New Coupon Strategy!!

I found this website that sells coupons, you can buy whole inserts or individual coupons. I thought it was a good idea but didn't think to persue it until papers went up to $3.00. $3.00 for a paper where you might or might not get enough coupons to cover the cost is ridiculous let alone buying mulitple copies, like I usually like too do. So anyways I've decided it will be more economically beneficial to me to use this website, it is www.couponsthingsbydede.com When the ads come out every week I look at them, see what I want and go to that website and order the coupons. You can usually order up to 50 or so coupons (of the same one, I don't know if you would need 50 of something but you never know:)) every 7 days and they cost anywhere from 5 cents per coupon to 20 cents (depending on the coupons worth) so for instance......
*My friend got me hooked on VIVA paper towels, LOVE THEM, but they are kind of pricey ($1.22 per pack, not bad but we go through them like crazy) and there are not alot of coupons available, in the Sunday inserts, so on the website there is a coupon for $0.60 off that cost $0.08 per coupon. This makes them $0.62 (+$0.08) per roll, making the price alot more enticing!!
*Another example, I'm kind of picky about the ice cream we buy, I love Bryers, it usually cost $3.50, but at Wal-Mart right now it is only $2.25 I found a coupon for $1.00 off one carton (another coupon I have never seen before) and so the total of this ice cream is $1.25!! At most places you can't even buy a single cone for that!! (are you sick of this yet?)
*Last example, back when I went to Walgreens and bought the Garnier shampoo for free, I had 16 coupons, if I would have known about this website I probably would have ordered like 50 coupons and then been able to "buy" 50 shampoos for free, and had our 2 year supply of hair care products!! This method will be really good when Kroger or Albertson's has their 10 for 10 sales, with them doubling and tripling their coupons think of how much free stuff you can get without having to buy 10-20 newspapers!! (and plus the coupons are already clipped for you!!)

Another Coupon Source

Another good way to save is by using electronic coupons. There are 2 great place to find electronic coupons. By electronic coupons I mean, coupons that you download to your grocery sponsered card. Places like Kroger, Smiths, Fry's etc... You can usually use this coupon plus a paper coupon and get an even bigger discount or alot of free stuff. You just register on the website, choose the store you want to apply your coupons to and they usually have you type in the number on your card. Check out these sites!!
www.shortcuts.com
www.cellfire.com
does anybody know of any other free electronic coupons sites?

Walgreens

Another good place to shop and save money on toiletries, household cleaners, etc.....is Walgreens. They have a program called "easy saver coupons" they are instore coupons (that you pick up, it looks like a little brochure, at the front of the store) you can combine these coupons with manufactured coupons.

Here is an example.....

1. Garnier shampoo, conditioner, and styling products

*price $2.99

*easy saver coupon $2.00 off (in their ad they will tell you what coupons apply to what product so you don't have to search the brochure every week)

*Manufactured coupon $1.00 off

*ending price+$0.01 (so with the $3.00 worth of coupons you get the product free plus 1 penny)

2. Colgate toothpaste

*price $3.49

*easy saver coupon $2.50 off

*manufactured coupon $0.75 off (often times they have $1.00 off but this time I had the $0.75 off one)

*ending price $0.24

3. Revelon emery boards

*price $0.99

*easy saver coupon $1.00 off

*ending price +$0.01

4. Fushion Razor

*price $8.99

*register rewards $4.00 off(which is basically a reciept that equals money. They print this coupon off and you can use it towards your next purchase.)

*manufactured coupon $4.00 off

*ending price $4.99 (but I took my register rewards and bought 5 more tubes of toothpaste for $0.95)

So all in all I spent a little over $6.00 and saved $88.00

Getting Started

I have had a couple people ask me about coupons and saving money and so I decided that I would try to start this blog again, because it really is SO rewarding to save 50% off of your grocery bill or come home with free stuff from the store!! So these are the things I would do to get started in saving money...
1. Buy the Sunday newspaper. I usually buy one copy and then if they have alot of coupons that I like I will go back and buy multiple copies. In Texas you can buy the newspaper first on Saturday night and then they get another shipment Sunday that stays on the shelf throughout the week until it is all sold out. This takes care of not having to shop on Sunday if you don't want to. In Utah they only have coupons in the Sunday edition, so you may want to ask around, to see if your friends or neighbors don't use their coupons. You can also order multiple copies of the newspaper to be delivered on Sunday. The only problem with this is, if you don't like the coupons you will have lost that money.
2. Coupons!! There are tons of places on the internet that offer free coupons. Google "free coupons" and you will come up with some different sites. One of my favorites is Penny Pincher Gazette. Another website that I like to look at is freebies4mom.blogspot.com this website lists different coupons, free samples, and instore promotions that are awesome!!
3. Shop the Ads. Call around to the different stores in your area and have your name put on a mailing list to send you their weekly ad. When you get your ads in the mail, plan your menu according to the sales and what coupons you can use. For instance, last week the split bone-in chicken breast were $0.77 so I bought about 10 lbs, and froze them in meals size portions. Making about 6 meals, By throwing some frozen chicken in the crock pot with a can of italian tomatoes, making mashed potatoes, and a vegetable you have a very healthy meal for 5 for under $2.50.

I'll add more to this list tomorrow, but for now these are just a few things you can do to save money on your grocery bill!!