Cents Make Sense

Now I wouldn't call myself a penny pincher, but I do like to get a good deal where I can. Over the past year I have found a joy in clipping coupons. Yes, it sometimes take time to clip, organize, and prepare the coupon folder but in the long run I find that it is way worth the effort. In the beginning I would save a few cents here and a few cents there but then I got really into it as if it were a game. My grocery story receipt breaks it all down and tells me the exact percentage I saved using my bonus card, coupons, and double coupons. Once I realized this I was hooked, plus big bonus, our store offers gas rewards so for every $50 spent, we save 20¢ per gallon of gas up to 30 gallons at one time. That adds up to $5 for every $50 we spend (we sometimes fill up my husband's gas guzzler for ZERO dollars)!!!! Back to the coupons – Last week I spent a total of $109.41 at the store, not bad for a family of two for two weeks right? Well let me tell you how much I saved – I walked out of the store paying $62.66, meaning I saved $46.75 (that's 43% of the total bill)! Now $46.75 in my book is well worth the time and effort of clipping and organizing coupons. A lot of people say that coupons aren't for the stuff I buy or coupons are the way name brands get people to buy their products, well I have a few tricks:

1.) Only buy name brands when you have a coupon and the item is one sale (doubling your savings off the bat).

2.) Think twice about how much the coupon is for. Yes the 60¢ coupon is not as good as the $1 one but if you get double coupons on anything less then 99¢ well then you are actually saving $1.20!

3.) Be flexible in the brands you buy. (Following #1 only buy an item when it is on sale and you have a coupon). Items such as yogurt flip flop from week to week on the brand that is for sale. Does it really matter if you get Yoplait or Dannon?

4.) Different newspapers have different coupons. I live in Maryland and the local paper has different coupons then the Washington Post has.

5.) Share- My co-workers and I have a system that we clip what we want and then share the rest. This works great because we all live in different areas and get different papers.

6.) Don't limit your savings to the grocery store only! I get coupons for everything and anything! Restaurants, home stores, auto repair, and the list goes on. We saved $250 on a shed we were planning to purchase because I had a coupon!

7) Printable Coupons - Stalk Coupon Mom, this website provides links to many other sites with printable coupons!

8) HAVE FUN… I like to make it a game!

Here are a few links I like to check out for extra savings:
Save $6.49 on Glade Products (EXPIRED)***
Tide Products
Nestle
Pledge (EXPIRED)***
Arm & Hammer

I love to tell my hubby how much I saved and his quick response is always "how much did you spend!"

Happy Saving!

***Look for newer posts with new coupons!
Sammy Gene