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Friday, July 17, 2009

Welcome to Coupon Jane

Contact me at: ilovecouponjane@gmail.com


Save HUGE amounts of money on your grocery bill each week. I will share tips with you that will enlighten your shopping experience.

You may have seen video of people saving large amounts of money while grocery shopping, watch this video and imagine yourself doing the shopping.



I thought it only worked for a few people...I am happy to say that it works for me and it will work for you too, it's amazing! I can now buy things for little or nothing. I love free and you too will soon be "buying" things for free or close to nothing.

First Things First
Change your mind set. Don't shop for what you need. Shop for what you don't need. Spaghetti sauce may not be on sale this week, but cereal is. Stock up on the cereal and wait for the sauce to go on sale. Once you understand this concept you will be able to save the most money.

Next


--> One of the best kept secrets to successful couponing, is the purchase of more than one Sunday paper. The idea is to have more than one coupon for the item that's on sale. I obtain an even number of papers 4, 6, or 8, because I do a lot of buy one, get one free offers (BYGO). You will want a coupon for each item including the free item. That's an even number. I recommend getting between 4-8 papers per week. In my area there is a weekly Spanish newspaper which comes out on Saturday. It's free and includes coupons.
Which leads me to Secret number one:
If your store has BYGO free items each week. Use a coupon for the Buy One item and a coupon for the Get One Free item. Let's say you have a $1.00 coupon for cereal. The cereal is on sale for $3.99 and it's BYGO. So without coupons your total is $1.99 a box. With coupons it's $.99 a box.

Secret number two:
Use coupons on sale and clearance items, stockpile your coupons and then buy several of the same items. Even if you don't need them right away.

Secret number three:
Stack a store coupon with a manufacturers coupon for extra savings.

Secret number four:
When using a coupon that gives you a different product for free (buy this, get that free), add a coupon for that free item and save even more.

Secret number five:
Use a BOGO coupon with a BYGO deal and get both items for FREE!

You may need to check with your store to see if they apply money not spent in a coupon towards your purchase or if they give you cash back. I have found one store that will apply the extra to groceries or tax, but they won't give cash back. I have also found a store that will only apply the coupon up to the amount of the item.

Secret number six:
Check your store for double coupons. (K-mart offers this sporadically throughout the year)


Finally:

Hold on to your coupons. What does that mean? On Sunday when you get the paper you may have a coupon for your favorite spaghetti sauce. Wait! Don't run out immediately and purchase it. The item will usually go on sale within 3-4 weeks. Wait and purchase several on sale

Organizing Coupons:
Everyone has their favorite way. CouponMom.com explains a way in which you date your fliers and save them in hanging file folders. Then you cut out only the coupons you need.

At first I used a three ring zippered binder with baseball card holders and dividers. I cut out all coupons and had them organized by type of item. It was time consuming but seemed worth it at first. I tired of that quickly and now I happily file my circular away and take it out when I need to cut a coupon.


Matching the coupon to the sale
These are two wonderful links that will help you find the sale and the coupon you need each week.


Savings Angel

-->
This site charges $20 per month, but with referrals can end up being free. It's very accurate and lists stores for your city. Links are embedded for immediate coupon printing. It's an excellent site. I am a member of it. By clicking the link above or using my id number:25138 I will get credit if you join.

Southern Savers has become one of my favorite sites. If you want to learn how to pay next to nothing at CVS this is a great site.
http://www.southernsavers.com/


Coupon Mom
http://www.couponmom.com/
This is a free site with an ebook that explains how she saves money with coupons. She also has links to online coupons and pages that show local store sales and the week the coupon came out. I have found it's not always accurate with Walmart and Target sales for my area.

Overwhelmed?
If it seems overwhelming, start small. Decide on one store and just purchase their BYGO items with coupons. Once you realize the money you can save you will be hooked!



Coupon Schedule for the year!
Know when the coupons are in the paper!
2013 Sunday Coupon Insert Schedule (Smartsource Coupon Preview 2013, Redplum Coupon Preview 2013, Proctor & Gamble Coupon Preview 2013, General Mills Coupon Preview 2013)
September
9/1 – Procter & Gamble
9/8 – Redplum, Smartsource
9/15 – Redplum, Smartsource
9/22 – Smartsource
9/29 – Redplum, Smartsource
October
10/6 – Redplum, Smartsource, Procter & Gamble
10/13 – Redplum, Smartsource
10/20 – Procter & Gamble, Smartsource
10/27 – Redplum, Smartsource
November
11/3 – Redplum, Smartsource
11/10 – Redplum, Smartsource
11/17 – Redplum, Smartsource
11/24 – Redplum, Smartsource
December
12/1 – Procter & Gamble
12/8 – Redplum, Smartsource
12/15 – Redplum, Smartsource
12/22 – No Inserts
12/29 – Procter & Gamble
Sources:
Red Plum Official Schedule
Smart Source Official Schedule
Procter & Gamble - based on History (and will have changes)



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