I recently posted that my husband and I have gotten into clipping coupons. Some of the coupons we’ve found are from websites like My Savings, they are printable, so no scissors necessary (this is a good thing considering my husband has been clumsy lately! *Think pencil in eyeball, not a good mix). But we finally decided to really take the coupon plunge and buy a Sunday newspaper this past weekend. These coupons are more oriented towards our local grocery stores, and often they correspond with sales. I’m repeating myself from an earlier post, but that’s they key, using coupons on sale items.
We found many coupons for items we normally buy in our local paper, each from a different department. After cutting them all out, we realized that we needed more than just one envelope to organize them. We decided it was necessary to invest in a small, plastic, multi-slot organizer from Staples. For less than $7.00, we organized our coupons into general categories:
- Produce
- Dairy
- Canned goods
- Boxed goods
- Pet items
- Frozen
- Meat
- HBA (personal hygiene items)
- Drinks
- Vons
- Ralphs (The two grocery stores we shop at)
These categories should keep our coupons well organized. I also found a great website that lists manufacturers that are currently mailing coupons and some great coupon tips, Saving Cents with Sense. She also posts links to printable coupons and posts on ways to save money with coupons. I also like her green color theme and adorable head banner.
Some of the best coupons I’ve received are from particular grocery stores, like Ralphs. Using my rewards card, I earn points with each dollar I spend. Of course the thought behind this is the more you spend, the more points you earn. Since I try and stick to my grocery budget, I only every earn about $12 for each 3 month-period. But, every time I receive those reward coupons in the mail, I’m excited and more willing to go shopping at that store (another point to these incentives.)
Now if only I could find time to get to the darn grocery store!
How many of you use coupons? Do you save a lot with them? Are they too time consuming to bother with?
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- Little House in the Valley » 60 items for $69.19! - [...] My coupon organizer has also been helpful during shopping. As I check off my grocery list, I quickly look ...
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I don’t usually don’t use coupons. I have found that they make me spend/use/eat more sometimes. Such as the ones spend $20 get $5 off. While you do save 25%, when you only plan on spending $10, it gets you to spend the $5 extra.
I’m a coupon maniac, but my organization leaves much to be desired. I need a coupon organizer of some sort. Right now, I only use an envelope and paper clip the coupons into sections. But that gets too messy when I want to look at coupons while I’m in the store.
And you make a good point about rewards making you want to shop — coupons are another way of ‘tricking’ you into buying things you wouldn’t normally need — especially if you have to buy 2 or 3 of something, like cans of soup, to redeem the coupon.
.-= RainyDaySaver´s last blog ..We’ve Got Windows! The Glass Kind, Not the OS =-.
I don’t really bother with coupons that much because a lot grocery stores have really cheep deals like ten for $10 (you don’t have to buy ten to get the deal most of the time) or buy one get ones.
I will hold on to coupons I get from clothing stores for an extra 20% off or something to that nature.
LH! Something seems a little different on this site, what could it be?
The wife and I may have to employ your coupon method, to guide our consumption habits. Why not, to save money? It’ll be exciting!
.-= Financial Samurai´s last blog ..An Ambulance Screams By, Do You Feel Happy Or Sad? =-.
@Financial Samurai – Yes, I’ve changed my theme. I’m still tweaking it a bit. Thanks for visiting and noticing! I’ll have to post a follow up on how the coupon method works!
@RainyDaySaver – Thanks for stopping by! I’ll have to give the coupon organizer a try this week and follow up with how it worked. Hopefully the organizer isn’t too large and clumsy to use!
@Mike@MoneyLounge.net – I’ve only just started using coupons. I used to think they were too much of a hassle, but when you read some of the stories about how much true coupon users save, it’s a ridiculous amount. For instance, some of these people will buy $150 worth of groceries for about $35 all by using coupons on sale items! Thanks for stopping by!