I don't know about you, but when I used to think about couponing and saving $, I thought it was something for those cheap crazy people who had a lot of extra time on their hands. C'mon now, .$25, why bother?
First, I went into Americorp. Try living at the poverty level for a year and see how frugal you become.
Second, get married. It was amazing to me how different it was to manage your finances when there were two of you than when its just you. It's not just your money to do whatever you want with. Being the one doing most of the shopping, I suddenly felt a greater responsibility to be smart with our money.
If you're at all like me, the idea of coupons and deal shopping can be overwhelming and somewhat out of reach. But you know what I've found? Its really not that hard. And its well worth your time.
So here you go. Here's 10 of my money saving secrets-some simple and easy ways that I've learned to live on a budget:
1. Coupons: I do cut coupons, but rather than saving all of the inserts, I just go through them each week and cut out the ones I need. I keep these in a coupon organizer in my purse. I also go online to coupons.com, redplum.com, and smartsource.com about once a month (preferably the beginning, they do run out after so many people print them) and print off coupons. These change each month. Be sure to keep printing until you reach the limit on items that you would buy more than 1 of. I also subscribe to All You magazine which contains several coupons each month. Some stores also have coupon books from month to month-you can combine manufacturer coupons (the ones you cut or print) with store coupons (the ones offered by the store) and really save a lot.
2. Walgreens & CVS: One of the biggest ways I've learned to save money is by taking advantage of these 2 stores. I buy the majority of my milk, laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, cereal, coffee, makeup and many other supplies from these 2 stores. And guess what? I pay less than I would at Wal-Mart! The key is watching their sales and combining coupons with the sales to get the best deal. Both of these stores also have their own reward program where you can earn money back at the register in the form of store coupons that can be used like $.
Here's an example: This week CVS had a 2 days sale on Pepsi products. The sale was 6 12 packs for $20. Not that great, right? If you spent the $20, however, you earned $10 back in "ExtraCareBucks" (a $10 coupon that prints at the register to use on your next visit), meaning you got 6 12 packs for $10. I rarely see anything for less than $2 a pack.
It's best if you can reuse your register bucks to buy more things that will give you register bucks so that you're never really spending much out of pocket, but I usually end up paying some out of pocket.
I hardly ever buy milk anywhere besides Walgreens. They almost always have the best price, unless a grocery store has some kind of special going on.
Every week I read both of these stores ads and make a list, but I also refer to a couponing website called www.frugalcouponliving.com to help me out. They post a list every week of sale items along with places you can get coupons, whether they're using coupons from the Sunday paper or something they've found on the Internet. This has been the biggest help for me.
3. Read your ads!!! My grocery list for the week is comprised mainly of sale items that are found in the ad. Whenever there is a really good sale, I stock up. I also usually look at the online ad, as it has some additional items that are not found in the print ad (HyVee is my grocery store of choice). I also always do my grocery shopping on Tuesdsays b/c every Tuesday my HyVee offers 2 free items with a $10 purchase. Last week I got a free roll of pork sausage that I used to make supper.
4. Meal Planning: Personally, I do better planning my meals based on what I have on hand rather than planning meals and then buying the supplies I need. When you do that you're usually going to end up buying things that aren't on sale. Instead, I stock up on things that I know I use regularly and find different meals based on the ingredients I have. Bettycrocker.com and kraft.com allow you to put in the ingredients you have and come back with a recipe that includes those ingredients.
5. Eating out: Where we eat usually depends on what coupons we have. B1G1 Free coupons are usually the best deal, but there are many other things you can do without spending a lot of $. One of our favorite types of food is Mexican. There are several authentic Mexican restaurants in our area, and most of them have what is called an "al a carte" sp? menu. Whereas most entrees come with sides like rice and beans which I rarely eat, this menu allows you to pick and choose what you want for a much lower price. They also usually offer complimentary chips and salsa which my husband loves. Another favorite of ours is Little Caesars, which offers ready made pizza's for only $5. We usually also go online and get a coupon which allows us to get Crazy Bread for 1/2 price. Instead of going out every weekend, we also sometimes stay home with a Redbox movie and a Tombstone Pizza which I generally get at WalMart for less than $3.
Another thing you can do is buy an Entertainment Book for your city. If you go out a lot, it is well worth the $. As the year goes on, they become cheaper.
B-Day Clubs: Many restaurants have special birthday offers when you sign up online. Kev had a birthday recently and got a bunch of freebies. Restaurants I know of include Steak and Shake, Culvers, Coldstone, Ruby Tuesdays, Carlos O Kelly's, BWW's, Starbucks, TGI Fridays, and many more!
6. Retail Coupons: Before I go shopping, I usually jump online to make sure and print off any store coupons that might be out there. I hardly ever go to JCPenney's, Gordmon's, Bath & Body Works, Old Navy, Payless or Younkers without a store coupon. Every time you shop at Penny's, look on your store receipt to see how you can fill out a survey for a 15% coupon on your next visit. From my experience, Penny's will combine these survey coupons with other store coupons, so you can really save some money that way. Gordman's sends me a 20% off coupon every month for signing up for the email list, which also lets me know when they're having things like an extra 33%-50% off their clearance. Old Navy has a website called oldnavyweekly.com where you can search for store coupons by clicking around. Although I usually think of Younkers as a more expensive store, they almost weekly send out coupons in their ad which can help you get some good deals. Today I got new bath towels there for under $3 and got Kev two new dress shirts for about $8 a piece. With places like Bath and Body Works and Payless, I am also signed up for their emails which have coupons, or you can go to a website like www.wow-coupons.com which has a whole list of printable retail coupons. Bath and Body Work has a Semi Annual sale in December-January and June-July where they offer many items 75% off. I've done a lot of Christmas shopping at these sales.
Last Sunday/Monday Old Navy had an additional 50% off their clearance items. I think I got at least 10 items for $40, which is usually more than I would spend but I had a $37 gift card and a $20 credit.
Right now, Payless has a 15% coupon out there and is having a B1G1 50% off sale. I got two pairs of shoes today for $12.
7. Thrift Shopping: Even though I am able to find some good deals at retail stores, by far the best deals are found at local thrift stores like Goodwill and also at yard sales. Every Monday, the local Davenport Goodwill has a $.25 day where items with a certain color of tag are only $.25, and every Tuesday its the same thing in Bettendorf. I have found some really good deals on these days. I've also had some really good finds at yard sales.
8. Household Deals: I'm sure all of you have heard of Craig's List, which we have here in the QC, but we also have another website known as QC Online where you can get good deals on used furniture, appliances and many other household items by buying directly from the seller. We'got our couches, our refridgerator, our stove, our headboard, our dishwasher, our kitchen table, our washer, our entertainment center, our patio door and many other things all from QC Online/Craigslist for a fraction of the cost of a new one. You can also post and sell things on this website for free.
9. Home Updates and Repairs: We are blessed with Kev being able to do many of the repairs around our house. When it comes to updating our house, however, one of our favorite places to go is the local Habitat for Humanity Store. This store offers many items that can be used in your home at a very low cost. For example, we found a vinyl window to replace our existing original windows for $20. If you're looking to do any home repairs, be sure to check here.
10. Menards Rebate Program: Menards has several items on rebate each month/week which make them free to much less than they would normally be. If you buy a rebate item (these are advertised in the ads and a list can also be found on websites like frugalcouponliving), the rebate "slip" will print out at checkout. All you have to do is include this slip with a small form that you get from the store and send it in to receive a check back for the rebate amount. This month we got some paint for $4.99 or so a gallon after rebate that we're going to use to paint our utility room. They have anything from paint brushes to tools to caulk often times for free.
Now, that's a pretty long list but these are simple and easy ways for you to save money. It might take a little extra effort, but the savings will make it well worth you while. Just think, if you were able to save only a $5 a week, that $250 a year! And believe me, you will be saving much more than that if you are committed to finding the best deals. You'll learn to be more careful with how much you spend when you know how much you could be saving.
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