I've been rather frustrated the last couple of months. I've been rejoicing since we paid off our car in a little less than 2 year (YAY!!!!!!!!!!!) but it seems like ever since I wrote that last check we've been struggling financially. WEIRD!!! It should have freed up our budget some. We've had a few things happen (be it in car repairs or needing new clothing for kiddos, etc) so it effects our only flexible expense (groceries). We've been dipping into our food storage (which I'm so grateful to have), but that is very frustrating for me because we're still building it up from the last time we had to dip into it....so it's slim-pickings. So out of desperation and intrigue, I've started looking into couponing. I'm not gonna lie...........its freakin' confusing to me. Especially after watching the show "Extreme Couponing". Regular "couponers" make me feel incompetent anyway but this show makes me feel very brain-dead. I've tried and tried to figure out just HOW people know what's for sale AND just know what coupons they have in their books (did you know there are binders made specifically for holding coupons?!) AND know just when the stores will be doubling/tripling coupons....I just don't get it. So a good friend of mine decided to try and help me figure these things out. Here's what I've learned so far.
Stacking coupons - (manufaturer's coupon + store coupon = EL CHEAPO FOODAGE and/or OTHER PRODUCTS)
Expired coupons = junk for me, but can be mailed to some military address (which i still have yet to find) for ppl to use at the commissary to shop
Clipping coupons - unless you want confetti, please don't let anyone under the age of 6 help you out :/ even 6 year olds need constant supervision
Um........I know that's not all that much. But I also know that just starting out is the WORST time to be a couponer (from reading). I'm determined to make this work though. Any other suggestions on couponing? I'm open for lots of hints, tips and suggestions!
Don't let the innocent faces fool you! Life is NEVER boring at my house. Enjoy the chaos I call my life!
Have you looked at grocerysmarts.com? Pinching your pennies gives you TONZ of info. I can send you paper I handed out at my coupon class. To tell you the truth, I've really gotten burned out from couponing. I just subscribe to Deals to Meals so that I can find out the best deals but not have to worry about coupons. Our family also doesn't eat a lot of frozen or processed food anymore so I mostly use coupons for toothpaste, TP and stuff like that. FYI: Extreme couponing is NOT how most people coupon. That's just insane! (I also don't believe in clearing off the shelves...rather rude in my opinion).
ReplyDeleteAgreed completely!!! Thank you for sending over that handout, it's quite interesting. I'm not going to gather 20+ coupons of one product (unless it's a good one, but I'm not that desperate, I guess). If I happen upon an extra, great, if not, I'm not gonna sweat it! I've heard a lot of bad reviews from couponers about that show, so I know that's not how the majority of them do things, but it makes for interesting watching anyway! LOL
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