Pick Only a Few Blogsites

I follow a few blogsites in a my adventure of couponing, some more than others. Here are my top favorites, that I follow daily:

I Heart Publix
Totally Target
Wild For Wags

Addicted to Saving

I have a couple others that I follow but not as closely as I do these four mentioned above.

Every blog site out there offers their own unique twist to saving money and great ways to do so. There are quite a few out there, and it can become overwhelming, but what I recommend is to pick your top four blogsites to follow daily and stick with those.

Here are the top 5 things you should look for when choosing a good site to works for you.

1. Current information:
• do they post daily or at least ever other day?
2. Legit Information
• are they posting information that is legit both legally and morally?
3. Valid Information
• are the savings they blog about relevant to your shopping needs and the stores you shop?
4. Enjoyable Information
• is their site enjoyable to you, do you like following this site? this is important otherwise you will lose interest and could miss out on great deals.
5. Teachable Information
• are you able to learn from their site about the stores you shop from, such as store policies, and how to best save

There are several ways to follow your favorite sites:

• Sign up for daily emails
• Follow them on twitter &/or facebook
• Check their blog site a couple times a day
• Load their blog feed to your feed page

There are lots and lots of sites out there. My goal with this site isn't to provide you necessarily with all the best deals at every store but I want you to learn to use the information you get from other blogs to the best of your ability and to save the most money as possible using the resources from some great blogs out there.

If you haven't been able to find at least two other great blogs (aside from mine ;), please let me know what stores you shop, and I have some online resources that I can find you some blogs that will hopefully help you along this couponing journey!

What are your favorite blog sites and why?

Couponing: Make it Fit Your Lifestyle

As I have stated in earlier posts I have been officially been couponing for 9 1/2 months now. I started out rocky, as I had no idea what I was doing. A friend introduced me to TheGroceryGame.com, and from there it started. I didn't believe I could ever cut my grocery bill from $700/mth to $300/mth (I think I'm closer to $250 now, but I need to do some checking), but I am living proof it is absolutely possibly.

What I wanted to share today is that in the beginning you spend more time couponing then you do once you get a good handle on the whole thing. Remember you can make Couponing fit into your time and budget, don't let it take your life over, because it can if you let it. The more time you put into learning and understanding how to properly use coupons the more greater your savings will be. After 9 months I am in a good place, both financially and time wise. I am spending way less time on my coupons now then I did at first.

Now that I have a really good stockpile of items, I am VERY picky about what I buy and when. I am also picky about the kinds of coupons I use. I don't have the need to run out and buy things, of course there are the weekly things such as produce & milk. But even now, with the knowledge and experience I have gained I am able to fold these type of need items into my grocery bill to bring the cost down even further, such as using overage items, or Register Rewards, or Extra Care Bucks.

I know it can seem frustrating in the beginning but just take a deep breathe and know that if you are saving money each week you are doing GREAT! This really isn't a contest about who saves the most, it's just about making it work for you and your budget and your family. Some weeks you will save more than others. Make it fit into your lifestyle!

Keep Your Heart & Mind Open

I wanted to quickly touch on another very effective way to save money with your coupons and sales. Overcome being loyal to a specific brand. I have to admit that there are certain items I just cannot not have or use. For instance, I won't eat any other kind of Mayo other than Hellmann's (Best Foods). But, one area that I have had a change in heart is my laundry detergent. I was seriously Tide loyal, I still think very highly of Tide, but since I have started couponing and since laundry detergent is one of the more expensive items, I opened my heart and mind and bought a couple of other detergents. I have now come to really like, if not love, that tend to have better sales, and cheaper price tag, and I am happy I have. I have saved more money. Don't get me wrong if I can get a good deal on Tide, I will pick up a small bottle every now and then, but I am no longer loyal to just Tide.

Keep your mind and heart open to other brands. I am still a bit picky about certain items, and what I will allow my family to use, but I have opened my horizons to try other products, some of which I have found I really like just as much, and some that I have found I don't like. But, you might find other loves that are cheaper and will save you even more money.

Give it try!

Daily Topic: Cherish, Organization, & Donate

I was just talking to a friend about something she was doing and I was doing in the beginning, and both of us have learned an important lesson, and wanted to share this with all of you.

Do NOT throw away any of your coupons! Hold on to all of them. Also, word of wisdom I don't recommend clipping your coupons until you need them. Keep them in their original form and file them away by date and source. All the resources I send you, everything will be listed with all coupons based on their date and source (i.e. A coupon for Dove Deodorant: found in SS (smart source) on 5/9). You can then go back and pull out your SS from Sunday 5/9 and find the coupon and clip it out.

But back to my original point. Don't throw away any coupons until they expire. You will be amazed at things you never bought prior, but you can get them for REALLY cheap if not free on some deals, and even times make money. So, you may not use them but you can always throw them into a donate box. I now will get things that I may not ever need or use but will give them away to those less fortunate, or even animal shelters (which are always in need).

So, hang on to all your coupons! Organize them based on date & source! Donate items you don't need or want!

Daily Topic: Gather From Friends & Family

Sorry I have missed a couple of days of Daily Topic Blogging, I promise to become more efficient about this.

Today I thought I would talk about where to gather coupons and all the great sources to find them. Also, it is important to try and get as many duplicates as possible so you can begin creating your stockpile. (Again I suggest you begin creating a stockpile that will last you 4-6 wks, I will be talking more about stockpiling in tomorrows blog).

There are so many places you can find great coupons. First and foremost we know of the Sunday paper & the internet. But we can also find them in magazines. A great magazine all couponers should have a subscription to, because it really does pay for itself, is to All You Magazine. In fact if you go through ShopAtHome.com (Get 150,000+ free online coupon codes, printable grocery coupons, restaurant coupons and more at ShopAtHome.com!), you'll receive 30% back on all orders, plus it's only $19.95 for 12 issues (it would be like paying only $13.96 for the year). If you haven't signed up for ShopAtHome.com, I highly recommend you do so, you'll get $5 just for signing up and receive a percentage back when you shop through their site on all well known shop at home sites. I've been using it for a lot of items recently and will be receiving my first check from them in a few weeks).

All You magazines have tons of coupons, and usually high valued coupons, you can't get anywhere else. Many magazines have some coupons here and there that you can clip and save.

You can also get coupons directly from the manufacturer's websites, and many of the MF's will mail out coupon booklets periodically, which you can sign up for. Be on the look out on the all the websites I have listed on this site, they are all great at updating and posting when and where to find great coupons!

Be sure to check yours stores when you are shopping. There are tearpads, blinkies, & peelies. Grab them as you go along, my kids are becoming trained when they spot a coupon they'll grab some and bring them to me.

Most importantly, always ask friends and family to hold on to coupons for you! Especially ones that come in the mail and from Sunday's paper, it's a great way to stockpile your coupons so you can use them for great sales! Ask your neighbors as well. Many of them are just going to be thrown away, so I am sure many of your neighbors would be more than happy to hand them over.

Daily Topic: Meat & Produce

I know that as many of you begin this journey of using coupons you have a million and one questions, I know I did (and still do, every day I learn something new and my goal is to try and pass those lessons on to you, in hopes of saving you from the same mistakes).

I thought I would talk a bit about Meat & Produce and how to get savings in with those items. There aren't a lot of coupons out there when it comes to these items, and high priced items. But there are ways to save and cut even this area of your grocery budget back as well. Again - remember as you are starting out it takes time to get to a point where you get the mega savings on items, as you are building your stockpile. As your need list goes down your savings will go up. So continue to be patient with your savings.

As for meat - there are some coupons that are for meat out there and I try to post them on this site when I come across them. But for the most part you'll have to wait for stores to put there meat & produce on sale. Now, having said that I think and encourage you all to consider investing in a deep freezer or a stand alone freezer. We have a deep freeze and it is full to the brim at the moment with meats, and frozen veggies, and some dairy items (such as cheese, milk, & yogurt). My recommendation is to look through craigslist.com for use freezers that others are selling. I think that is perhaps the cheapest and best way. But you can also go to scratch and dents, or buy new. This way when meat does go on sale you can stock up and have it on hand.

But to give you an idea of how I go about determining whether or not meat is a good price for stockpiling here's my list of what I consider stockpile worthy (please note this is my own cut off prices, others who do this may vary, and yours may vary as well, this is not a hard and fast rule just to help get you on your way to saving with meat):

• Boneless/Skinless Chicken Brsts:
• Chicken Breasts with Ribs in :
• Chicken Quarters:
• Beef Bottom Rounds:
• Grd Beef:
• Whole Fryers/Chickens:
• Pork: < or ="">

I could go on but that should give you a good idea. You could also invest in buying a quarter, half, or whole cow, which can also be cost effective, this is something we are currently looking into to do ourselves.

As for produce. First and foremost go seasonal, fruits & veggies that are in season are going to be at their cheapest. Strawberries, blueberries, & other berries are usually early summer/late spring. Pears are also at their cheapest in spring. Apples & squashes are fall items. Watermelons and other melons are mid summer. My suggestion is buy the produce during their cheapest times and enjoy them then.

My other suggestion is to learn to can and freeze if you want to enjoy these fruits all year long while still raking in the savings. I grew up with a grandmother who canned and froze food. We had access to fresh fruit and veggies all year. This summer when the Farmer's Markets are in full swing I plan to stock up and can and freeze as much as I can. I do know that in the short run this will be a bit more out of pocket but over the long run will be a HUGE savings, and one less thing I have to purchase from the stores. But this is not for everyone, and completely understandable. So, I highly suggest to enjoy and buy when they are at their peak and to eat seasonally.