I am just starting to getting into collecting coupons and the like. I am not that good because I forget them at home and then feel like i missed out on something. SO if someone could please give me some tips I would be your friend forever and ever and ever and ever( length of friendship has terms and conditions..LOL)

ooo ,, i love coupons .. i have them for everything. lol when i started out 17 yrs ago with my first born. i used a empty wipe container. then when he was in cub scouts he made me this big wood box for all my coupons and i bring it in the house to do my coupons to organize them. then i put it in the car with my bag of papers so it at all times lol.. my laugh and for my aniversary this yr hubby got me this almost 3 k dimond ring huge surprise,,, anyway i even had coupons for kay and he new about htem but did not have them so the guy went in and used them on it lol... so u know cant have a nice engment ring with out hte nice band so i went in not knowing he used hte coupons and used them on the wedding band so my almost 8grand rings cost me under 4 due to this past sunday i had price adj cause they sent me a 10% off and got back 800.00 lol. hehehe love coupons.

I was always forgetting them at home and then I had so many that I didn't have room in my purse so I bought one of those small expandable files (it is like a 4 x 6 one) and I now have everything sorted according to what it is and it fits in my purse so it is always on me!
Hope this helps :)

ok so far I ma seeing get folder thing... ohhh yeah and use purse... I got lazy in the winter my spring and winter coats have innner pockets who need to car more then what can fit in a pocket...lol

I keep my tote bags in the car. most stores here give you a credit per bag.

organize... can't use it if you don't know you have it.

know how much storage space you have

find people to share the big stuff with (BOG2 for stuff you don't need 3 of)

Know the coupon policy of the stores.

find someone to trade with.

I use a larger purse and always keep my coupon holder in it. Never know when you can whip one out.

I use a larger purse and always keep my coupon holder in it. Never know when you can whip one out.

Same here. The way this economy is, you can't afford to not use coupons.

I keep a coupon pack in my car, take out the new coupons and update it every week, I sent on the coupons I don't use I am in train one,My husband and I are empty nesters,Don't use the amt of food that we did at one time,

i have a zip up binder that I use and I bought the baseball card protectors and use those for my coupons. I have them separated by baby, personal items. food, snacks, refrigerated, frozen, etc. That way I can find the coupon that I am looking for really easy.

Yeah the key is ALWAYS having them with you no matter the method. I use a couple of expandable folders...I eventually went to canvas as I was destroying the plastic ones. I also find going through all I have on a regular basis helps me remember when I see an item on sale. "It's like oh Pasta is on sale...I think I also have a coupon"... So my best suggestion is to know what you have....keep them either in the car or bag....and then to also look thourghly through the Sunday ad's to try and make the sales and coupons do the most.


Good Luck

The main thing for me was to get out of the habit of buying something just because I had a coupon. You have to know your prices. If you have a coupon that's $1.00 off something you don't normally buy the brand name of, you need to see how much you'd be saving. If you buy the store brand for instance, you might be spending more to use your coupon.

You also have to remember where you can use your coupons. Walgreens will sometimes run some great food specials. Combine those with your coupons and you are saving even more money.

Check out the CVS thread for deals you might not have thought to get at CVS. lol.

You can also combine Target coupons with manufacturer coupons too.

Sunday and Monday are my "get organized" days. I take the sales papers from the grocery store I shop at, CVS, Target & Walgreens - get my coupons and make lists.

It's time consuming, but it's fun!

Have the cashier at the grocery store hit subtotal before they enter your coupons. Then watch your total go down. I did that the other day and watched my precoupon total go from $175 to $133 !!

The key to serious couponing is to get at least 10 of the inserts from the paper every week.
You have to have something to start with and something to trade with.
I find as you get better at it, you will need to add supplies.
Electric scissors, organizers ect..
I have a big tote bag for the drugs stores and another for the grocery store.
And the other poster was right on the money.
ALWAYS keep your coupons nearby.

Using coupon clipping websites when I need multiple of the same coupon is easier for me than having multiple inserts. Using the coupons that don't specify a size on the smallest size often yields the biggest savings.

Using coupon clipping websites when I need multiple of the same coupon is easier for me than having multiple inserts. Using the coupons that don't specify a size on the smallest size often yields the biggest savings.

coupon clipping websites??

ok question... anyone know if sams accept coupons?

sams does not take coupons. bjs does, not sure about costco.

For me, I personally use a zippered binder, that has 2 sets of rings in it. One ring is for food items, teh other for non-food items, such as health & beauty. I personally get 4 papers every week. The AJC has a "double deal" where I can get 2 papers for 2.50, as opposed to 2.00 each. So 4 papers cost $5. The biggest thing, like others have said, is to keep your coupons in the car. You never know when you might run up on a really good deal. But that deal might not be so great if you have to go home get coupons then make another trip. The gas cost would eat up any savings. I'm just getting started on something that hopefully will give lots of tips in a simplified way to people just getting started :)

ok question... anyone know if sams accept coupons?

If you are shopping at Sams Club, you need to make sure that you are in fact getting it for cheaper. Just because something is packaged larger, it doesn't make it cheaper. Especially since they don't accept coupons. You might want to start jotting down how much something is and how much it weighs, to calculate a cost per ounce. If you are at a standard grocery store that doubles or even triples coupons, it might be cheaper to buy it from a grocery store.

ok anyone know where i can get a printable pampers coupon mfr please

keep an eye on places like family dollar or dollar general too, 9 times out of ten, if you hve a good coupon lets say$1 off crest toothpaste any flavor, then go to one of them stores, where its a dollar..bam free...also if you have a grocer that doubles...i get tons of free items that way, i havent paid for toothpaste in years...many other items also. my krogers before they caught on...when a coupon was doubled and the money off was actually higher than the item cost, they gave you money back, but think they figured that out, cuz havent had it happen in a while, lol

A whole lot of it just comes with practice. We all have our own methods for organizing coupons. I have the binder thing, and I do great for awhile and then I slide and everything gets out-of-date and eventually I go through it and redo it again.

What really works for me is putting the "I'm absolutely going to use this one" coupons in a sandwich size ziplock in my purse. These are the coupons for things I always buy anyway (soda, soy milk, etc). That way if I wind up making an unexpected stop at Walmart I can use them before they expire.

I purchase the double pack of the Sunday paper for $2, DH brings them home from job (sometimes up to 10 inserts) from my job and from a weekly free weekly local paper that gets delivered every Wednesday. I stack them all up and cut about 5 of the same Q-pons at once and organize them in my folder. Right now I do not have any room in them and will be going out to look for a binder that zips. I'm also planning on making a "keep in the car" folder for duplicates just in case I need something while I'm out.

I only clip what I know can and will use and also reframe from purchasing something because I have a Q-pon (but if I can get it really cheap then I snatch it up). I shop where my coupons can be doubled and always keep a look out for triples as well. I'm totally addicted to CVS and shop there weekly and spend under $5.00 using Q-pons and ECB's to make my total as low as possble.

Shopping with Q-pons have become a must, specially these days!!!

When I show my co-workers my receipt they are blown away at how much I spend and what I get for my money. It's a great feeling:yup:.

A whole lot of it just comes with practice. We all have our own methods for organizing coupons. I have the binder thing, and I do great for awhile and then I slide and everything gets out-of-date and eventually I go through it and redo it again.

What really works for me is putting the "I'm absolutely going to use this one" coupons in a sandwich size ziplock in my purse. These are the coupons for things I always buy anyway (soda, soy milk, etc). That way if I wind up making an unexpected stop at Walmart I can use them before they expire.

god bless ziploc i do the same thing, lol...i shop once a week, so i make sure they stay in my purse!

I purchase the double pack of the Sunday paper for $2, DH brings them home from job (sometimes up to 10 inserts) from my job and from a weekly free weekly local paper that gets delivered every Wednesday. I stack them all up and cut about 5 of the same Q-pons at once and organize them in my folder. Right now I do not have any room in them and will be going out to look for a binder that zips. I'm also planning on making a "keep in the car" folder for duplicates just in case I need something while I'm out.

I only clip what I know can and will use and also reframe from purchasing something because I have a Q-pon (but if I can get it really cheap then I snatch it up). I shop where my coupons can be doubled and always keep a look out for triples as well. I'm totally addicted to CVS and shop there weekly and spend under $5.00 using Q-pons and ECB's to make my total as low as possble.

Shopping with Q-pons have become a must, specially these days!!!

When I show my co-workers my reciept they are blown away at how much I spend and what I get for my money. It's a great feeling:yup:.

ya my aunt is a coupon nut...i do it too, but she on several occasions has gone into krogers or meijers...put around $300 worth of groceries in her cart and has never once paid over $20 after her coupons...most of her items she gets for free, but those she doesnt, she tries not to spend over .50 or 1.00 on them (depending on what it is) and because she gets so many things for free, i no longer have to shop for deodorants or any other toiletries...she has a make shift grocery store in her extra bedroom with all her free stuff and i just go snatch what i need, lol

What are coupon clipping websites and what is the best way to use them???? I'd love to start saving more than I do now. I only get 1 or 2 inserts per newspaper if I'm lucky!

If I wanted to do a binder and use the baseball card inserts, where do you get those? I looked around walmart, but didn't find any. I found some on ebay, but they were in lots of 50 and 100. I don't need that many.

If I wanted to do a binder and use the baseball card inserts, where do you get those? I looked around walmart, but didn't find any. I found some on ebay, but they were in lots of 50 and 100. I don't need that many.

50 isnt that many at all once you get your coupons in them. Wal-Mart should carry them with the baseball cards & such. If not tho, try checking anywhere that sells cards. Maybe a local sports shop, or craft store?

What are coupon clipping websites and what is the best way to use them???? I'd love to start saving more than I do now. I only get 1 or 2 inserts per newspaper if I'm lucky!

coupons.com is a site i use most often....it allows you to select from available coupons and print off what you want...and they will email you about once a week or so with new ones, also if you have a kroger in your area, krogers website offers coupons to print and also a link to pg&e that allows you to load coupons right no to your kroger card. just have to be sure to check your local krogers policies on internet coupons, mine wont take anything over 3.00

i think she is looking for something more like [www.thecouponclippers.com. They usually have a min amount you have to spend, so it saves to buy any you want all at once. Dunno if it is ok to post those or not, since they dont deal with anything this site does, but if it gets deleted, sorry :)

50 isnt that many at all once you get your coupons in them. Wal-Mart should carry them with the baseball cards & such. If not tho, try checking anywhere that sells cards. Maybe a local sports shop, or craft store?

They were on clearance at our walmart last week. They were in the main clearance aisle. They were .50 for a pack of 10.

They were on clearance at our walmart last week. They were in the main clearance aisle. They were .50 for a pack of 10.

I'll have to check. I tried to find the area that would have baseball cards (or similar, like Pokemon cards) --- you can definately tell I don't have kids. LOL I looked in the toy dept, and sporting goods. I even looked in stationary and found all kinds of pocketed presentation folders, or tabbed dividers, but nothing that looked like the baseball card holders. I'll have to find this walmart's clearance section. Most of what I saw was just on endcaps.

I'll have to check. I tried to find the area that would have baseball cards (or similar, like Pokemon cards) --- you can definately tell I don't have kids. LOL I looked in the toy dept, and sporting goods. I even looked in stationary and found all kinds of pocketed presentation folders, or tabbed dividers, but nothing that looked like the baseball card holders. I'll have to find this walmart's clearance section. Most of what I saw was just on endcaps.

Here it's by the registers where they keep the magazines. HTH

Ok I found the baseball card holder sheet things at Target up by the registers (Thanks Rockfordmom!). It's a pack of 30 for $4.99 (5.35 with tax). I had a $5 gift card from the coke or pepsi deal a few weeks ago, so I really only paid 35 cents, so I guess I can't complain.

Now to get to work filling 'em up.

hey for any one who does the wedding registries on the freebie forum, if you register with Target, they will send you a welcome pack, and the welcome pack comes in an expandable file(good sized one too), its got wedding labels on it, but those can be taped off and written over if you prefer with your categories, it doesnt have very many dividers, but its large enough to hold several letter size envelopes, and i just divide my coupons in those and carry them all in the file...it was free might as well get some use out of it

hey for any one who does the wedding registries on the freebie forum, if you register with Target, they will send you a welcome pack, and the welcome pack comes in an expandable file(good sized one too), its got wedding labels on it, but those can be taped off and written over if you prefer with your categories, it doesnt have very many dividers, but its large enough to hold several letter size envelopes, and i just divide my coupons in those and carry them all in the file...it was free might as well get some use out of it

Yes, it is a nice size and durable. It also includes a free Q for one of Target's Truffle Candy Bar & a Q for 2 small free popcorn & soda's. :)

Yes, it is a nice size and durable. It also includes a free Q for one of Target's Truffle Candy Bar & a Q for 2 small free popcorn & soda's. :)

oh i know i cant wait to use them.....and i found a way to store the coupons easier since it only has 3 dividers...rather than waste all my letter envelopes....i went through all my bills, and took out the reply envelopes they send with my bills (since i do online payments), cut off the flap and mark each one with a category...and i use a lot, i break down categories as much as possible...so instead of going by general categories, i can go aisle by aisle in the grocery store and take out the envelope for that aisle, wont work for EVERY aisle, but pretty close...that way i dont fumble with all of it...oh and i use a binder clip to clip the coupons i am using at the register to the outside flap of the file so i dont lose them in the store anywhere!

If I wanted to do a binder and use the baseball card inserts, where do you get those? I looked around walmart, but didn't find any. I found some on ebay, but they were in lots of 50 and 100. I don't need that many.

I found some perfect sized ones in old photo albumns at a garage sale for a quarter. :yup:
If you remember the old cameras that made the long/wide pictures, the albumn inserts for those are perfect for coupons. Then I inserted them in the handled, zipper binder I got for free at RiteAid or Walgreens--can't remember--FAR go back to school sale.

OK I just did a some what major shopping trip. Now I will preface this by saying some of the stuff that I bought was a want not a need and some was organic which U try finding coupons for that but I think I did pretty good for my frist time out the gate.
Before member card savings or coupons
125.44
member card savings 12.38
113.06
coupon savings 25.03

ohh yeah would have saved another 1.50 but the A&P near me does not take computer generated coupons.
87.40
bring my own bags .10
87.30
total saved 37.51.... That is about a half a tank of plus gas in my pacifica...
not to bad is I say so myself.:D
Ohh yeah would have saved another 1.50 but they dont take computer generated coupons.
OHH PSS I also earned 6 bucks in A &P bucks for my next trip.

For me, I personally use a zippered binder, that has 2 sets of rings in it. One ring is for food items, teh other for non-food items, such as health & beauty. I personally get 4 papers every week. The AJC has a "double deal" where I can get 2 papers for 2.50, as opposed to 2.00 each. So 4 papers cost $5. The biggest thing, like others have said, is to keep your coupons in the car. You never know when you might run up on a really good deal. But that deal might not be so great if you have to go home get coupons then make another trip. The gas cost would eat up any savings. I'm just getting started on something that hopefully will give lots of tips in a simplified way to people just getting started :)

Did you ever have a chance to get something started on the simplified tips for getting started with coupons? If so, would you please share. Thanks in advance :)

Did you ever have a chance to get something started on the simplified tips for getting started with coupons? If so, would you please share. Thanks in advance :)

I replied to your PM :)

ok i went out and got myself a binder FYI staples carries the binders and the baseball card sheets..
Also my hubby's need to buy lotto finally paid off(well other then the 10K he won a few months back) The local store owner that he buys his tickets from had some extra inserts so i got 5 copies of the inserts for free... WOO HOOO hope I can do that everyweek...

I bought me a pretty pink binder with flowers on it!!!! Bought a pack of baseball card holders. I sort by food, meds, makeup and bathroom stuff, households, smokes and then stores.

I got tired of my little coupon book falling apart, but didn't want to commit to the space of having one of the binders.

So I now have a CVS/Walgreens coupon book! I took one of the small photo albums that holds 36 photos - so I have 36 pages. I filled them with all my drugstore coupons. Each item basically now has it's own page. I am so excited! I know, it doesn't take much.

I got tired of my little coupon book falling apart, but didn't want to commit to the space of having one of the binders.

So I now have a CVS/Walgreens coupon book! I took one of the small photo albums that holds 36 photos - so I have 36 pages. I filled them with all my drugstore coupons. Each item basically now has it's own page. I am so excited! I know, it doesn't take much.


Very good idea!! I'm going to do the same! Sometime my CVS Q's are mixed with the grocery store ones. CVS definatlely needs its own little book.

I recently did what I call a "coupon challenge". I literally got over $900 worth of household goods, medicines (tyenol, etc), health and beauty items, and food items for under $200.00 OOP (Out Of Pocket). I got all of this in three weeks of hard core couponing.

Now, $900 worth of stuff probably has you thinking that I paid $$$ for a bunch of junk that I will never use. More or less, the answer is NO. I did pick up several items for free or up to $0.25 that I really don't use, but there are so many shelters and organizations that really need donations, so I figured that if I can bring in $100+ of shampoo, toothpaste, etc. and I only pay $3 or $4 for all of it, that I should pick those items up, especially the ones that are free.

The next thing that I made myself do was create a method for organizing my coupons. I know that there are many posts here already about binders and envelopes, etc. That just demonstrates the need to organize your coupons. As I slowly built up my collection, I added more and more categories. For example, I started out with Frozen Foods as one category. When that started to fill up to where I had to sort through 35+ coupons to find the coupon to match a must have item in the frozen foods section, I lost the plain old "frozen foods" envelope and created the following three in its place: Frozen Food - Breakfast Items (waffles, fruits, toaster struedels, etc), Frozen Food - Meals / Meal Components including: frozen dinners, vegetables, dinner rolls, pizzas, side items such as poppers and fries, etc., and Frozen Desserts which for me includes items like pies, cool whip, popsicles, ice cream and anything else that is sweet and I really don't belong eating as a meal.

The other thing that really did help me in the end was that I clipped EVERY coupon in the paper, even the ones that I was sure I would never touch. Granted, there are definately some that I won't use but PHEW!!! I ended up with some CRAZY bargains on some items that I never really tried before and ended up liking them. Plus, after 3 weeks of hard-core clipping and sorting, you will really have a knack for what you will use, might use, maybe would only use if free or super cheap, and never ever will you use that item so I recommend saving everything to start out.

Finally, check your newspaper ads. Typically when a good coupon comes out, like $1.00+ off an item, it just so happens to be selling at full price. Save the coupon and wait a week or two. Watch for stuff to go on sale, THEN use your coupon to buy it. Last week I used up a bunch of coupons from a May Smart Source insert. It was well worth the wait as I hardly paid anything OOP.


This is probably alot to write in a post, but I have condensed/simplified my methods to give a brief overview of the necessities for successful couponing. You will no doubt develop your own habits and methods, so good luck!

Now go on and SAVE SOME $$$$$!

here's a good page about slashing your grocery bill:

http://www.michelinas.com/SaveMoneyArticle_Slash_Your_Grocery_Bill.aspx

I also do the binder method and do stockpiling, which is buying my household and groceries items for really cheap when they are on sale and I have a coupon, for it! So I have over a six month supply of all of our toletries and household needs...I also invested in an extra deep freezer and another refridgerator. I go into the recycling bins and pull out all of the coupon inserts and then clip and organize away, I clip them all, add them to trains and wait for a good sale to come up with. I do not believe in paying for toothbrushes, toothpaste, bbq sauce, condiments or dental floss. I won't pay more than $.75 for cereals or laundry detergent and no more than $.25 for deodorant or shampoo/conditioner.

Here is a couple of pictures of my stockpile: http://www.msnusers.com/MyStockpile go to the right of the page and click on the pictures!

I also do the binder method and do stockpiling, which is buying my household and groceries items for really cheap when they are on sale and I have a coupon, for it! So I have over a six month supply of all of our toletries and household needs...I also invested in an extra deep freezer and another refridgerator. I go into the recycling bins and pull out all of the coupon inserts and then clip and organize away, I clip them all, add them to trains and wait for a good sale to come up with. I do not believe in paying for toothbrushes, toothpaste, bbq sauce, condiments or dental floss. I won't pay more than $.75 for cereals or laundry detergent and no more than $.25 for deodorant or shampoo/conditioner.

Here is a couple of pictures of my stockpile: http://www.msnusers.com/MyStockpile go to the right of the page and click on the pictures!

looks almost as bad as my aunts room she has devoted to this stuff

I have a binder with baseball card pages with all my coupons broken down into different categories. I also have 5 pocket pages in the back, one for CVS, Target, Wags, Grocery stores, and extras. In each pocket I keep that weeks store ad, plus the monthly ad/rebate books in the case of CVS and Wags. In the grocery store pocket I keep those weekly ads and an envie with the store specific coupons/catalinas. The extras section has oversized coupons (like the post it Qs) and envies full of things to trade, send off as donations, or RAOK. I also keep 2 envies in my purse at all times, one with frees that I can use at any store quickly (like all the cat food frees I have) and another envie with all my ECBs, CRTs and Qs I know I will be using at CVS, like the $4/1 Bic Soleil coupons, because you never know when a CVS trip might call!

I normally go on my big weekly trip on Sunday morning. When I do, I take my binder in a reuseable shopping bag.

HTH! and good luck getting started, looks like you are doing great already!

ahhhhh i just got back from krogers and they dont like me...i got...
*sunsilk shampoo(with bonus full size hairspry and conditioner both on sale for 2.49 had $1 off coupon for each which doubled to 2$ off each making them .49 each
* 2 sunsilk creams...same price and same coupon amt each so .49 each for those
*colgate max fresh toothpaste on close out for 1.79 used 1.00 coupon..couldnt double but took off 1.79 so free!
*a TON of formula that wic paid for
*used a 5.00 check from enfamil ( which did not deduct $5 from my formula, it deducted $5 from my shampoos and stuff for some reason)

so i walked out of there with 5 bags of groceries for a grand total of 42cents.......man i love coupons!

and that was just a quick shopping trip, didnt have time to pick up any of the items i have coupons for free things or to really scour the aisles for deals, lol

hey for any one who does the wedding registries on the freebie forum, if you register with Target, they will send you a welcome pack, and the welcome pack comes in an expandable file(good sized one too), its got wedding labels on it, but those can be taped off and written over if you prefer with your categories, it doesnt have very many dividers, but its large enough to hold several letter size envelopes, and i just divide my coupons in those and carry them all in the file...it was free might as well get some use out of it

Thanks for the great hint! My coupon holder has 13 pockets, but I really needed to sort my coupons down a little more. This will work great for me. My holder is business letter size (It's actually a canceled check holder) so envelopes are a perfect solution and I love the idea of using those return envelopes that come with your bills. I, too, pay mine online. Again, thank you!

yvw!

Ive been couponing for alot of yrs but can never seem to stay organized. I recently bought my card holders and dividers and am still trying to decide how to organize them. This has been a great help. I always have so many coupons I get lost and sometimes say the heck with it. I too love to get things for free. Sometimes hubby gets upset because I have so much deodorant, shampoo, toothpast etc. (you know what I mean) He says we dont need all that stuff but I say if I can get it free or for a few cents why not stock up!!!! Dont understand him getting so aggrevated. Anyone else have this problem with spouses?

dont know if this would help you, but i go through my sales ad for my grocery store that i get in the mail. i circle everything that i plan on buying from the ad. go through my coupons to see if i have coupons for these items, paperclip them to the ad and take them with me to the store. that way i dont stray from what i planned on buying and its like a hunting mission for the deals. not to mention when i get EVERYTHING on sale or have coupons for, I fell soooo super great about the money i spent. :)

Ive been couponing for alot of yrs but can never seem to stay organized. I recently bought my card holders and dividers and am still trying to decide how to organize them. This has been a great help. I always have so many coupons I get lost and sometimes say the heck with it. I too love to get things for free. Sometimes hubby gets upset because I have so much deodorant, shampoo, toothpast etc. (you know what I mean) He says we dont need all that stuff but I say if I can get it free or for a few cents why not stock up!!!! Dont understand him getting so aggrevated. Anyone else have this problem with spouses?

well i just have a problem in my man in general, lol

dont know if this would help you, but i go through my sales ad for my grocery store that i get in the mail. i circle everything that i plan on buying from the ad. go through my coupons to see if i have coupons for these items, paperclip them to the ad and take them with me to the store. that way i dont stray from what i planned on buying and its like a hunting mission for the deals. not to mention when i get EVERYTHING on sale or have coupons for, I fell soooo super great about the money i spent. :)

i used to do that, until i discovered krogers does not put ALL sales in the adds and some of the ones left out are the best ones when im going shopping, i still comb each aisle, my coupons are in order by aisle, so i just take out the envelope or 2 that are for that aisle and see what works for me, the ad is a great start point, but most of my deals are from unadvertised sales...especially closeout/clearance/discontinued items....you can still use coupons/double coupons on those!

I finally got organized with my binder and went to Meijer! IT WAS SOOOO AWSOME!!!!!! The first time I actually was able to use all the coupons I had for the items I wanted and not have to dig for them. THE cashier couldnt believe how organized I was with them and said she had never seen anyone that organized. I just want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone at Gotta Deal for posting their ideas on this. I LOVE YOU GUYS!:yup::blush:

I have to say thanks too! I went to Publix today (about a month after I began putting my own binder together) and I spent $66.04 and my savings was $100.09!!!! This was definately the best trip yet. I felt so organized as well matching up my store Q's with manuf. Q's. I have to say it is becoming more of a game than anything. Each time I want to top the last trip. I couldn't have done it without all the tips from you all so thanks so much!!

I finally got organized with my binder and went to Meijer! IT WAS SOOOO AWSOME!!!!!! The first time I actually was able to use all the coupons I had for the items I wanted and not have to dig for them. THE cashier couldnt believe how organized I was with them and said she had never seen anyone that organized. I just want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone at Gotta Deal for posting their ideas on this. I LOVE YOU GUYS!:yup::blush:

fyi to you and other meijer shoppers.....if you go through the self checkout...you can use up your expired q's as well since you scan them yourself and drop them in the slot, they dont scan them for you....thats a tip straight from our meijer cashier here, lol

Ive done that a few times. Walmart does the same thing. I can also get some to go through if it is same brand say huggies and the coupon is 2.00 for overnight pullups. I buy regular huggies diapers and I can get them to go through. My hubby doesnt have the patience for self check out, says it takes me too long. Cant make him understand that it may take me longer but I save more MONEY!!!! Isnt that the whole idea? :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

well your first problem there is trying to get a man to understand anything, lol...its an impossible thing to do, unless of course if you put it to him in terms he understands...honey, the more i save, the more beer you can have, or the next fancy butt scratching remote that comes out we will be able to buy with all the money i saved at the self checkout with my coupons! he may understand then.

Just popping in to say...it warms my heart to see you guys getting into coupons! :P Seriously, doesn't it feel great to walk out of there paying less than 50% of your bill? And with time, you get faster, better, and know your limits. I say a big CONGRATS to all of you who are giving this a go!

Thanks for the ideas. I always carry my coupons in my purse. It's a letter size organizer pouch - it's like my second wallet. I will definitely use the idea of pulling the coupons and clipping them to my flyer before leaving home. This way I'll stay focused and save even more. :D

less than 50%? HA!

I have actually gotten so good with it that I have to pick up a GC for my overages nearly every time. I have quite the Christmas fund going.