Couponing Deals

It has been awhile since I got REALLY good deals with the coupons, but here is what I got last night with the Quaker promo at Albertsons.
4-TreeTop Juice Boxes (3pk.)
5-bags Goldfish
4-boxes Pop Secret Popcorn
4-Aunt Jemima Syrup
4-Boxes Chewy Granola Bars
3-Hamburger Helper
2-Sugar (5lbs each)
1-Crunch Berries --Isaac's favorite
5-boxes True Delight Granola Bars
2-Clorox Wipes
3- containers of Old Fashioned Oats
4-boxes Instant Oatmeal
10- boxes of pasta
1-Nivea Lip Balm
2-64oz. Welches Juice blends (not pictured)

Total spent: $15.80 on $160.37 worth of groceries

So WHY aren't you couponing??

If it is because you aren't sure HOW to start, you are in luck...I will share with you the papers I'll be handing out at my class this weekend.

It's got quite a bit of info in it, so we'll break it up into sections...

This is not your grandmothers way of couponing—the difference? Matching coupons up with sales/promotions to get the lowest out of pocket cost.

1. Finding coupons:

1.1. Sunday Paper inserts—each week there are typically at least 2 coupon inserts: SS (Smartsource) and RP (Red Plum) 1^st Sunday usually has up to 5 inserts including a P&G (Procter & Gamble) . Subscribe, ask neighbors/family/friends, buy at the Dollar store. The “This Week/Food Day” paper typically comes with a SS insert on Tues/Wed. There are NO coupon inserts on Holiday Weekends (Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc)

1.2. Internet Printables—(IP) print direct from manufacturer’s website, coupons.com, smartsource.com, redplum.com, etc. Each coupon should be able to be printed twice from each computer. It is best to set up a “coupon email” account for registering on manufacturer’s sites, so as to not bombard your regular email account with all the offers/junk they send.

1.2.1. Printing—you can print coupons in color or black & white…I select “grayscale” and “draft” copy and it uses less ink this way.

1.3. Coupons in the store

1.3.1. Peelie’s—located ON a product, peel off to use at purchase or save for later

1.3.2. Blinkie—Located in the store in a blinking dispenser sticking out off the shelf

1.3.3. Tearpad—usually located on a display of the product

1.3.4. Flyer—handed out by a demo. Person or in the box on a display of the item

1.3.5. Ecoupons—load coupons online to your store loyalty card (Fred Meyer Rewards Card, etc) and the coupon will be deducted automatically when you swipe your card/give your phone number.

1.3.6. Catalinas/Register Rewards—coupons for $$ off your next purchase that print AFTER your transaction.

1.3.7. Doublers/Twice the Value—both Safeway and Albertsons often have these in their weekly ad. At Albertsons you can double up to $1 on 3 coupons. Safeway will double up to $0.50 on 4 coupons.

1.4. Ebay—you can purchase coupons online for items you buy often. You pay for their time, not the coupons, so you can buy a package of 10 coupons for $1 off 1 box of cereal vs. only getting 1 in your Sunday paper.

Next post will be about How to Organize your Coupons and the great clipping debate... To Clip or not to clip??