How to Get MORE Coupons: Part 1

 I once purchased 32 FREE bottles of baby formula over a month to give away just because I was able to gather a LOT of extra coupons that gave me overage.

 The way to save the most money with coupons is to stock up and buy things when you can stack a sale with a coupon to get the lowest possible price.

Kitty doesn't want to trade. ;)

When I started couponing a year and a half ago, I found all sorts of ways to gather extra coupons. In fact, my friend and I even went around to the apartment complexes in the area (where coupons arrived in the mail, not the newspaper) and gathered hundreds of discarded coupon booklets. I shared my secrets and favorite coupon blogs and she shared some delicious meals. We had so much fun clipping and discussing our savings and comparing our stockpiles.

 One simple way to get more coupons is to start a coupon swap.

How To Coupon Swap:

To Coupon Swap you will need to access couponing websites or find some couponing friends.
Facebook fan pages like the ones for The Krazy Coupon Lady will allow you to "meet" people with whom you can trade coupons online.

1.  Post a comment on your Facebook page and let your friends know what coupons you have and what coupons you are looking for. It works a little like bartering.
2. Remember, coupons are similar to cash tender in the store. Offering a fair trade, dollar for dollar, not coupon for coupon will get you the best results and build your network of coupon swappers.
3. When you decide a fair trade, you can pass them off to each other or mail them to one another.
4. Decide if you will pre-clip them for each other or hand off the scrap pages.
5. Once you decide on a trade, make sure to send the coupons right away so that they have the chance to use them with any current sales that may be going on. Trust that they will send yours ASAP too.
6. Be cautious. Don't give too much personal information to strangers. If you coupon swap extensively and have access to a secondary address, be sure to use it. I prefer to coupon swap only with people within my real-life network. If you choose to coupon swap with strangers, just be aware. If they are local to you, you may consider meeting to swap coupons at the grocery store, so you don't have to waste money on stamps or give out your address.

Want another way to get more coupons? Check out tomorrow's post, How to Get MORE Coupons: Part 2.

Like the "Train" idea? Try it out with other things like children's clothes and toys, garden supplies, etc. A few weeks ago I mentioned starting a seed trade or seed train to save free seeds for your garden for next year.
Do you ever trade coupons? Do you have any other ways you get MORE coupons?

Use This Code For $1 Off 2 Blockbuster Express Rentals Exp. 9-16-12

Blockbuster Express just sent out a new coupon for $1 off 2 movie rentals. Snag this deal at the kiosk with coupon code SEPTDVDS.

Hurry, this deal ends 9-16-12!

What Size To Buy: Price Per Unit

Most people think that buying food in bulk will save them money. When I talk with friends and store associates about finding the lowest cost items, they are often surprised to hear that sometimes the bulk buys are actually not the best deal.So here’s a quick run down of how I calculate which size to buy so I can get the biggest bang for my buck.

Warning: This will involve using your brain and flexing your math muscles. Come on! You can do it!

Tip of the day: Compare prices per unit.

Don’t compare price per item because some packaging makes it difficult to tell how much product you are getting. If you factor in the size of the product, the material it is made from (glass, plastic, paper, etc), you’ll start to realize that some items take up the same shelf space but they don’t have the same amount of product.
So when you go to the store, pull out your calculator and do a little math.

Price / # of units = price per unit

If you have a coupon for a specific item, you will want to factor that into the equation:

(Price – coupon value) / # of units = price per unit if you have a coupon.

Sometimes items without coupons are cheaper and the coupons might not actually save you money. Keep this in mind!

Real life application:

Say for instance,  you have a coupon for $1 off of any Dr. Pepper 12 pack and the sale price at the store is 3 packs of any soda for $10.  This is the equation you will do:
$10/ 3 packs = $3.33 per 12 pack
or
$10/ 3 packs/ 12 cans = about 28 cents a can!

With a coupon your equation will look like this:

($10- $1 coupon) / 3 packs/12 cans =
$9 /3 packs = $3 per 12 pack
or
$9/ 3 packs/12 cans = exactly 25 cents a can!

Some of you might say, well 3 cents a can is not really that great of savings. However if you have one can of soda every day for a year and can save 3 cents per can, you’ve saved about $11 on soda alone. Now imagine you follow this same tip for all groceries and personal care products that you buy. Every penny adds up! Once you get this process down, it will come naturally.

No Calculator? Look at shelf tags:

If you forget your calculator or you are in a hurry, or have no coupons, look at the price tag on the shelf. Usually it will be listed as a price per unit. Watch out for similar products that are measured by different units. This can make one product appear to be cheaper than the other one.

This is a great tip, even for those of you who don’t clip coupons. If you follow this tip alone, you could potentially save hundreds of dollars per year.

I hope this helps break down one of my basics for how to find a great deal at the grocery store! This time, I hope you’ll grab whichever one is truly the best deal!

Budget Breaker: Food Waste

 Part 1 of my new series: Budget Breakers! 

Because we all make mistakes sometimes...

Poor piggy...

I was going to write you an article about how to save money buying discounted meat. I found a good deal on chicken at the grocery store. I took it home and put it in the refrigerator and promptly....

I would have saved 44 cents a pound and bought this at a decent price of $1.04/pound.

forgot about it. :(

 I give myself the excuse of being sick, too tired to cook, sleepy from medicine... but really, I should have just frozen it. I have no excuse.

Last night I opened up my meat drawer to find it, and frantically began thinking of ways I could cook it all... only to find out in the end that it had gone bad.

So as much as I hate to waste food, if it smells funny, it's going in the trash.I'll admit, 5 bucks is not that much money to lose but 5 bucks here, 5 bucks there adds up over time.

Moral of the story: Meal planning is your friend. So is your freezer. There will be more on meal planning and freezing soon enough...


How many times have you wasted food? How much does that add up to wasted food and money over a year? A lifetime?

Hobby Lobby 40% off coupon + other deals (Labor Day Week)!

Example only. Click below link for more details.

Hobby Lobby released it’s new circular and sales ad today with another 40% off coupon (valid through September 8th)!
 
You can use the 40% off coupon on any item that is NOT on sale. Follow the links above for more information!

Hobby Lobby is a family friendly company that believes employees should have time with their loved ones. Remember, Hobby Lobby stores are closed on Sundays, so the deals all start tomorrow!

*Keep in mind, for Labor Day, they will be closing early at 5:30PM in line with their family focused beliefs.*

 Happy Shopping & Happy Crafting!

Hobby Lobby 40% off coupon + other deals! (Week of August 26th)

Hobby Lobby released it’s new circular and sales ad Sunday with another 40% off coupon!
 
You can use the 40% off coupon on any item that is NOT on sale. Follow the links above for more information!

Remember, Hobby Lobby is closed on Sundays, so the deals all start tomorrow! Happy Shopping & Happy Crafting!

Free Bridal Guide Magazine! (GONE)

Click here and you can get one free issue of Bridal Guide Magazine!

Not getting married anytime soon? Already married? That’s OK! Sign up and then give it to a friend. I’ll be giving my copy to a girl friend at work who got engaged a few weeks back. I always give her bridal catalogs and she loves those so she will be very excited about this!

Hurry, before the deal ends!