Looking to Learn How to Be a Coupon Saving Mommy

I live in Michigan as well, and have heard of savings angel. DO NOT SPEND MONEY ON IT. I did the free trial and had a HORRIBLE time quitting the service. They still charged my credit card for months. Plus they don't really give you any information that you can't already find for free.

I use the blog http://www.sarahsdeals.net/ She is located in the grand rapids area, but she covers stores for the whole state. She does a great job. She will post deals with the online coupons and with the coupons from the paper. She also has giveaways, and shows you how to use the food that you purchase as well. For the summer she did a "sandwich a week" series. And make a difference sandwich every week with what she bought.

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I really don't know much about this, but moneysavingmom.com might be able to help you. She does a lot of the legwork for you, sharing the weekly specials and links for coupons. Tons of posts, so you should find something that might help.

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You can print coupons at Coupon.com and Smartsource.com. You can also sometimes get brand specific coupons at their website. For instance, Huggies coupons on the Huggies website, Betty Crocker coupons on the Betty Crocker website, Goodnites coupons on the Goodnites website.

I general buy only store brand products unless I have a coupon for the name brand that makes it cheaper than the store brand.

If you receive store adds in the mail or in your newspaper, you can compare you coupons to the sales items and combine them. I don't general do this myself unless it is a really good bargain. I prefer the one stop shop experience due to dragging my three kids along. I also believe that Walmart has the lowest prices overall. If I was planning to take advantage of a store add, I most likely would only get the item advertised and nothing more. Our Krogers store general has prices at about 20% higher on all items than if I purchased them at Walmart. Occasionally though they will mark something down really low like the Michelinas TV dinners at 65 cents plus using my coupon at a $1 off 5 where the normal price is $1.20 at Krogers and $1.07 at Walmart.

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www.afullcup.com is a GREAT website. There is information on how to be a coupon clipping mommy as well as the stores ads so that you can line up the Sunday newspaper coupons with the sales. Plus there are all kinds of blogs about the coupons moms have used with certain sales to get items for as inexpensive as possible. I love this website, but beware, it can get addictive!! LOL! I go through sporadic moments where I'm frenzied with coupon clipping and then I stop for a while, but the moms on this website are amazing with some of the deals they get!

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Kroger.com has downloadable coupons (directly to 'saver card'). Shortcuts.com has printable and downloadable coupons. Go directly to the websites of most used brands in your household (Kraft, Colgate, Tide... whatever) and they'll send you a ton of coupons. I collect some from people that don't want them from their newspapers. P&G E-Savers has downloadable coupons, free samples, and % off big items for certain stores.

I have been known to save $100 + on a $300-$400 shopping trip by doing all of these things. Last time I went shopping, I save $30 on a $150 shopping trip.

Also, depending on how fast you go through some things, Kroger has management specials... Things you should use within a day or two. Like I've gotten a gal of milk for $.55, a salmon filet for $6, chicken breasts (about 2lbs) for $6, a steak 1/2 price, eggs for $2 (the organic, cage free)... I buy these things a lot... Generally speaking, I will use those items within a few days. And if you want to make a few days worth of meals in one evening (I do that all the time), totally worth it!

Have any questions, pm me... I am the 'bargain junky' and live downriver.

I just started doing this, and what I have found to be the biggest saver is to just look for those "super" sales. For instance, Jewel had Tonic on sale last week for 77 cent, rather than its usual 1.78. I bought 8, and got a rain check for another 10.

I've been doing super-couponing for about 6 weeks. I have saved a ton at Walgreen, but no where else. Really, it's about hitting the sales and being hyper-sensitive to prices.

Read the book Becentsable....the best $10 I've spent. It teaches you how to use coupons, store incentives, stacking sales, etc....I am saving about $300 a month on my grocery bill and I buy mostly healthy, organic foods. There is also a website (becentsable.net). The book is written by two moms and has other helpful information in it too (like how to travel for cheap.. etc...).

bargainstobounty.com will help you. She occasionally does classes too.

My friend gives more for your money classes. Check out the her blog at
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fangiesdesk-m...

How much you save, depends on what you buy. If you are buying only organic and making your own laundry detergent etc you probably won't save too much. (although i have heard more companies are making coupons available for organice stuff)

Through combining coupons with drug store rewards, and watching ads to find the lowest prices, I have found that i am able to get toothpaste, maxi pads/tampons, gum, and wheatthins/chex mix pretty much for free.
There are other occasional things i can get super cheap-- like for 25 cents or less,
pantenee changed their packaging and those old shampoos were put on clearance, plus i had multiple coupons (my mom saves her ads for me too or you could buy extra sunday papers, plus i think i had requested a sample of shampoo that came with a really great coupon) so i was able to snag quite a few bottles for a quater a piece.
Once Johnsons and Johnsons baby wash was on sale Buy on get One and i had two coupons plus Rite Aid had a store coupon that you could combine with the manufactures coupons, I was able to get 4 bottles for free.
Ziploc slider bags were another one, that was bogo plus i had coupons --Free.

Most of these things come from the drug stores, and are just a thing were i run in and grab the super deal but don't buy anything else. And a non-couponer probably wouldn't think of these types of items as being "groceries" but they help my family save so that we have more money to put towards meats and produce.
HTH, I wouldn't pay to join a grocery game type site, try googling blogs about MI couponers I'm sure there are ladies out there that are posting their good deals in your state for friends to see.

There are websites out there that you can pay to be a member of, and they do the leg work for you. But with many of the mom blogs out there these days, as well as forum sites like www.afullcup.com, you can do it yourself with a little bit of time.

Buy the sunday paper with all the coupons, PLUS there are lots of places online you can go to print off coupons (and a lot of companies have Facebook pages, and they offer coupons for their products from time to time).

Using all the resources I have at hand, I match up sales with coupons to get the most possible savings. Here's an example: Next week at Meijer, the Green Giant frozen veggies are 99 cents each. They have a promotion that if you buy 3, you'll get a printed coupon for $2 off your next order. Combine that sale with a coupon that I have for $1 off of 3 boxes of GG veggies. My net total: I actually just MADE 3 cents.

Some weeks are better than others, just depends on what the sales are at the stores you shop at. But I make trips to multiple stores to get the best deals. You go prepared with your list + coupons in hand, and I'll go to stores like Meijer, Kroger, Target, Kmart, sometimes Walmart, CVS, & Walgreens.

As far as how much savings, if you work at it, you can save a LOT! For example, one of my trips to Walgreens last week, I paid at the Register $16.01 for over $50 worth of products! I really recommend joining www.afullcup.com. There is a LOT on that website, so I recommend joining, and just reading the various forums to see what you can learn. Then, you can get involved in trading coupons and other things.

Yes its called grocerygame.com. Plus I can tell you if you shop at kroger they take any vender coupn from the sunday paper up to a year old. You need to keep the coupon papers and go through than also don't buy it unless its on sale and if its like 10 for 10 or 3 for 5. Plus you don't have to buy all 10 you can buy how many you need and still get it for half the price. Also try to instead of buying name brand buy value brand or kroger brand. Check your prices. take a calculater and compare when shopping. The value brand usuallty taste better than name anyway. when i go i only buy if its on sale unless its a desprate need and than i have to have a coupon. I also take back cans and bottles. I can save anywhere from 20 dollars to 60 when i shop and i shope weekly and spend close to 300.00$ each week on groceries but i don't pay that. check out grocerygame.com and it will teach you how to do it.

I am in WMI and I use coupons. I regularly save at least 50% on my grocery bill (I get $100 worth of items for $50 or less). I use the Savings Angel Program. They make it really easy for you to save by telling you what is on sale each week and what coupons to use (and what paper insert, or where to print them). It's great. If you'd like to try them, just go to www.savingsangel.com and click the Join Now link in the upper right. You can get 2 months for the price of one right now to try it! Just enter in this referral code please :) 9270.

Thanks and good luck! If you have any more questions about Savings Angel or coupon shopping, feel free to ask me off list.

J.

You just need to keep an eye on sales and have your coupons organized so you can easily find the ones you need. How much you'll save on groceries depends on what you eat. If you love prepackaged food, you'll save a ton. If you prefer organics and more wholesome food, you won't find as much. My two favorite sites to watch are http://hip2save.com/ and http://www.savingaddiction.com/

The girls at Saving Addiction are from Michigan, so most of their posts are releveant to me. Hip2Save is more comprehensive. Since couponing, I've learned to watch for stock up prices. I buy stuff when it's really cheap (good sale/coupon combo) so when I need it I have it, and I'm never paying full price. The drugstores are great for getting free toothpaste and other toiletries, and if you're at a diaper stage, they often have the best deals.

You have to know your stores' coupon policies. I love my Kroger, they double coupons up to a dollar (so a $1.00 coupon is good for $2.00), but my Meijer only doubles up to $0.50. Some don't double at all. My current goal is to always save at least 50% on my grocery trips. I've done pretty well with sticking to that.

Both of the sites I've listed have sections to help get you started. I believe the Krazy Coupon Lady has a pretty good getting started section also. Good luck!