I am not a coupon diva.....yet!

I have been getting into couponing in the past 2 months, but not really serious until recently. I am inspired by many blogs (see my sidebar) that help me and others save money on their grocery bill and other things as well. I have been trying to find a coupon system that works for me and this is what I do and how I organize my coupons.

First, I do not cut out coupons from the Sunday paper. Instead, I have a three ring binder that I put the inserts into. Each sheet protector has that week's Sunday coupon inserts in them. I mark on each Coupon insert the date of the newspaper and file it away in my binder. For instance, this past Sunday we had Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter and Gamble. I get my papers on Monday and I always buy 2 papers, if not 3. I have learned that the Sunday papers that you have delivered have higher coupon amounts then the ones you buy in the stores. So, for this past week I marked all the inserts with the date 5/17 and filed them all into one sheet protector.

You ask why I get 2 or 3 papers. For instance yesterday's shopping trip to CVS. I bought 2 Xtreme Dry Deodorant regularly priced at $4.49. They were on sale for $2.50 each. I had 2 manufacturer coupons for $1.00 off of each and then I got $2.00 Extra Care buck to use on my next visit. That equals to I made $1.50 on that purchase alone. The limit was 3, but I only had 2 coupons. If I had had 3 coupons I would of saved more.

I use this system because it saves time from cutting all the coupons and then storing them all and keeping them organized. There are many websites/blogs that will tell you where to find the coupon for a particular item you are wanting to buy. You can also go to my favorite coupon database to find coupons for that item you are needing/wanting.

Second, I print coupons off the internet. These are accepted at most stores and although you are using a lot of printer ink, I find these valuable coupons. You will get internet coupons for items you want that you won't get in the Sunday inserts and vice versa. I keep these coupons in a coupon organizer that I bought at wal-mart and it's small enough that I can keep it in my purse at all times.

The next thing I do is send away for free samples. They will usually come with coupons also. Most people in the coupon diva world subscribe to All You magazine and they have a ton of coupons in it.

I also get the coupons out of store flyers and the last thing I use is Extra Care Bucks (CVS), Register Rewards (Walgreens) and Giant Eagle points (local store). How many times do you get those coupons at the end of your cash receipts. That is free money people....FREE. Don't throw them out, use them.

So, my shopping trip yesterday looked like this...
CVS: I bought 4 cans of Chef Boyardee, 4 packs of Chocolate Snack Packs, 2 Right Guard Extreme and 1 pack (3 bars) of Dial soap. Retail was $26.09 and I spent $4.64....That's a 82% savings.

Walgreens: I bought 2 Colgate Whitening Toothpast, 2 Bottles of Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner, 2 Skintimates, 2 boxes of Band-Aids, 1 Neosporin, 1 roll of Reynolds Wrap and 1 Bic Lighter bonus pack. Retail was $39.79 and I paid $9.38....That's an 76% savings.

Remember, I'm not a Diva yet, but I'm working on it!