Wednesday, June 24, 2009

TEACH ME TO COUPON

I know that couponing has been around for a while, and I know that there are a LOT of you out there that are total pro's at it. This lovely economy has hit HARD in the Olson Household and so I am trying every avenue that I can think of to save a buck. I have used coupons here and there, you know, a dollar off here and a dollar off there, but I REALLY want to save some money. I have seen some of your blogs about "Look at all of this stuff that I bought for $1.89!!" My question is HOW do you do it? My great friend and old roommate, Amber, was in town from California last week and taught me a little of her wisdom, she is REALLY good at this stuff. Now I want to hear from all of you. Give me advice, websites, blogs, tips, whatever!! What and how do you do it? Is it hard and overwhelming? Is it worth it? Is it time consuming? I think I could really like couponing and really get into it if I just had some guidance and felt like I was doing it right. There is your challenge - TEACH ME!! I really want to learn.

10 Thoughts:

::lindsay said...

I don't know tons, but I'd be glad to show you what I do know.

Amy said...

How did you know what I've been doing for the last hour? j/k. Have I got some websites for you. www.fistfulofcoupons.com is a blog that you can subscribe to and she updates you on the best deals around. Also there is a link on her blog to grocerysmarts.com where you can select a store, i.e. Albertsons, and it has a list of that weeks deals paired up with coupons from newspapers and printable web coupons. You can get some awesome deals.
Albertsons also does double coupons up to $1, which is awesome, and the doublers are found in the wednesday and sunday ads in the paper, or you can just pick up the ad at the store. Coupons.com is an awesome website with great printable coupons. Another blog that I just found out about yesterday is hip2save.blogspot.com that also updates you on awesome deals. Okay, I've officially written a novel, but I can talk to you more while we're running 5 miles on Saturday (ahh!). But seriously, in the last month, I have spent at Albertsons alone, about $85 total and gotten nearly $500 worth of food. No kidding.

hatch said...

I need to learn too. It just gets so overwhelming for me. I would love to learn with you.

meand4boyz said...

Hey Amy,

Go here. http://www.savvyshopperdeals.com/
This is exactly how I organized my binder.
go here www.southernsavers.com and click on walgreens. This is how I do my walgreens shopping.
Oh, so happy you are trying to catch the couponing bug.
clip, organize, research, plan, shop.

Kris said...

I bet this would help out my grocery shopping disaster that I have every 10 days that I go to the store. I want to look into the Walgreens deal. This is all so overwhelming to me and isn't like you're getting triple the amounts of food? I don't know. I could learn a lot too. Let me know if you learn anything and get motivated to start!

Shellie said...

One thing I do is that I have a little organizer (almost looks like a small wallet with lots of dividers). I organize coupons by when they expire, that way I don't buy something then realize I have a coupon for it or that it has expired. I'm sure there are other ways to organize one though.

Also, I am sometimes tempted to buy something just because I have a coupon for it. I have decided it's really only a good deal if I actually need it. I am not a pro by any means, but I try to save where we can.

Heather said...

It seems like a lot of work....

AOlson said...

Lindsey - I would LOVE to chat about what you know and how you do it. See you at the park later;)

AMY - Boy we are not only gonna be running buddies, but now couponing buddies too!! Thanks for all of the tips and websites. I will check them out and call you with questions!!

AMBER - You are a rockstar!!! See what you started!! If I really get this ball rolling it will be all because of you!! I am kinda excited actually, is that nerdy or what!!

Thanks for everyones tips and thoughts and ideas!! KEEP THEM COMING PLEASE!!

Going Family said...

I love couponing! Shawn says I need to go to CA (couponing annoymous) I shop the sales each week and do everything else at WinCo. Yes, I am one of those people who can home with $100 worth of groceries for $5.00! My favorite websites are:
afullcup.com (instore target coupons - great for stacking and getting free stuff)
athrifymom.com (an LDS lady out of Boise)
coupons.com
I resently did an enrichment on couponing, let me know and I can send you my handout. Good Luck, Amy!

Brook said...

I want to get into it too. It seems like I end up spending more money than normal because I think OOh $1 off capri suns, that's great, except for I don't normally buy capri suns anyway, but since I have a coupon I must buy them. Help me too.

I just got around to joining the blog world again and saw the recording of the iLove concert. Thank you so much for posting that. I didn't record it so now I have something to show my family. Thank you!!!