I must confess: I am a couponaholic. 'Hello my name is Wendy and I'm a couponaholic'. 'Hiiiiii Wendyyyyy' Seriously, I've been cutting coupons since college. Back then I lived on campus and had a dining pass. But I cut coupons for the things I kept my dorm room, chips, yogurt, soda, etc. and since then, I've blossomed into what a lot of people are now calling Extreme Couponers. I watch the show and as a couponer, I'm embarrassed by what they do. Clearing a shelf of 110 bottles of mustard is just ridiculous. The problem with the extreme couponing show is this, the stores these people are shopping in are breaking their own coupon policies, just for the advertising. That's why its call Extreme. I coupon because it can save me hundreds on my grocery bill. By saving money, I can afford to stay home. By staying home I can pick and chose the contract jobs that I want to work when I want to work them. Do I go the store and buy $850 worth of groceries for only $15, absolutely not. But if you do it right you can save 50% on your groceries without tying up 8 shopping carts, spending 10 hours at the grocery store and renting a u haul to take it all home. If my local grocery store is having a BOGO on pasta sauce and I have coupons, you bet I'm going to stock up. But my family of two is not going to consume all of it. Half of it goes to one of two places: my friends and/or family members who are struggling to make ends meet or my local food bank which provides food for over 2000 families per month in my county. That's 2000 families, not 2000 people so I can only imagine how many people that really is. Couponing does not have to be difficult. If you can get organized, and save some money, why not?! I've gone from an envelope of coupons to a small file folder of coupons to a binder of coupons (pictures of my binder below). Each week I sit down and go through the fliers, see what is a good deal and make a list. Each store has it's own envelope. I put a sticky note of what I'm going buy on the envelope and put the coupons inside. I always bring my binder when I go to the store for unexpected, unadvertised specials. But this way, I'm ready and can just pull out the envelope, hand over my coupons and it's done.
You ask: 'but Wendy, I have 3 kids, a husband, a full time job and a house to take care of, how could I possibly find time to coupon?' That's really easy. If you live in the South check out www.southernsavers.com, she does ALL the work for you. Except cutting the coupons, you still have to do that part. If you live in other parts of the country, check out www.couponmom.com. It's a start! So go get those savings!!
My pretty coupon book, I have a lot of scrapbook paper, so I use it when I can!
My coupon dividers, can be found at any office supply store!
I have my coupons divided up even further in each section. I use trading card sheets, they can be found at any office supply store as well.
The envelopes I use for when I go shopping. Makes it easier to have them all together before I get to the check out!
Below is a list of suggested coupon categories:
Baby
Baking
Beverages/Snacks
Bread/Breakfast Cereal
Canned
Cleaning Supplies
Condiments/Dressings/Marinades
Cough & Cold
Dairy
Frozen
Meat
Misc
Paper/Plastic
Pasta/Rice/Sauces
Personal Care
Pet Care
Some people prefer to organize by aisle of their favorite grocery store. Find what works for you!
HAPPY COUPONING!!!!
Wendy
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