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My friend Shannon and I were so excited to meet with a few of you last night at our coupon class (we loved meeting you all!)  We may have overwhelmed you (we both talk way too fast . . . ) but here are a few links we promised to share that may help you out:
- Before clipping a single coupon, first determine your family's grocery budget.  (See more about our our family budgets for groceries over HERE, and you'll also want to check this out.
- If you’re totally new to couponing, start at the beginning.
- Identify top prices on specific groceries before you go to the grocery store.
- Learn how to use coupons at Target
- You can make huge changes in your families grocery budget just by choosing to shop differently.
- Many items that you purchase can be frozen to lengthen their shelf life.
- Your grocery shopping experience will be so much more enjoyable when you have a happy cashier.
- Check out all the current deals this week at Target, CVS,  Walgreens,  Publix,  Kroger,  Wal-Mart, Amazon and several more stores
- And, if you don’t have a coupon to your name (bless your heart!), you can start by printing a few over at Coupons.com, Red Plum, Coupon Network and Smart Source.
Also, there are certain times of the year when specific items are significantly cheaper to purchase. Here’s the cycle that my friend Shannon and I have figured out are the best times to grab certain items (please leave a comment if you think of other items that go on sale seasonally and I’ll add them!)
- Baking Supplies, Cooking Soups, Spices, Seasonings – November/December (Holidays)
- Meat, Condiments – Summertime (Grilling Season)
- Produce – Summertime (Stockpile things like green peppers and onions to freeze for winter casseroles, soups, etc.; freeze fruit for winter baking – strawberries, blackberries, bananas, etc.)
- Cream Cheese, Velveeta, Canned Tomatoes, Dried & Canned Beans, Cheese – January, February (Super Bowl and March Madness)
- Packaged Snacks, School Supplies – August (Back to School)
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Don't miss these free free printables that should help as pinch those pennies:
- Free Grocery Stock Up Price List
- Free Budget SpreadsheetÂ
- Free Freezer Printable: What To Freeze & How To Freeze It
And if you're trying to find a printer to inexpensively print coupons on, here are the two I recommend:
- Brother Laser Printer with Wireless Capability (it's currently $109 ~ I've seen it for a little less, so you may want to wait and watch for a sale on this one if you don't need it right away!)
- Brother Laser Printer without Wireless Capability (currently $86.99 ~ I've seen this one for as low as $65 so you may want to wait on it as well!)
We'd love for you to also join Passionate Penny Pincher on Facebook to keep up with all the penny pinching deals as well – let us know if you have any questions!
You know not to throw my two cents in or anything ha ha…but couponing is definitely not easy. Laurie and Shannon can only offer so much to the strategy by listing all the deals. CVS is a great example of this….that kiosk is your friend. They don’t know what comes out of it every day. It is very random. The kiosk turns cheap into free or moneymaker many times especially with the expired coupons. I would encourage everyone to look for EVERY angle possible to use a competitor coupon if possible through their grocery. It is a straight 20% off the top and makes you way ahead of the game. Try to pick times where it isn’t as crowded if you have competitor or lots of coupons and even ask a manager before you go through line if it is crowded who the best cashier is that shift. It can be uncomfortable couponing. I swear even now that I have it down to a science I still go to the grocery feeling like what if they give me a hard time today so I guess I am prepared for that every single shopping trip.
However, it is worth it. Don’t worry about being like the great couponers just save where you can. Saving money at the grocery or drugstore will make you save money everywhere like maybe even a car on Craigslist.
Saving money and staying out of debt which I admire Laurie so much for preaching is the key to a low stress life. Life on our terms is what couponing is about for me.
Good luck everyone! Nothing better than watching your kids eat good for a low price!
You’re so right about that Jim! And like you said, no one can do the work for you – we try to make it easier (and hope we do!) but ultimately each person has got to go out. do the best research they can, and actually put those actions into place. (I once heard someone say that if you want to coupon, read as much as you can on coupon sites and just get informed – then get to work!)
And I soooo love the peace that comes with frugal living. I fed my family tonight for under $5 (grilled chicken, salad, rolls and potatoes), and love that we can eat so well on less. Thanks for the encouragement Jim!