So, yesterday a quick trip to the local Kroger's netted me a deal I could only have dreamed about. I walked out of the store having only paid about $.35...yes..thurty-five cents...for 5 deodorents. I walked in there with 5 $.50 off coupons for Suave Deodorent. When I got down the aisle that had the deodorent, it was on sale for $1.06!!! Since Kroger's doubles coupons it was only 6 cents for each deodorent! I was so happy! Plus, I also walked out of there with 2 free Lipton Ice Tea Drinks and a sense of accomplishment. Everything else I needed to buy on Sunday was either on sale or I had a coupon for. While I may have only save 43% of my total, the things I wanted the cheapest or free the most were! So...not a bad shopping trip.
As I plan out my next excurision...this time to CVS, I know that I have to plan it a bit better yet. My goal is to get out of there having paid as little as possible as I don't have alot of money this week. Thankfully I have rewards bucks coming, coupons, and rainchecks to help make most of this possible. Unfortunately I have to do it as two seperate orders at a CVS that normally is busy and only usually has one cashier at the lane.
What am I hoping that you learn from this today? What's important is that you plan out your shopping trips. Otherwise two things can happen: 1. You purchase way more than you plan which ends up bringing more money out of your pocket, and 2. You don't properly use your coupons thus also costing you more out of your pocket.
Extreme couponing is possible but you have to work at it. Nothing gets handed on a silver platter..it takes work. Please remember also that photocopying and manipulating coupons in any way than other wise intended, is illegal. Please don't ruin couponing for the rest of us.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Deal Diva Diary: When's the best time to start?
So many people have watched the TLC show "Extreme Couponing" and have begun to wonder if they could do it too...if they could save hundreds of dollars by couponing. In my last blog post I gave a few tips. What I would say with that is that its important to know that those individuals on the show didn't start out by saving hundreds of dollars on their first visit. It took awhile for them to build up their coupons as well as to become accustomed to various webpages and learn the skill. I advise connecting with various websites such as weusecoupons.com or others on facebook like couponfrenzymom, debbiedoescoupons, and capri's coupons just to name a few. All of these resources have made it possible for me to learn as much as possible in such a short time.
Debbie Does Coupons (www.debbiedoescoupons.com) generally has daily deals listed and is a great resource for links to other reliable sites. Unfortunately there are not so credible sites that produce fraudulant coupons and if used can get you into legal trouble. Some places will tell you how to "cheat" stores...this is also illegal and can lead to prison time. By utilizing credible sites like www.weusecoupons.com and www.debbiedoescoupons.com you can breathe a breathe of relief and know that you will be safe. Plus some of these sites also have contests and giveaways. So...more free things! The great thing is that both of these websites take the coupons online and that come each week in the paper or through the mail and they match them up with store adds...taking some out the hard work out and the time that it might otherwise take. If you go to these site, tell them I sent you.
Weusecoupons.com is a site where you will have the opportunity to take classes on couponing as well as participate in forums with individuals who have been on the Extreme Couponing shows. There is so much to learn and so much you can do to become effective in couponing and save money. Hopefully I have helped someone today to learn something about couponing.
If you have ideas of topics that you'd like to hear, please let me know. Couponing isn't a competitive sport....
Debbie Does Coupons (www.debbiedoescoupons.com) generally has daily deals listed and is a great resource for links to other reliable sites. Unfortunately there are not so credible sites that produce fraudulant coupons and if used can get you into legal trouble. Some places will tell you how to "cheat" stores...this is also illegal and can lead to prison time. By utilizing credible sites like www.weusecoupons.com and www.debbiedoescoupons.com you can breathe a breathe of relief and know that you will be safe. Plus some of these sites also have contests and giveaways. So...more free things! The great thing is that both of these websites take the coupons online and that come each week in the paper or through the mail and they match them up with store adds...taking some out the hard work out and the time that it might otherwise take. If you go to these site, tell them I sent you.
Weusecoupons.com is a site where you will have the opportunity to take classes on couponing as well as participate in forums with individuals who have been on the Extreme Couponing shows. There is so much to learn and so much you can do to become effective in couponing and save money. Hopefully I have helped someone today to learn something about couponing.
If you have ideas of topics that you'd like to hear, please let me know. Couponing isn't a competitive sport....
Friday, May 13, 2011
Deal Diva Diary: Where do I begin?
Recently, TLC started airing the show, "Extreme Couponing". I, like others, found myself competitively wanting to do the same. Realistically, is that even possible? No. As the audience, we see the tv crew follow the Extreme Couponer to one visit to the grocery store. One. They don't follow them through their last 5 visits. And each of these individuals known as extreme couponers prepare for their visit with the TV crew. Their should be a disclaimer before each show. Otherwise, we as the audience think that with a few coupons that its that easy to get our entire orders for free or as close to free as possible. I am here to help slap reality into you but to also help you become the best at couponing that you can be. So lets start from the top.
1. I could get my entire order for free if I could clip coupons like the people on the show, "Extreme Couponing." Let's nip this in the bud. I you are able to get 50+ coupon inserts each week without putting money into it yourself to get the inserts, and if you were only in need of 125 boxes of toothpaste, 21 bottles of vitamen water, and 50 bottles of barbeque sauce then sure...you could get your order to free. What you don't see behind the scenes is what coupons specifically the couponers are using. Some use rebate rewards, catalina's (what prints out at many stores when you purchase certain items that gives you money off future purchases,) or rainchecks. While some store's double a coupon and a few even triple coupons, many stores only allow face value. Unless the item you buy is actually on sale for a dollar and the coupon you have will double to make it free, don't count on the actuallity of walking out with 125 of that item. You also see that most if not all of those on the show have rooms stockpiled with food and other items. Some of these items are not always used and may end up siting on shelves. (For example, the Twin Sister's who bought diapers just because they had coupons for them even though they didn't even have children.) Can you feed your family with the few items that you can actually purchase for free? My husband won't eat soap for supper. You have to remember that these cases are extreme cases of people shopping. If you want to save the most, stock pile some items that you know are more expensive and use the money you save to purchase your meats,etc. from wholesale places with good deals. It is possible to save and still feed a family. Just be realistic.
2. Stacking coupons. Up until recently, some stores allowed you to use e-coupons (coupons that you could stack onto a store card) along with a manufacturers coupons (the kind you get in the sunday paper or online and print off.) Many stores have realized that this is a loss of money for them as they don't necessarily receive reimbursement from the manufacturer if more than one coupon is used. With the popularity of the show on TLC and the economy being the way it is, alot of stores are now changing their couponing policies. The most important thing to remember is to call your local grocery/drug stores for their policies as they may change on the instant, before you even head out of your door to go shopping.
3. There is nothing illegal with manufacturing coupons or photocopying them. Let's get this straight. If you intentially manufacture, manipulate, or photocopy a coupon you can go to jail. IT IS ILLEGAL to knowingly scam a store out of money by using counterfeit coupons. If you knowingly use coupons that are manufactured or photocopied, you can be charged with fraud. Please don't ruin this for the rest of us. Couponing can save money not if you are spending time in prison for fraud. Remember, there are no such thngs as coupons in prison!
So this is a start for now. Don't be discouraged. It takes time to get up and going on it. If you want it to happen, it will. Just be patient. If you want to save it is possible! Stick with it. Till next time...
1. I could get my entire order for free if I could clip coupons like the people on the show, "Extreme Couponing." Let's nip this in the bud. I you are able to get 50+ coupon inserts each week without putting money into it yourself to get the inserts, and if you were only in need of 125 boxes of toothpaste, 21 bottles of vitamen water, and 50 bottles of barbeque sauce then sure...you could get your order to free. What you don't see behind the scenes is what coupons specifically the couponers are using. Some use rebate rewards, catalina's (what prints out at many stores when you purchase certain items that gives you money off future purchases,) or rainchecks. While some store's double a coupon and a few even triple coupons, many stores only allow face value. Unless the item you buy is actually on sale for a dollar and the coupon you have will double to make it free, don't count on the actuallity of walking out with 125 of that item. You also see that most if not all of those on the show have rooms stockpiled with food and other items. Some of these items are not always used and may end up siting on shelves. (For example, the Twin Sister's who bought diapers just because they had coupons for them even though they didn't even have children.) Can you feed your family with the few items that you can actually purchase for free? My husband won't eat soap for supper. You have to remember that these cases are extreme cases of people shopping. If you want to save the most, stock pile some items that you know are more expensive and use the money you save to purchase your meats,etc. from wholesale places with good deals. It is possible to save and still feed a family. Just be realistic.
2. Stacking coupons. Up until recently, some stores allowed you to use e-coupons (coupons that you could stack onto a store card) along with a manufacturers coupons (the kind you get in the sunday paper or online and print off.) Many stores have realized that this is a loss of money for them as they don't necessarily receive reimbursement from the manufacturer if more than one coupon is used. With the popularity of the show on TLC and the economy being the way it is, alot of stores are now changing their couponing policies. The most important thing to remember is to call your local grocery/drug stores for their policies as they may change on the instant, before you even head out of your door to go shopping.
3. There is nothing illegal with manufacturing coupons or photocopying them. Let's get this straight. If you intentially manufacture, manipulate, or photocopy a coupon you can go to jail. IT IS ILLEGAL to knowingly scam a store out of money by using counterfeit coupons. If you knowingly use coupons that are manufactured or photocopied, you can be charged with fraud. Please don't ruin this for the rest of us. Couponing can save money not if you are spending time in prison for fraud. Remember, there are no such thngs as coupons in prison!
So this is a start for now. Don't be discouraged. It takes time to get up and going on it. If you want it to happen, it will. Just be patient. If you want to save it is possible! Stick with it. Till next time...
Monday, April 25, 2011
Deal Diva Diary: Retail or not to retail
Throughout last week on several websites I frequent I found the horrible news that there were no coupons sheets thatwould be in the Easter Sunday paper. How couldthis be? My life was over. What was I going t have to take shopping with me one of the several times I would need to go out? How was I going to find any freebies after coupon? I startedto shake and have withdrawals. My husband looked at me and said the nasty "o" word...he told me I was "obsessed" with this couponing thing.
Me? Obsessed? No...I am not obsessed. I just like a good deal. I just like having multiples of a variety of deodorents, body washes, toothbrushes, and toothpastes! Okay...I am totally obsessed with couponing. But is that a sin? What's so wrong with saving money? He liked it the week before when we saved 58% of our bill at the store. Couponing is now a part of my life. Sure, I am obsessed with it. I actually dream about saving money now at night. With this obsession comes opportunities for us to have things we couldn't afford before. In a way, its a game. A game to see how much I can get for cheap or free.
When I had to pay retail on Thursday night while at the local Kroger's I started having a panic attack. My chest got tight and I realized that I was having to pay retail. It had been weeks and even months since I had paid full retail on anything. Unfortunately on this night there was nothing I needed that had a coupon or was on sale. But I bucked up and paid for the groceries.
Sometimes I may not have a coupon and there might not be a sale. And no matter how many times I search coupons.com or bloggs like Debbie Does Coupons for the next big sale, there will be times that the coupons are dry. It's important though to remember that no matter if you are a seasoned couponer, an extreme couponer, or a newbie to it all, please do it ethincally. It is against the law to copy or use coupons in a way other than how they were intended as stated on the coupon. Please keep couponing available to all of us.
So, enough of my 5 cent soapbox (free after coupon)...I am getting down now.
A coupon "clip" for the day: Dove Men's deodorant is on sale this week at CVS for $0.99. a couple weeks ago there was a $1.00 off coupon for it in the sunday ads. CVS will take the coupons and it makes the item free! Good shopping!
Me? Obsessed? No...I am not obsessed. I just like a good deal. I just like having multiples of a variety of deodorents, body washes, toothbrushes, and toothpastes! Okay...I am totally obsessed with couponing. But is that a sin? What's so wrong with saving money? He liked it the week before when we saved 58% of our bill at the store. Couponing is now a part of my life. Sure, I am obsessed with it. I actually dream about saving money now at night. With this obsession comes opportunities for us to have things we couldn't afford before. In a way, its a game. A game to see how much I can get for cheap or free.
When I had to pay retail on Thursday night while at the local Kroger's I started having a panic attack. My chest got tight and I realized that I was having to pay retail. It had been weeks and even months since I had paid full retail on anything. Unfortunately on this night there was nothing I needed that had a coupon or was on sale. But I bucked up and paid for the groceries.
Sometimes I may not have a coupon and there might not be a sale. And no matter how many times I search coupons.com or bloggs like Debbie Does Coupons for the next big sale, there will be times that the coupons are dry. It's important though to remember that no matter if you are a seasoned couponer, an extreme couponer, or a newbie to it all, please do it ethincally. It is against the law to copy or use coupons in a way other than how they were intended as stated on the coupon. Please keep couponing available to all of us.
So, enough of my 5 cent soapbox (free after coupon)...I am getting down now.
A coupon "clip" for the day: Dove Men's deodorant is on sale this week at CVS for $0.99. a couple weeks ago there was a $1.00 off coupon for it in the sunday ads. CVS will take the coupons and it makes the item free! Good shopping!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Deal Diva Diary: New to Couponing? Welcome to the Club!
I am not new to couponing in general, but to the extreme "sport" of it I am new. I call it a sport. A sport because you have to have agility to hold all those coupons in your hands or on your cart all while keeping in mind how many of each coupon you have and how many items that will give you. All the while you have to lift those heavy groceries from shelf to cart, cart to conveyer belt, and from your cart again then into your car and once home, from your car into your house and into your pantry! (I think that next year I will try out for the grocery bag lifting competition in the weighlifting section of the olympics! Just kidding!).
Couponing can be everything you want it to be but you have to remember that it takes time and patience. Unfortunately, it also involves acknowledging that you have a problem when you "free" items start taking over your childrens bedroom closets, your dog's doghouse and cage, and your bathroom shower. Couponing can becoming addicting. I will be the first to acknowledge that nothing feels as good as walking out of a store having spent only $14.00 on $115.00 worth of goods. Or, more so, walking out of a store with a $0.07 bill because you got everything free except the tax on an item. I love showing off what I got for free. I love telling others about the great deals I have gotten. I love openning my linen closet and seeing the 12 bottles of body wash, 8 Air Wisk air freshners, 4 Air wick Candles, the 7 deodorents, 10 toothbrushes, and the 4 backages of dental floss that I got for free, not to mention the 6 packages of Parkay I scored as well for free. I breathe in the fresh smell of newness and glory. But it is addictive.
My only advice is that when you get to that point that you know you can't find a sensible spot to store items, or when you begin hiding the free stuff so you can bring it in the house and again sneek to hide it from your husband/wife so that they don't say to you, "Dear, you have a problem..." then please seek help. If you can't give up that feeling of amazingness on the great score, then be kind to your family and keep a box in your car to put some the free things in there and immediately drive down to the local homeless shelter, church pantry, or local military troop donation site and give some of the things to charity. It is all worth it. Donations to charity are also a great writeoff on your taxes.
Till the next blog, this is Melissa the Deal Diva signing off.
Couponing can be everything you want it to be but you have to remember that it takes time and patience. Unfortunately, it also involves acknowledging that you have a problem when you "free" items start taking over your childrens bedroom closets, your dog's doghouse and cage, and your bathroom shower. Couponing can becoming addicting. I will be the first to acknowledge that nothing feels as good as walking out of a store having spent only $14.00 on $115.00 worth of goods. Or, more so, walking out of a store with a $0.07 bill because you got everything free except the tax on an item. I love showing off what I got for free. I love telling others about the great deals I have gotten. I love openning my linen closet and seeing the 12 bottles of body wash, 8 Air Wisk air freshners, 4 Air wick Candles, the 7 deodorents, 10 toothbrushes, and the 4 backages of dental floss that I got for free, not to mention the 6 packages of Parkay I scored as well for free. I breathe in the fresh smell of newness and glory. But it is addictive.
My only advice is that when you get to that point that you know you can't find a sensible spot to store items, or when you begin hiding the free stuff so you can bring it in the house and again sneek to hide it from your husband/wife so that they don't say to you, "Dear, you have a problem..." then please seek help. If you can't give up that feeling of amazingness on the great score, then be kind to your family and keep a box in your car to put some the free things in there and immediately drive down to the local homeless shelter, church pantry, or local military troop donation site and give some of the things to charity. It is all worth it. Donations to charity are also a great writeoff on your taxes.
Till the next blog, this is Melissa the Deal Diva signing off.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Deal Diary...Day 2
It's been a busy last few days. One thing I have learned about couponing and getting the best deal possible was that it takes a bit of time. You don't just wake up won morning, decided to be a deal diva like myself, and go out and save thousands of dollars at the store on that same first day. Rather, once you decided to start saving coupons and to start saving money, sometimes you will have to save and save coupons for a few weeks to a month before you will find all the good deals and be able to start to be able to really save alot. This is going on my second month of really saving coupons. But how do I do it? I cut out every coupon out of every paper, regardless of whether I need it or not. I follow other blogs and websites like The Coupon Teacher, and weusecoupons.com. My parents save their coupons from the Sunday paper for me as well as others I work with and even some neighbors save their coupons sections. I also organize my coupons into a binder that allows me to see my coupons easier at first glance. The best way to stockpile purchases like some extreme couponers do is to contact your newspaper carrier and ask for extra copies of coupon adds that they have left. Unfortunately, since our paper is delivered early in the morning it has been quite difficult to get to him and ask him this favor. Whatever you do, don't give up. If you are serious about saving money this can help you. Just today I saved 86 % of my total purchase. Whereas the total may have been $96 I only payed $14.00 today at one store alone! Keep going and don't give up. Tomorrow I will give you examples of some great prices and coupons that are out there right now today. Happy shopping!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Deal Diva Diary..Day 1
Over the last couple of weeks I have gotten stronger and more knowledgable about couponing. My nearly empty bank account started to scream at me, telling me to do something....that it couldn't go on living this way. It needed me to do something. I needed me to do something. Alas....the Deal Diva was born. Over the last week I have saved nearly 70% of my grocery orders thanks to couponing. I have started this blog to help others begin to coupon and to link others to places that have helped me to grow in my ability as well as help me not to feel like the poor broke person that I am. You will learn what I have learned through reading of this blog. Feel free to leave me comments or suggestions. I hope to learn from you as much as you learn from me.
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