For the past two weeks I have gotten back into my coupon routine with a little help from some blogging friends. I see this as a true gift and a way that I can get more for less with my family’s budget. I will surely be focusing more on this in the near future, so look forward to SAVING! I know as busy moms, it is always a desire for us to save more money, but often times it gets complicated, seems like it takes too much time and just overwhelms an already busy schedule. But I would like you all to think again and look at it in terms of money saved – which is really then money earned. Make sense?
So since last Wednesday I’ve been using coupons and catalina’s (they are the coupons that are spit out after you have completed a grocery store transaction, you know those coupons perhaps you don’t pay attention to?) to get FREE kraft cheese and FREE Cool Whip at Albertson’s. Kraft has a great coupon that you can print out and receive $5 off 5 Kraft items. The best part is when you purchase 5 Kraft items it spits out a catalina to save $5 on your next purchase, making your current purchase virtually $0.00. I have received 25 bags of Kraft cheese for FREE, plus 5 containers of Cool Whip with another sale. Now, this is certainly worth my time – and it is not that hard!
I follow a few really great blogs that send me updates daily on current specials and actually give you the links for coupons too! It is virtually a no-brainer. Here are a few of the sites I follow:
Frugal Living NW – you can sign up for updates to be delivered to your inbox and never miss a sale!
Coupon Cravings – great updates and you can also sign up to have updates delivered to your inbox.
A Thrifty Mom – another great site that passes on deal and savings on all kinds of stuff.
You can also print coupons from a link on my moms resources page, which makes cutting coupons a thing of the past too!
So if coupon shopping sounds too complicated, stay tuned – it is not that hard and actually is considered a sport in some parts of the country! I cannot tell you how excited I get when I have out-smarted the system and the checker looks at me in sheer disbelief – ahhhh……another great day at the office for me, making more money for my family!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I guess what I get stuck on is that we buy lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy and those things are difficult if not impossible for me to find coupons for, at least on a regular basis. I try to only buy on sale but even then, I have trouble. Any tips for that type of shopping?
Hey Tiffany, Yes, I find that somewhat frustrating too! Although a lot of dairy coupons are out there and lately I have been receiving Catalina’s to save $3 on my next produce purchase at Safeway (where I shop a good deal). Even though coupons are far and few between, you can scout out those locations that offer the best prices on those items, have you found some? I know we had a great fun activity out at a FARM a few weeks back, picking beans, zucchini and digging potatoes and now are set for awhile with those items. I know you are resourceful too, so would love to hear more of your savings ideas!
Yikes, savings on food is not my strong suit at all. I pretty much only shop fresh food at Top because the Safeway & Fred Meyer in my area do not have the highest quality produce and I hate to shop at all the different markets.
I do well on clothing and such. Love shopping goodwill, value village and the like and then I am really loving Kohl’s. They have great deals and always seem to have coupons.
Now, once I get my groceries home I an organize them like there is no tomorrow, lol