Tomorrow is the premier of the newest season of Extreme Couponing on TLC (9p EST for those interested 😉 ). In the past, I’ve attempted being one of those couponers.  Buying 12 copies of papers, getting 12 bottles of shampoo for 10 cents, and visiting 6 different stores & buying stuff I would never use…or would prefer not to use.
I veer toward real food. I very rarely shop the inner aisles at my grocery store, except for things like canned tuna, salmon, noodles, etc.  I don’t get groceries for free, but I *DO* still save money on groceries.
- Check the sale fliers. Add anything that you know you frequently use and staples that you need.
- Check the coupons. You can go to Sunday Coupon Preview to see if it’s worth buying a newspaper (or bugging people you know who get it). You can also check CellFire for coupons that load on your stores loyalty cards (mostly Kroger & affiliates).  There is also Coupons.com & SmartSource.com which have internet printable coupons for all sorts of things–you can even earn SwagBucks for printing and redeeming them!  You can usually find coupons there for real food (like this $0.50 off Two Packages of LAND O LAKES Butter coupon) as well as beauty & vitamin products.   A lot of times, your favorite grocery store website will have coupons on their website as well (like Meijer mPerks and Mealbox, for example).
- Make your menu plan! Use what is in your freezer, what is on sale this week, and then fill in the gaps with what is in season.
If you want more detail on how I do any of these items, Grocery University was a fabulous resource on how to save on my grocery budget.  She includes tips on using coupons, but she has many tips that can help save money on your groceries even without them.
The last thing I do is use coupons whenever we eat out, as much as we can.  Living in my area for 10 years, I know where the local restaurant coupons are, who has kids-eat-free days, who sells the discount cards and when. Sometimes I find them online, too.  Right now you can get free chips & queso @ Chili’s and a small sub & cookie for $2.99 at Quiznos.
If you aren’t subscribed to a deal-site in your area, I recommend subscribing to at least one that has your local area chains and sales and coupon matches so that you can get a head’s up on what is available.
And that’s how I do coupons in real life. Â How do you do coupons? Â How much time do you spend? Â How old are your littles? Â Do you work full time? Just curious to know more about you :).
This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday @ We Are That Family.
Rachel @RunningRachel
6 April 2011 at 11:53 AM (13 years ago)Great couponing tips! I too am facinated by the TLC show Extreme Couponing. I know where to get coupons and sales fliers… but spending the time researching and mapping my shopping trip is over my head! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by my blog for the UBP and great couponing tips! 🙂
Rachel @RunningRachel´s last blog post ..Weekly Weigh In
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Julie Bagamary
6 April 2011 at 9:25 AM (13 years ago)Good info. I mainly buy extras when an item is on sale and I know I will use it or can freeze it.
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