Couponing and Becoming a Frugal Mom

I have always enjoyed budgeting and personal finance. Maybe that's why I majored in business. Since I have been staying at home, I have been trying to take "saving money" to a new level. There are so many layers to budgeting and saving money, but this post is going to focus on couponing. I have always used coupons for everything from eating out, to oil changes, to groceries. However, I used to only cut out coupons for items that I would buy whether or not I had a coupon. I thought this was being frugal. You don't want to buy stuff just because you have a coupon.... or do you? I have found that if you aren't brand specific, you can get so many things for FREE! I never believed the stories that said coupons get you free stuff or you can get PAID to buy things, but I have found this to be true time after time... Here are my favorite coupon sources: THE SUNDAY PAPER-We get the paper every day because Josh wants to read the sports page. We pay $8/month and it is delivered to our house every morning. However, you don't necessarily have to buy the paper to get the coupons if you have someone who is willing to share with you! My mom saves the coupon inserts for me every Sunday so I have 2-3 copies of every coupon! My rule of thumb for clipping coupons is, "Would I use this if I got it for free or for next to nothing?" I keep most coupons because you never know when a good deal will come up. However, I don't keep coupons for things like cat food or denture cream because I obviously have no use for these items... ONLINE PRINTABLES-Print any coupons that you think you may use (but don't waste paper and ink on ones you won't!). My favorite recent printable was a $5 coupon on Huggies Gentle Care. You could use this on their big pack of wipes which is usually $5.99. I got four big packages of wipes for less than $4.00. Some great sites for coupons are: http://print.coupons.com/CouponWeb/Offers.aspx?pid=13306&zid=iq37&nid=10 http://coupons2.smartsource.com/smartsource/index.jsp?Link=5S2ZUA6PWPEPO http://www.redplum.com/pages/Grocery.aspx TARGET-Unfortunately, we do not have a Super Target. But, our Target does carry basic pantry items. The great thing about Target coupons is that you can STACK them with manufacturer coupons. I have noticed that Target will often put out coupons for the same items that are in the Sunday paper. One time Target had bottles of Juicy Juice on sale for $1.99. They had $1 coupons on their website and I had $1 coupons from the paper. That made the juice free! That is a good example of something I would not have bought before. I don't usually buy premade juice because it is so expensive, but with coupons, I have often been getting it cheaper than frozen juice! Here is the link to Target's coupons: http://sites.target.com/site/en/supertarget/page.jsp?title=coupons_specials CVS-There are millions of deals to be had at CVS. I had no idea until I started reading blogs. I have only touched the tip of the iceburg. There are women who are CVS experts and get all of their toiletries for free. They even get enough free items that they donate boxes of goodies to shelters and churches. This takes a little planning. If you are brave, here are a few excellent articles to start your CVS education: http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2008/03/cvs-101.html http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2008/03/qa-making-cvs-w.html ONLINE ADVICE-I read several mom blogs written by Christian women who are also stay-at-home moms. They always have the word on the best deals out there. They often work together and link to each other's sites. A lot of them will list the same deals but they each have their own twist. You can actually sign up to get their posts in your inbox which I recommend so you don't have to think about checking it each day. If you read these, I GUARANTEE you will get some good deals! They will help you match up your current coupons to current sales being run at different stores. Some of my favorite mom blogs are: http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ http://freebies4mom.blogspot.com/ http://www.stretchingabuckblog.com/ http://www.centsible-sawyer.com/ http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/ http://www.northerncheapskate.com/ EBAY-Yes, I have gone so far as to buy and SELL coupons on eBay. You can get coupons for all kinds of things. I once bought a stack of 20 coupons for wipes. I probably paid $1 and I got $10 worth of wipes coupons. This was worth the investment for me. I have NEVER bought diaper or wipes without a coupon. When I was about out of wipes coupons, I decided it was worth the $1 on eBay to replenish my stack. I have also SOLD coupons on eBay. This is so easy because you don't have to figure shipping. It's the cost of a stamp. I just put "free shipping" which makes your listing more enticing. My favorite thing to sell is all of the formula coupons that I get in the mail. I just sold $14 worth of Enfamil for $8.50. It was trash to me, but I made $8.50 on it. This helped another mom save money on formula and helped me have some money to buy other things I need on eBay. I have sold everything from used cookbooks to Victoria Secret coupons to wall sconces that I was no longer using. Remember, one man's trash is another man's treasure! RESTAURANT COUPONS-Amy brought up an excellent point with the restaurant coupons. Josh and I rarely eat out on our own, but when we meet up with someone else, I try to find a coupon. Signing up for e-mail is an excellent way to get a coupon-sometimes instantly. I can think of a couple of free meals that I have gotten in the last few months by doing exactly this! You can always unsubscribe later. Any time you are going out, check online for a coupon first!! After you have all of these coupons, you will want to start a coupon filing system. You will find that you have a big mess if you don't, and you will not be able to find your deals when you are at the store. I use a cheap, slim photo album to organize mine. I put all diaper coupons in one slot, all shampoo coupons in the next, etc. I really have so much more I could say but I have already gone on and on. What questions do you have? I love to help!