Coupon Queen (sometimes)

Do you coupon?  Well, I am an on again off again coupon-er, and right now, I’m BIG time into it.  Especially for TARGET.

Check this out.  Did you know…. That at the bottom of Target’s website, they have Target Store Coupons???  If you did know that, did you know that you can combine these with manufacturer’s coupons to get extra savings???  For instance…. I have a Huggies Diaper coupon from the paper for $2 off diapers.  Target has another “Target coupon” for $3.50 off of Huggies Diapers…. That means I can save $5.50 off the same box of diapers.  Genius!!

And while I love Target for everyday shopping, I do not grocery shop there.  I know lots of people who do, and they love it.  But for me, I cannot get the variety that I like and I’ve found it to be more expensive comparatively speaking to other grocery stores.  So, I shop mostly at Meijer.  Granted it is not the cheapest either, but they have this GREAT couponing program called m-perks.  With this program, you can also combine coupons.  You sign up with your mobile phone number, go online, “clip” coupons and they are automatically saved to your phone number.  When you get to the store, use the credit card swiper to enter your m-perks member info, and voila!  Your coupons are taken off during check-out, plus, you can use actual manufacturer coupons for the same products. 

Now, there are lots of other online places to look for coupons also.  Smartsource.com, redplum.com, and coupons.com are my top favorites.  Then, there are people who run websites that have “coupon databases”……  These people are my friends!  If I am looking for a coupon for something specific, you can usually type in a search box and see if there is a coupon out there for it.  My Indiana favorites are Bargain Briana & In Good Cents for some others not from Indiana, there is the Krazy Coupon Lady, Coupon Mom, Money Saving Mom, & Coupon Divas. 

Now, as far as coupon organizers, you can go really crazy and have big coupon binders or go as simple as having an envelope to stash your coupons in.  I have this coupon keeper called the Couponizer.    This thing has pockets divided up like a normal grocery store is divided, it gives extra pockets for coupons you are going to use during your next trip, and a pocket to keep the coupons for items you’ve already got in your cart.  It gives you a shopping list, and even a handy sorting device for clipping coupons from the paper.  I rarely utilize all of the great aspects of this thing, but I highly recommend it.  I bought mine off of Amazon.

  

Of course, there are always the coupons from the newspapers on Sundays.  I get the Thursday and Sunday newspaper for the coupons and the ads.  Those two days of the paper each month cost me $10 and I save wayyy more than $10 by couponing, so I think it’s worth it.  Now, I am NOT one of those people you see on the TLC show Extreme Couponing.  I do not get my groceries for free.  We buy too much produce for that.  But… I do save where I can, and taking a little time each week to coupon and review the ads for great deals is worth it to my family.  Two weeks ago, by being a member of m-perks, I got a gallon of milk for free, just because I was a member.  That right there saved me $2.69! 

Do you coupon?  Do you have any couponing tips for me?  I’d love to learn more and become a better coupon-er!   Have a great Thursday!