A Beginners Attempt at Couponing
Last night I had the pleasure of having dinner with some of Cincinnati’s finest parenting/mom/frugal bloggers. Among the group was Andrea of Mommy Snacks, Jenny & Emily of Mommin’ it Up, Mary Ann of The New Frugal Mom, Courtney & Tricia from Once a Month Mom, Amy of Amy in Ohio and Tara from Deal Seeking Mom.
Now aside from Amy and myself (Amy would agree with me), these gals are some of the savviest shoppers out there. They know every bargain, every coupon site, they know how to prepare a months worth of meals in one sitting!!! They know all the things you need to know to get the best bang for your buck.
You take these gals and then you have me. Someone whose never clipped a coupon (I attribute this to laziness), someone who never seems to find the deals.
Being with these women I found myself inspired. How could I be more savvy when it came to grocery shopping? Could I clip coupons? Could I work the circulars? Could I be just a little savvy? I wasn’t sure if I could, but I was willing to give it a shot.
To get started, I sent out a Tweet asking for help re: where to begin. Right away Tricia responded with a few suggestions – The “K” web site, the Sunday paper, ShortCuts.com, Coupons.com and Hot Coupon World.
I followed Tricia’s advice and logged on to “K’s” site first. There I found 3 coupons to add to my shopper card. I then created and logged into ShortCuts where I found 4 potential coupons and loaded them on to my “K” card too. It seemed like Coupons.com had the most coupons that were relevant to the things I normally purchased. Here I found 6 and printed them out (they make it sooo easy).
Probably the most over whelming site was Hot Coupon World. It was like a coupon casino – options everywhere and a little overwhelming. I was definitely intimidated by this site and decided to skip it this time and perhaps circle back once I’ve figured out the coupon game a little better.
The last thing I did (which I should have done first) was look at this week’s circular for “K.” I say that I should have done this first because it would have informed my coupon selection. As I looked it over, it was interesting to see how the coupons tied into the deals of the week. It was a real eye opener. Couponing is an art, and a hard art at that.
So I am sure you are asking yourself…. “How did Shannan do? Did she actually save any money?”
The answer? I think I did well. Not great or amazing, but I think I put forth a good effort.
From my receipt (maybe someone can help me decipher):
MFG Coupons: $5.40
Bonus Coupons: $.50
Store Coupons & “K” Shopper Card: $29.86
TOTAL: $35. 76
I have to admit that I really enjoyed the challenge that came with trying to use coupons. I found myself analyzing my grocery list like never before – googling for coupons that might help cut my costs. Next week I am definitely going to put a little more prep time into finding coupons. As I mentioned before, I really just thought about it this a.m. - just a few hours before I was heading to the store. I think if I keep a look out for deals throughout the week I’ll do better next Sunday.
If you are thinking about venturing into the world of coupons, I recommend checking out the sites mentioned above, as well these blogs, which I think you’ll find helpful:
Mommy Snacks
Deal Seeking Mom
Stretching a Buck
Mommin it Up
The New Frugal Mom
Since I’m just starting, if you have any tricks or favorite sites you’d recommend I check out, I’d LOVE YOU if you’d leave suggestions in the comments.
Related posts:
Converts in the making…we’ll start our apprentice workshop and hope these pros will school us!!
Next stop: Once A Month Meals!!
Shannan…I started couponing this past summer and still consider myself a rookie…it’s serious business and can be overwhelming! But I have figured out a few things that have helped me save a ton of money:
-hoard your coupons…even ask family members to save you their coupons (I keep mine in a binder with those plastic baseball card sleeves – organized by aisle at the grocery)
-buy in bulk! especially if it is on sale AND you have a coupon! We had about 20 pounds of butter at one point, but I paid less than $2 a pack….and we used every bit of it, especially at cookie baking time in December
Good luck and have fun!
Amy – I did look over the menu for March and it looks amasing.
Katie – Thanks for the suggestions/tips. I was wondering how I should keep things organzied. Does the coupon multiply if you buy more than one of an item?
Shannanb aka mommy bits´s last blog post… A Beginners Attempt at Couponing
Woohoo! Congrats on your first trip. Now just wait until we teach you the ropes at CVS. You’ll never pay for toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, or shampoo and conditioner again!
And thanks so much for the linky.
Tara @ Deal Seeking Mom´s last blog post… Rite Aid Deals Week of 3/1/09
Any savings is great savings in my book. It all adds up. Awesome that you are trying it out! Just to warn you…it can get addictive.
Marcy´s last blog post… Columbus Area Readers: Bonus Foodperks at Giant Eagle
Awesome, Shannan! We coupon, too, but I don’t have the energy (patience) to go it alone. I do The Grocery Game, which IS a subscription service, but which pays for itself so many times over it’s not even funny. Its Web site is http://www.thegrocerygame.com. If you should want to give it a shot, I can give you the e-mail address I use for referrals. (I get free weeks with a certain number of referrals.)
I think it’s AMAZING that so many folks do this on their own. You go, girl!
I’m still getting better at this too. I’m learning the CVS ropes, and so confused! I do have a question for ya though… what is the “K” card? Good luck!
Monica´s last blog post… Africa
Yeah Shannan! You crack me up – had so much fun hanging out last night! Everyone was inspiring, such great ideas being bounced around. Can’t wait for the next get together.
As you and I talked about on Twitter I am an on/off couponer, I know NOT the way to go, you don’t get as much savings but I had to be truthful. I’m hoping to stay ON the wagon longer this time. Maybe we can hold each other accountable.
Alyssa´s last blog post… Real Moms, Real Jesus
Hey! Pick up the PG Brandsaver in this Sunday’s paper. You can save money and give health.
You did great and I am so proud of you!! I wrote a guest post on couponing last week for Musings of a Housewife, you can see it here http://www.musingsofahousewife.com/2009/02/how-to-start-using-coupons.html – it’s for beginners so you might find it helpful. You rock!
Jenny from Mommin’ It Up!´s last blog post… Weekly Winners: Joshua’s Birthday edition
Now there’s a dinner I wish I could have been on
Thanks for passing along the info. One question though– what’s a K card?
Grace´s last blog post… A Learning Experience
This almost sounded like what happened to me on Saturday too! I met with 5 other Columbus bloggers among them Ellen from Thrify chic Mom and she convinced me that I should try couponing too! I am being very resistant to it!!! But I am going to give it a good try. Finding the time to organize a notebook and get it straight in my head how I will execute it will be my challenge.
Glad to see the bug got you too! Thanks
Sandy´s last blog post… Guest Blogger – Donna from Stop and Visit the Zoo
A lot of new couponers could save a lot of time if instead of trying to match coupons to what they need now, to instead watch for deals for things they use regularly, and stocking up on them while they’re free or discounted. Continue shopping as normal, but each week add in 2-3 freebies/cheapies, in amounts that will last 3-6 months, and you’ll see your grocery list shrink pretty quickly. You’ll also get the hang of couponing alot faster, than if you try to match q’s to a long list of what you need.
And Congrats! You did a GREAT job for a first-timer!!
LittleMissKnowitAll´s last blog post… Walmart and Internet Coupons
Shannan, you’re off to a great start!
The sites you listed are great resources; I *love* Hot Coupon World’s coupon database. I use it every week to do my “K” deals matchup.
Definitely take a look at what you use everyday/week – those are your personal stockpile items. Grab those when they’re on sale and have available coupons and you’ll find your stockpile of necessities growing quickly.
And remember that deals/sales do cycle; some weeks are stellar and some are just blah. Don’t get discouraged by that reality.
Thanks for the shoutout, btw! Had a blast!!
Marianne@TheNewFrugalMom´s last blog post… Saturday Savings Roundup
Girl, I forgot to close my italics HTML tag — sorry for the oddball-looking comment!!
Best to you!
Hello. I recently learned something new that I thought I would share. I belong to upromis.com, which now has it’s own coupons. They are not like your traditional coupons in the sense that when the coupon states, say .35 off of peanut butter, you do not save .35 at the store. What you do get is .35 in your upromise account toward your chilrens college account if you buy that product. Not a bad bonus. Also, with Kroger, you should get coupons printed with your receipt. I often get $1.50-$3.00 free $$ from a participating sponser. And, now they are offering by 3 (or 5) of a certain item and get money off of your bill. Many ways to save. Thanks for your post.
Christina
Christina Baita´s last blog post… The Shackles Video Is For My Friend
How did i miss this??? I’m like soooo behind! You did great, girl! Welcome to the dark side
You should connect with Heather Tenney. She is doing some really cool things with her coupon blog and is getting some national exposure. Here is her web address:
http://littlemissknowitall.contentquake.com/
I would highly recomment two sites. ohiocoupons.com and ohiotraveldiscounts.com
I found both to quite helpful especially if you’re in the northern part of Ohio OR are looking for discounts when traveling to or around Sandusky/Cedar Point.
from my experience, people like to buy using coupons and waiting for discounts. you can save some real money specially if you’re buying technology stuff and digital products.