Hi everyone
I am new to this forum, and have recently left my job to stay home with my seven year old.
I have lots of questions about ways to save and live frugally on one income. I am also specicly interested in learning about coupons, and how to do it!

It seems there are lots of tricks out there, and I was hoping that someone would have some suggestions/ or pointers for me I have seen several sites online that are supposed to show you what stores have your coupon items to maximize savings, I am not sure if this is a good deal, or if it is a scam?

Is it best to save time and only cut coupons that you will use- or cut all of them and watch for deals that you just cant pass up?

Are there any couponing clubs, where you can list coupons you have for someone and then list the products that you use?

Does anyone offer rebates anymore besides walgreens?

I appreciate any tips I can get, I would love to learn the tricks of the trade

Hi There:

I am relatively new to the whole couponing and stockpiling thing. But let me tell you, in the 4 months that I have been actively doing it, I have saved an average of 50% off my grocery bill and have stockpiled on almost everything to last for months for the same amount of money that I would have spent before couponing and watching the sale ads.

Here are my suggestions:
1) Find a way to organize your coupons that makes it easy for you to see and use while in the grocery store.
2) Set aside time during your week to clip and organize coupons and make your grocery list and pull out the coupons you will use that week.
3) Ask your friends, relatives and neighbors who get the newspaper to save the coupon inserts for you if they don't use them. Having multiples of coupons helps with the stockpiling.
4) Get on a coupon train or two. Once you hit your 50 posts here you can ask to be put onto a coupon train. That way you can trade coupons that you don't need for coupons that you do need. Plus it's exciting to see the envelope when your train arrives in your mailbox and anticipate what coupons are in it that you can use.
5) If you have kids, leave them at home when you go grocery shopping if possible. Then you can concentrate on price comparisons and actually giving your coupons to to clerk at check out, unlike me who totally forgot to give the checker the coupons this past week because I was dealing with my 3 yo screaming at the top of his lungs....aaaarrrrggghhhh!
6) If you have a good friend who is willing to go grocery shopping with you once a week, make it a Mommy Night like I do with my friend Michelle. It makes grocery shopping so much more fun! Sometimes we have dinner out and sometimes we just do our shopping. Either way we are laughing the whole night long :D!

You will find that many mommy's here either use Coupons, Grocery Coupons - The Grocery Game :: Home or Grocery Coupons, Coupons, Free Samples, Online Coupons, Restaurant Coupons. Both do relatively the same thing. They list what's on sale, what percentage you will save and what coupon from what insert is applicable. There is a fee for the grocery game and it's free for the couponmom. I use couponmom because they have lists for more stores that I use whereas grocery game didn't have lists for about half the stores that I use. But check them both out to see what works best for you. You can try the grocery game for 4 weeks for $1 before you commit longterm.

I know there are other sites that moms here use, but I can't remember them right now.

Good Luck!

Sandra

Couponing might seem overwhelming and time consuming at first, but once you find a system that works for you, it becomes routine. You'll find lots of different methods of organization on this board, as well as lots of helpful hints.
I clip all coupons from the Sunday inserts except those specialized ones that I couldn't possibly use -- things like denture cleaner. The brands/products I'd probably buy anyway I keep in a coupon folder that goes with me whenever I leave the house. The other coupons I keep in a box organized alphabetically. If I discover a real deal for one of those brands or products ( I mean if I could get it for pennies or for free) I can pull it from the box. THe others go to coupon trains or friends who might use those products.
I have found that my savings dramatically increased when I started shopping at CVS and using their Extra Care Bucks program to my advantage.
In addition to the sites that SandraK mentioned, you might try Hot Coupon World. That's the only one I've found that addresses the grocery stores within a reasonable distance of my home.
I second the advice about leaving kids at home. Mine has a short attention span, so I rarely get time to do much besides gather the items on my list when he's with me. Maybe dh can go with you and keep your little one occupied.
If possible, I shop early in the morning. THat's when my usual grocery store reduces the price of meats and bagged produce that's close to the sell-by date.
Good luck.

__________________
~Jeweled

I agree with everything the two Ladies above have said. Great advice, Ladies!!

I also can't stress enough the importance of making sure you are aware of your regular stores' sales!! I didn't use to do this, until I came here and became a die-hard couponer. Man, I can't tell you how much more money I would have saved (buying brand name items too!!) if I had just watched the sales. Now, I make it part of my routine to stop by the "Mom & Pop" grocery store in my town, either on Tuesdays or Wednesday, when that weeks' sales flier comes out, and from there I plan a shopping trip.

I start at the Dollar General first, and buy as much as I can of what I need from there. You can find great deals on H&B items (feminine products, shampoos, and toilet paper, especially), and detergent or other cleaners, and also (where I live...) I can buy a 4lb. bag of sugar for $.165!! That's at least $.40 cheaper than even Walmart!!

Then, I go to the "Mom & Pop" store, having already checked out what's on sale, and have my coupons all ready to go before I even get there. I do take my coupon folder with me though, because 9 times out of 10 there will be something on sale that WASN'T in the flier!! Alot of times, this store has Del Monte or Hunt's products on sale, and with coupons I can stock up cheaper than anywhere else.

Then, I hit Walmart to finish off my shopping.

Also: Keep in mind that more often than not store brand items are just as good as name brand items, if not better. If you're not picky about certain things (likr peanut butter or ketchup, for instance) you can really save yourself a bundle buying generic!!

Another good idea is to make yourself a Price Book. This is nothing more than a spiral notebook (mine is small enough to fit into my purse) where you keep track of the prices of items you buy most often. I start off with the basics: Milk, bread, fruits, juice, meats, etc., and then I list the items my family especially likes: Kashi cereal, or my favorite brand coffee for example. Make up a single page for each item, then list the stores you visit going down the left-hand side. Take this with you each time you shop, and make note of the prices at each place while you're there. (Write this information in pencil, so that you can easily change the prices, say if it goes on sale.) Soon you will have a handy reference that you can refer to quickly (with sales papers in hand!!) so that you are able to tell where the best prices are on what you already buy!!

Yes, this DOES take a bit of time to get down pat. But once you get used to the routine of Price Booking, coupon clipping and organizing, and watching the sales ads, you will soon see MAJOR BENEFITS in terms of what money you can save on your grocery bill!!

I wish you the best of luck, and if you have any other questions, please feel free to post them!!

And Welcome to Mommy Savers!!

__________________
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had obviously never visited
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Come on over...to the "FREE side"!!
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I use alot of these methods myself. Another one is to use your store card-that saves alot!
Kim