COUPONING

*There is a good chance that this post will be edited. I am almost certain that I will forget something vital and have to come back to add. I will be answering any questions (should they come up) in the comments....or if there seem to be more than a few, I might post the questions and answers, along with any clarification, in another entry.*


I am a couponer. It is like a sport among those who seriously coupon. We post on message boards sharing our successes, questions, failures and sweet finds. Not only is it my way to help my family, but it is fun. I love to show off my stockpile and great deals. When someone sees my receipts, they question how it was I saved so much.

The disappointment comes when I tell them that I coupon. Their smile fades and they say, "Oh. Well, I can't afford to do that." Either they don't take the paper, or they don't want to drive. They think that Walmart is cheaper or that they don't want to take their child/children.

I have an answer for all of that....you ready?

Start taking the paper. You will save enough to pay for the gas. Walmart is NOT cheaper and you will save enough money to buy your child a "bribery" snack to get through the store.

The next thing I hear is this:

"Well, it simply isn't worth it to use one $.25 off coupon."

You are right....how smart of you to recognize it. HOWEVER, I use that same coupon for $.75 off because I know where and when to shop.

To successfully coupon, you have to commit. A lot of people don't want to clip all those coupons. I don't clip unless I KNOW I'm about to use it. I have an organization system that is always changing. I have a lot of space to store my bounty...AND my BOUNTY. The way I see it is this: YES, I work on my list and coupons about 1-2 hours a week. That isn't a lot more time than I spend anyway on making my list. The last time I went to Kroger, I spent $73.....but I SAVED $74. The savings alone, for 2 hours of work.....well, I don't know too many people who get paid $37 per hour. And THAT is not even including my trip to HEB, CVS and Walgreens. On average, I save 51% on ALL my groceries and health and beauty product. And I'm getting name-brand stuff! When I said "BOUNTY," I wasn't kidding. I have about 25 rolls right now in my pantry floor.

I also have 12 jugs of laundry soap, 11 bottles of dish soap, 32 bars of bath soap, 17 boxes of cereal, 15 bottles of bath wash, 12 tubes of toothpaste, 13 shampoos, 12 lotions, 5 deodorants, 6 hand soaps, and 12 toothbrushes. AND I got everything for CHEAP! As in $1.25 for a box of cereal.....Lucky Charms, Chex, Cheerios....good cereals. The shampoos: Herbal Essence, Finesse....I'm talking name-brand stuff.

OK...this really isn't an entry on stockpiling, but I will if you want. =) No, this is my excitement in trying to convince YOU to DO AS I SAY AND AS I DO!

If you look in my sidebar, you will see some of the places I go. Some of these places have a "coupon basics" section. I strongly suggest this if you are brand new. I also use thegrocerygame.com. THIS is what helps me get the savings with a small amount of work. (Please...if you DO sign up, put me as a reference. I'm on there as ~LL~) Anyway, the point of "The Game" is that they do the work for me. For example: I can get their HEB list, see exactly what is on sale, whether it is a good deal for the sales cycle AND what coupon is out there and where to find it. SO, if I find out that Softsoap is on sale, my list might also say that in last week's paper, there was a coupon for $.35 off 1 bottle of Softsoap. SO, I go to a store who will triple that coupon...I just took $1.05 off of ONE bottle of Softsoap. Cool, huh?

Anyway, I don't really know where I want to go with all this....I guess I just want to show off my stockpile :D

IF you want to know more, feel free to ask questions and I will do what I can to give you the right answer. I'm hoping to SOON get some of my friends together and have a "class" for them.

P.S. These pictures were taken a bit over a week ago....so my stock has changed a bit.