Couponing is My Job Part 2

 I know you guys are just super curious about all my "amazing" tricks on saving at the grocery store, right?

RIGHT!? Anyway....

Well I am here today to share a few basic ideas and try to show you how it works.

First off, I want to show you my stock-pile. I want to prove to you that I am not a hoarder,  but that I buy things my family needs and then donate the rest to a local charity Josh and I support. The top picture is my personal hygiene items. It is one shelf in my hall and I didn't pay more then $1 for any of it...most of it was free! (CVS is my secret for those items!) The bottom picture is a small portion of my canned goods. I know you are thinking seriously who needs that many canned tomatoes! We actually use all of it pretty quickly. I have to use 2 cans for every single batch of salsa and four when students are around for a double. I also paid 20¢ a piece for those, while retail is $1.20. The green beans were all 20¢ a piece as well. The BBQ sauce was all free and I will not be buying any for a year or more. So my point is you should have a fully-stocked, well organized area for food and hygiene products, but don't go overboard.

So lets get started on some tips. First, buy a newspaper every week! This is where you will get coupons for both Proctor & Gamble and General Mills products. Second, print coupons online @ coupons.com, smartsource.com, and redplum.com. These sites all have great everyday coupons. Lastly, look over the ads and decide a game plan. DO NOT go to every store, you'll end up using more gas than coupons! Pick the one with the best deals – one grocery store and one drug store is  a great beginning.

I will start with the "CVS" game. They do this great program called ECB (Extra Care Bucks) Where you get "money" back to use on another transaction. For example this week they have Oral-B toothbrush for 5.99 with $2 ECB. If you use the $1 off coupon in this week's paper, you will pay $4.99 for the toothbrush and receive $2 ECB to use another time. So it is like paying $2.99 for a battery-operated toothbrush! Now what I would do with that $2 ECB would be to buy the mouthwash that is on sale for $4.99 and receive $1 ECB. After a coupon, plus $2 ECB, you will pay $1.99 OOP receive $1 ECB for the future... so it is like paying 99¢ for Crest mouth wash! Yeah I know that this is confusing but really the concept is to roll your ECB to the next week. Like all true couponing, you have to be able to see this ECB program as money... free money! Everything in my hygiene shelf above is from CVS, so trust me it is worth trying to play the game.

Second place is Target. I love this place! You can go to target.com  and print off coupons directly. You can then use a printed Target coupon with a manufacturer coupon on 1 item! Plus, they also have the Target Debit Card, that is connected directly to your checking account – every time you use it, you will receive 5% off your total purchase. Plus free shipping at all times online!

My last big thought is PLEASE do not stress about this! Pick the stores you are comfortable with or shop already. Start small. For example, start by shopping the sales. If coupons just aren't your thing, you can at least buy the items that have a good sale price. If milk is on sale this week it won't be on sale next week at the same store, which means buy two gallons while it is on sale. A lot of times when chicken is on sale ($1.99 lb) I will buy a month's worth of chicken. You can save money for your family and not have to buy all the off brands!

Any questions on the methods? Any thoughts on how to improve my strategy? Let me know if you want more tips on these areas.