How many of you use coupons? Do you get them only from the Sunday Paper? I wasn't sure how many of you knew this but most ofyour favorite brands have websites. When you go to these websites there is always coupons. Also, if your childs school participates in Boxtops for education program, their site has wonderful coupons, yummy recips and you can earn rewards straight from the site for the school just by logging in.
I try to use coupons on things that I would normally buy and not get sucked into buying extra just because I have a coupon. I usually get coupons out of the paper, but with being a new mommy, I get some diaper/baby care coupons in the mail, too. Before my Kitten and I went to WalMart yesterday, I went through my coupon stash. We saved $6.00! I was very pleased!
I found it overwhelming to keep my list straight, use the coupons and keep the kids in order. I decided to get my kids involved and have them find the items on the coupons. I have even gone as far as given them the money I saved by using the coupons. It's really teaching them early to take advantage of some of the great offers out there.
Do you know those 'ValuPaks' that you receive in the mail? If you are like me, you may browse through them and then pitch them because most of the coupons don't apply to me at the time. Did you know that you can go to 'www.valupak.com' and see all current coupons for your zip code? This just saved me $200 off of my Lasik surgery through Clarkson Eye Care!
When you go to the Grocery stores, check the back of your reciepts. They have coupons for Gas stations for Car washs & for like .50 off gas. They have coupons for Hair Cuts at certain places. And then they also have coupons for different Resturants. I use the Car Wash coupons faithfully just because washing the car can take so much time...lol When your paying for 6 people to get haircuts every month, it to can be pricey when your on a very very limited budget. Also Wal-Mart takes competitors ads! If you bring in a current ad from lets say K-Mart, they will honor that price. Thats always nice!
I have used coupons every since I can remember & thats something I teach my kids to do also. It never hurts to save $ weather it be .30 off here or a free car wash there. It all adds up rather quickly & at the end of the day when you actually take a minute to see the savings, you will be amased! Sure it takes a few more minutes to clip the coupons & keep them organized, but in the long run the time spent organizing & clipping will pay for itself! But remember, once you do get yourself into the habit of clipping & organizing, just DONT FORGET TO TAKE THEM WITH YOU WHEN YOU GO OUT!! lol Thats the problem I always have! So now, I have this nefty purse/organizer I got from a Mary Kay party & I use that. I keep it in my truck & refill as needed. My kids have now gotten into the habit the minute we say were going somewhere they always ask, "DO YOU HAVE THE COUPON PURSE MOM??" Because you never know where you will end up & there will always be a coupon for something. Just a useful tip!
Happy clipping...
I am a coupon junkie!!! I look forward to the Sunday paper every weekend just so I can go thru the coupons. Believe it or not, one of the best places to use coupons is at Walgreens. They tend to be expensive if you go in for something you have to have, but, if you go thru their weekend flyer and combine the coupons located in there with their monthly coupon booklet (located in the store) and then on top of that use a Manufacturer's coupon, you can get some EXCELLENT deals. Many times I've bought deoderant (mens & womens) for 25 cents or shampoo & conditioner for 75 each. Even if you already have these items at home, STOCK UP! You'll need them again soon anyway.
I had my coupons in a mini-expandable file for years, but always found it overwhelming to dig through it in the store. I have recently organized my coupons in a binder using trading card pages. It is much easier to see all of your coupons while in the store. Granted it takes a bit longer to clip and organize, but it saves you lots of time in the store! Sometimes I feel like a big dork taking my binder into the store...but then I remind myself that I'll be saving DOLLARS at the register and it is so worth it!