Simple ways to save money shopping

If you are like me, and always looking for easy ways to save money, whether it is on food, gas, clothing, school clothes, school supplies then you know that it can also be very overwhelming and time consuming. If you prepare and plan ahead your pocketbook will thank you later!
Here are a few examples of how I am saving based on my recent shopping trips.
1. Walgreens
1. Colgate sensitive toothpaste 4 oz $4.99 – $4.00 register reward = I paid .99
2. Dial body wash 16 oz. $3.99 – $3.00 reward = I paid .99
3. 2 Kellogg’s keebler cookies and 2 Rice krispie treats 4/$10 – $5 reward = 4/$5 and I used two $1.00 coupons – $2.00 = so in the end I paid 4/$3.00
And I earned $12 in register rewards so that is free money I can use on my next shopping trip!
2. Dicks
The dreaded sneaker shopping! This is always a pocketbook drainer! I had a $10 reward certificate and coupons to use so we started out there to see what their prices were~ All 3 of my boys wanted reezigs and I said I wasn’t going to pay those prices unless I can get a really good discount.
So I bought 4 pairs of sneakers and 1 pair of baseball pants (adult size) all for $204.90 after taxes.
Pair #1 was $56.99, Pair #2 was $64.99, Pair #3 was $74.98 and pair #4 was $39.99 and the pants were $24.99 so that is $262 rounded up before tax and I used $70 in coupons! So that made the sneakers more reasonable! When the boys were younger I did not invest in their shoes because they were always growing which they still are, but it does pay to buy a better quality shoe because they are so hard on them now so I do what I can to make them last a little longer!
3.Old Navy
Had a special on their jeans for $10 and for every 20$ you spent you earned $10 so I purchased 4 pairs of jeans @ $10 each and two boy t-shirts so my total came to $53.49 and then I used a coupon for 10$ off a $50 purchase so that brought my purchase down to 43.49 and I earned 20$ in super cash to use on my next purchase!
4. Walgreens (This wasn’t for school shopping but Hurricane Irene shopping!)
1. Duracell batteries on sale for $9.99 for 16 pack and if you purchase two packs you earned $5 in register reward so and I had two .75$ coupons = ($9.99 + $9.99 = $19.98 before tax – 5$ rewards = $14.98 before tax – $1.50 = $13.48 before tax for 32 batteries
2. Dawn dish soap (10.3 oz) on sale with in store coupon for .99 and I had 3 $.50 coupons so I bought 3 for $1.47 total before tax
3. Scrubbing bubble bathroom cleaner on sale 2/7$ and I used a $1 coupon = 2/6$
4. M&M’s 2 (11.4 oz) bags on sale 2/5$ and received $1.00 in register reward I had 2 $1 coupons so I paid 2$ for two bags
I used my $12 register rewards to pay for this shopping trip and I earned another $6.00 in register rewards!
I do a lot of shopping at Kohl’s as well, because they offer Kohl’s Cash. What this means is that for every $50 you spend you earn $10 Kohl’s Cash. I only shop the clearance racks when they are running Kohl’s cash. They are also always sending coupons. So on top of earning Kohl’s cash, I am always using an additional coupon to save even more. Since I am only shopping on the clearance racks you can get a lot for very little money. This is where I buy most of the boys t-shirts and shorts because they sell Adiddas and Nike and you can get some really great buys! I never pay full price for their athletic clothing. I will share an example the next time I shop there.
I also pay attention to the different drug stores that have pharmacies. They will run specials if you transfer a new or existing prescription and you will earn a gift card. Recently, I earned a $20 gift card to Harris Teeter for a script that I paid my $10 co-pay on. After paying my co-pay, I still had $10 worth of credit to spend on groceries for the boys.
Kerr Drugg was also running another special but they offered a $25 gift card. I paid $10 co-pay and earned $15.00!
So if you pay attention you can find some great deals.
I know it may sound a little confusing which is why I have tried to break it down but if you. Pay attention to the sales, cut your coupons, match your coupons up with the sales, and you can get some good deals especially when you earn register rewards on top of that!
If you would like to find out more on how I use coupons read here:

http://wp.me/pFL53-2a
Happy Shopping!
Michelle

Coupon Cutting Survival Tips

Michelle’s Tips

You may be asking yourself, are coupons really worth the effort? Do you really save enough money to make it worth the time? I used to be one of those people who thought coupons were too much effort and I thought that I did not have time for one more thing on my never ending to-do list, until now. With gas prices at an all time high and food prices on the rise, I decided I needed to make coupons work. I mean it is all the rage, all my friends are doing it and saving big so why not me?

I started out small and after a few times of saving money it felt great! We all like positive reinforcement so I kept going and after time it became a habit. Now I never shop without coupons. No, I am not extreme and I do not have stock piles because I only buy what I need. There are times though when I will buy items when they are buy one get one free because that is a great way to donate items during food drives and for back to school items that you can give to your child’s classroom. There is always someone who can use something and it feels great to give back. The best part is that it did not cost me anything extra so it is a win win situation!

Ok, so decided that you are going to give coupons a try too and are wondering where to start? I hope that after you read this post this you will have a road map so you can start your own coupon journey. When I started I did not have all the answers. There are no answers because we all do it differently and the important thing to remember is that you are going to do it differently too and that is ok. I learned through trial and error and so will you. Remember it is important to find what works for YOU!

Getting started can be overwhelming. You might feel stressed, confused and you may feel like not trying but if your goal is like mine and that is to save your household money then it is worth trying! I know you want to save money and I know you are looking for ways to save time and you want it be simple! Me too!

There are so many different ways to get coupons now (and there are probably ways that I do not know about, so maybe you can teach me those) You can get them the old fashioned way, the Sunday newspaper, or you can go online. There are so many sites out there that you could get lost looking so I say just find a few that fit your style. If you try and do too much you will stress yourself out and end up quitting.

These are some of the sites that I use myself (please note that I am not compensated in any way for mentioning them, these are my own opinions) I like these sites because you can sign up to receive their newsletters.
1. The Krazy Coupon Lady @ http://thekrazycouponlady.com Their newsletters are great because they email you the stores along with the sales that are going on that week along with the coupons that you can use, so basically they spell it out for you. So ‘they’ will save you time from having to do it all on your own.

2.Thrifty Girl @ http://thriftygrl.com This is a great site because she will share different sales/specials that are going on as well as recipes.
3. Coupon Mom @ http://www.couponmom.com/ This is a wonderful resource! You can sign up to get coupons delivered to your email inbox!

Ok, so let’s start cutting!

First thing you need to do is decide when you are going to cut coupons. Then you need to schedule that on your calendar (You are using a calendar right? If not, get one!)Yes, you are actually going to ‘schedule’ a time with yourself to cut coupons! By making the time each week you are giving yourself the time, rather than waiting until you find the time. I cut coupons on Sunday. My husband likes to go and get the paper on Sunday mornings and he usually brings me back an iced latte as well. Isn’t that sweet? I also plan a time for printing the coupons from the email newsletters. I only clip what I need, some experts say otherwise. Cutting coupons will take time, patience and consistency but you get to decide how much time and effort you want to put into it. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to do this. All I am doing is sharing with you what I do because it works for me. Other people will have their ways of doing this and I am sure if you searched online you would find all kinds of posts about coupons. I typically spend 1-2 hours on Sunday cutting and organizing them. I usually spend about an hour during the week printing the coupons from the emails.

Next make a list of items that you need. I have a magnetic list that I keep on the front of the fridge that I (or any member of my household I hope they are reading this) can write down the items that are needed as I come across them. Then when I go to make my grocery list I already have those items listed. I cross off the items when I write them on my grocery list and then I put the list back on the fridge.

Now you can plan your menu. I only plan a week at a time. We are a family of five with three boys who play sports year round. So that means we are on the go all the time and our schedule is always changing. Planning more than a week did not work as I found myself not sticking to the menu. We would eat out unexpectedly and after having purchased the items needed for those meals, we spent more and wasted food. This does not mean it would not work for your lifestyle. I know people who plan their meals based on what is on sale. I do a combination of what is on sale and what our schedule is like for that week. For example, if we have 3 nights of ball games then I will plan for crock-pot meals for those nights. After planning your menu you make your grocery list based on what you need.

Look over your list for any coupons that you can use on the items. I like to maximize my savings by using coupons when items are on sale. If you have coupons that you are going to use, then make sure you keep them with your list so they will be all set to go. For the coupons that you are not going to use, you can put those away. What do you mean you don’t know where to put them?

You will need a “system” for keeping your coupons organized? Why do I call it a system? Well because there is more to it than just a coupon organizer. You will need something that is going to get you from start to finish. You can store your coupons in whatever you want but if it does not help you “use” your coupons then it is not serving its purpose and they will end up in a pile somewhere and when anything is in a pile, we can’t ‘see’ what we need and therefore go unused.

Here are some things to ask yourself when setting up your system:
1. Will you use a standard coupon organizer? I tried this but did not work well because you can’t see all the coupons at once, you have to take them all out in order to see what you have and that becomes time consuming and a lot of work
2. Will you purchase one?
3. Are you going to create your own coupon binder

I started out using the Couponizer @ http://www.thecouponizer.com and you can also see that I was couponizer of the month in October of 2006 http://www.thecouponizer.com/couponizer_otm_2006.php This is a really great system for getting started. It comes with a complete guide that will teach you how to coupon. I highly recommend this for anyone.

I now use my own binder system and the only reason that I no longer use the Couponizer is because of its’ size. I cut more coupons now and so I need something bigger. I use a binder of my choice and the inside comes from the Coupon Magic Organizer @ http://www.couponmagicorganizer.com/

Pictured here is my own personal coupon binder. I just chose a binder that I liked and added the pages

The first page that you see when you open it up is a full page two sided clear pocket page and I keep my grocery list along with any coupons that I am going to use right in the front

The next pages that you are looking at on the left side is a list of clean eating foods that I am trying to learn to incorporate into our lifestyle and on the right side is where I keep extra paper for writing my lists on – these are left over from when I print out coupons and instead of throwing away the paper I reuse them

Now you are looking at the section on the left is where I keep receipts that I may need for returns and on the right is where I keep store specific coupons, these slots are bigger so they work out nicely

And this is the section where I have dividers and clear pages for the coupons and there you have it simple and easy! YOU can do it too!

Another resource for creating your own coupon system can be found at The Krazy Coupon Lady @ http://thekrazycouponlady.com/beginners/ This section is for beginners!

Now that you have found a system that you like and are using (Yes, you will have to use it in order for it to work, its just like organizing, you can get your “stuff” organized and if you don’t maintain it then it will go back to being disorganized and the same is true for using coupons. If you don’t remember to take them with you when you go shopping then you have wasted your time cutting them, organizing them causing you to spend more on groceries than you need to. So, how do you remember to take the coupons with you? One of the ways I use to help me remember is by keeping my binder in the kitchen drawer. I have an actual ‘home’ for it so that I know (and anyone else in my home ) where it is. Yes, there are times that I forget it. I also keep my grocery list and menu right with the binder so when it is time to go to the store I have everything I need and I can just grab and go!

*tip* when putting your new coupons in the binder be sure to take out the expired ones. I also take out any coupons that are about to expire and keep them with my grocery list and if I don’t use them I discard them.

The expired or unused coupons you can go to Krazy Coupon Lady’s website as she uses this program: OverSeas Coupon Program @ http://www.ocpnet.org/

My favorite part of saving money using coupons is when an item is buy one get one free and I use a coupon!

My keys to success:
1. Make the time
2. Find a system that you fits your lifestyle
3. Use the coupons!

I hope this helps you in some way and if I can answer any questions that you may have please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Happy Couponing!

Michelle

I was recently a guest on the Joyful Organizer Radio Show which you can listen to here: (Click on Joyful Organizer and then scroll down a little to find my episode)

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf

Listen to internet radio with The Joyful Organizer on Blog Talk Radio

The Surprise Package!

Happy May! I hope this post finds you well. In my home we are winding down spring baseball and gearing up for the summer. We are a busy household, but this Spring was extra busy with some unexpected added events and happenings. How about you? What have you been up to?

Recently, I made a visit back to where I grew up to spend some time with my best friend from childhood who was recently diagnosed with Stage IV Brain Cancer. A benefit dinner was planned to help raise money to help cover any expenses not covered by her Insurance. While I was away, my husband let me know that we had received boxes from Tupperware. I said boxes as in more than one? And he said, yes, and they are big boxes! I thought to myself, I wonder what could be in them? He said I wasn’t going to believe it until I saw them with my own eyes. I could tell that he was just as curious as I was. I wasn’t due back home for a few more days so he gave into the temptation and opened a box to find all kinds of Tupperware items, there were some wrapped boxes as well. Upon returning home after a long 12 hour drive it was a nice surprise to come home to boxes of goodies! My husband was right, I could not get over the boxes. I was in complete awe over what I was opening.
I just sat there on the couch wondering why? I didn’t understand?
Ladies Home Journal had featured my family in their February Issue for our Valentine’s Day Fondue tradition. You can read it here:

Ladies’ Home Journal

Tupperware had contacted Ladies Home Journal and asked them if they could send me something. I wasn’t really sure why they wanted to send me something and I was curious as to what they wanted to send? I was so overwhelmed until I finally found a handwritten note from Elinor Steele, Vice President of Global Communications and Public Relations that said “we at Tupperware loved your family’s creative idea for Valentine’s Day dinner, so we hope you can enjoy this variety of products to help you continue your tradition!”

I then figured it out. On the table, pictured in the article was a Tupperware item that we used for our dessert fondue – it was their white serving center piece. I have had this piece for many years and we have always used it for our fondue tradition!

Here is a picture of the items were sent to us by Tupperware:

1. Ice Prisms Pitcher and Tumblers (These are going to be great to use on our porch when Hubby and I enjoy porch drinks and appetizers)
2. Ice Prisms Plates
3. Chip and Dip Set
4. Kitchen Prep Set (Look how nicely organized this set is!)
5. Chef Series Pro Starter Knife Set (Hubby is very happy over these)
6. Mix and Store Pitcher (This will be very handy when making pancakes on the weekends when we don’t use all the batter)
7. A set of Midgets (Think of all the fun things you can organize and use with these)
8. A new Serving Center Set (Look how pretty it will look hosting out next Valentine’s Day Fondue)
9. Thatsa bowl (This will be great for so many things but I can see my son who is a popcorn fanatic using it for his daily popcorn)
10. Chef Series Stainless Steel Frying Pan with Cover (This is one of our favorites, it is absolutely gorgeous and it is so nice, I don’t want to use it!
11. Chef Series Stainless Steel Stock Pot Set (Another favorite and it is just gorgeous!)
12. Eco Water Bottles by Tupperware (These will be very handy for the boys)
13. Modular Mates Storage (Love anything that will help my pantry stay organized)
14. Onion Keeper (cute way to store those onions and help keep the odor under control)
15. Saucy Silicone Spatula (there were a couple of these and who couldn’t use more spatulas?)
16. Quick Chef (This is a food processor and I am looking forward to trying this out to save time in the kitchen)
17. Whip ‘N Prep (this will come in handy when making scrambled eggs and since I buy 3 dozen at a time you can see why)
18. pie press and empanada maker (will be very handy at Thanksgiving time for those pies!)
19. Chop and Prep (This will be handy when making salads)
20. Silicone Wonder Mat (Yum can you say homemade cookies, I can taste, I mean smell them now)

You can now pick your jaw up off the floor like we did over all of this! Can you believe how generous Tupperware is? I can see sending me a new serving center, but all of this? There were some items that are not listed on here because I could not figure out what they were and could not locate them on the website for a description.
In a Thank you note, I mentioned to them that I feel guilty accepting all of this new stuff when there are families in my North Carolina community that have lost their homes due to the recent tornados.

I feel bad that it took me a bit to get this post done. After being out of town and having to come back and get caught up, it seems like all I have been doing the past couple of weeks is writing Thank You notes for all the donations, to those that have helped and supported the fundraising, as well as my own personal thank you’s! I was also a bit overwhelmed with ALL of the gifts. I was not really sure where I was going to put it all, so it sat in the dining room until I had some time to go through it all and figure out what it was and where it was going to go! Do you have any of these items? If so, how do you use them? Would love to hear feedback!

A BIG shout out to everyone at Tupperware ~Thank you for being a Company that reaches out in kindness to others, by sharing your products. They obviously stand by who they are and what they represent. That speaks volumes!

I was not paid by Tupperware for these comments, these are my own opinions.

I would also like to thank all of those at Ladies Home Journal for sharing our family Valentine Tradition. I had no idea what that article was going to lead to.

Appreciatively,
Michelle Monroe Morton and family