I've decided that I am going to learn to save money. Stop laughing. I'm serious! I have some things I have been wanting to do and until I save up some money I'm not going to be able to do any of them. I'm not interested in being an extreme couponer, with 200 jars of mustard and 400 rolls of toilet paper in my back closet (who has that kind of room?), but I would like to make a dent in my grocery bills. With that said, I need some help.
What are some ways you all save money? Are there online coupon sites that are better than others? I'm dying to hear what everyone else does! Help!
Chris and I saved a ton of money when we meal planned. I only bought what we needed at the grocery store and didn't meander trying to find other things Walmart was trying to sell me.
ReplyDeleteThen I would only go there when I actually had a list. Now they actually sell meal planners that you can put on your fridge.
Coupons are cool, though. I watched a lady who didn't hoard, but knew if she bought baby formula, she could get the money back (like $6) and donate the formula. Win-win. Unfortunately, my non-mathematical brain can't do that sort of planning.
Basics:
ReplyDelete1. Manufacturer Coupons (the ones in the Sunday Paper or that you can print from their sites)
2. Retailer Coupons (Target and Kroger have these on-line. You can add your Kroger ones to your Kroger card. When you swipe it deducts those amounts automatically from your bill.)
-Sometimes you can use a man. coupon AND a retailer coupon for the SAME transaction!
-Some places accept expired coupons (less than 30 days)
-Some places double coupons (Schnucks)
It takes about 10-12 weeks for the Man. coupons to come around again, so use it while you've got it if it's something that you know you're going to use (shampoo, shave gel, etc.)
Sites you can order coupons from (I know...it's sick that I know this):
1. http://www.thecouponmaster.com/
2. http://www.thecouponclippers.com/
You may also want to check out "Extreme Couponing for Normal People" on YouTube. There are several parts. The user is: SoukupFamily33950.
Basically, look for stuff on sale and that you have a coupon for and you get it almost for free (sometimes), but you don't need 700 bottles of ketchup (even if you like ketchup)!
The End.
I started using a meal planning service that takes into account the coupons for your grocery store that week. Since I'm in Canada, I can't take advantage of that part, but I do like the menu planning and shopping list done for me. Plus, all the recipes are on ONE page. It's very user friendly. Variety: meals for 1, gluten free, low-carb, etc.
ReplyDeleteSorry, forgot the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://e-mealz.com/
Check out couponmom.com. I've started using it and it is a pretty easy way to keep yourself sane and avoid a million little slips of coupons (half of which end up being expired by the time I manage to use them). You simply save the inserts each Sunday from the paper and this websites matches coupons that are available each week with the items on sale at the grocery store. You can generate a list electronically of what you want to purchase that shows which ones to clip. The site has a quick video to watch taht was all I needed to get me going. Good luck!
ReplyDelete