I learned how to save money...

and I would love to teach you too!

I have a new hobby and this hobby is called COUPONING!

Our family is a one-income family. That means that we have to be wise with the money God has given us and we are always looking for ways to save money. Last month as I was checking our bank account to do an overlook of the spending for the month I was appalled at how much money we spent at Wal-mart. To be truthful with you, it was absolutely irresponsible! This set a huge conviction inside of me. I am the one in the home that does the grocery shopping and manages the household needs that we have - and how poor of me to allow so much money to be spent so un-wisely! This was not only disrespectful to the Lord for what he gave us but also disrespectful to Mike for foolishly spending the money he worked so hard to bring home! Something had to change... and it had to happen fast!

I contacted a friend who's pastor's wife is a guru on couponing and savvy shopping! She met with us at Panara Bread that very weekend (I told you it had to happen fast!) and spent 2 hours with us guiding us through this process. How thankful I am that she spent that time with us - it has been a blessing for sure!

The following that I am going to share is mostly from a handout she gave us and also a few tips that I have learned. So, grab a pen, a cup of coffee (or in my case a Dr. Pepper - although they have not been on sale and I have not had a coupon, so there has been no Dr. Pepper for me lately...), and enjoy!!!!

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Basic Meal Planning Thoughts:
1. Plan your meal based on what is on sale.
2. Reduce your costs by using what you already have on hand.
3. Allrecipes.com - type in ingredients you have on hand and it will give you several suggestions for new recipes.
4. Freezer Method Cooking. Next time you are making a casserole make two and toss one in the freezer for another day. That way when you are having a busy day and don't feel like making a meal, you can just grab it from the freezer. It is also a great way to serve others that need a meal at the last minute!

Set a Grocery Budget
Make it a goal to lower your spending each week. Don't expect to save 50% right off that bat. Take baby steps and spend less and less. Make it fun and challenging. I set a goal of $50 a week. The first two weeks I spent $48 and $51 however, this coming week I am only going to be spending about $13. That is because I stocked up on some meats and other items the first two weeks and am able to use what I have for the rest.

Stocking Ahead
Look for weekly sale itmes that are foundation of your meal planning in order to have the readily available. Stock up when you can get a great deal. For example: last week Winn-Dixie had there chicken buy one get one free. So I stocked up. We eat lots of chicken in our home, so it was important that I buy it when it was on sale. That way I am not running out of chicken and will not have to go purchase some when it is not on sale. The sale papers generally have a 6-8 week rotation, so stock up on those items for that time period, so the next time you have to buy it it will be on sale again.

Things you need for couponing:
1. An organized method for your coupons.
2. A notebook. I find it is helpful to write out all my deals, what coupon I have and how much the final cost will be. This way I know ahead of time what I am going to spend and what I am going to save.
3. A computer and printer. I do the majority of my coupon clipping out online and use some resourceful websites to aid me in that.
4. The sales papers for the store you are choosing.
5. A little bit of time!

How to get started:
This will take time and you will have to sit down and plan your trip. Would you work for 1 hour if the pay was $40 and hour? Money saved is money earned and in our home that means a lot! If I can save $200 on groceries then that has made a huge difference! It will take a lot of work, but it is worth it. Lisa encouraged us with this verse:

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve." Col. 3:23-24

A. Make a list based on what is on sale. (I use Publix, so I will use them as an example through this post.)
I go through the paper and ONLY focus on the buy one get one free items or I follow the advice on some websites (I will list those later), on if another sale is a good sale.

- The ads run Wed-Tues in our area, so you need to pick one day to shop and get what you need. Another key on saving money is not to go shopping several times a week. Get what you need and stay out of the store until your next shopping day.
- Shop the "Loss Leaders" on the 1st page of the Ad. The store will lose money on these items to get you into the store.
- Publix penny item coupon (every Sunday and Monday in the Sunday paper) It is a "mystery" item that you get for a penny if you buy $10 in groceries. This week it was tortilla chips and last week it was toilet paper!
- Publix will doubly coupons up to .50! That means a .50 coupon is a $1 at publix!
- Buy 1 Get 1 Free. You may only purchase one at publix and it will be 1/2 price. Also, you may use 1 coupon per item if you buy two and it makes it super cheap! For Example: Last week Publix had their Heluva Good Dip on sale for BOGO (Buy one get one). It was normally $2 per dip (but with BOGO it was $2 for 2). I had two .50 coupons that I found online at one of the websites. Because they double coupons, each coupon was really $1 off. Because I had two coupons and I had two dips I got $2 off making them both FREE! completely and wonderfully free. And let me tell you, that dip tasted SO MUCH better!
- 5 for $10 items. You do not need to purchase all 5. You can purchase one and it will be $2 (This also goes for Winn-Dixie with their 10 for $10.
- Always bring your ad paper with you to verify the price and size.
- Get a raincheck if they are out of that item. This also gives you the chance to look for a coupon for that item before you purchase it.
-Rebates. Receive back part or all of the purchase price for a product through the mail. For example: Target had their Kellogg's items on sale. I had a target coupon and a manufacture coupon for all items. I purchased the items for $6.81. There is a rebate if you buy 10 Kelloggs items that you will receive $10 rebate. I sent in my receipt and proof of purchases and will receive a check in the mail for $10. Basically Kelloggs is paying ME $3.19!!!
- Special Store offers. If you go online to publix.com they have several clubs and magazines that you can sign up for that will send you coupons and offers!

Coupons
1. Buy a Sunday paper and look for Smart Source, Red Plum, and other coupon inserts (Procter and Gamble). Holiday weekends do not contain any coupons, and I believe that the last Sunday of the month is when Procter and Gamble puts theirs out. I could be wrong on that.
2. Organize them in a way that works for you. I took Lisa's advice and purchsed a tote box and some alphabetical tabs. I organize my coupons be brand. Example: G for General Mills, Green Giant, Glade, etc... This way, when I see on a website or in the paper that General Mills Cereal is on sale, then I just flip to the G for the coupon.
3. Types of coupons:
* Manufacture Coupons: Found in sunday paper, stickers on the product, or blinkies (the blinking boxes in the aisles)
* Store Coupons: These say "redeem at Publix" You can combine store coupon and a manufacture coupon making items free or inexpensive. For Example if you have a BOGO item of Mayonnaise for $2. There is a manufacture coupon for $1 and a store coupon for $1 then you can stack these and get $2 off making the items free. You cannot stack two manufacture coupons or two store coupons.
* Competitor store coupons. Publix will accept coupons from other grocery store chains. For example, the Winn-Dixie Catalina coupons which print out at the register "Save $10 on your next purchase of $50", publix will accept that. Another example is Target. They have been having really good coupons lately - Honey Nut Cheerios were on sale at Publix for BOGO and they were 3.99 for both. I had two .55 manufacture coupons and two $1 off any General Mills Cereal from Target. Making total in coupons $3.10. So I paid .89 for TWO boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios!

Make your list and pray before you go - God is our Provider.
- I use the sales papers along with some helpful websites:
- Southern Savers: This website is AMAZING! You can click the grocery store of your choice and she lists every sale item and under each item she will list what coupon to use with it and if it is a coupon you can get online she will give you the link to it! It is through this website that I have been able to find 99% of the good deals I am getting. I have been able to get the majority of the competitor store coupons off of this website as well.
- Money Saving Mom: She does this in blog form, so if you miss a day of reading you will want to scroll down because she posts about 7 times a day it seems. She will post deals from most all sites and give you links to coupons if they are on the web. She also posts LOTS of freebies items. All of the items she posts there are normally no strings attached and are all legit. I have received MANY subscriptions to magazines for free (martha stewart living, parenting, decor, etc...)
- Coupon Mom This website does some of the same thing that Southern Savers does but I have found it a little confusing. Lisa is coming to talk to our ladies and show us out to do this website, so I am interested to see if I can figure it out. I do know that you can also pick your store and it will show you the percentage of savings for each item.
- Stretching a Buck This one is similar to Money Saving Mom, but I have noticed she sometimes has things MSM doesn't have listed.

Coupon Printing Sites:
Coupons.com
eversave.com
smartsource.com
hotcouponworld.com

You will probably end up finding some more as you begin your quest of couponing.

Checking Out
1. Watch the prices as the cashier scans the items to make sure they ring up correctly. Always check your receipt before leaving the store. At Publix, they have a price quarantee or you will get the item free! So if they ring up the wrong price it's free!

2. Give the competitor coupons first -the ones that say $ off your next purchase...

3. Pay attention as she scans the coupons. They may stick together or they may miss one. For example, today at Target. Because I had planned and wrote out what I was getting and how much it should be it scanned up more then what it should have been, so I politely told her that wasn't correct and we re-did the coupons and turned out she missed THREE coupons! And they were significant ones at that! So, pay attention to all details.

Helpful Hints
- Produce is normally a good deal at Sams or Costco (There is something so exciting about shopping in bulk, let me tell ya!)
- Save money on milk by purchasing whole milk, keeping the gallon jug and adding 1/2 water... close to 1% consistency. This also works well with Juice, Shampoo and Hand Soap!
- Take your coupon box (even if you think it is silly, you may see an item that is on sale and you have a coupon). I have even run into people in the grocery store that I knew and looked in their buggy for items I had a coupon for and was able to give it to them - all because I carried that silly big tupperware! it is actually small...
- Also take a sales paper and your calculator, and of course, your list!

Example of my Shopping List
Ok, I made my shopping list tonight for this coming week. I won't go until Monday, but Southern Savers put the ad up so I went ahead and did it. You can go to her site to find the links to the coupons that are stated:

PUBLIX: MFR = Manufacturer TC = Target Coupon BOGO=Buy One Get One Free

Keebler Cookies: Bogo for $3.99
Using $1 off MFR. Final Price $2.99 for two

Cinnamon Toast Crunch: Bogo for $3.99
Using two $1 off Target coupon; two $1 off MFR coupon. Final price: FREE

Toaster Strudel: Bogo for $2.49
Using two $1 off MFR. Final Price .49 for two

Ronzoni Pasta: Bogo for $1.79
Using $1 off when you buy 2 (MFR). Final Price .79 for two

Trail Mix Planters: Bogo (doesn't specifically say the price - we are guessing around $2)
Using $2 off coupon from Food Lion. Final Price should be free. I am planning to get 4 of these - I printed two of the Food Lion coupons

Sour Cream: Bogo for .99
I don't have any coupons, but we like to stock up on Sour cream, so I am going to purchase 4 of them. Making my final price: $1.98

Dove Ice Cream: Bogo for $4.39
I don't have any coupons for this either, but I LOVE Dove bars and NEVER buy them b/c they are so expensive, but they are half off and, well, I save enough money I can have a treat, right? Final Price: $2.20

Country Crock Butter: Sale Price $1.00
Coupon from their website for .55 off each. I am purchasing two and the Final price will be: .90

Green Giant Boxed Frozen Veggies: Sale Price $1.00
I have 2 coupons for $1.00 off (MFR) and 2 coupons for .50 off. So I will get two free and pay $1 for the other two. Final Price: $1.00

Campbell Soups (cream of... stock up item for us): Sale Price $1.00
Using $1 when you buy two. Making it .50 each. I will print some more off and plan on buying at least 4 or more if I can get access to more coupons. They have a limit per computer, but our neighbor might not be using hers... we shall see. For 4 cans, final price: $2.00

Goldfish: Sale price $1.00 (no coupons, boys just love them...)

Chex Mix: Sale price $1.66
I am using two .50 coupons MFR, for two of them. There are two types of these coupons out on the web, so I will print all of them. There is another two .50 for the select brand. So I will purchase 4 all together, bringing my price to .66 each and Final Price: 3.96

Ok - so that is my list. I don't have any meats or anything, because I stocked up on those things the last two trips. (For example; We will have spaghetti this week, because I stocked up on RAGU when it was on sale the last two weeks.) So this is able to be a slow week for me to just get some fun items and some stock up items.

My TOTAL price is: $12.36!!!!
If I was just going to Publix without any coupons or sales this would cost me $59,89!

Here are some pictures of my past deals: For your viewing pleasure!

I got all this at WalMart for .94 before tax. (you have to pay tax on the before coupon price) this was all worth $22.94

This was combined my Publix and CVS Deals (Go to moneysavinmom on her CVS 101 post for more info on that). My Publix items I paid $51.00 for $119.00 worth of items. My CVS deals were 3 paper towels, Diapers, and FOUR tubs of Edy's icecream all for $3.81!

This was purchased at target for $1.79, It should have been ZERO, but the last coupon I gave her was for $2 and it wouldn't let it get to zero. What I should have done was add a .50 candy bar to get the total over $2 then use the coupon. But you live and learn.

This was my rebate purchase that I discussed earlier. I paid $6.81 for all this and will get a $10 rebate check in the mail.

This was my first purchase. I spent $43 and saved $48!


It has become so excited and a little game to play! I told Mike that this changes how I grocery shop for the rest of my life!!!!

For those that live in the area you need to come to our church at 6:00 on Tuesday, the 15th. Lisa will be speaking to our ladies to teach us these things and to also help guide us through some of the websites! You won't want to miss it! For those that can't make it, hopefully you learned something in this blog (alot of it was adapted from the handout she gave me). Please let me know if you have any questions or extra tips!!!

Happy couponing for the Glory of God! :)