January 13, 2011

ADVENTURES IN COUPONING!

Posted by Lori~

Ask any of my friends and they will tell you that I LOVE A GOOD DEAL! AND I ALSO LOVE TO COUPON!

Have you seen the Today show when they feature the cheapest couple in America or some other couponing queen? Literally they purchase $200.00 worth of items and pay $5.00! WOW—I WANT TO BE THAT PERSON!


WOW--LOOK AT THESE COUPONS!  NEATLY ORGANIZED!

This weekend I decided to go couponing and document my adventures for you! My mission was to CUT MY BILL IN HALF!

Couponing does take time, but trust me it is WORTH it. Here’s my step by step process to planning a couponing adventure (keep in mind I am still learning):


LOOK AT THE DEALS--pre coupon sorting!

STEP ONE: Purchase a Sunday paper—for example I live in small town, ND and typically purchase Fargo’s The Forum. Sunday papers are jam packed with store fliers and coupons inserts! Clip and file (I sort my coupons by brand in alphabetical order, but do what works best for you!)

MY SAVIOR:  MY COUPON ORGANIZER!  Steve says I need a BIGGER organizer!


STEP TWO: Research using couponing and discount blogs. A shout out to my two favorite coupon/deal blogs: Valleydealseekers.com, passionforsavings.com, and freebies2deals.com! These websites are LOADED with deals, freebies, samples, and basically give you a road map for a shopping trip that can cost you next TO NOTHING!

STEP THREE: PLAN! PLAN! PLAN! Check-out free coupon websites (coupons.com, smart source, and red plum). Honestly I spend one hour/week planning my couponing for the week!  Sometimes I will even google for a coupon I need on my shopping list!  YOU WILL BE AMAZED!

I've mapped out the store--coupons are sorted in order!


STEP FOUR: Go shopping and watch the savings!

A few coupon highlights:
Save $5.00 off any 2 L’oreal cosmetics
Save $2.00 off Playtex gentle glide tampons
Free Beech Nut cereal
FREE Excedrin Extra Strength Max
$3.00 off Similac
Buy one get one free Herbal Essence product
$2.00 off any two Athenos Humus
$1.00 off any Sensodyne Pro-Enamel toothpaste

Look at the number of coupons!  They are almost as long as the purchases!


FINAL BILL:
BEFORE COUPONS: $102.81
AFTER COUPONS: $57.54
TOTAL SAVINGS: JUST OVER $45.00! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!


OVER $45.00 IN SAVINGS--CAN YOU BELIEVE THE DEALS?


THRIFTY TIP: Sign-up for free samples. Typically enclosed in a FREE sample is a high value coupon!

3 comments:

Michelle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michelle said...

Great blog! I have never been able to save that much when bringing all my coupons along. I hope to take your suggestions and save a whole lot more the next time I go out.

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