I've discovered couponing!

We had a class at church last week about couponing. This isn't your mom's couponing either. We're not talking about saving $0.35 here and there. We're talking about saving HUNDREDS of dollars WEEKLY! If you do it right and are patient you can get brand name items at regular grocery stores (like Albertsons) for pennies on the dollar. It's very addicting. I get a sort of high every time I'm told how much I saved. What's great too is that you can stay within your budget but get more items. As an example I'll tell you what I've come to call the "soup can analogy." Let's say you have budgeted $1.20 for a can of soup. Now let's say that you have a coupon that allows you to get that same soup for only $0.40. You've already allotted $1.20 so you now get to buy three instead of just one. That's how you're able to build up a bit of a food storage without spending extra money.

There are three types of coupons:
Manufacturer (says manufacturer right on the top of the coupon)
Store Coupons (doesn't say manufacturer, but has the store name at the top instead)
Catalina Coupons (printed at the register out of the little catalina machine) these can me OYNO (on your next order-use like cash) or Manufacturer coupons. Read the fine print.

Where to find coupons:
The Sunday paper: You can get more than one subscription to be delivered to your home, or you can pick up copies at Wal-Mart, or some gas stations for about $1.00 each.

Printables: There are thousands of coupons to be had, and printed from your own computer! Each month there are new ones coming out for different products! It can be very time consuming and you can get bogged down with needless advertising when searching for these, that is why I use a great website called: http://pinchingyourpennies.com/
Here's what you do:
1. Get a junk emial address
2. Set your printer up to print in black only
3. Buy a lot of paper (that you can get cheap if you look for deals)
4. Check back regularly
5. Don't forget to print them twice! (back-refresh-retry) NO PHOTOCOPIES!!!!

Pinchingyourpennies.com
From the first screen click on FORUMS up on the task bar

My favorite place to go is Screaming Deals by State. For Idaho, there are Albertsons, Smiths and Broulims. For your state there will be whatever stores you have locally.
Printing Pennies: This is updated daily with the latest printable coupons as well as a list of the monthly printables on the sticky at the top.
Screaming Deals Around Town: contains the weekly Walgreens deas as well as deals from other stores like, Walmart, Shopko, Kmart and Target.
Screaming Deals Online: Several fantastic online deals on everything from toys to Q-tips! It also has lists of coupon codes you can use on many online shopping sites, such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Buy.com and others.

The Pinchingyourpennies forums are very useful when you are trying to make the best deals! People leave comments and ideas to help guide you in your coupon efforts.

How to organize your coupons
There are several ways to get organized! The more organized you are, the more likely you are to use those coupons!

A small photo album: This is a great way to start if you aren't going to go gung ho! It fits in your purse or car and is there when you see that item you want t ouse it on.
A binder: This is my choice. It may seem excessive, but it keeps you organized and will help to maximize your coupon experience! I use 9 pocket baseball card pages to hold the coupons and divider tabs to divide them into categories.
Keep it current: Check your binder frequently for expired coupons; you can donate them to the military! Infomation about that is found here: http://www.ocpnet.org

REMEMBER: The biggest killer of a coupon shopper is FORGETTING YOUR COUPONS!

Ready...Set...Shop! How to use those coupons!
NEVER use a coupon on a full priced item unless you have to have it now.
ALWAYS shop the sales, check your local stores' websites and fliers for good deals fo the week.
STOCK UP! When something goes on sale and you have acoupon that makes it an even better sale, don't just buy one... Buy as many as you can afford...the more you do this the more purchasing power you will have.
STACK COUPONS: use a manufacturers coupon along with a store coupon to get the best deal! (You can't use more than ONE manufacturers coupon per item...they won't let you do it, don't even try, it's coupon fraud.)

ROLL OVER sales and PROMO's: This is a great way to maximize your purchasing pwer! Example: last week at Albertsons they did a promo that when you buy $30 worth of certain items you will receive 3- $5 catalina coupons($15.00) to use toward your next purchase! Maximize your purchasing power by using your manufacturer coupons with this promo, and only purchase $30 worth of these items in one transaction! You can roll the $15 onto your next purchase to get your items for 1/2 price! And don't forget to use your manufacturer coupons on this next purchase to lower the cost even more!

Stocking up that pantry
There are several things you can do to stock up your pantry without spending a whole lot more money!
1. Evaluate what your family usus on a regular basis and keep an eagle eye out for the sales on these items. (Don't forget those coupons!)
2. Purchase as many of these items as you can afford or that you have coupons for. If you are looking at purchasing a large amount of these items or you are adding to a stockpile that you have already been accumulating, be sure and check the EXPIRATION DATE...Think "How many of these will I use before they expire?"
3. Remember that you can freeze or can excess purchases.
4. Expensive items, such as laundry soap, deodorant, toothpase and shampoo can always be purchased for much less than you think! Stock up when they are on sale and then you can use that budgeted money toward future sale purchases.
5. Be organized. Know what you have in your pantry and where you can improve.
6. Where am I going to put all that stuff?? You will find a place...be creative...wouldn't you rather have boxes of cereal under your children's bed than dirty laundry??

Just a couple things before I'm done:
1. On pinchingyourpennies.com you'll see people use abbreviations for the newspaper inserts. They are: RP-Red Plum, SS-Smart Source, PG-Proctor & Gamble.
2. Have you ever noticed that the junk mail you get only uses one side of the sheet of paper? Use the other side to print your coupons on.

DON'T GET OVERWHELMED!
Start out small and add more as you get the hang of it!