends and family!
Thanks Jaime!!
Those are great tips! I really need to learn how to use coupons. Be sure to head over to Jaime’s blog for great information on how to save money!
- Today Jaime is sharing 5 MORE tips at Momumental Savings to save even more money.
- And she shares recipes too. Like this Taco Soup Recipe that you can make with ingredients from your pantry!
And Jaime is going to share a couple more posts with us in the next couple months with even more couponing tips – yay!!
Let’s save some $$$$ in 2012!!
Do YOU coupon?
Do you have any tips you can share — I’d love it if you would leave them for us in the comments!!
And be sure to head over to Momumental Saving for 5 more tips to save even more money.
And be sure to head over to Centsational Girl today for a great post on finding balance in blogging!
xoxo
PS — It’s Friday!!! I hope you can join us tonight for the Weekend Wrap Up Party (6 pm MST) — it’s my favorite time of the week. I can’t wait to see YOUR ideas!!
I’m a big fan of coupons, but like you, NOT a TLC Extreme Couponer. I have one subscription to our local paper, I get my Mom’s inserts, my MIL’s inserts, I buy one on Sunday with both Saturday/Sunday’s inserts AND I have a friend who conveniently works for the paper and gives me a handful of extra inserts when she can remember. My best tip? Check out http://www.thecouponclippers.com for a full tracker on what coupons are going to be in the upcoming week’s paper. That’s when I know to stock up. B1G1 coupons are my FAVE.
These are great tips. I use coupons but am nit an extreme couponer. It is a bit too much.
Ruth
I have just started using coupons and discovered the local store I use allows you to add the store coupons to your store card on-line. For me this is easier because I don’t need to cut and keep up with those coupons. As I check out the coupon is automatically used.
Couponing is definitely a fear of mine! This sounds like an easy way to get into it without being overwhelming. Thanks Jen!
I coupon….but am NOT the best at it!!
I do get multiple papers, and only clip when needed. I also follow a few local/national coupon sites to get up the best deals. I also check out store coupons, like Target, so I can print onine as well to combine my store and manufactuer coupons. I often trade with friends locally as well.
Looking forward to checking out her site and seeing more of her coupon tips!!
Just a few more things – For produce and meat, buy the items that the store has marked down because it is nearing it’s sell-by date and then freeze it in portions immediately when you get home. Also, you can usually find really good mail-in-rebates for meat (for ex. there was a $20 MIR for a turkey around thanksgiving) and use those. If your store doesn’t ever have any out (usually found in the beer and wine section) you can trade for them on the websites mentioned in my last post.
Once you get the hang of it, expect to save about 60% if you are doing a purely couponing shopping trip (I still will have to go to the store for a few things I don’t have coupons for).
Don’t be afraid to ask other couponers questions! They had those questions once too!
Coupons are very cyclical and seasonal meaning that you’ll get stove top stuffing coupons around christmas time. And stores tend to run sales on similar items about every 6 weeks so when you stockpile, try to get enough to last you at least 6 weeks. (This takes time)
Good luck! I’ll be doing a post about couponing on my blog (carolinafireflies.blogspot.com) in the coming week so check it out! You can also find some posts about couponing trips and my email if anyone has any questions!
I just blogged about coupons 2 days ago – it’s a great tool and if you can “master” it, it really leaves you saving. Thanks for the organized reminder…oh so much better than mine. It’s all a process, right?
First off, the show extreme couponing is NOT true couponing! TLC has the stores agree to “bend” their coupon policy to allow the huge transactions.
I agree with the getting multiple papers but also look for tearpads in the stores (don’t take them all, leave some for others) and join couponing sites like hotcouponworld.com where you can trade coupons with others. Different areas of the country get different inserts and will have different tearpads so you can trade coupons you don’t need for ones you do. I also occasionally buy coupons on ebay for ones I can really use.
Don’t feel like you have to use the coupon because you have it. You will find coupons for things you really need but there won’t be a sale/coupon event that makes the coupon make the product cheaper than the store brand before the coupon expires. Just say oh well and either recycle the coupon or send it to someone who can use expired coupons (like those overseas).
Go into the store knowing what things you want and have your coupons already set aside. If it is something I really use a lot of, I will go a few days in a row and pick up 3 at a time (my store only allows 3 of the same coupon to double each day). That way you aren’t taking all of the store’s stock at once and leaving some for others. Likely, the store already knows what items will be bought frequently that week and will have more coming in on trucks throughout the week. Don’t be a shelf-clearer, even if your store allows it.
Be patient as you learn how to coupon! It will take you a long time at first when you are going through ads and matching up coupons. Figure out a good organizing system for yourself and don’t be afraid to change it up if it isn’t working for you. (I tried the whole binder thing and it just doesn’t work for me.) Eventually you will get quicker at it and you won’t need to spend as much time working at it. Also, sites like southernsavers.com and hotcouponworld.com will post match-ups for stores each week so that can help you out A LOT in your planning.
It is worth the work and effort at the end when you see how much you saved on your receipt and then, once you have built a small stockpile, it will feel great when you can just open your pantry and cook dinner without having to go to the store to pick something up.
Great suggestions! Thanks for sharing!!!
I have always been interested in couponing, but can never seem to get the hang of it! Also, are there any great strategies for saving on items such as produce and meat? I don’t like to by a lot of pre-packaged, convenience foods, and it seems like those are the types of foods I always see coupons for.
I get that question ALOT. I am planning a “Frequently asked questions” for a future post and will make sure to address this one!!
These are all great ideas. One thing that I have to remember is that a Manufacturers coupon (what you get in the newspaper) is not the same as a store’s coupon (what you get with your receipt).
I’ve been able to use both which doubles your savings!
I don’t coupon at the moment. We don’t get a Sunday paper with inserts here, my only options for getting coupons would be to either get them online or beg and plead for my friends in the lower 48 to send them to me. We’re moving back to California this summer and I’m really looking forward to being able to use coupons.
Always good to hear other people’s perspective on couponing. Im not an extreme couponer myself. Jen’s suggestions are right up my alley.
Great ideas – I’m glad I came across this.
I subscribe to Jaime’s rule #4 STOCKPILE. I find that just following this rule alone saves me TONS of moolah and time. Time is just as important to me as money.
I used coupons for food and toiletries for about a year, and I did save a bunch of money, but it required a great deal of thought and time. I found that I would rather spend my time crafting. 🙂
However, I learned so much about strategic shopping, like knowing what my best price is on an item, and when I find it on sale somewhere for that price, I fill our shelves! You save big bucks just doing this alone.
That being said, spending time to save money is a very healthy pursuit!
I love this post!! I coupon as well! My mom used to coupon when I was younger and my MIL is really into couponing, so I got into it a couple of years ago after we got married. It’s just so easy to save a little bit of cash. I think it’s funny that I have friends that say it isn’t worth their time because the have restrictive diets (ie, they eat healthy) but that is SO NOT TRUE! We eat as “clean” as possible, but I can still find coupons for produce, whole grain flours, etc. Yes, I don’t use all the coupons I get in my paper, but you can always trade it to people who do want that coupon! And after they expire, you can send them to military families, the commissaries on base take coupons after they are expired. 🙂
Another tip I have is to double up on your coupons. Some retailers, I know Target is one of them, you can use both a store coupon and a manufacturer’s coupon for the same item. Every little bit helps!
I have been faithfully couponing since October of last year. Our family is vegetarian and I didn’t believe it would be worth buying the paper for coupons, since it didn’t seem likely that there would be much for us. How wrong I was. I buy certain items in bulk, like wheat gluten and nutritional yeast, which helps make our “meat alternatives” like seitan, chickpea burgers, etc and vegan cheese sauces. From there, I use coupons to stock up on frozen veggies, fruits, pastas, rices, juices, milk alternatives, etc to complete our meals. We have food for well over a month in our “stockpile” already, so each week, I just buy the best deals. I use livingrichwithcoupons.com to find my best local deals, but there are many sites devoted to sharing where to get your coupons and where to use them.
I love this! Exactly! Thanks for sharing.
Awesome guest post!! Learning to coupon is one of my goals for this year! The idea of using the coupons and knowing WHEN to use them is a bit daunting to me. I’m reading this on my phone, but will have to Pin and stumble this when I get home. )
Hi there, these are some great tips!! Another good tip is that most stores will allow you to use a manufacturer coupon (A coupon directly from the company, such as KRAFT) and a store coupon (such as out of their store flyer) together on the same product. There are some great savings to be had this way, especially if you combine them on a sale or clearance item…You may even get the item for free! Just be sure to check your stores policy to confirm that they do in fact allow this, although most major stores do. Also I am Following you now and would be thrilled if you could take a second to Follow back!!
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Have a great day!