Want to know if you're paying too much?

One of the things that always bothered me when I first started couponing was wondering if the price I was paying was really that good. I've learned a lot over these past months, but I know I've still got a ways to go. Luckily the Krazy Coupon Lady came out with a handy dandy list of prices. There are over 200 items on the list, and they give you the 3-month and 6-month price. That means, if you have the coupons and ability to do so, the price at which to build your stock pile at for either 3 to 6 months. I will be printing out this list and keeping it in my notebook! You can find it here.

Seasonal tips for frugral shopping

I think most people will tell you that the best time to shop and score awesome deals is off season. After the season is over with, you can find really good deals. For example, now that it's summer, I went to Old Navy and was able to get a turtleneck for $1!

The other really good time is before the season has even started. Often times, manufacturers and stores will offer coupons that don't expire until the season starts. I used to think, awesome, I'll save it until it has, indeed, started. Wrong-o! Case in point: It's July. School let out a month ago. Most people are not ready to even think about school supplies, yet here we are. Stores like Target and Staples have some super deals right now. You can get pens for FREE with coupons at Target, and you can get pencil boxes for 50¢ at Staples.

Here's my mission: My church does a backpack drive every year. Between monetary donations and actual backpacks filled with school supplies, these will go to children that need them. Our pastor told us on Sunday that the budget they have set aside will only allow $50 a backpack. I think some people were astonished at how low that price is. Me, on the other hand, I know I can spend a lot less. It'll just mean stockpiling early. :)  I'll let you know how it goes, and what the final total is. I think the item that might be the most expensive will be the backpack itself.

Update on facebook offers

If you're still on the fence as to whether or not you should do all the facebook offers, think about this:
I checked the mail, and I got a $5 Bounty coupon that I won not too long ago and a free sample of Secret's Natural Minerals deodorant. Looks like I'll have free paper towels! Best part, the coupon doesn't expire until December 31, so I'll hold on to it. Who knows? I might be able to find a package with coupons in it and get it for free, or Target could have deal where I can earn a $5 Target gift by buying Bounty-thus earning me money. :) Just food for thought.

Why should I do these free samples?

One of my favorite things to do is search for free samples. Before I go any further, though, here are my rules:
1. Always read the privacy policy. I never give out my info unless they say that they will not sell, rent, or trade my information.
2. Know with whom I am giving my information to. I only do these samples if it is from the manufacturer or the brand itself. There are some sites out there that will give away samples, and they are a third party. That makes me really weary. I have *never* done a sample from a third party, except one, Vocalpoint, and technically they are sponsored by a manufacturer. Otherwise, I just don't feel comfortable.

Okay, now on to the good stuff:

Drug store 101: Getting the Most Out of Your Rewards

If you didn't see my first post about drug stores, you can find it here.

I want to clarify something from that post that might be confusing. The limit of products that I mentioned was for that particular product. So, if the reward was for Pantene, I could only buy the limit of Pantene that they set. This is not, however, a limit to how many rewards I can earn by buying several different types of products. Even though I bought my limit of Pantene, I can still earn rewards for Colgate, for example. The limit is on type of product that can be bought. It is not, however, a limit on how many rewards you can earn by buying different products. I hope that is a little bit clearer. Like I said, drug stores can be confusing!

Okay, now how to get the most out of those rewards that printed on your receipt. When I first started doing this, I used the rewards on things that I didn't have a coupon for or wasn't on sale. It seems logical, right? The more I have been doing this, though, the harder it is for me to buy something without a coupon and it be on sale. Something inside of me cringes when I have to do that. So, needless to say, I avoid doing this type of transaction at all costs. It was kind of by accident that I found out what I am going to share.

Drug store 101: Earning rewards

Drug stores can be really tricky. I am no master of them, but I have definitely learned a lot in the last few months.

First thing: join the loyalty programs! There really is no reason not to. Rite Aid has their Health+Wellness program and CVS has an ExtraCare program. Walgreens does not have one to join at this time. Joining these will enable you to get the best deals. Bonus: if you prescription is at either Rite Aid or CVS, you'll earn bonus points or bucks, depending on the program.

How they work:

Organizing your coupons

Probably the only way I have been able to be sane...and find all the deals that I have...is because my coupons are super organized. There is no one sure fire method. Everyone is different, and your degree of needed organization will be different. For me, this has been a life transforming thing. I used to be pretty good at scoring good deals on clothes. My mom would always be amazed and told me that I had my grandmother's knack of finding that good deal. Now, finding that good deal requires more than just looking through the sale rack. Now I can literally cut out my money from the Sunday papers. That is truly how I look at coupons. They're literally my form of payment.

I found my coupons. Now what?

How to use all those coupons you just gathered:

1. Everything you think you know about getting a good deal is probably wrong. Seriously. For example, before I started doing all of this, I would have told you that to get the most bang for your buck, you need to shop at a big super store. Even without coupons, that still might not be true. If you have literally no time to make a shopping list with corresponding deals, you don't mind that your coupons will NEVER ever double, and the fact that grocery carts are horrible and there are tons of people always there, then go for the super store. Okay…maybe the last part was me being stuck up, but I really have never gone into one and left feeling like I scored an awesome deal. Ever. Even before I started doing all of this.

Where Do I Find Coupons? ....Part 2

Beyond the newspapers and online printable coupons there are tons of other ways to gather coupons. Some of them take more time than others, but I will try to put them in one convenient place. :) Before I begin, though, I forgot something very important in the last post. A note about the Printable coupons: you can only print off 2 copies of each individual coupon per computer. There is actually a scannable code on the coupon that will trace it back to your account, so make sure you're being honest about this, which I know we all are. :)

Where Do I Find Coupons? ....Part 1

When I first started this, all I wanted to know was where to find all these coupons. This is what I have learned.

SUNDAY PAPERS!! I get about 95% of my coupons in my Sunday papers. The papers that are delivered to your home have more and better coupons than the papers you will find in the grocery stores. If you don't have a subscription, you can usually find a card in the non-delievery papers for a deal. You can always just subscribe for the Sunday papers, which will save you loads.