Money Saving Christmas ideas! :D

Yes, yes, yes, I know. That time of year has come around once again and everyone is scrambling to let everyone on their list know how much they care, but you dont have to break the bank to give everyone a gift! also some great money saving gifts for kids too!


Make your office/church/aquaintance gifts!


This is so much easier than alot of yall realize! and is so easy on the wallet... it comes out close to $1-$2 per gift! here are some great ideas, and go from there!

• make scented bags that they can keep at their office, in their car, sock drawer, whatever! there are sooo many ways to do it! these are my two suggestions: [Quick and Easy] take tulle circles (you can get a pack of the at dollar tree that has I think either 10 or 15 circles in it) and place a small handfull of potpourri (approx 1/4 cup) in center (they also have a good apple cinnamon at dollar tree, and they have decently priced big bag of potpourri at walmart in many great scents.). Take the edge and bring it up and over the potpourri until you have it all bunched together at the top. tie the top with a pretty ribbon of a christmas-y color(s) (you can get a perfect thin ribbon spool at walmart for only $.47 in bright pretty colors). {A little more advanced} get some scrap or holiday themed fabric. cut a swatch of fabric 6 inches long and 2 inches wide. fold in half (3 inches long and 2 inches wide) with the wrong side facing out. Sew up both sides and leave the top open. turn right side out, fill with potpourri, and tie off the top with a pretty ribbon or sew top closed with a lace trim.
• make little hot cocoa mix bags. we did this for a church christmas party once and they seemed to really enjoy it. it is sooooo easy to make and the materials do cost around $20 but you can easily break this down into 2-20 units to pass out per batch and materials make about 4-5 batches overall. here is the recipie *2 cups of nonfat dry milk *3/4 cup powdered sugar *1/2 cup unsweetend cocoa *1/2 cup MINI semi-sweet chocolate chips *1/2 cup powdered non-dairy creamer *1/8 teaspoon salt *1 cup mini marshmellows (optional) Mix all ingredients together until blended well and makes 4 cup total. You add 2-3 heaping tablespoons to either hot water, coffee, or milk for one serving. you can use the little treat bags you find near the party favors and tie closed with a fun ribbon. we printed little instruction cards (about the size of a return address label) on white paper then glued on red or green construction paper an tied it on along with the ribbon for a fun touch!
• Make your own christmas cards! there are so00000000 many personalizable templates you can use on the computer and cardstock is only $6 a pack (white, at walmart) and you will have enough to print anywhere from 150 (full size) to 300 (half size, 2 cards per page) per pack! (save even more money when you refill your own ink cartrages. more info in a later post)
• make treat bags! who doesnt love yummies during the holidays?! you can get a pack of candy canes for like $1 and some fun hard candy fairly cheap too! who says it cant be homemade candy either? dont limit yourself! do fudge, cookies, candies, snack mix, peppermit bark... the possibilities are ENDLESS with this!!! just fill a treat bag with your yummy of choice, tie off with a ribbon and a candy cane! TA-DA!
• make candy cane reindeer. get green/red/brown pipecleaners, the little googly eyes, and the little pompoms in either red or brown. take either elmers glue or a hot glue gun (I like the glue gun better because of quick drying time) and glue a pompom at the tip of the shorter end of the candy cane. glue the eyes about halfway up to the curl (above the nose about 1 inch or so). then take the pipecleaner, fold in half til it makes a very narrow "U" shape and hook the pipecleaer to the candy cane where the top of the cane is resting inside the bottom of the "U" of the pipecleaner. twist the pipe cleaner twice right at the top (like you would a twisty tie) and pull the two ends outward like the arms of a "T" (you should be able to look at the nose dead on and see the eyes right above it and the pipe cleaner endssticking out on either side. Take each end of the pipe cleaner and crimp each end until they resemble antlers. (here is a link for a picture www.craftelf.com/Crafting_with_Food_Candy_Cane_Reindeer.htm )
• bake cupcakes, mini cupcakes, or cookies for your workplace.
• take it from here! get creative!

money saving ideas for kids

there are always gonna to be the big this toy that kids are gonna be huning under that tree for, but these are tips for some of the "filler" gifts.

• halloween clearance. if you have a little one that plays make belive or dress up... this is the perfect time to cash in on a really epic gift! accessories (crowns, wings, hats, ect) and generic costumes (pirate, princess, faerie, fireman) are clearance right now all the way down to 60-90% right now. some stores even have them at $1 right around this time. To add a whole new dimention of fun, get a old trunk froma thrift store or consignment shop and fill it with all these fun items and call it the "imagination trunk".
• Consignment shops and thrift stores. locally owned consignment shops are popping up everywhere along with some big chains like Once Upon A Child and Plato's Closet. Thrift Stores you can find some great books, easiliy washable toys and even gently worn/brand new (yes you just have to really look) clothes and even fun kids funiture. Goodwill and the Salvation Army are usually brighter and more organized. My only advice with these is to wash what you get because you cant be too careful. :)
• Clearance. Always check clearance for boardgames, certain name brand toys, and even accessories to current toy sets they own (do this throughout the year). also around New Year, get those clearanced out stocking stuffers, wrapping paper, decorations, and ornaments! im just now pulling out the stuff we got from last years clearance and we are good for NEXT christmas too when it comes to bows and wrapping paper!!!
• Party favors make excellent stocking stuffers.

Dont hesitate to get creative! a difficult economy is no excuse to leave anyone out of the Christmas Cheer! get to craftin' and shoppin'!

Awesome Coupon tip of the Post: there are coupons right now for baking goods (like the chocolate chips and the powdered sugar for the hot cocoa mix) and there are sometimes coupons in store's sales ads for things like XX% off a total purchace (of $XX amount or more)! and I have seen toy coupons before in the inserts. :D

Donating Expired Coupons and Timing for the BEST savings!!

Happy Veterans Day! Thank you to all the military and their family who have gave such a sacrafice for our safety and freedom!


On that note, as you collect coupons and wait out for the best deal, or just dont get a chance to use them, you will get expired coupons. As much as it breaks your heart to see them go, did you know our military overseas can use those expired coupons up to 6 months after they expire?! there are many families who are living overseas with their military spouses/parents and are trying to live on a small single income budget. We can help our military by sending the coupon love!!! YAY!! there is information and addresses found here: http://thekrazycouponlady.com/coupons-for-military/ (you will find a quote this site ALOT)

Now, I know some of yall got your papers and clipped some awesome coupons! and youre so excited you wanna run out to the store as soon as you get them and see how much you save! while your first few trips you will save 15-20% overall while you are building up your stockpile (either it be your pantry and freezers, or a empty room that get taken over)but timing is everything!!! The trick is to get something on sale along with your coupon!. For example, this week I was able to get Campbel's Cream of Mushroom soup (a hardcore staple in our home) for $.30 a can!!! 4lb bags of sugar for $1.50! Its all about the timing. I usually dont get to combine store and maufacturers coupons very often, but then in able to combine them with a sale on top of that its great! Also sales a very seasonal! right now alot of the thankgiving staples and baking items are gonna be on sale. (i.e. sugar, flour, canned veggies, turkey, stuffing, paper plates, ect. and those coupons will reflect those sales as well)

so keep scouring those ads and keep that couponing awesomeness going. it will start off kinda slow with the savings but then start to pick up higher with each trip. my last big trip (wed night) landed me 78% savings! I was so excited! Most of my normal trips save me about 55-60%. Also to start up your stockpile, when you find a great deal, get twice what you normally will. That way it takes you twice as long to run out and hopfully another coupon will come for it! and if you are afraid it will expire before you use it, here is a list of things that can freeze and will expand the life of the item:

• Bread
• Cheese
• Butter or Margarine
• Lunch meats
• Bacon
• Veggies
• Milk (drink about 1 glass worth first before freezing to account for expantion)
• chicken stock (whenever I boil chicken for a dish, I save the stock. I use clean pickle jars and fill them while the broth is still hot. sometimes they even re-seal!)

also items that have an almost indefinate shelf life. I will still use these items up to 6 months after their expiration date (alot of times its a "better if used by" date. that just means they cant guarantee the freshness of that product past that date)

• canned veggies
• canned soup
• pasta
• flour
• pancake mix
• box dinners (rice-a-roni, hamburger helper, ect.)
• sealed peanut butter
• unopened cereal
• oats
• unopened spices

So dont throw out pantry items if they are unopened! If they are still sealed, they are still good up to 6 months!! so that is where i will leave yall for now ( I know it was kinda a shorter blog, I have cleaning on the mind today and chirstmas shopping!)

Awesome coupon tip of the post: you can use coupons on clearance merchadice as long as the coupon is not expired!

other money saving tricks and couponer etiquette

Well, sorry about the little bit of delay with this post, I had work and then had my own coupon buisness to take care of. Here is me in the middle of my coupon glory! LOL

if you look reallllly close at the bottom you can see my glorious notebook!!! :D

So, as I promised its not gonna be all about the coupons, so here are some awesome money saving tips and tricks that will save you some SERIOUS $$$!!! YAY!

Baking Soda:

this stuff is really a wonder substance of all sorts of awesomeness!!!! I always have a great amount stocked up because it is soooo versitile! and you can always get it on the cheap!!! oh yes, and sometimes there are (of course) coupons! and im talking about more than just making desserts or keeping your fridge smelling like something died in it! :)

• use it as a cleaning scrub! mix one part water to two parts baking soda and you now have a scrub that will get that stove spotless! works great in cleaning out the microwave too! it also is great for polishing silver.
• its also a great body scrub! mix 1/4 cup of your favorate shower gel and 2 tbsp of baking soda for a smooth and satin-y exfoliating scrub. use it while taking a bath and it will soften your water too! not to mention it kills odors!
• use it as an air freshener anywhere in your home! you can fill a small decorative bowl with baking soda and a few drops of your favorate smelling essential oils for odor elimination anywhere! refresh the odor killing power by shaking the bowl once every two weeks, and change out every 6 months.
• keep down odors in the litter box! sprinkle a light layer on top every time you clean the litter and stur to dispense evenly.
• use it to unclog drains! (yes you read that right!) Screw draino, you have baking soda! for sinks, pour 1/2 cup baking soda down in the drain (it has to be empty for this to work, so catch it early) and follow with 1 cup vinegar. the foaming will boil out the clog and allow for it to break up. for tubs and showers, double the amount used.
• use it to scrub gout! take an old toothbrush and dip[ it in water then dip it in baking soda. use the amount thats clinging to the brush to scrub.
• use it as a whitener for your teeth! do a paste of one part water one part baking soda and brush. follow up with regular toothpaste for a whole new mintiness!

Vinegar

Vinegar has natural disinfecting quailities and is really cheap to buy! (you can get a store brand gallon jug for under $2!) its also great for breaking up soap scum and cleaning windows! the most veratile blend is 1 cup vinegar to 1 cup water and place in a spray bottle. you can also soak your jewelry (including gold and diamond) in full strength vinegar for 1 hour and scrub crevaces with a soft bristle toothbrush for a brilliant fresh from-the-store shine!

Table Salt

just your plain run of the mill salt, you can get it as cheap as 3/$1 sometimes, but usually just $1 most places for store brand. it absorbs grease like no other (like the frying pan after cooking bacon, for example). pour an amount of salt unto grease or oils that you are trying to clean, wait about one minute and add some of your favorate dish soap. scrub until loosened and rinse with hot water. works great on baked on foods and cookie sheets.

make your own Laundry Soap!

this is a life saver! initial cost for all materials will be about $20-$25, but that is for everything! each batch costs about $2 and will last at least a month (for me and my husband it lasts about 3 months and we do only one large load of laundry a day, two at the most). here is what you will need:

• 1 bar of Ivory soap (a three pack is $.98 at walmart).
• 1 bar of Fels-naptha (its kinda hard to find, but its found in the laundry soap section. its a white package with a green label. its like a oversized soap bar and it also says "ideal for pre-treating stains heavy duty laundry bar soap. we get ours at the Thomaston Walmart and its only $.97 a bar.)
• 1/2 cup of borax (again this is found in the laundry section, and its only like $3 a box and it will last you a LOOOOOOOOONG time.
• 2 cups washing soda (in the laundry section. it is by Arm and Hammer and is usually right next to the borax in a yellow box. its the same price as the borax usually)
• your favorate liquid washing degergent (hopefully that you got cheap with your coupons!!)
• a 5 gallon bucket with a lid (we got ours at roses for like $7)
• a plastic cup (this cup needs to be durable but can never be used for drinking so you can get a cheap pack of two at dollar tree and keep one for the degergent)
• a cheese grater (I say this because I would advise to use one just for this purpose because of the Fels-Naptha)
• a very long handled spoon (I like wooden the best and needs to be at least as long as your forearm elbow to wrist. I got mine at dollar tree)
• a funnel (you can get this at dollar tree in a three pack)
• either a empty washing detergent bottle or an empty (CLEAN) milk jug.

and here is what you do:

• grate the Fels-Naptha and the Ivory soap with the cheese grater.
• full your 5-gallon bucket half full of hot tap water
• Heat 5 cups of water on the stove and stur in the grated soap and stur constantly until all the soap has dissolved. (do not let it reach boiling because it foams up really bad)
• pour mixture into bucket.
• add two capfulls of your favorate laundry dertergent, 1/2 cup of borax and 2 cups of washing soda to bucket mixture and stur well.
• add more hot tap water until about 2 inches from top and stur well.
• let sit overnight covered.
• after it sat overnight, it will be a consitancy between jello and pudding. this is normal. stur well until smooth, then fill empty detergent bottle/ milk jug (using your cup as a scoop and the funnel) HALF full with mixture.
• add water until container is full.
• before using with a load of laundry, shake the bottle well to keep it even and smooth because it will seperate slightly after sitting. Use the normal amount you would for average soiled clothes, double for very soiled (mud, grass, etc.) and 2 1/2 times the normal amount for very soiled clothes (i.e. cloth diapers). this can also be used with your favorate fabric softener! yay!

thats all Im sharing with yall this time! if i did everything in one post it would take FOREVER to read and even longer to type! so down to my final subject: Couponer etiquette. This is important because even though you can score some awesome deals, we dont want to give couponers a bad name! (and plenty of people have already) here are some great tips of breaking those negative sterotypes and be able to save money all at the same time:

• if you are going to get alot of something, DONT CLEAR THE SHELF! the only exception to this is if there is literally a few of the item left. but if its a full shelf, unexcuseable. (there is a shelf clearer here in town and I hope I dont see her because I will probally tell her how rude and selfish she is!) if you are getting large quantaties (like for a 6 month supply) talk to your store about special ordering! most stores will order you the amount you need without clearing out their stock! you can also visit several stores too. you want to save some for other customers too who are in this same economic situation!
• if the shelf is cleared off, dont be sad! get a raincheck! (this is where having your ad comes in handy) go up to the cashier and politely tell them that one of their sale items is out and ask to have a raincheck for the sale amount. (also make sure that you can still use your coupon with the raincheck when you come back to redeem it) then come back about a week later and score your sale item! sometimes with ads it will say in the small print that no rainchecks will be issued for certain sales/items or some store wont allow a coupon to be used with a raincheck. So double check all your raincheck policies before you leave the store.
• If you have a large purchace, let the cashier and the people behind you know. that way if they are in a hurry, they can go to another checkout lane. Also, always tell the cashier before they start scanning that you have coupons. Every cashier likes to do it differently, like some like to scan the coupon after they scan the item and some like to do them all at the end. (I always like to have my coupons done last along with my store card so I can literally see the difference and feel like in on the show! LOL)
• When getting your groceries, try not to go at a crazy busy time. Like when the store first opens or at least three hours before closing, expecally if you have a large purchace. the worst time? between 5:30pm and 7:30pm. Its store "rush hour" and people are rude as no other during that time.

so that should be enough info to chew on for now! :D

Store Polices and The Notebook (of crazy! lol)

One of THE MOST important things with couponing is know your store's policies. I have a printed copy of each store's policy I go to in a pocket of my notebook. I shop at several different stores but my most popular three for my coupon extravaganzas are: Food Lion, Kroger, Walgreen's, and CVS. Its really easy to get a coupon policy at your favorite store. You can either request a copy next time you are there or check their website for their coupon policy. It will include doubling/tripling procedures (if they do), what kind of coupons they accept/don't accept, if they allow "stacking", if they accept competitors coupons, or any limits they way have (for example, Publix wont allow more than 10 like coupons per transaction/trip/day/household, etc.). Make sure you are fully aware of the policies before coming in with your coupons! this is key!

I'm sure alot of yall are wondering some of the terms I'm using, and I will explain all of that now. :)

doubling/tripling:

some stores will double a coupon's value. Kroger and Ingles (with some limitations) will double manufacturer's coupons (any coupon that does not say "valid only at [insert store name here]") up to $.50 any day. Food Lion (in Atlanta area stores, not the Macon area stores) will double Manufacturer's coupons up to $.60. Giant Mart (here where I live) will triple manufacturer's coupons up to $.34 and will double up to $.50. (starting to see where having your coupon policies are important?) Fred's will double any coupon up to $.70 every saturday, but it will only do the first one any like coupons per transaction. (if you have three coupons for $.65 off soap, you have to do three seperate transactions.) All these doubling policies will be stated in each individual store coupon policies.

"stacking"

"stacking"- verb. To use a store coupon and a manufacturer's coupon one one item. Most stores will allow "stacking" including Publix, Kroger, Walgreens, etc. There is nothing saying against it in the Ingles coupon policy, but the one here in town wont allow it. Some stores take compeditors coupons (a co-worker of mine informed me of a Publix that takes their coupon, a Kroger coupon, AND a manufacturer's coupon on one item. Combine that with a sale, and thats how you get your free stuff! ) However, you cannot "stack" two like coupons on one item. I.E. you cant use two manufacturer's coupons on one item, or two like store coupons on one item, etc.

one thing that you can do at some stores is if you have a coupon tht states B1G1 (buy 1 get 1) free of X item AND you have a coupon that says $1.00 off one X item, the B1G1 is a coupon on the FREE X item (item 1) and the $1.00 off applies to the OTHER X item (the one you are paying for). its not using two coupons on one item, but two coupons on two items. (if you have any questions about this one email or text me and I will explain it further)

limitaions:

some stores have certain specifications for their coupon policies. the long list usually includes:

• No internet coupons that has a free item with no purchace requirement (these are usually fraudulent)
• no one coupon over [insert amount here] will be accepted (some jut without management approval)
• no more than [insert amount here] of one like coupon
• all internet coupons must have a scanable barcode (usually if it wont scan they wont take it. I always ask for them back when this happens because my printer smudges the barcode sometimes and I know its a perfectly legit coupon)
• blah blah blah

Some stores have a purchace mininum before they double a coupon (Ingles for example will only double three coupons of $.50 or less for every $10 spend. spend $10 they will double 3 coupons, spend $20 they will Double 6 coupons... so on and so forth. I dont buy at Ingles very often) I cant rsay it enough: always always always know the couon policy or a store before uing the coupons.

Regester Rewards (RR), 1up, and Extra Bucks (EB)

Have you ever walked into a drug store and almst fainted at how high some of their prices are? How would you react if i told you this is where I get my best deals? LOL. combine a good sale price + a coupon + another coupon that prints at the end of the transaction to use on your next purchace? oh yes. this is how i was able to get almost $130 worth of stuff for $14!! (walgreens is my personal favorite) If you have ever looked at a sale ad for Walgreens (or CVS or Rite Aid) and saw something like "buy X item, get $X Regester Rewards!* *good on next purchace"? THAT is the key to coupon glory! how do you think I have enough body wash for my husband to last him until 2013?! (Im NOT exagerating)

Here is how:

• look through the ad for item that are on sale for what you need and have a coupon for.
• write a list of what items you are getting: Transaction 1; have all items that will earn you a regester reward, Extra care buck or 1up reward. Transaction 2: have all other items tha you are getting
• tally up the amount you will pay out of pocket for each transaction. Transaction 1 will always be more than Transaction 2.
• keep in mind that the reward will be counted before coupon price but not before sale price (a very popular one is walgreen's buy $30 of X products, get $5 RR on top of a B1G1 50% off sale on X products.) and also alot of them are limit one per transaction. so if you want to utilize a amazing RR you would have to split the trasaction or have two seperate CVS cards.
• these rewards are different than coupons, they are like little paper gift cards so they can be used after all the coupons and store coupons are scanned.
• make sure you have all your coupons for transaction 1 and 2 seperated. I use little envelopes to slip my coupons in and write exactly what I am getting with that transaction , how much before coupons and after.
• Go shopping with a game plan and a hop to your step because you are about to save some serious money!!!

now before you hit those stores, you need to havean organized way to find your coupons quickly and easily and be able to have your coupon policies ready! so now im going to give the run down on (drumroll) THE NOTEBOOK

a standard 3-ring notebook will do, but I really advice a nice zippered binder. get some baseball card holders (or photo holders near the scrapbook section), a zipper pouch, a pair of sissors, a small calculator, and some sort of dividers with tabs (i did mine with construction paper and clear packing tape). divide your notebook into catagories. some do my aisle, grocery and non-grocery, or somewhere in-between. (I have mine divided by "dry/can", "frozen", "refrigerated", "Pet", "hygene", "cleaning", "other", and "store".) find what works for you. so one thing that is congruent among all couponers is the following for the binder:

• on the front have your name and phone number, so if it ever gets lost/misplaced it can be returned (thats such a scary thought! my notebook has become like a child to me!)
• when you open it you should see the store policies in the pocket and the zipper pouch sitting on top of the coupons holding your scissors and calculator.
• Tabs diving your coupons into sections that makes it easy for you to find what coupon you are looking for.
• Always have a copy of the sales ad on your person! i usually stick mine in the back of my notebook.

and there you have it! there are lots and lots of people on youtube wanting to show off their notebooks and how they have it done! And a excellent site I have learned alot from is www.thekrazycouponlady.com. It has alot of great tips, savings rundowns, and a beginners link at the top that has alot of advice and great tips! Check it out!

are you ready?

Im going to start off this awesome journey with how to get started with couponing with a quick intoduction in each category. I can go detail and make you go crosseyed reading all this. dont worrry, I will got more into detail in later posts. :)

The main trick is to get organized. I first started this with a cheap 3 ring binder and some photo holder sheets (it took me FOREVER to get a hold of some of the baseball card sheets!) I found in the scrapbook section at Walmart. I made tabs with constuction paper and clear tape. there are also some images through google where some people made their own customized sheets with a sewing machine and the plain, cheap, and so much easier to find sheet protectors. There is also the accordian book (as I like to call it) that holds the coupons. I perfer the notebook because you can see every coupon you have, but find what fits your groove. the accordian books are easy to make too with lots of online tutorials as well. (Im gonna tell you know I will teach you how to not fear a hot glue gun and to become savvy enough with the crafty world to save a pretty penny!) my notebook has now evolved to a zipper binder with lots of pockets and a abundance of those coveted baseball sheets!

there are two main scorces for coupons: online and newspaper. there are also blinkies (you know the little coupon dispenser that blinks in the aisle of a store? you know the one as a kid you loved to take to coupons out of just to see it spit out a new one?) and peelies (ones stuck on a package in some way) some magazines will have coupons in them too (Cosmopolitan has some sometimes and All You usually has a good bit of them, just for example) blinkies, peelies, and mag coupons are ones I call "bonus coupons" these are ones that are fun to find and really spice up your coupon life!

online coupons:

there are SOOO many sites you can get coupons from! the main four to print from are:

www.coupons.com

www.smartsource.com

www.redplum.com

www.thecouponnetwork.com

You do have to download a coupon printer program onto your computer for each site, and one of them reqires java. these are safe and are free! once you have the program dowloaded on the computer thats it! yay! Online coupon do have a print limit of 2 per computer, but you can print two from each computer on your home if you have more than one!

**IMPORTANT**

photocoping coupons is a felony! DO NOT photocopy coupons! your savings will turn into PRISON TIME!

Newspaper Coupons:

these are coupons that come in the sunday edition of your city newspaper. (For example: The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Macon Telegraph, The Sacramento Bee, etc.) Also the inserts will vary by region. The sunday coupons that I get in the AJC is different than the ones I get in The Telegraph. Fortunatly, I can get the AJC in the city where I work and get The Telegraph where I live. I usually get three copies of each every sunday (AJC early edition when I get off work and the Telegraph when they stock the newspaper box at say 5:30ish AM) depending on the size of your family, you should get the number of newspapers to reflect that (like we are a family of two right now. so when that number increases, so will the number of newspapers I will get.) If you live in an area where you are able to get the newpaper delivered to your driveway, ask about having multiple suscriptions delivered. Also most newspapers allow for you to only get the Sunday paper instead of having to get it everyday. the price of a sunday paper can range from $1.50-$3 so make sure you have in your budget for newspapers. (trust me its totally worth it)

Store Coupons:

the final type of coupon is the store coupon. this is a coupon you can only use at said store. there are five kinds you can get. newspaper (normally publix, kroger and target), catalina (the little machine that spits out at the checkout. Like the Walgreens Regester rewards, for example), Internet (Target.com, DollarGeneral.com, Kroger.com, ect.), in store insert (publix has one at the enterance, Walgreens has a monthly book, ect.), and Receipt (CVS Extra Care bucks, the coupons on the back of Grocery store reciepts like Ingles or Kroger). Most of the store coupons for a specific item can be "stacked" with a manufacter coupon. ECB (CVS) or RR (Walgreens) can be used on the next purchace. For example, I will have all my items that will spit out a EBC or RR in the first transaction, then use the ECB or RR on a seperate transaction right after I get them (and all this on top of using coupons, because the spending specifications are for amount before coupons, not after!)

So are you excited yet? Ready to start clipping? Make sure you have a pair of scissors with a nice comfy grip and have it specifically for your coupons! Tomorrow I will have details with Store Policies and how to build a notebook!

An Introduction

A few people have suggested that I start a Blog about how I became one of those crazy ladies you see in the store with a notebook overflowing with coupons, muttering calculations to herself, and saving some pretty good money. I will start off with a disclaimer:

• I do not constantly get groceries for free, it does happen sometimes, but everything I get is either free or pretty cheap.
• Do not believe the show you see on cable television. If you notice with each introduction of the new person they focus on, 99% of the time they will say, "So-and-so is planning their biggest trip yet." Also you notice their overwhelming joy at the register? Becasue they never do a trip of that size! Its television people!
• Your everyday items (milk, eggs, cheese, ect.) have rare coupons. They DO exist, but they are rare, but your savings will allow for you to still be able to pay full price for some items you need/want. the trick with coupons is to be able to get at least double what you would normally get for the same amount of money you would normally spend.
• I will not tolerate any negative comments. I am happy to answer any questions if something does not make sense or any misconceptions you may have about couponing or just saving money!

I have always belived in stocking up on items when something is on sale. we have a deep freezer and a nice sized pantry in our home. I also buy seasonal items on clearance for the following year. Also, comparason shopping is a must. If I dont have a coupon for something I need, I know where to get it at the best price. Stores like Aldi, Food depot, and Save-a-Lot have EXCELLENT prices on pantry items, meat, and dairy products. If you have followed these sort of practices before (i.e. shopping Christmas clearance for gifts for next year) you already have a head start to stockpiling and have a base to dive into coupon fever! YAY!

I wanted to become a couponer about three years ago, I was working at a retail job that was over an hour away from home and working about 1-3 days a week. One day when I was working as cashier (on double coupon day) a woman came in with $500+ of groceries, a wad of coupons, and walked out only paying $6 for it all. I was flabbergasted and I wanted to learn. I scoured the internet for a week straight, but no avail... I gave up. Then the show came on about a year ago. I watched it like a hawk everytime it came on, took notes, and promised myself I would do it with a three month deadline. if it wasnt worth the time or was saving a small amount, I would stop. I am here 6 months later with not only coupon knowledge, but a huge store of how to make even my stockplie of coupon goodness strech EVEN FARTHER!

I have always been crafty, a needle and thread doesnt scare me, a hot glue gun is your best friend, and being creative with your space isnt a bad thing either! ;) so this blog isnt only gonna be about coupons, but how to make the average dollar streach even further! I can help you save money with some tips on how to throw a cheap wedding/baby shower/birthday party, what foods can freeze so you can really stock up when it on sale, making one bottle of laundry degtergent last for at least a year! (an average sized one! not a mega sams clubs sized one!!) And those things you dont have to even look at a coupon to save! all it takes is a little bit of time, work and creative thinking. As a working woman with a husband, two cats, and a dog to feed, I understand time is money and I can help make that all worthwhile.

I promise it will be worth it! :D