Couponing 101
*First and foremost, the most important thing to remember when using coupons is that you want to collect as many as you can and SAVE them for the MOST advantageous time to use them. You want to use your coupons when your item goes on sale (especially BOGO) and you want to “stockpile”. This will save you tons of money in the long run! More on stockpiling later! 
Changing your thinking on meal planning
* Cook from your stockpile. The way to save money on groceries is to buy what you like and need while they are on sale with coupons. Instead of just buying one or two items, you want to buy 4 or 5 and build a “stockpile”. Then you plan your meals based on what you already have on hand. This keeps you from buying items when they are priced too high! Changing our thinking on meal planning based on what we have verses what we WANT will make a huge difference on the budget.
Rain Checks
* Rainchecks – when Publix or Kroger has an item on sale, but they have sold out of that item, you can ask them for a “raincheck”. This will give you the privilege of buying that item for the advertised sale the next time you get by the store. So, don’t despair, you can hold on to your coupons and use your raincheck to get your deal!
Organizing a Coupon Box
Everyone has their own method of organizing their coupons and you have to choose which one is best for you. Now, if you want to do coupons in the most affective way, you need to find a box or book that works best for you and meets your needs. I have a coupon box that I got from WalMart and it is divided into many folders. The box sits nicely in my cart and is easy for me to open and find the coupons I need.
Organizing: Some people organize their coupons by placing them in their folders by expiration date. I don’t like doing that because that means all the different items from food to cleaning to medicines are mixed all together. This method works great for “purging” your expired coupons.
I like to organize mine by areas of the stores I use (mostly Publix and Kroger). So, I have a file for freezer items, refrigerated items (two really, one for dairy and one for all other items), canned goods, cereals, salad items, feminine products, razors (always have a ton of these!) and so forth. That makes it a little harder to “purge” each month, but a whole lot easier to find the coupons I want while in the store. I would never remember each item’s expiration date in order to find the coupon I need!
Best Way to Accumulate Coupons
* Buy a newspaper every week! Since we can get a list of the coupons coming out on Sunday several days in advance, you can then decide based on what is coming out, how many newspapers to buy each week. If you buy only ONE newspaper each week, you are getting only ONE coupon for each item, so you are not getting the best advantage of having at least two or more coupons per item. This is especially advantageous when being items that are BOGO at Publix.
* Ask your friends, family and neighbors if they use their coupons. Many people just THROW THEM AWAY every week! They don’t want to be bothered or don’t feel they have the time to CLIP! So, just ask! I have 3 or 4 friends giving me their coupons every week! This saves me $because I then don’t have to buy 3 or 4 newspapers!
* Start a Coupon Train! You would be amazed at how many people are clipping coupons now! Ask your neighbors or church friends if they clip coupons. If so, then you can start a train.
Coupon Train:
1. You get a box and divide it by the names of the people who will be in the “Train”. We used a shoe box!
2. After you clip your coupons from the newspaper, you put in the coupons that you don’t want in your divider. Some people will subdivide them into categories like “Food” and “Personal Items”.
3. Then you pass the box onto the next person. That person will pull out the coupons they want from your divider and put in the coupons they don’t want in their divider. It keeps passing around until it comes back to you. When you get it back, you pull out all the coupons that no one wanted from your divider and put in your next set of coupons!
* A friend of mine told me that her friend goes out on Recycle pick-up day and pulls out sets of coupons from Recycle bins!!! I thought that was great! Haven’t tried it myself!
One way to increase your coupon stack is to write to the companies that provide your favorite products to thank them and even ask for coupons for those products. I’ve put together a list in alphabetical order where you can easily and quickly got to their websites to drop them a line! You will be amazed at the number of great coupons you will receive in the mail for your favorite things! Give it a try!
Alexia Foods http://www.alexiafoods.com/
Aquafresh http://www.aquafresh.com
Arm & Hammer http://www.armandhammer.com/
Arnold Bread http://www.arnoldbread.com/
Bagel Bites heinzconsumeraffairs@hjheinz.com
Bakers Joy http://www.bakersjoy.com/
Ball Park Franks http://www.ballparkfranks.com/
Banquet http://www.banquet.com/
Bar-S Hot Dogs http://www.bar-s.com/
Barber Foods http://www.barberfoods.com/
Ben and Jerry’s http://www.benandjerrys.com/
BirdsEye http://www.birdseye.com/
Blistex http://www.blistex.com/
Blue Bunny http://www.bluebunny.com/
Blue Diamond http://www.bluediamond.com/
Bolthouse Juice http://www.bolthouse.com/
Brach’s Candy http://www.brachs.com/
Breyers http://www.icecreamusa.com/breyers
Campbell’s http://www.campbellkitchen.com/
Carl Budding http://www.budding.com/
Cascadian Farms http://www.cascadianfarm.com/
Celestial Seasonings http://www.celestialseasonings.com/
Chef Boyardee http://www.chefboyardee.com/
Clearasil http://www.clearasil.us/
Clorox http://www.clorox.com/
Cole’s Garlic Bread http://www.coles.com/
Colgate http://www.colgate.com
Crayola http://www.crayola.com/
Crest http://www.crest.com/
Dannon http://www.dannon.com/
Del Monte Veggies http://www.delmonte.com/
Dial Soap http://www.dialcop.com/
Dole http://www.dole.com/
Downy http://www.downy.com/
Duncan Hines http://www.duncanhines.com/
Edward’s Pies http://www.edwardsbaking.com/
Edy’s http://www.edys.com/
Electrasol http://www.electrasol.com/
El Montery http://www.ruizfoods.com/
Entemman’s http://www.entenmanns.com/
Eucerin http://www.eucerin.com/
Farm Rich http://www.farmrichfun.com/
Fast Fixin’s http://www.fastfixin.com/
Florida’s Natural http://www.floridasnatural.com/
Freschetta http://www.freschetta.com/
General Mills http://www.generalmills.com/
Georgia Pacific http://www.gp.com/
Gillette Venus http://www.gillettevenus.com/
Glade http://www.glade.com/
Gorton’s Fish http://www.gortons.com/
Haagen Dazs http://www.haagen-dazs.com/
Hanes http://www.hanes.com/
Hatfield http://www.hqm.com/
Hawaiian Punch http://www.hawaiianpunch.com/
Healthy Balance http://www.healthybalance.com/
Hillshire Farm http://www.hillshirefarm.com/
Horizon http://www.horizonorganic.com/
Hostess http://www.twinkies.com/
Hefty http://www.pactiv.com/
Helluva Good http://www.helluvagood.com/
Hebrew National http://www.hebrewnational.com/
IBC Root Beer http://www.ibcrootbeer.com/
Idahoan http://www.idahoan.com/
Jennie-O http://www.jennieo.com/
Jose Ole http://www.joseole.com/
Kashi http://www.kashi.com/
Keebler http://www.keebler.com/
Kotex http://www.kotex.com/
Kozy Shack http://www.kozyshack.com/
Lady Speed Stick http://www.mennen.com/
Land O Lakes http://www.landolakes.com/
Lean Cuisine http://www.leancuisine.com/
Luigi’s Italian Ice http://www.luigis.co/
Lipton http://www.liptont.com/
Malt O Meal http://www.malt-o-meal.com/
Marie Calendar http://www.mariepies.com/
Michaelangelo’s Frozen Entrees http://www.michaelangelos.com/efamily
Michelina’s http://www.michelinas.com/
Mission Tortillas http://www.missionfoods.com/
Morningstar Farms http://www.morningstarfarms.com/
Mott’s http://www.motts.com/
Mt. Olive http://www.mtolivepickles.com/
Mussleman’s Applesauce http://www.knouse.com/
Mrs. Dash http://www.mrsdash.com/
Mrs. Smith’s http://www.mrssmiths.com/
Mrs. T’s Pierogies http://www.mrsts.com/
Nature’s Own Breads http://www.naturesownbread.com/
Nexcare http://www.nexcare.com/
9 Lives http://www.9lives.com/
Ocean Spray http://www.oceanspray.com/
Ore-Ida http://www.oreida.com/
Oust http://www.oust.com/
Perdue http://www.perdue.com/
Pilgrim’s Pride http://www.pilgrimspride.com/
Pine-Sol http://www.pinesol.com/
Pepperidge Farm http://www.pepperidgefarm.com/
Promise http://www.promisehealthyheart.com/
Ray’s New York Bagels http://www.raysnewyorkbagels.com/
Red Baron http://www.redbaron.com/
Rice Dream http://www.tastethedream.com/
Ronzoni http://www.ronzoni.com/
Sargento http://www.sargentocheese.com/
Schick http://www.shaving.com/
Sea Pak Shrimp http://www.seapak.com/
Sensodyne http://www.sensodyne.com/
7 Up http://www.7up.com/
Shady Brook Farms http://www.shadybrookfarms.com/
Silk Soy Milk http://www.silksoymilk.com/
Skinny Cow http://www.skinnycow.com/
State Fair Corn Dogs http://www.statefairbrand.com/
St. Ives http://www.stives.com/
Smart Ones http://www.eatyourbest.com/
Snapple http://www.snapple.com/
Splenda http://www.splenda.com/
Starkist Tuna http://www.starkist.com/
Stonyfield Farm http://www.stonyfield.com/
Suave http://www.suave.com/
Sunny D http://www.sunnydelight.com/
Thomas’ http://www.thomas.gwbakeries.com/
Tide http://www.tide.com/
Tree Ripe http://www.johannafoods.com/juice.htm
Tropicana http://www.tropicana.com/
Tyson http://www.tyson.com/
Uncle Ben’s http://www.unclebens.com/
Vlasic http://www.vlasic.com/
Viva Paper Towel http://www.vivatowels.com/
Welch’s http://www.welchs.com/
White House Applesauce http://www.whitehousefoods.com/
Windex http://www.windex.com/
Wonder Bread http://www.wonderbread.com/
Zatarains http://www.zatarains.com/
Found something that I am so excited about! I’ve heard people talk about receiving the “Red Plum Coupon Booklet” in the mail and haven’t been able to figure out where to get it. I finally found it today! Go HERE to sign up for your Red Plum booklet!
Thanks to Living As Mom for this link!
Do you get the Rouge magazine? If not, it’s FREE and you will get a lot of GREAT coupons every time it comes in! Go HERE to sign up!
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