I recently went to a couple of Coupon Classes locally and was sort of surprised that my brother's wife was very interested. She had no idea that there was such a thing. So since she was interested, I wrote down a few things that I learned and then after reading it a few times decided I should share what I learned.
Anyway, here's my message to Cindy:
Check your area and see if anyone is offering one. Both classes were free and they fill up quickly. One of the things that I learned and was fascinated by was rain checks. I saw Kroger had a sale on broccoli for $1 a bag, and by the time I got to the store they had all been sold out. I was really quite disappointed and halfway home, remembered about the rain checks and went back. A week later I went back to the store, got 10 bags of Broccoli, presented the Rain Check and got them for $1 each, instead of their regular price at $1.99.
I also taught the Coupon Lady something, and she now uses it in her presentations. All cities have peak hours for electricity and during those peak hours customers are charged a surcharge. I called Huntsville Power and learned our peak hours are Monday Friday 11 AM - 8 PM. I do not use the washer, dryer or dishwasher during those hours. Also, when I first wake up, I lower the A/C to 75 degrees F.
Kroger and Publix in my area both double coupons up to 50 cents, but the Publix where my sister lives in South Florida doesn't. Both grocery stores compete for customers and there are a ton of sites that have coupons. If you like a certain brand of mustard, e-mail the company and ask if they have any coupons. I also learned that you can only use one coupon per an item and can only print 2 coupons for the same item if you go to assorted coupon sites and I was amazed at how many there were.
The last class I was in went over all the drugstores. Walgreens was the best for coupons followed by CVS. Rite Aid has it's customers practically jump through hoops for any sort of discount. If you have a .50 cent coupon for a Mounds Bar at Walgreens (and only Walgreens, at least here), I could buy 35 candy bars and each one would be discounted .50 cents.
Also, find out if you can order an extra Sunday paper so you can get double the coupons. The Coupon Lady worked out a deal with the local paper for customers to get an extra Sunday paper for a $1. She also said if you have 5 people in your family, you should have 5 Sunday papers.
The class was very, very interesting. You should see some of the ladies who keep huge binders with their coupons in little plastic sleeves. The Coupon Lady also has a Facebook account, and she posts all the assorted stores, sale items, faithfully every Sunday. Her Facebook page is MoneyWiseShopper but it's for our area, but nothing says you don't have something like that in your own city. Even though it's from here, you can learn a lot by just seeing it. Click on LIKE and whenever the Coupon Lady posts something it will go to your Facebook page.
She covered other ways to save money. Costco provided breakfast and gave their pitch about memberships. Costco and Sam's both have their strong points, depending on what your family eats. We also have GasBuddy.com to find the cheapest gas, Groupon, Swagbucks, and so many others. Walmart's is okay but as far as coupons go it's not all that great. Sure they'll match prices, but always have the information with you from their competition. Also the PetSmart near us has discounted shots every Thursday and you don't have to pay for an office visit, though you do need to make an appointment. I also order all my Frontline from Petshed.com, I get a 6 month supply for $60 and with shipping it came to $72 something or another. They are a lot cheaper than the local Vets and PetMed.com
Hopefully, I didn't bore you. I just wanted to share.
By Pritchard C. from Madison, AL
I save thousands of dollars each year by couponing. I used to not use, trash, or give away coupons for items or brands we don't use, even if they were free or close to free.
Check out your local grocery store ads for coupons on gift cards. Today, I saved $10 on a $50 gas card with a coupon in the ad.
This is a page about combining coupons. If you take the time to get organized with coupons and rebates before you shop, you can save a lot of money. Coupon stacking is when you use a store coupon and a manufacturer's coupon on the same item, which typically results in a very reduced price once they are both applied.
When I use coupons at the grocery store, I write my check that much over. When I get home, I put it in my flower pot that is covered with a silk Boston fern. If a crook robs my house, I figure he wouldn't look there!
To save some money at the dollar store, keep an eye out for coupons you can use when you shop there. This is a page about using coupons at dollar stores.
Having more coupons to use will definitely give you more opportunity to save money when you shop. This is a page about how can i get more coupons?.
I use coupons every week at the grocery store, but often times I feel like a complete failure when I walk out with a $70 or $80 bill for what I purchased and only saving about $4 - $8 in coupons.
This is a tip for shopping with Target coupons. Some people do not realize that you can pair their in-store coupons with manufacturers' coupons.
It's easy to save money while shopping! One trick is to gather as many coupons for items you use as possible. When the weekly flyers come out, spend a few minutes searching for items you use, and compare sale prices.
Save your grocery receipts for at least 3 weeks. Coupons often come up for something you have already purchased, some stores will accept them within a reasonable amount of time after the purchase.
Here is a really good tip. When you get any kind of coupons for free items, save them for times when you really need them. Times like these would be when you are low on money and/or when there is no triple coupon sales going on at that time, for those who have stores near them that participate.
Many people do not realize that you can use coupons from the manufacturer along with the store coupon. For example, Walgreen has a coupon for Dawn soap for 99 cents. I have a coupon from the paper for 75 cents off Dawn. I can use them both and get it for 24 cents.
My local Rite Aid would not letting me use a buy one, get one free coupon on an item that was on sale for buy one, get one free. Rite Aid's web site listed their coupon policy and they do indeed allow customers to use BOGO coupons with BOGO sale items.
