We’ve probably all seen an episode of Extreme Couponing, right? In half an hour, a woman gathers her coupons, loads up in the minivan, takes a friend to push her second cart at the store, buys 100 toothbrushes, 2 cases of pasta, 30 18-packs of toilet paper, all the personal care items and Pop Tarts a family could use in a lifetime…then approaches the cheerful cashier and happily pays her $3.18 for $400 worth of STUFF!!! Well, any of us might get super excited, thinking, “I’m smart. I’m broke. Why am I not doing that?” I had my reservations about how much time it actually takes to gather the coupons, get to know what store is having a sale (and will accept 20 of the same coupon in one trip.) And how about having to buy dozens of Sunday papers to get your coupons in the first place? I try to keep my cool and not dive into the deep end and end up finding myself floundering and overwhelmed and eventually giving up on the whole project.
So I have been doing some research. And there is a TON of information out there! Couponing as a stand-alone aspect of stretching the budget does have a lot of elements, and can take time. It can also take a little bit of a financial investment, or a lot if you’re not careful. I know I want to succeed at saving money so I am taking my time – to study, to prepare. My personal tendency sometimes is to go whole-hog and over-invest in projects and I really don’t want that to be the case here. I would recommend the same for all of you. Remember that this is supposed to make your life better. Not make you pull your hair out, or spend more on getting coupons than you save. Like in all things, we need to work smarter, not harder.
Since I’ve decided to blog through my journey, to try to help other folks who are in the same boat I am in, I need to be even MORE careful not to get bogged down. Really, this blog is starting out with the intention of providing a page of resources like websites and video links that teach organization, shopping patterns, step-by-step how-to’s. I’ll also try to provide the websites where I have found it easy and efficient to get your hands on coupons, and only on the coupons you will actually use. And some websites have databases of all of the weekly sales at most of the stores you’ll find yourself shopping at, along with actually grouping up which sales + coupons + online rebate/rewards + in-store rebate/rewards = practically free stuff!
So…where do you start? The very first thing I would recommend is Making A New Email Address. There are plenty of free ones out there; I use Yahoo. This is the email you will use for any couponing- or savings-related websites that you decide to sign up with. You will be VERY glad not to see your personal email get clogged up, or to have to search through Facebook notifications, pictures from family, newsletters about parenting or gardening or any other interest, just to find that email from Publix with…ta da! Coupons! There are a plethora of rewards and loyalty programs that you will want to consider signing up for, as well as newletters from websites that offer training and other resources, and even more…Coupons! And soon I’ll get around to talking about the online e-coupon/rebate sites that will really give your savings that big boost.
Second, Make a New Folder In Your Favorites Tab. You will thank me for this, I promise. I recommend a folder titled Couponing. You may choose to have more if you are more organized, (I’ll be sharing information about websites for other savings-related subjects too.) If you’re like me then the Favorites tab will get confusing if you don’t put all the sites you find helpful in one place. But for now, make at least this one folder.
The next step is simple, and old school. Grab a Notebook and Pens. Now is the time to get some of those, with back to school specials making notebooks and pens available for only pennies! These supplies will not be priced this low again until next August so grab some while you can. I know it’s the end of the month and if you’re like me you might be using the change in your stash in the car by now. You may even already have these things; if so, you’re ahead of the game. You’re gonna want to write down some of the things you learn. You’ll probably be inundated with information, and I myself find it helpful to write down categories of information and organize them a bit before I share it with you. (Some categories I’ve started with in my notebook are: Printable Coupons; Stores Rebate/Reward Programs; Stores Coupon Policies; E-coupons and Online Rebate/Savings Plans; Couponing Teaching Websites. I’m sure there will be many more.) And please please please! Don’t let yourself get intimidated if your lists start looking messy with things scratched out or on the wrong page. This notebook is just your brain when you can’t think about couponing anymore.
What we’ve done so far should not have taken a ton of time or effort, so if you’re ready for the very first actual lesson, I HIGHLY recommend Extreme Couponing 101 by Southern Savers on YouTube. WARNING: it is two hours long. I know, you may not have two hours to sit down without interruption, or the attention span to do it either. No judging here! But start this video. Keep it up in a tab to go back to later if you have to fix dinner, or change a diaper, or any of the many many things that interrupt us. I can’t say enough how much I appreciate the attitude and knowledge of the ladies at Southern Savers. They have years of experience at doing just what they say – saving money. You’ll probably use this site A LOT. First though, check out that video.
That’s it for this post folks. I don’t want you to get overwhelmed. I’ll do my best to share my experiences in manageable chunks. And if I’ve set this blog site up properly, you’ll be able to contact me to ask questions or to give me feedback. Go forth and save!
Patty Saves 