Coupons

Okay Sam. First you need to find out the coupon policy at the stores you shop at. Find out if they double/triple coupons (no-one around here triples them, but I hear there are places that do). Also find out how many coupons you can use at once (walmart here will let you go through the self checkout with up to $20 worth of coupons. After that, you need manager approval). Some stores put a limit on how many like coupons you can use. The Kroger here will let you use a certain number of the same coupon (say- I buy 5 boxes of cereal. Kroger will only let me double 3 of those coupons. The other 2 are at face value). Also find out if they accept internet printed coupons. Some don't, most do.

The next part- a notebook might help with, but I don't use one. I have a general idea of how low prices will go on most of the items we buy a lot of. The bags/boxes of pasta I never buy when they're more than $1. Sometimes I can find them at Meijers "buy 10 for $10 and get the 11th free" sale. That's as low as I've ever seen them go. Watch the sales. If you need to, write in a notebook how low the prices go on whatever items you use the most (salad dressings, pastas, canned goods, etc). This will be a running list so not something you can just sit down and do today :)

Clip your coupons! I buy the Sunday paper. It's my weekly endulgence. It usually takes me until Thursday to read it all. LOL! But I mostly buy it for the coupons. Clip them all (unless it's obviously something you'll never in a million years use). Don't make the same mistake I've made on many occaisions. I'll skip a coupon thinking "that costs too much anyway, it'll never go down in price enough to make the $.50 coupon worth it". You'd be surprised!

Get even more coupons online. Here is one good link to a ton of printable coupons. Here is a link to Meijer's coupons, since I know you have a Meijer. In the box on the right, click on the "specials" tab to find the coupons. I've also found some yummy looking recipes on here.

Now DON'T run out and use all those coupons! Here's the key- you have to use them at the right time. So remember back when I told you to watch the sales and see how low they get? When they're at their lowest is when you act on your coupons. So, for example, a couple months ago there were Lowry's Marinades coupons in the Sunday paper ($.50 off 1). Right now at Meijer the Lowry's Marinades are 10/$10 get the 11th free. In that Meijer link above there's a coupon for $.50 off the purchase of 5 Lowry's Marinades. I can't remember off the top of my head how many like coupons Meijer will let you use, but I know you can double up on coupons and use Manufacturers coupons and Meijers coupons for the same product. So if I could use 5 of the coupons that were in the paper you can use this situation....

Buy 5 Lowry's marinades- $5
Minus 5 coupons ($.50 off, mine doubles so minus $5)
Minus the Meijer coupons (doubles to make it $1)
So Meijer is paying me $1 to take these marinades out of their stores.

The key to doing that is you need to buy more stuff so that you don't end up with something like that at checkout. So, if I were to do this deal I would also do this....

2 Kraft Miracle Whip (on sale for 2/$4)
1 Cool Whip (on sale for 10/$10)
1 Planters Peanuts (on sale for $3)
Minus 1 Miracle Whip coupon (in the Meijer link- $1.50 off 2)
Minus 1 Planters coupon (in the first link- $3 off Planters nuts when you purchase 3 kraft, nabisco or oscar mayer items).

Total- $3.50
Minus the $1 overage from the Marinades and this is what I get....

5 Lowry's marinades
2 Miracle Whip
1 Cool Whip
1 jar of Planters Peanuts

For a total of $2.50.

In that first coupon link.... a couple of my favorites....

Honey Bunches of Oats- $2 off (our walmart has them for $1.98ish so it's free, Meijer is just over $2)
Johnson's Buddies- $1 off (you can find them for less than $1.... but I guess you have no need for these. LOL!)
Knorr/Lipton- $1 off (lowest price is $1 so it's free)
Kraft LiveActive cereal- $3 off (walmart has it for less than $3, Meijer is just a few cents over $3 so it's essentially free)
Land O'Frost Taste Escape- free (it's lunch meat, but I haven't been able to find it around here)
Muir Glen, if you can find it- $1 off (canned tomato products, great coupon if you can find the product!)
Planters- $3 off when you buy 3 kraft, nabisco or oscar mayer products
V8 Fusion- $2 off (It's been on sale for $2.50 before, making it $.50)
Vlassic- $1 off (cheap pickles... yay! LOL!)

Mom- don't read this next little part.... LOL!

Oh, and my Durex coupons. It's got to be one of my favorites. LOL! $2 off any box of Durex condoms. Don't know why condoms are so darn expensive in the first place. The Durex Play ones are interesting. It's for $5 off any Durex Play. At Walmart they're less than $5 so it makes them free. Not that I have a need for condoms or anything. Nope. No sex until marriage. Just stocking up now is all ;)

Another key- Just because it says on the front of the coupon that it's for a certain kind, it doesn't mean it won't work on others. Take the V8 Fusion. It says it's for the Acai Berry juice. It'll work on any of the V8 Fusion juices. How can you tell this? Look under the barcode on the coupon. If the first 4 numbers match the first 4 numbers on the barcode of the item you want to buy, it'll work. Now, if you go to a cashier they might say you can't do that. I usually go to the self check-out, unless I see a really friendly cashier.

If you poke around on the slickdeals website (in the drugstore forum and coupon forums especially) you can learn alot. You can also find links to coupons that people have made into 4 or 6 or whatever per sheet of paper, to help cut down on the cost of printing them.