Coupon Info for Sara, and others!

Ok, so im not the greatest couponer ever. Actually i am not very good at it when it comes to grocerys, but i try. What i have mostly tried to master is baby stuff, diapers, formula, wipes, clothes and toiletries. So here is what i know-

My Basics

- get the sunday paper, this is where you will find most of the coupons

-I use a couple of different coupon blogs to find deals and such. The ones i look at on a daily basis are hip2save.com, thecentsableshoppin.com and thefrugalfind.com. 

-The centsable shoppin does everything plus local arizona stuff since she lives in mesa. You can probably find a local blog in your area. I know there is a local utah girl and i will try to find her blog.

-Each of these blogs does store matchups where they write what is on sale and what coupons are out there that correlate with the sale items. So for instance, dove soap could be on sale at wal mart for $2.oo. They then show you where you can get a coupon for $1.00 off 1 dove soap. Which would ultimatly make your soap only a $1. I hope that makes sense. Here is an example from hip2save, http://hip2save.com/2011/02/target-deals-26-212.html

- Each of these blogs also has a little secton on Couponing 101. I highly suggest watching the Coupon Class videos that the frugal find has on her website http://thefrugalfind.com/online-coupon-class/introduction . They used to cost money but now they are free. I really like them and they are really good at explaining couponing.

- the other thing that i have learned from all these ladies is that you have to play what they call, the drug store game. That means you have to buy things from places like walgreens, CVS and rite aid. i buy soap, shampoo, laundry detergent and dishwasher soap from the drug stores and i almost always get it for a dollar or under. they have amazing sales when it comes to this stuff and combined with coupons, its heaven. : )

Baby Stuff

     - the blog i look at for the cheapest diapers, wipes and formulas of each week is the thrifty couple. http://thethriftycouple.com/category/weekly-diaper-deals They compile the best deals each week in different stores.

Diapers-
     - I used to buy diapers at costco. Not anymore. I only ever buy diapers at amazon.com. I know it seems strange but trust me its the cheapest route and you dont have to go to the store. And they ususally come the next day
     - In different magazines, Parents, Early Parenting, American baby, and other baby and pregnancy magazines, they have been putting in 20% off diaper coupons for amazon.com.
     - amazon.com also has a moms programs that you can sign up for, when you do this, you get free shipping for a couple of months and the more diapers or baby items you buy on amazon, the more free months of shipping you earn. You also get 15% off diapers and wipes.
      - amazon also has what they call a subscribe and save program. when you check out, you click subscribe and save, this saves you an additional 15%. It signs you up for getting the same order every couple of months. However you can cancel this subscription at any time without being penalized. I do it everytime i buy diapers, when they diapers come in the mail, i cancel the subscription.
      
      -As an example: Lets say i go to buy diapers on amazon. I pick pampers. They cost 10.
                     $10.00 inital cost
                       - 1.50 subscribe and save ( 15% off)
                       - 1.50 amazon moms program ( 15% off)
                       - 2.00 amazon coupon ( 20% off)

                    Your diapers now only cost $5.00. You just saved 50%!!!!

- Yesterday i bought a box of 180 diapers on amazon for 10.00. Originally priced at 35 dollars. : )

Wipes-
    - I buy wipes when a blog posts a really good deal on them or i check the thrifty couple. These will once again usually fall at amazon.com. Occasionally there is a good deal at stores. The other day on amazon i bought, 700 wipes for about 3 dollars. ( those 700 wipes usually last us awhile )

Formula-
    - Unfortuantly, there are not alot of good sales or coupons on formula. hardly ever, like never. I highly suggest breastfeeding. Its the cheapest route. I however only did it until matthew was 6 months old. Next time i think im gonna try to go for longer and save us some money. The cheapest formula route is Costco. There formula has everything that similac or enfamil has for about half the price. A containor of formula at costco cost about 16.50. The same size contanior of similac cost about double that and enfamil, double plus a dollar or two more. However everything is your personal preferance, im just telling you the most inexpensive way to go. ( If anybody knows of any cheaper way to get formula, please let me know!!!!!! )

Groupons 


     - Groupons are just that, group coupons. A groupon website will sell a voucher for a product, at usually 50% of its value.
     - For example, the website will say, $15 for $30 worth of Bath and Body product. So you pay the website, $15, they then give you a voucher for $30.
     - These are great deals, not only because you are getting 50% off but because you can combine it with sales or coupons that the store has.  
       - The clothes i got the other day ( that i posted about ) were from a groupon website, dealpulp.com. The deal was pay $6.00 for $15.95 box of clothing from Thredup.com. Deal pulp that day was having a deal for all new registering customers got a $5 credit in their account. I had never used deal pulp before. So i signed up, got a 5 dollar credit. And then purchased the groupon so i only had to pay a dollar for the $15.95 groupon. I then went to thredup.com, picked the box that i wanted and it was sent to me, with free shipping. : )


Coupons do take time. But once you get the hang of it, you can save some serious money. Especially when it comes to things like diapers and wipes. Plus i love shopping and i dont usually have money to spend on shopping, so instead i find myself some good deals and coupons, and get my shopping high from buying things for free. : )