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Coupon Showdown
15:41 Posted In Coupons , Savings Edit This 0 Comments »
Since last year I've been doing things a little differently. I have been saving lots of money at the grocery store. I'd like to share my strategies for stocking up the pantry. . . slowly and frugally.
Get a coupon organizer. I think it's easier to organize coupons by brand name alphabetically
You can find little plastic file folders at any office supply area of Walmart or Staples or Target or KMart.
Buy at least 2 newspapers every Sunday. This way you will have at least 2 of each coupon. This comes in handy when a store has a buy one get one free deal. You can use a coupon for each item. You can also buy coupons from ebay or trade with a friend.
Know your local grocery store and when they will double coupons. When my local grocery store doubles coupons they apply to those that say 60cents off or less. They will accept up to 10 of the same coupon for each shopping trip. Sometimes K Mart has run advertisements where they will double coupons $2 or less. I had a $2 off coupon doubled to $4 off!!!
Research, research, research!!!
Every Sunday when I've got my coupons in hand, I log on to www.thecouponmom.com , log in, and go to drug store deals. I pull up the lists from the stores, and choose the option to display them from the most savings to the least savings. I'll use my coupons to coorelate with what's on sale already. That way, I'm getting the most amount off. I do consider what could be doubled at the grocery store and bought cheaper vs. what has a bigger sale amount at the drug store. The drug stores don't usually double coupons, but they do often provide register rewards or care bucks which are printed out at the register when you buy the items they designate for that week. They will be a slip of paper saying the dollar amount that can be used at the store later.
Note that most drug stores have rebate programs that cycle monthly. The rebates can be combined with coupons also. If you have a coupon for each item, you can stock up on most items quickly. It's nice to know you've bought enough to last you for that month or until that particular item goes on sale again 4-6 weeks later. You will want to make sure you've purchased all of the rebate program items you need before submitting the forms to get your check. They can even be submitted online, and then mailed to you in a few weeks.
The idea of shopping with coupons doesn't mean waiting until you've run out of something. You should pay attention to what you use frequently, and watch for those item to go on sale and buy them then.
The best part about shopping this way is that it's easy to give food to the church's food bank. When you see that you've bought 8 boxes of cereal and only paid a dollar a box - give 2-4 boxes to the church.
The day to shop for meat is Monday. Keep your eyes open for peel off stickers on meat that may expire soon. This is a great thing to buy to add marinade and freeze for a later date.
There are several sites that sell coupons. Look for one that is close to your area, so you can order what you need and get them before the sale ends for the week. Don't take a lot of time to print internet coupons. Some stores will not accept them, and sometimes they won't scan into the register. Walmart won't accept internet coupons.
I hope some of these strategies help, but if you want to know more about anything mentioned here post a comment/ question.
Get a coupon organizer. I think it's easier to organize coupons by brand name alphabetically
You can find little plastic file folders at any office supply area of Walmart or Staples or Target or KMart.
Buy at least 2 newspapers every Sunday. This way you will have at least 2 of each coupon. This comes in handy when a store has a buy one get one free deal. You can use a coupon for each item. You can also buy coupons from ebay or trade with a friend.
Know your local grocery store and when they will double coupons. When my local grocery store doubles coupons they apply to those that say 60cents off or less. They will accept up to 10 of the same coupon for each shopping trip. Sometimes K Mart has run advertisements where they will double coupons $2 or less. I had a $2 off coupon doubled to $4 off!!!
Research, research, research!!!
Every Sunday when I've got my coupons in hand, I log on to www.thecouponmom.com , log in, and go to drug store deals. I pull up the lists from the stores, and choose the option to display them from the most savings to the least savings. I'll use my coupons to coorelate with what's on sale already. That way, I'm getting the most amount off. I do consider what could be doubled at the grocery store and bought cheaper vs. what has a bigger sale amount at the drug store. The drug stores don't usually double coupons, but they do often provide register rewards or care bucks which are printed out at the register when you buy the items they designate for that week. They will be a slip of paper saying the dollar amount that can be used at the store later.
Note that most drug stores have rebate programs that cycle monthly. The rebates can be combined with coupons also. If you have a coupon for each item, you can stock up on most items quickly. It's nice to know you've bought enough to last you for that month or until that particular item goes on sale again 4-6 weeks later. You will want to make sure you've purchased all of the rebate program items you need before submitting the forms to get your check. They can even be submitted online, and then mailed to you in a few weeks.
The idea of shopping with coupons doesn't mean waiting until you've run out of something. You should pay attention to what you use frequently, and watch for those item to go on sale and buy them then.
The best part about shopping this way is that it's easy to give food to the church's food bank. When you see that you've bought 8 boxes of cereal and only paid a dollar a box - give 2-4 boxes to the church.
The day to shop for meat is Monday. Keep your eyes open for peel off stickers on meat that may expire soon. This is a great thing to buy to add marinade and freeze for a later date.
There are several sites that sell coupons. Look for one that is close to your area, so you can order what you need and get them before the sale ends for the week. Don't take a lot of time to print internet coupons. Some stores will not accept them, and sometimes they won't scan into the register. Walmart won't accept internet coupons.
I hope some of these strategies help, but if you want to know more about anything mentioned here post a comment/ question.
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