Tip # 4: Coupon & Savings Blogs

With the use of coupons increasing dramatically, there are a lot of websites and blogs out there that inform readers about great deals at various stores.

I personally follow, Southern Savers . Jenny at Southern Savers does a great job of listing all of the items on sale at a store that week and she tells you the coupons that match-up with that item. It makes it so easy!

Southern Savers follow grocery stores mainly in the south: Publix, Winn Dixie, HEB, Bi-Lo, Kroger, etc.

She also tells you about great deals at drugstores such as CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, and Rite Aid.

Here are some other great websites to follow:

i heart publix

the krazy coupon lady

Stay tuned for my great savings at CVS Pharmacy this week!

Tip # 3: Organize your coupons

So, there are a few different ways for you to organize your coupons.

# 1: A coupon binder or box

When I first started couponing, I spent a couple of hours every Sunday afternoon cutting out all of my coupons. I stored mine in a smaller accordion file box. But, over time it took up a lot of time for me to find the coupons I needed for the upcoming ad, so I switched my coupon organization method.

A lot of people store their coupons in a coupon binder. They use baseball card sleeves to keep their coupons in. They will also sort coupons according to categories such as dairy and frozen food.

Or, some people keep all of their clipped coupons in a box bigger than a recipe card box. They sort their coupons according categories.

# 2 Whole Insert filing method

This is the method I am currently using to sort my coupons. How it works:

When I get an insert from the Sunday newspaper I mark it as RP(Redplum) or SS (Smart Source) and whatever the date is.

I keep all of my inserts in file folders according to the month. For example, all of my inserts from the month of March are in a folder called March 2011. This makes it a lot easier for me when its time to go to the grocery store. I will print my shopping list with the coupon matchups. My shopping list will say for example, $1/2 items found in SS 1/02. So, I just go to that insert and clip the coupon.

It saves time for me and my busy schedule.

Need more tips understanding coupon organization? Here are some links:

http://www.southernsavers.com/2010/12/how-to-organize-your-coupons-part-1/

http://www.southernsavers.com/2010/12/how-to-organize-your-coupons-part-2/

Southern Savers is the website I follow for the weekly ads. Jenny does a great job of finding the deals and coupons each week!

Tip # 2: Online Coupons

There are many great sources to get FREE printable coupons. The internet is just another outlet to help you save money.

Manufacturers are going through Facebook to offer free coupons as well. Products such as Tide and Schick Intuition razors will offer you a free coupon if you "Like" them on Facebook.

Here are some of the websites I check for printable coupons:

www.coupons.com

www.redplum.com

www.smartsource.com

There is a limit of how many prints there are available for each coupon. So, if you see a coupon you like you'll want to get it then. These websites start over with a new set of coupons each month.

Stay tuned for Tip #3!

God bless

Free sample of Valspar paint

Valspar paint is offering a great deal right now! For 100 days Valspar paint is giving away 1000 free samples of paint per day!

You can choose from all of the colors offered by Valspar.

I chose a color called garden sprout. I'm gonna try it in our guest bedroom. This sample would be great for a craft project as well.

The giveaway starts at 9am CST so you'll want to get your sample fast before they run out.

And, the best part is you'll also receive a $5 off coupon!!

Lowe's Home Improvement coupon

I got an email today for a $10 off a $50 purchase coupon at Lowe's. This is great to use right now since its springtime. Hurry up and get yours because it expires on April 4, 2011.

Here's the link:

www.lowes.com

Plastic Easter eggs for 39 cents a bag!

I took a trip to Hobby Lobby today to buy some of their Easter decorations that were 50% off. Little did I know......this included the plastic Easter eggs too!

They have 12 eggs to a pack for 77 cents, and 50% off of that means about 39 cents per bag!

This is a great deal considering the church Tyler and I attend are having a community-wide Easter egg hunt. And, we are trying to get 10,000 candy-filled eggs for this event!

Tip #1: Buy the Sunday Newspaper

First of all, two blog posts in one day- GO ME! Sorry just had to get that out. :)

So, after I posted my savings from Publix, some of my friends asked if I could give them some tips to help them start couponing. So, I have thought of 5 tips to couponing!

One of my friends asked, "Where do you find all of these coupons?"

I find coupons in places all over the internet, but I find most of them through the Sunday newspaper. If I can offer a really good piece of advice its this: Get a subscription to the Sunday newspaper. I subscribe to The Birmingham News and I receive the paper on both Sunday and Wednesday. Getting the Wednesday newspaper allows me to look at all of the grocery store ads in my area.

You can get really good subscription deals through your local newspaper. Some are like a $1 a week. Which is great considering the Sunday newspaper costs $2.50!

Stay tuned for Tip #2......

God Bless!