The Art of being Frugal Part 1

 

I happened on Karen's blog a few weeks ago and was just amazed at the amount of money she has saved every week. I know about couponning (is that a word?)and I try my best to get those great deals but I'm not nearly as good at getting the deal as this frugal Mama.

 

The Holidays are a fun time but also a time where our budget is maxed out. I asked Karen to share some of her secrets so that the rest of us could hopefully save some money. I always get a sense of pride when I do get that great deal. It's a competition to see how much more money I can save from the week before. I hope you enjoy Karen's tips. Next Tuesday she will be back to share some more tips with you!

 

Karen is giving away a $10.00 Gift Card from CVS. Stop by her site to enter!

 

 

Tiffanie

 

It is known that coupons can and will save you money. But if you've never used them before it can be really hard to figure out where to begin. It will take time each week to sort through all the flyers, cut the coupons, and make your lists. But if you start small and set aside just a little bit of time each week, it will get easier, trust me.
Here are a few ways to help get you started on your way to saving with coupons.

Where do I get coupons?

1. The best place to get coupons is in the Sunday Paper (some places you can buy them a day earlier on Sat, check with your local stores). If you can get your hands on a paper that only cost about $1.00 it's worth it to grab a couple so you get more coupon inserts. But before you buy, take a quick look inside and make sure the coupons are there! Sometimes they are missing and that really stinks when you get home and there are no coupons. Ask your friends, family and neighbors to keep their coupon inserts if they don't use them for you too!

2. You can also buy coupons on e-bay or from a coupon clipping service. My favorite on is The Coupon Clippers. When you 'buy' coupons, you are actually just paying for the cost of them cutting, sorting and shipping them, you don't actually 'buy' the coupon.

3. Another source is in magazines. Especially parenting and home magazines.

4. You can also find a lot of coupons on products. Either to use when you purchase it, or it will be on the package for you to cut out, or inside, to use next time. Always check the inside of the boxes before you toss them. There may be a coupon.

5. You can also sign up for mailing lists to get coupons mailed to you either through USPS or email. A lot of times if you write to companies of products that you use and either complement them or perhaps complain about the product (please don't make it up, it should be a real complaint) they will send you coupons and sometimes for FREE items!!! It's real easy to write to them since most companies have websites and you can email them right from there. Maybe you could take 15 minutes a week and write to companies. Be sure to keep a list of who you write to and then note who sent you something.

6. My 2nd favorite place to get coupons is printable coupons online. A lot of companies will have printable coupons on their web sites and they will change often so check them every now and then. You can usually print out two copies of each coupon from each computer. If you have more than one computer print from each one if it's an item you use often. You can also get printable coupons from SmartSource.com and Coupons.com. (I have a sidebar on my web site with the coupons from coupons.com and also a printable coupon section where I list those I've found online). Most places will take printable coupons either in black and white or color. It's best to check with your store about their printable coupon policy.

7. “Blinkies” – These are the coupons you find in the aisle with the food. The machine usually blinks, that's why it's called a blinkie machine.

8. Tearpad coupons are also found in stores. Sometimes on the shelf with the product, or on a display and even at the register. Look around, you never know where you'll find them.

9. Food Stores that sell wine in the same store will sometimes have Wine Tags. These are coupons hanging around the neck of the wine bottle. Most times they are for dollars off certain products or types of products, like meats or produce. Some wine tags will require a wine purchase, but some don't. You have to read the tag.

10. Catalina's are coupons that print out at the register. You can get these at a lot of food stores; Walgreen’s and I recently heard that Rite Aid is starting to use them. These coupons are usually manufacture's coupons you can use at that store only. Sometimes you will get dollars off your next purchase if you buy certain products. Those are like cash.

 

Coupons can be found all around you so always keep an eye open!

 

Now that I have the coupons, what do I do?

Each week when you get your sale flyers, sit down and go through to see what's on sale and make yourself a list from each store. Cross reference all the lists to find the best deals since a lot of weeks you'll find the same thing on sale in a few different places but the prices aren't always the same. Then check to see if you have a coupon for these sale items. Keep in mind that some stores (like the food store) may double your coupons. So you want to pick the store where your coupons will go the furthest.

 

If you don't normally use coupons, this is where you'll see the difference. Let's say your weekly food budget is $80. If you have $10 in coupons, then you can buy $10 more food (or put the $10 into the bank). Now if you don't need $10 more in food and you don't want to put it in the bank you can always stockpile a few items that are on sale that you have coupons for.

 

I try to only buy items that are on sale and I have a coupon for. Of course there are some things that I do need that I don't always have coupons for like meat, fruit and veggies. There are a few ways to also save on those items.

1. If you shop a certain day of the week, you can find a lot of meats marked down since it's the last day they can sell them. This doesn't mean that they are not good, it just means if you don't cook it that day, you have to freeze it. You can freeze most meats for months! My local food store has a section where they break down the big packs of meat that they need to sell, season the meat, then repackage in smaller portions. A lot of times I can find 4 chicken thighs, 4 chicken legs or 2 split chicken breasts for less than $2.00 a pack! Pick up a few and toss them in the freezer! Check with the meat department to see what day or time of day they do their markdowns and shop then if you can.

2. Wine Tags – I mentioned Wine Tags above. A lot of these will be for dollars off meat, seafood or produce.

3. The produce department will also have markdowns on fruits and vegetables that need to be sold within a few days. If it's something you are going to use right away, or can cook for later use, this is a great place to save money on produce. My store always has stuff on the mark down rack, but again, ask the produce department at your local store if there is a certain day where you might get the best mark down deals. If they just do it once a week then the produce is best the first day of the markdown.

4. The bakery department will also mark down yesterday's bakery items. You can find some desserts that you can toss in the freezer for when you have company for half price. They also have bread that is just a day old. How many times do you buy a loaf of bread and then eat it over the next several days. It's the same thing if it's a day old! Why not pay half price instead. Ask the Bakery department when you can find the best deals on their markdowns too. Some of them may even do it at the end of the day and at that point it's not even a day old yet!

 

Come back Next Tuesday for Part Two on The Art of Being Frugal!

 

 

Karen

Frugal RI Mama