Couponing 101

**Hi Kelly's Korner readers! Here is a post I did a few months ago about couponing…it's something I've been doing for about 3 years now and I love it! 🙂 You can also see this post for a few other fun ways to save money!***

By popular demand, here is how I grocery shop. 🙂

This is a re-post that I've just updated from a few months ago, so if you've seen it before, you know why! My process has changed a little in the past few months though, so I updated where needed.

(By the way, I updated for those who don't have Publix – see bottom of post!) 

Here's my general process each week:

Monday:  Grocery list is published on iheartpublix.com. I usually just kind of glance through it, print out the coupons that look like good deals (or that might run out soon), but don't make too much of a list yet.

Tuesday:  The Super Deals come out on iheartpublix. This is the point I really make my list! I usually buy anything that's more than 90% off and/or under a quarter (you never know when you can use/donate some things!). I also look through the regular ad for things I might need or definitely use.

Wedneday: Grocery shopping day! This used to be on Sunday, but they changed the penny item day. I'll admit, it is a little inconvenient to shop on a work day, but something for (almost) free is definitely worth it! I usually always put my grocery list on the blog on Wednesdays – partly because people are interested, partly because I like to sit there and break everything down!

Saturday (usually):  The drug store ads come out on southernsavers.com. I am open to going to any of the local drug stores, but Rite-Aid has been KILLING it lately with good deals! With the drug stores, I only buy the free/monkeymaker items (unless I see something we need in the ad). The past few weeks I have MADE money! Southern Savers posts a scenario at the bottom of each drug store list to show you how to shop there…those are really helpful!

Sunday:  I go to the drug stores as early as possible, because the good deals sell out quickly.

I usually go back and look at the deals that have been posted since the Publix ad started (there are always a few unadvertised deals and a few coupon combos people have found). These are posted on iheartpublix.com…I use southernsavers.com too! If I can wait until the next shopping day, I do, but I usually make a small run on the weekend for a few really good deals! I also buy my newspapers there too on Sunday (cheaper than gas stations!)

Here are a few extra tips for grocery shopping:

-Go in with a list. Don't try to just shop for whatever – you WILL waste money!

-Organize your coupons, from one side of the store to another (I usually go from right to left). That way, you aren't digging through trying to organize in the store!

-Don't buy it if you can't use/donate it. Even if you buy it for 5 cents, that's a wasted 5 cents if you don't put it to use! Anytime I see a good deal on toiletries, I stock up as much as possible. Some things do expire (toothpaste off the top of my head, I'm sure there are others), but even if they do they have a LONG shelf life!

-Write down the price after coupons on your grocery list. That will give you a pretty good idea of how much you're going to spend.

For example, Totino's pizza rolls were on sale this week. They are normally $3.99, but were B1G1 and I had $1/2 coupons. I was buying 8 bags of those (yes, we will eat them…it might take a year, but we will). So, since they were $1.50 each, I wrote ($12) next to Totino's on my list. That way, when the whole list is done,  I can go back and get a good idea of how much I'm going to spend!

-Organize your coupons. The only coupons I actually buy are in the newspaper each week (I get 2 newspapers on Sundays – 1 Tuscaloosa News, 1 Birmingham News). I take the inserts out (they vary each week, but usually a RedPlum and a SmartSource), write the date on the front of each booklet, and paper clip the ones from that day together. They are all in order in a binder I have. I also save the Publix flyers at the front of the store, and any random ones I find. I Heart Publix has all of this on their site, including a link to any internet printables you can use!

I've discovered recently that a lot of people do coupon exchanges online. These are AWESOME if there's a staple item on sale that you don't have a coupon for! You can also pay for someone to send you a coupon (note:  It is illegal to actually sell coupons, but you can pay someone for their time/postage). I've used http://couponbeat.ecrater.com/ before – and I'm sure there are a bunch more!

-A lot of people have asked how I make menus with the stockpiling method of grocery shopping (buying when it's on sale, instead of when you need it). I usually wait until after Wednesday to make my menu for the next week. I go through what I have and see what works. The ingredients tab of allrecipes.com will let you put in your ingredients and show you what recipe will work with them. It's great!

-Make room in the budget for meat/produce. This is one that gets a lot of couponers. Yes, we could probably live off of $10 a week, but I would be buying processed, dried, preserved food all of the time. I'm not saying there's anything necessarily wrong with eating that stuff – I usually have some of it on the list every week. However, you have to learn moderation. I have a budget of $25 a week, and if I'm under that, I fill the rest of the budget with fresh produce. Publix (and most other stores) actually has pretty good deals on fruits every week. I like Winn-Dixie for my meats (they usually run the best sales!). For meat – STOCK up when you see a sale. I usually buy 8-10 pounds of a meat when it gets to the right price (I very rarely pay over $2/lb. for meat), and freeze it.

Also, I use a lot of frozen veggies. I've heard from so many places that you don't lose a ton of nutrients in the freezing process. While it is better to eat fresh, frozen isn't that bad! And you'll find a ton of good sales on frozen produce.

Dairy is another item that most people don't know you can freeze! Last week, I bought 8 half gallons of milk. Well OBVIOUSLY we're not going to drink that before it's expired, so I froze most of it. When you need a new one, just pull it out of the freezer! Cheese freezes really well, and yogurt does too. I'm sure there are others!

IF YOU DON'T HAVE PUBLIX:  It might not be as easy, but you can still follow this general process! Southernsavers.com has a lot more grocery stores than just Publix, so you can make your list there. Publix has the best deals I've found, but there's a lot of other good deals out there too! I've always been jealous of those who have Kroger – they are really good. Food Lion (which I don't have either) has really good internet coupons! Check out that website above – they have most of the grocery stores in the Southeast I know, probably some out of this region too!

I think I could write a book about this, so if you have any questions, put them in the comments and I'll try to answer!