Life getting in the way...

Ok, so I lied. It was another week (or so...) before I posted again! The weather here has been amazing, and time has had a tendency to get away from me. Can yall believe it's already October?! I have officially switched out my Bath and Body Works Wallflowers to fabulous fall scents like "Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin" and "Leaves" and made the most fabulous pumpkin fudge! Fall is here, and I couldn't be more excited.

Anyway, as promised, I'll finally offer you an introduction into couponing! I'll preface all of this by saying that the wonderful thing about coupons is that it can take up as much or as little time as you want it to, and it's a very tangible way to save a little cash! Even if you only save $5 each week on groceries, that will add up to over $260 in a year... more than enough to buy a new Lilly!

I initially tried writing this post last week but wrote way too much, which lead to me getting overwhelmed and eventually closing out Blogger and doing some online (window) shopping! Hopefully this attempt will be a little shorter and more successful...

The first thing you need to know about coupons is where to get them! The best place to find coupons is still in your Sunday newspaper. Each week (with a few exceptions like holidays) there will be at least two coupon inserts - Smart Source (or SS) and Red Plum (RP.) There will sometimes be an insert by Proctor and Gamble (P&G) and occasionally one by General Mills. I always buy at least two papers, so that way I have two coupons if an item is buy one, get one free (BOGO) because then you have a coupon for each item, which can lead to some great deals! This is especially important for those of you that live in areas with Publix, which has lots of weekly BOGO deals.

You can also find great coupons on the internet, on websites like coupons.com and on brand websites. If there's a particular product that you use a lot or are planning on buying, just go to their website and see if they have any coupons on there. This is a simple and quick way to save some money.

I've found that the quickest and easiest way to save money is by going to websites where people can post good deals they've found, coupon match-ups for the latest ads, and also previews of upcoming ads. My favorite website is called A Full Cup, and it has forums for almost every store you might visit. This site has been a huge blessing to me, and I guarantee that you will start saving money if you visit this site before you shop! There are also some great store specific websites and blogs. My favorite of these are I Heart Publix, Totally Target, and I Heart CVS! These are also great resources to help you get started in couponing.

The other important thing you need to start couponing is an organization system for all of your "Qs!" There are two main ways that people do this, and which one you use is totally a personal preference. The first way, which is the one I use, involves clipping all of your coupons from the inserts, internet, etc, and then filing them in trading card inserts into a binder. Be warned: this way takes much more time up front! I would say that I spend an hour or two (sometimes more!) each week clipping and organizing my coupons. I then sort them by expiration date into categories like "breakfast foods," "dairy," and "shaving items." The finished result looks like this:

The advantage to using this way is that I can bring all of my coupons with me when I shop, so if I find a great clearance deal, unexpected sale or impulse buy (chocolate? yes please!) I can quickly and easily flip through and see if I can save even more money. The downside is, of course, the time it takes to keep this system running!

The other method that a lot of people use is filing the whole insert by date in a file folder or binder, and then either only printing internet printed coupons (IPs for short) when they need them or printing and filing them as well for a later date. The plus side to using this method is that it takes a lot less time, and it's easy to find coupons when you're looking at a coupon match-up online. Match-ups will list the sale price of a product and then list any coupons you may have for that product by insert and date. There is also a coupon database on A Full Cup that you can use to search for a specific coupon for an item like "butter" or "Land O'Lakes." The downside to this method is that you won't have easy access to your coupons if you're at the store and find that you need ones other than what you already clipped and prepared.

No matter what method you use, you're sure to end up saving lots of money on groceries, cleaning supplies and other necessities so you have more money to spend on fun things or to save!

I figured I would end this post with a good coupon and deal to get you started. With fall here and Christmas fast approaching, who doesn't love coffee creamer in yummy flavors like Pumpkin Spice or Peppermint Mocha?! Well, right now you can get the CoffeeMate Creamers for $0.16 at Publix or $0.29 at Target! All you have to do is go the CoffeeMate website, sign in or sign up (I use my "junk" e-mail address) and print off the coupon. You can print a total of two (hit the back button after it prints the first time!) from each computer you have. One misconception with coupons is that it's ok to make copies of printed coupons... that's not the case at all! Making copies of printed coupons is illegal and actually fraud, so it's much better to beg friends and family to print you extra copies so you can scoop up lots of a good deal... I definitely plan on doing that to feed my love of fall and winter flavored coffee :)