I don't know about you,
but I like to keep my money in my wallet.
You will rarely see me
trying to buy something too expensive,
or that I don't even need.
(okay, you may see me break this rule when it
comes to my little ones, but hey...I can't help it)
I have been on this "gotta save money" kick for a while now (ever since Sophia was born :2 years) & the only thing we did was limit ourselves.
*At the end of my rant on why I'm so frugal, I will let you in on some secrets on how to do these things and spend less*
This stuff can still be done without living off of bread & ketchup for the rest of the week! ;) (wouldn't that be gross? But I bet i would lose this post baby weight!)
So, shopping....cause there is NO WAY to get around buying clothes. I mean your little one grows so much, you NEED/HAVE to buy them new clothes right.?.?
HELL NO!
First off, like I stated above- they grow so much- why spend FULL PRICE on clothes they are going to 1.get really dirty or stain & 2. only wear for a little while? I'm going to let you in on a little/big secret. It's only little if you have been living in a closet & don't watch the news or drive around your town much.
JUST BETWEEN FRIENDS
www.jbfsale.com
This is huge, & a big money saver! I spend hundreds of dollars here on clothes & toys, & I come home with trash bags FULL of stuff!
As for getting out of the house, I'm still venturing into this but one thing that my family loves is the drive inn. Tickets are $6 a person and you get to watch 2 or 3 movies. You can bring your own food, so you spend even less at the concession stand. Its fun and nicer than being in a stuffy theater. Another thing we love is going to the arboretum. It gets kinda costy if you pay per time. I would recommend getting the year membership for $100. The girls love it and it's so gorgeous.
OKAY, sorry back to couponing... ;)
So those were the things I was doing thinking we were saving money. I always thought no matter what I HAVE to buy groceries, so maybe buying "great value" would be the cheapest way. NO, and gross. So after I found out about couponing & after the days of calling myself an idiot for not thinking of it this whole time.
I started my binder!
(In case you're wondering it weighs 5 pounds exactly right now)
This was the first major step I took towards couponing. If you are serious about this then you should invest in a binder as well. 3 inch binders are good. I would buy one that zips closed cause i HAVE dropped mine (in Target) & coupons go everywhere!
When you buy your binder you are going to want to buy baseball card holders (lots of them! you can never have to many) & clear plastic sheet protectors. Now I made my own categories because I know stores vary & this way I am more comfortable with where everything is in my binder
but if you don't want to do that just yet you can download categories here: http://thekrazycouponlady.com/beginners/
I also keep all of the sales ads for the week in front of my binder just in case I need them when in the store.
First couple of pages in my binder:
Monthly sale items:
Every month has certain items that always go on sale. Jan-Feb is healthy things, July is bar b que stuff and drinks...and so forth. So I like to keep this in front for reminders when a new month is coming.
I haven't had to use this yet, but I have heard stories of rude cashiers (& store managers) that don't even know the coupon policy. So carrying store policies is a "better safe than sorry" tactic.
Stores you are going to get the best deals at for personal care are CVS & Walgreens. So in order to keep track of what ECB (Extra Care Bucks) Or RR (Register Rewards) I have gotten, I keep these in file in the front of the binder for easy access.
CVS:
Now, I know what you're thinking. Why do you have 3 CVS cards? When CVS has a deal such as
Gillette Power Razors-$9.00 with $5 ECB *Limit 1*
& I have a $4 off Gillette coupon. That would make the razor free after ECB!
(which means after you buy it you will get a little receipt like the ones I have up there for $5 off another purchase)
Well your CVS card holds that *Limit 1* so if I buy all 4 with that one CVS card I will only get 1 $5 ECB. After you buy something that has ECB with it on the bottom of your receipt it will say "limit reached"
Don't forget to number your cards! I had to search for mine this morning, and it made it so easy knowing I has already found card 1 & 3 so all I needed was card 2!
*Don't be greedy about the number of cards you have. I have 3 because I have a family of 4 so I need to at least stock up on 3 or 4 items. But in no way am i saying you need to get 15 CVS cards. Leave something for other shoppers!
Walgreens:
Walgreens is a lot different than CVS. You don't have to use a card to get Register Rewards!! But the way Walgreens works is that a RR is rang up like a coupon. And you can only use one coupon per product. So if you are buying 1 thing you can only use a coupon OR a RR. The way around this is with "filler items" Finding really cheap things in the store like candy or pencils are a great way to be able to use both your coupon and your RR. Another way you can use both is if the store is have a sale on 2 for items, such as "2 for $5".
Okay so last but not least is my actual binder.
This is how i organize it. Each coupon has it's own little spot. (like I said you will needs TONS of baseball card holders.)
If you are planing on getting most of your coupons out of the newspaper.
Here is a great rule of thumb...
Buy one newspaper for every one person in your household. If you have 4 people in your home you will have 4 of every coupon. Making it easier to stock up!
Also, make sure that your newspaper has the little plastic sack in the middle. This is where the coupons are! And yes people do take these out of newspapers. So just make sure yours has this plastic & its not opened. =)
Wow, this is a long post! My next post will be more about using coupons and how to get the best savings!!
but I like to keep my money in my wallet.
You will rarely see me
trying to buy something too expensive,
or that I don't even need.
(okay, you may see me break this rule when it
comes to my little ones, but hey...I can't help it)
I have been on this "gotta save money" kick for a while now (ever since Sophia was born :2 years) & the only thing we did was limit ourselves.
*At the end of my rant on why I'm so frugal, I will let you in on some secrets on how to do these things and spend less*
- Shopping: I love Old Navy & since I hate my self for not losing all of my post baby weight I spend all of our shopping money on the girls. So of course I go to Old Navy. I grab what I want to buy, walk around the store, check the clearance sections, and spend way too much time in there than I should. BUT for good reason. By the time I am ready to check out I always do a once over of what I have in my cart. And when I get to the items that are FULL PRICE (scary word, i know..) I look at them & honestly think "Does Sophia really need this $14 shirt????" NO.
- Getting out of the house: I don't like to go anywhere. Why you ask? Well first of all I'm a home body. I think it is the best day ever if I get to relax at home watching movies, maybe doing a puzzle, or just hanging out organizing my office. Now, it's not that I don't like to be seen out in the world with my little family cause don't get me wrong, I love taking the girls on adventures...I just don't want to pay for them.
This stuff can still be done without living off of bread & ketchup for the rest of the week! ;) (wouldn't that be gross? But I bet i would lose this post baby weight!)
So, shopping....cause there is NO WAY to get around buying clothes. I mean your little one grows so much, you NEED/HAVE to buy them new clothes right.?.?
HELL NO!
First off, like I stated above- they grow so much- why spend FULL PRICE on clothes they are going to 1.get really dirty or stain & 2. only wear for a little while? I'm going to let you in on a little/big secret. It's only little if you have been living in a closet & don't watch the news or drive around your town much.
JUST BETWEEN FRIENDS
www.jbfsale.com
This is huge, & a big money saver! I spend hundreds of dollars here on clothes & toys, & I come home with trash bags FULL of stuff!
As for getting out of the house, I'm still venturing into this but one thing that my family loves is the drive inn. Tickets are $6 a person and you get to watch 2 or 3 movies. You can bring your own food, so you spend even less at the concession stand. Its fun and nicer than being in a stuffy theater. Another thing we love is going to the arboretum. It gets kinda costy if you pay per time. I would recommend getting the year membership for $100. The girls love it and it's so gorgeous.
OKAY, sorry back to couponing... ;)
So those were the things I was doing thinking we were saving money. I always thought no matter what I HAVE to buy groceries, so maybe buying "great value" would be the cheapest way. NO, and gross. So after I found out about couponing & after the days of calling myself an idiot for not thinking of it this whole time.
I started my binder!
(In case you're wondering it weighs 5 pounds exactly right now)
This was the first major step I took towards couponing. If you are serious about this then you should invest in a binder as well. 3 inch binders are good. I would buy one that zips closed cause i HAVE dropped mine (in Target) & coupons go everywhere!
When you buy your binder you are going to want to buy baseball card holders (lots of them! you can never have to many) & clear plastic sheet protectors. Now I made my own categories because I know stores vary & this way I am more comfortable with where everything is in my binder
but if you don't want to do that just yet you can download categories here: http://thekrazycouponlady.com/beginners/
I also keep all of the sales ads for the week in front of my binder just in case I need them when in the store.
First couple of pages in my binder:
Monthly sale items:
Every month has certain items that always go on sale. Jan-Feb is healthy things, July is bar b que stuff and drinks...and so forth. So I like to keep this in front for reminders when a new month is coming.
I haven't had to use this yet, but I have heard stories of rude cashiers (& store managers) that don't even know the coupon policy. So carrying store policies is a "better safe than sorry" tactic.
Stores you are going to get the best deals at for personal care are CVS & Walgreens. So in order to keep track of what ECB (Extra Care Bucks) Or RR (Register Rewards) I have gotten, I keep these in file in the front of the binder for easy access.
CVS:
Now, I know what you're thinking. Why do you have 3 CVS cards? When CVS has a deal such as
Gillette Power Razors-$9.00 with $5 ECB *Limit 1*
& I have a $4 off Gillette coupon. That would make the razor free after ECB!
(which means after you buy it you will get a little receipt like the ones I have up there for $5 off another purchase)
Well your CVS card holds that *Limit 1* so if I buy all 4 with that one CVS card I will only get 1 $5 ECB. After you buy something that has ECB with it on the bottom of your receipt it will say "limit reached"
Don't forget to number your cards! I had to search for mine this morning, and it made it so easy knowing I has already found card 1 & 3 so all I needed was card 2!
*Don't be greedy about the number of cards you have. I have 3 because I have a family of 4 so I need to at least stock up on 3 or 4 items. But in no way am i saying you need to get 15 CVS cards. Leave something for other shoppers!
Walgreens:
Walgreens is a lot different than CVS. You don't have to use a card to get Register Rewards!! But the way Walgreens works is that a RR is rang up like a coupon. And you can only use one coupon per product. So if you are buying 1 thing you can only use a coupon OR a RR. The way around this is with "filler items" Finding really cheap things in the store like candy or pencils are a great way to be able to use both your coupon and your RR. Another way you can use both is if the store is have a sale on 2 for items, such as "2 for $5".
Okay so last but not least is my actual binder.
This is how i organize it. Each coupon has it's own little spot. (like I said you will needs TONS of baseball card holders.)
If you are planing on getting most of your coupons out of the newspaper.
Here is a great rule of thumb...
Buy one newspaper for every one person in your household. If you have 4 people in your home you will have 4 of every coupon. Making it easier to stock up!
Also, make sure that your newspaper has the little plastic sack in the middle. This is where the coupons are! And yes people do take these out of newspapers. So just make sure yours has this plastic & its not opened. =)
Wow, this is a long post! My next post will be more about using coupons and how to get the best savings!!
Omg! This is so helpful nikki!!!! Thank you so much!
ReplyDeletegreat blog
ReplyDeletethanks =) more to come on how to actually find great deals. maybe a blog on one of mine and Wendy's shopping trips! =0)
ReplyDelete