Tuesday Tidbits & Tips: Stop Comparing Yourself To Others

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You've heard me say it time and time again. But I'm going to say it once more.

This week's tip? Short, sweet, and simple - Do not compare yourself to others when it comes to couponing and saving money.

Every single family is different. Consider the following factors:

• Regional differences
• Stores available for you to shop at
• Varying coupon policies at those stores
• Income level
• Marital status
• Number and ages of children
• Dietary preferences (Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Weight loss goals, Diabetes, and much more)
• How much time you have on your hands
• Career Choices (stay at home mom versus the full time working mom)
• Life circumstances, and how that affects your grocery budget
• Number of cars you do or do not have
• Newspaper access (a blogging friend of mine can't get the newspaper delivered to her house because of where she lives)
• Priorities in healthy living, buying fruits/veggies, avoiding processed foods, eating organic, etc.
• How often you eat out
  

The list could go on and on. The point I'm trying to make is that we are all very different. To be quite honest, I'm kind of the outsider in terms of the typical couponing blogger on the web. Probably around 90% of frugal bloggers are stay-at-home-moms who have husbands making decent full-time incomes and a house full of homeschooling kids. Out of necessity in this season of our life, I am forced to work full-time. My husband is a self-employed artist who works at home. We do not have any kids, quite honestly because we can't afford it. Oh, and not to mention the fact that my husband and I are Vegetarians (talk about changing up a grocery budget).

So you better believe my grocery budget, couponing adventures, weekly savings, and even my blogging style/frequency will differ greatly from the majority of frugal bloggers out there! But that's okay.

In the beginning, I compared myself. I got frustrated when I wasn't saving like others were. I've even found myself harboring bitterness towards others at times along the journey. I now realize that diversity is beautiful, and that no two people or families are exactly the same. Couponing is a gift, and it can help anybody no matter what situation their life is in. Everyone just has to take that gift and use it how they see fit.

My advice for you? Evaluate your own life. Decide what is most important to you in the realm of saving money and using coupons. Look at your life and all the different factors it brings into play. Nail down a budget and stick to it. Coupons definitely come in handy, but don't become so obsessed with them that all you're caring about is whether or not your savings ratio beats out the next person's.

It's nice to see that I spent $20 on $150 worth of groceries, but it was also nice to come home from my "no coupons" trip tonight at Publix. I had one of the worst savings ratios in my couponing history, but I was way under budget, bought almost all healthy fruits/veggies, and had a nice stress-free break from couponing!

So stop comparing yourself! Enjoy your life, set a budget, and use coupons to help you out. Most importantly - do what is best for you and your family!

What About You: What factors in your life contribute to your grocery budget and couponing lifestyle?

Want to see other great Tidbits & Tips? Be sure to go HERE to read all of them from the past weeks!

Tuesday Tidbits & Tips: Purging Old Coupon Inserts

Yesterday I decided to purge my old coupons and clean up my coupon organizing system. It was overflowing and coupons were all over the place! I feel so much better now.

How do you go about purging old coupons, you might ask? I have a really easy system that prevents me from throwing out old inserts that might still have valid, non-expired coupons in them. Here's what I do:

I've mentioned the Coupon Mom coupon database in the past. You'll have to sign up if you haven't yet (it's free). Once you're signed in, click on "grocery coupon database." Then you'll select your region/state.

When the coupon database opens, don't search for anything in the search box. Simply scroll down and you will see every available non-expired coupon listed in date order from newest to oldest.

Scroll down to the very bottom of the list, where the oldest possible coupons are.

If you look right now, you'll notice that the oldest insert listed is 6-7-09 RP. So right away, you know that you can toss everything prior to that. And then you can look at the one single coupon that is in the 6-7-09 RP, and decide if that insert is worth keeping.

Just go up the list and keep doing that until you've purged your old coupon inserts, and you're left with inserts that have valid coupons that aren't expired yet! If an insert has only a couple coupons you want, you might consider just clipping those few and tossing the remainder of the insert.

I pretty much purged everything up through September yesterday. There were a couple coupons in the June, July, and August inserts, but I didn't have an interest in them.

Pretty simple, eh? I love this method! It makes for a really quick and easy way to clean up my coupon organizing filing box.

What About You: Was this tip helpful?

Want to see other great Tidbits & Tips? Be sure to go HERE to read all of them from the past weeks!

Tuesday Tidbits & Tips: A Little Bit Of Coupon Lingo!

You may have noticed that I try very hard NOT to use any coupon lingo that you will not understand. One of my main goals with this blog is to make it as beginner-friendly as possible. Nothing annoyed me more when I first started couponing than reading coupon blogs and having no earthly idea what in the world they were talking about. For that very reason, I try my best to spell out the weekly deals in an easily understandable way - even to the beginner.

With that being said, there are still a few common phrases that get tossed around frequently. Many of you have asked me questions about these, so I thought I'd clarify a few misconceptions...

One coupon per purchase - This means one coupon per ITEM purchased. Pretty much every single coupon out there has this written on it in the fine print. If the coupon is $1/1 and you have 8 of them...you are allowed to use all 8 of them as long as you are buying 8 items.

One coupon per transaction - This means exactly what it sounds like. THIS is the coupon that means you can only use one of them per transaction, no matter how many items you buy.

"Double" Coupons - I mention this quite often in my Publix posts. Doubling coupons is when a store takes the face value of the coupon and doubles the value. Many grocery stores do this in different regions. For example: $.50/1 becomes $1/1

"Do Not Double" - Going along with that same thought...a lot of coupons say "do not double." This means that the face value can not be doubled. It DOES NOT MEAN that you can not use two of them in one transaction (many people think this when first starting out).

Stacking Coupons - Stacking coupons is a term used often to describe pairing a store coupon with a manufacturer's coupon on one single item. The store coupon is a coupon that the store puts out. The store is giving you the deal. A manufacturer's coupon is like most of the ones you find in your Sunday newspaper or printable coupons online. They have bar codes and say "manufacturer's coupon" on them most of the time. The manufacturer is giving you the deal. I always try to specify when a coupon is a store coupon, as opposed to a normal manufacturer's coupon. Most stores allow stacking with no problem. Occasionally, you'll run into a problem at stores that are not coupon-friendly (Walmart *cough* Target *cough*).

Peelies - These are coupons found on the outside of products that peel off, hence their name. One point of confusion that I have come across with many readers -- Peelies ARE indeed manufacturer's coupons. So if you go to a store with a manufacturer's coupon in hand, and then you find a peelie, you can not stack these. That would mean you are trying to use 2 manufacturer's coupons on one item. Not legal. The only time you can use a peelie with another coupon is when it is a "stacking" situation with a store coupon, as I mentioned above.

Blinkies - Coupons that pop out of little machines in the stores. Same as peelies - almost always manufacturer's coupons.

Tearpads - Coupons that are on pads in front of products. You can tear off a couple of coupons to use. Sometimes they're manufacturer's, other times they're great store coupons. It just depends! Keep an eye on what type of coupon it is, though!

Overage - This just means that your coupon value exceeds the price of the item you're buying. This happens a lot of times when you are stacking coupons as mentioned above. Some stores allow it. Other stores do not and will simply price-adjust the coupon value down to make it free. You should always know the coupon policy of the specific store you shop at. We would never want to be doing anything that is against the rules. We are ethical couponers, remember!? =)

BOGO - Buy one get one free. I'm sure most of you know this, but I just wanted to clarify since this is a lingo term I use quite frequently.

ECB - Extra Care Bucks. Part of the rewards program at CVS. Read CVS basics for more info!

RR - Register Rewards. Part of the rewards program at Walgreens. Read Walgreens basics for more info!

PG, RP, and SS - Proctor & Gamble, Red Plum, and Smart Source. All 3 are types of coupon inserts that come in Sunday's newspaper. These are the 3 main types of coupon inserts you'll be using regularly. See couponing basics for more info!

WYB - "When You Buy" I try not to use this kind of lingo often, like I said. But occasionally this one might slip out. =)

OOP - "Out of pocket" This is the money you end up paying after all coupons.

PSA - "Prices start at" Again, one that I try to never use, but just in case!

Rain Check - When a store is out of a deal that they advertised, you can usually get a "raincheck." It is basically a pass to come back and get the deal at a later date when the item is back in stock. It enables you to get the advertised sale price at a later date, in a nutshell. CVS even gives rainchecks for ECB deals! It's awesome!!

IE/FF - Internet Explorer and FireFox. These are 2 types of internet browsers. I refer to them with these abbreviations at times when I give you 2 different links to printable coupons.

$1/1 - $1 off of 1 item

2/$1 - 2 items cost $1

I hope that helps some of you out, especially those of you who recently came across this blog and feel a little lost. Feel free to e-mail me any time for help or questions that you have!

What About You: Was this post helpful to you? Learn anything new??

Want to see other great Tidbits & Tips? Be sure to go HERE to read all of them from the past weeks!

Tuesday Tidbits & Tips: Using The Right Click On Your Computer Mouse

This week's Tidbits & Tips has absolutely nothing to do with couponing, but rather to do with navigating this blog.

When asking about what new features you would like to see on the coming new site, I was surprised by how many of you said you wanted windows that opened in separate tabs on your browser (rather than in the same window you're already viewing, which navigates you away from my site and makes it hard to get back to what you were reading). Don't worry -- I will definitely be doing my best to fix this problem on the new site. It's out of my control on this current one, though. So for now, I thought I would pass along this helpful info.

Honestly...I didn't even know that was an issue with this blog! Why? Because I always use the right-click on my mouse without even thinking about it. When I see a link, I simply place my cursor over the link as if I'm going to click on it, and then click the right button on my mouse. A window pops up, and I select "New Tab" or "New Window" (depending on what you want and what internet browser you're using).

This makes it very easy to read through a post with multiple links. I just read the post, and as I am going through it, I right click (open in new tab), right click (open in new tab), right click (open in new tab) on every single link that I'm interested in. Once I am finished reading the post, I check out the links in separate tabs on my browser, and then close them all when I am finished. It makes navigation much easier, and I can always click on the tab of the blog to keep reading whatever I want. Clicking on the links doesn't interrupt the flow of anything!

I gave you links in the above paragraph to practice with. =)

Hope that helps some of you for the time being!

What About You: Was this helpful?

Want to see other great Tidbits & Tips? Be sure to go HERE to read all of them from the past weeks!

Tuesday Tidbits & Tips: Making The Most of Swag Bucks

Recently I have had many readers asking me about Swag Bucks, how I have so many, how to make the most of it, and how to ultimately get as many points as you possibly can to trade in for awesome gift cards! I thought I would put some tips together in a post for you, so that you can fully understand how Swag Bucks works. Some people start out very excited about it, and then their interest dies down when they aren't earning as many as they had hoped to. If you're one of those people who has fallen off the Swag Bucks bandwagon, now is the time to read this post and rekindle your excitement about earning some FREE gift cards! Swag Bucks is getting ready to celebrate their 2nd anniversary on February 25th! They are going to have all kinds of awesome surprises: mega swag bucks for searching, gift codes galore, and more!

**How To Earn Swag Bucks**

1. First of all, you obviously want to sign up, if you haven't done so already. When you sign up, you automatically receive 3 swag bucks to start you out! Signing up is as easy as 1-2-3. Just fill out the info and get going!

2. Start using the Swag Bucks search engine. It works like any other search engine, such as Google. You just type in what you want to search for, and start searching the web. The only difference is that Swag Bucks is paying you to search. Every so often, a message will pop up that you have received a swag buck for searching. On average, it seems that a person can earn around 1 - 4 swag bucks a day by simply searching. Usually, I will earn one in the morning and one in the evening. Sometimes you will earn more than 1 swag buck at a time. You can earn 2 or 3, or even 5 swag bucks from just one search. On Friday (Mega Swag Bucks Day), you can earn up to even 100 or 500 swag bucks from just ONE search! Here are some searching tips to keep in mind:

• Search naturally. Don't just continue to search terms over and over for the sake of trying to earn a swag buck. The system is set up to recognize when you're trying to do that (and in fact your account can be deactivated if you do that in excess). Just search normally, visiting sites that you truly want to go to! It's as simple as that! I find that the more naturally I search, the more swag bucks I earn.
• Search for the websites you always visit, rather than bookmarking them. For example, I frequently visit my e-mail account, this blog, Facebook, Twitter, my bank's website, and the library website. I have all of these sites bookmarked, but I choose to search for them through Swag Bucks. It gives me something to search for, even if I'm not searching for other terms throughout the day. It's one little extra step that takes an additional 30 seconds, but it's worth it!
• Search on Friday. This is Mega Swag Bucks Day, like I said above. This is not a myth -- it's for real! Your chances for earning the higher bucks with just one search are greatly increased, because more mega bucks are given out on Fridays than any other day. I have earned 5 swag bucks on Fridays quite a few times. I have had people e-mail me about earning 10, 50, or even 100 from just one search on Friday! So, it definitely exists and happens. If you don't search on any other day, search on Friday. Eventually, you will be rewarded for doing so.
• Either set Swag Bucks as your home page, use the toolbar, or remember to search twice a day. The easiest way to remind yourself to use Swag Bucks is to just make Swag Bucks your home page when you search. Some people have told me they don't like the search engine, though. They feel that it doesn't generate the best results. If you find this a problem as well, there are 2 different options. You can download the toolbar and use the search space on the toolbar sporadically throughout the day to earn your swag bucks, while keeping your preferred search engine as your home page. Or you can simply search for a while with Swag Bucks in the morning, use your other search engine throughout the day, and then go back to Swag Bucks at night. Like I said above, I find that I usually earn my swag bucks once in the morning and once in the evening. So with either of these methods, you could use it in the morning and evening to search naturally until you get your swag bucks...then switch over to your preferred search engine. Your choice!

3. Find some codes! Codes are everywhere in the swagging world. You just have to keep your eyes peeled for them! When you find a code, you simply copy and paste it into the code box on the Swag Bucks home page. Most codes are worth 1 swag buck, but sometimes they are worth more (especially the swag hunt codes that are difficult to find!). Here are some tips for finding codes:

• Download the toolbar, like I said! There is a spot on the toolbar where The Swag Guy posts swag codes. They will just pop up randomly a couple of times a week. You'll see "From TSG [1]" when you have a message, and most of the time it's a swag code! (There was actually one last night). I find that codes are mostly given out on weekends, Holidays, and special events. For example, just recently there were Valentine's Day and Super Bowl codes.
• Become a fan of Swag Bucks on Facebook. Codes are announced on Facebook from time to time.
• Subscribe to the newsletter. It goes out about once a week, and there is always a swag code at the bottom of it.
• Check the Swag Guy's blog often. You can see his recent blog posts on the home page. He posts hints for swag codes frequently. Most of the time this is where the hints for the swag hunts are!
• Do the "No Obligation Special Offers" once a week. There is a new code for this once a week (usually on Thursday/Friday). If you're not sure how to do these, go here for quick step-by-step instructions (very easy).
• Check the widget at the bottom of my blog page. Sometimes there are codes given out on it. And all of the codes I mentioned above are announced on my widget. All you have to do is hit "swag codes" and it will either give you one, give you a hint where to find one, or tell you that there are no codes right now.
• Read my blog for announcements. I always try to announce when there is a new code available somewhere. Note: If you subscribe by e-mail or reader, you will always miss them. The posts are delayed significantly in those feeds. The only way to get hourly up-to-date information on deals is to visit this actual blog.

4. Shop and Earn. I haven't explored this option very much, but you can earn swag bucks when you do your shopping online at specific stores. Check out the stores that are featured on swag bucks. From now on if you shop with those stores online, be sure to access them through your swag bucks home page so that you get credit! I have started doing this when I buy songs on iTunes!

5. Refer your friends. This is the number one way I earn so many swag bucks. Every time somebody signs up for Swag Bucks under your name, you get their swag bucks too! For every swag buck that your referrals earn through searching, you will receive one as well (up to 100 swag bucks). As you can imagine, this adds up really quickly.

Even if you can get just 5 people (friends and family) to sign up under you, you'll be on your way to earning many gift cards every month! Think about it: Most people earn on average 1 - 4 swag bucks a day. Let's call it 2, just to be safe. If you have 5 people signed up under you earning 2 swag bucks every day, in addition to yours...that equals 12 swag bucks a day! In one week, you'll earn at least 80 swag bucks, and that's just for searching! That doesn't even count your codes that I mentioned above.

Remember...a $5 Amazon gift card only costs 45 swag bucks! So with 5 friends signed up under you, actively looking for codes each week, and searching yourself...you could possibly earn enough swag bucks to get $10 worth of Amazon cards per week!

One HUGE hint on referrals, though:

Swag Bucks has their referral system set up to where you can send out e-mails to your friends with your referral link included, so that they will sign up under you. I found that this method never worked. Why? Because your friends do not recognize the foreign e-mail address that the invite comes from (info.swagbucks or something of that nature), they will not open the e-mail and sign up. Rather, I recommend placing your referral link in a personal e-mail to your friends! When I did this, I had quite a few family members and friends sign up under me. Here's how to go about doing this:

• Log-In to your Swag Bucks account.
• Click on "Promote."
• Click on "Promote Banners."
• The screen will show a guy saying, "Your referral link is: ....."
• Copy that referral link.
• Send an e-mail to your closest friends and family. Tell them how great Swag Bucks is, what it's all about, that it's NOT a scam, and that is is a really awesome program that they should try out! Paste your referral link into that e-mail and tell them to click on the link to sign up.
• Start earning swag bucks for their searches! =) It's that easy!

**A Couple Other Tips On Swag Bucks**

~ Your account will be de-activated if you try to search repeatedly, rather than searching naturally (like I mentioned above).

~ Your account will also be de-activated if you try to sign up more than one person in a household. The swag bucks account is tied to your home address. The rules are very specific that it is one per household!

~ There is a limit on the amount of prizes you can trade in for each day and month. You can only trade in for 2 prizes per day. Also, you can only trade in for 5 like prizes in one month. Keep this in mind when you start earning your swag bucks quickly. You want to cash them in as you go along, rather than saving them up. If you save them up, you'll be in a bind when you go to trade them in. (This happened to me at Christmas time!) Most of the prizes don't expire, so you're perfectly fine to trade them in as you go and use them later.

~ Gift card prizes post to your account around the 15th and 30th of each month. So be sure to trade in your swag bucks for gift cards a day or two before these dates. You can view all of your gift cards under "my account."

~ Many of you have been asking me how many gift codes you can use on Amazon.com in one order transaction. I will tell you that I've used as many as 10 gift codes for one order, and had no problem at all! So do not be afraid to buy the better value Amazon card at $5, and use multiple codes per Amazon order.

I hope this post helped those of you who have been wondering how to earn swag bucks and truly make the most of the program. Please feel free to ask me any additional questions in the comments section!

What About You: Have I convinced you to sign up yet? I hope so! Start earning awesome prizes today! I promise you it's sooooo worth it!

Tuesday Tidbits & Tips: Legitimate Coupons???

Okay guys...some of you have been asking whether or not the recent coupon for a free travel-sized bottle of Downy was legitimate. When you print it out, it looks quite suspicious. The front and back of the coupon print on one page. You would have to tape them together in order to use it, which is VERY strange...

I've done some research, and here is what I can find:

• This coupon was on the Downy website at one point.
• When you go to the Downy website, it has been replaced with a $1 off coupon.
• When some people have tried to use this coupon at the register, it only takes off $1.
• Many couponers have contacted Downy directly, and the representatives have confirmed that it is definitely a legitimate coupon.

From all of this information, I say...You can try it, but there's no guarantee that the store will take it. Honestly, I think it's way too iffy. I won't be using it, but that's just me. It appears to be totally legit, but I'm just afraid to take a taped-together coupon in to the store.

On a side note, counterfeit coupons definitely exist on the Internet, so be careful when printing. If it seems too good to be true, it usually is. Be careful about really high value or free item coupons.

Two rules I try to follow in determining whether the coupon is counterfeit are: 1. Does it have a bar code? and 2. Does it have an expiration date? Usually if a coupon has these 2 things, you can be pretty sure it's not fake. However, there are experts out there who specialize in creating counterfeit coupons, and they have expiration dates and bar codes!

For a list of some of the most common fraudulent coupons circulating the internet at the moment, go HERE.

I thank my readers for the concern about the Downy coupon. We should always strive to be honest and ethical couponers. Unfortunately, the use of fraudulent coupons ends up hurting all of us in the long run. This is what causes store policies to be changed for the worse.

Hope that helps! =)

Tuesday Tidbits & Tips: Ask The Manager!

Most of you probably read about my embarrassing shopping trip last night, and my confession about how timid I am when it comes to couponing!

While Julie and I were talking about coupons on the way to the store, she brought up a point that I thought would be really good to talk about on here...

I was telling her about some kind of coupon I used, and she said that when she had tried to use a similar coupon, the cashier had told her that it wasn't allowed. She was telling me that she was bummed about it, and wished that her Publix store was as lenient with their coupon policy as mine is.

I then went on to explain to her that she should always check with the managers, because cashiers tend to see how much you're saving, and think you're doing something wrong...when you usually aren't. Nothing against the cashiers. They just don't know the coupon policy inside and out, and it isn't every day that a shopper comes in and needs an override because she has more coupons than items. Ha!

When I went to check out last night, I handed over my coupons like normal. The cashier then proceeded to tell me that I could not use the $5 off of $30 CVS printable coupon. I politely asked, "Really? Can we just check with a manager? It's okay if I can't use it, but I just want to clear it up for the next time I come in. I've been using printable competitor coupons almost every week, and I've never had a problem. I just want to make sure I'm not doing anything that goes against your coupon policy here."

She called over the manager, and he took one glance at it and immediately said, "Oh yeah, we take that. It's just a competitor coupon." The cashier then told me, "Well, I knew the manager would take it to be nice, but you're really not supposed to use these. The rule is that you can't use printable coupons $5 or more." I politely again told her, "Really? I asked about it when I first started shopping here, and the manager told me they took printable coupons up to $5, but it couldn't be over that." Then the transaction proceeded, and the whole fiasco with the $7 coupon not getting scanned happened...

When I came back inside to help Julie settle that issue with the coupon, I pulled the manager (a different one) aside and asked her about their printable coupon policy. She said, "Oh yeah! No problem at all. We take all printable coupon competitors...Toys R Us and Babies R Us even! It's no big deal at all. Even if it was more than $5, as long as it's a valid competitor coupon, we'll take it! We just have to be careful, because every now and then we get fraud coupons. Your CVS coupon is totally fine though. Keep bringing those in!"

The moral of the story? And the whole reason I'm telling you all of this? Always ask a manager. Most of the time, cashiers will tell you all kinds of different things. It's not their fault. They just don't know the policy, and don't know how to handle huge money-savers like us! The manager usually knows the policy, though, and you always want to check with them. Publix managers are great. I've never had a problem with them! Managers at some of the other retail stores, however, I have had a few problems with...not fun!

Anyways, Julie left the store with me saying, "I'm going to ask a manager next time! I bet that cashier at my store just didn't know the coupon policy."

Also, this is why I have my "favorite cashiers." When I have one bad experience with a cashier, I never go through his/her line again. It's nothing against them personally. I just don't like having to deal with the embarrassment, slow-down, holding others up behind me, and having to call a manager over. I have about 4 or 5 cashiers that I always look for at my Publix, and they are awesome! (None of them were there last night, though! First time ever!)

Pick your cashiers wisely, and ask a manager when problems arise! Happy shopping!

Want to see other Tidbits and Tips for helping you save more? Go HERE to see all of them from the past weeks!

Tuesday Tidbits and Tips: The #1 Rule In Budgeting!

I’m going to let you in on one of my biggest secrets in saving money.

Okay, it’s not that great of a secret, but it definitely makes or breaks my budget!

Here it is...use a calculator when you go grocery shopping! Yep, that simple...

We set a weekly budget of $35 each week. When we go to the store, I always have a calculator in hand. I have my list made, and I shop for the items on the list in order of priority. In other words, I FIRST grab the items that I want/need the most. I keep looking at my calculator, and I add items accordingly throughout the trip, depending on the amount my calculator shows.

Most of the time, when I go to the store without a calculator, I go over budget. If you look back at my November grocery shopping totals from week to week, you will see one week in which I spent $42. I went $7 over the $35 budget. That was a week where I forgot my calculator. There is a reason this happens. When I make my list to go to the store, I always know the price of the items that are on sale and I have coupons for. The produce that I have to buy, however, throws it off some. So, I usually have an estimated total of the sale/coupon items, and then I try to guess the produce totals. It can be difficult, though.

When I shop, I head for the produce first. I weigh all of it on the scale, and calculate it almost to the penny. Then I proceed to the bargain items. I grab all the bargain items that I need, first. Then, there are usually a few bargain items that I want, but really don’t need if I happen to be over budget. Towards the end of the shopping trip, I’ll decide whether or not to add them in the cart.

I am lucky. My husband loves going grocery shopping with me. He thinks it’s fun to see how much I save. He doesn’t understand it all, but he still loves helping me out as best he can. So our normal plan of action is that he pushes the cart and holds the calculator, and I hold the list, pen, and coupons. As I add something to the cart, I tell him the price, and he keeps track of it on the calculator for me. Very convenient! =]

On a side note, when I tell my husband the price...that price is with the coupon, obviously. You might think it’s hard to keep track of what coupons you have for what items, but it’s really not. After making my list and gathering coupons, I always remember exactly what coupons I have for what items.

Oh...and I also recommend paying CASH. It forces you to stay within budget in order to avoid embarrassment at the register. When you pay with a card, you’re much more likely to go over.

Even if you’re not into couponing yet, I recommend setting a budget of what you want to spend each week, and stick to it by using a calculator when you shop! It’s one of the best things you can do for yourself. It helps you only buy items within your budget, and forces you to put back those few items that you don’t necessarily need each week.

Good luck budgeting and saving! =]

Want to see other Tidbits and Tips for helping you save more? Go HERE to see all of them from the past weeks!

Tuesday Tidbits & Tips: Love-Hate Relationship With Shopping On Tuesdays...

So, I got home late from work tonight, frantically tried to print and gather all of my coupons, checked my weekly menu plan to see what few ingredients I needed, gathered everything together, and ran out the door with my hubby to do the weekly Publix grocery shopping...on a Tuesday night...with one day left of this current sale week.

I used to do my grocery shopping on the weekend. I would take a chunk out of Saturday morning for about an hour to leisurely get organized and get everything together. Then, I would go shopping either Saturday or Sunday afternoon. I hate going shopping on weekday nights. It's so tiring and stressful after a long day of work, especially when I have a million other things on my to do list, such as cooking dinner, cleaning, blogging, working out, and spending quality time with the hub. Oh, and I usually try to snatch the CVS, Target, or Walgreens deals during the week, too! *Note: I never get it all done. Something always gives...

I tell myself every single week that next time I will not wait until the last minute to go shopping! The problem is that I've just gotten to where I truly cherish my weekends of down time. I don't want to go shopping on the weekend. So every week, there I find myself again...Monday or Tuesday night, trying to get it all done.

One thing I've learned, though, and thought I'd pass along as a tidbit of advice, is that shopping the end of the sale has its advantage!

If you haven't ventured into the Hot Coupon World forums yet, I highly recommend you do so. This is where I learned everything I know about coupons. I love it. Check out the grocery forums. Most weekly store deals with coupon match-ups are posted a couple of days before the actual ad. For example, the "sneak peek" Publix weekly ad is almost always up by Monday night. Yep, you caught me. I know the Publix deals way before Thursday every week. I just get so behind on my posts, that I never end up posting them until Thursday! But now you know...you can check out Hot Coupon World ahead of time! =)

Anyways, the advantage is that you can see the next week's sale before you go shopping for this week's sale! It has helped me out so many times! It's great! Tonight, for example:

I was going to buy the Yoplait indivudal yogurts, because we are down to the last 3 cups in the fridge, and my hubby was asking me about when we were going to stock up on yogurt again. I thought I would buy him a few to get him through the week, even though they were a little out of my price range for yogurts. They were $.40 - $.50 each. Well, I looked at next week's ad, and our favorite yogurt in the world is going to be BOGO! I love Yo-Plus yogurt. It is SO yummy, it freezes well, and there are always $1/1 coupons. With the coupons and BOGO sale, I never pay more than $.25 per 4-pack! So that's a huge price difference: $.40 per cup versus $.06 per cup!

Also, we go through a lot of shredded cheese. I buy it almost every week. We were out this week, so I was going to stock up on that killer Publix price of 3/$5. Well, I saw in next week's ad that Kraft shredded cheese is going to be that price, plus there are coupons! Therefore, I decided to only buy 2 packages of shredded cheese this week, and I will get more to "stock up on" next week.

Finally, I was going to buy General Mills Chex Cereal, even though it was a much higher price than my target price for cereal ($1 a box). It was priced at $2 a box, even with the coupon I had. Not too good. But, it's a pretty good price on Chex cereal, and I really wanted to grab 2 boxes to make yummy puppy chow Holiday treats this season (think peanut butter, chocolate, and powdered sugar)! I looked at next week's ad, and the Kellogg's Crispix (exact same thing) is on sale next week, and I can get it for FREE after coupons! Needless to say, I decided against buying the Chex cereal this week.

Just thought I'd share that little tidbit of info with you! I recommend getting your shopping out of the way when it is least stressful for you. If you ever find yourself rushing to the store to catch the end of a sale week, though, go check your grocery forum at Hot Coupon World to see what deals might be even better next week! =)

Tuesday Tidbits and Tips: Blinkies & Tearpads

Often, when I am posting deals for stores, you might see coupons called "blinkies or tearpads."

First of all, blinkies are the coupons that slide out of a little machine in the aisle of a store (pictured above). You pull it to take it, and another one comes out. These are most often placed directly in front of the product it can be used on. A tearpad is simply a pad that you can tear coupons off of, usually placed on cardboard displays. They are often seen on end caps of aisles.

Second of all, many people have asked me, "Where do you find that blinkie or tearpad? I don't see it at my store!" Blinkies and tearpads are very random. I often see store deal postings about blinkies and tearpads that I have never seen in my store anywhere. Blinkies and tearpads usually don't expire for a very long time. Their expiration dates are a lot farther out than most normal coupons. Therefore, a lot of times the blinkies or tearpad coupons you are seeing listed in weekly store deal match-ups are from months and months ago. Also, blinkies and tearpads differ from chain to chain, region to region, and even from store to store within a chain.

It can be very frustrating, I know. The best thing you can do is to simply keep your eyes peeled when you are at any store: National Chain, Grocery, or Drug stores. Blinkies and tearpads can be anywhere! Pick up coupons any time you see them, no matter what they are for. You never know when you might use them for a freebie deal later on down the road!

Some people go through various stores looking for these, even if they aren't even planning on shopping there. I don't have the time for that, so I just stick to my few stores that I shop at, and pick up coupons along the way. =]

Hope that helps! In summary, be sure to pick up blinkies and tearpads everywhere you go! Happy couponing!

Tuesday Tidbits and Tips (a little late): Making A List!

Sorry this is late. I was very busy last night!

If you missed last week's Tuesday Tidbits and Tips, I talked about how signing up for freebies can really be great! I also gave some ideas of how to use all the freebies that you sign up for and receive in your mailbox.

This week I just want to give one little piece of advice about "organizing" your freebies. If you really get into signing up for freebies all the time, you will start to lose track of everything you have signed up for, when it is supposed to be here, and what you have already gotten. You might find yourself saying, "Wasn't I supposed to get that? I know it's been at least 5 weeks!"

I find the easiest way to keep track of all my mailbox freebies is by making a simple list. I have a sheet of paper with 4 columns. The labels at the top are:

Product:
Date Requested:
Weeks To Receive:
Received?:

It's that simple! Every time I sign up for a freebie, I write down the product name, the date, and how many weeks I can expect to receive it in (the company usually tells you this). When I receive it in the mailbox, I simply check the "received?" column! It is so simple, and helps me see whether or not I have received something! Some freebies never come. It's just the truth. I can testify to that from my list. Most of them do, though! And a lot of times when I feel like it's been forever and should have received something, I go to my list and see that I still have 2 or 3 weeks left before I can expect to get it!

The system works wonders for me. Try it out (if you want)! Just a suggestion! Oh, and don't forget - be sure to create a separate e-mail address that you use only when signing up for freebies. You don't want to clutter up your personal e-mail inbox!

Have a great day! =)

To see all the topics from past Tuesday Tidbits and Tips, go here!

Tuesday Tidbits and Tips: Freebies In My Mailbox

These are some of the freebies I have received in my mailbox over the past month or so: 2 magazine subscriptions, 6 recipe booklets, 1 calendar with coupons, 1 pregnancy planner notebook, 2 Nabisco calendar coupon booklets, 1 Head and Shoulders sample, 1 kashi cereal sample (with coupon), and 1 Bear Naked granola sample (with coupon). Actually, I took this picture about 2 or 3 weeks ago. Since then, I have gotten more magazines, more recipe booklets, Nature Valley nut clusters and granola bar samples, high value coupons for Kashi, a sample of Philosophy body products, and much more!

I used to be such a skeptic of freebies, especially free samples. When I read blogs, I would skip past all of the free samples and go right to the store deals. I thought, "Who cares about little sample packs of shampoo that only last for one hair washing? Give me some info on how to save on my grocery bill! And I am not giving out my e-mail address a million times!"

Then, one day, I decided to try out a sample. Why not? It was for Dove shampoo, which I love. I walked to my mailbox to get the boring mail full of bills, junk mail, and...a surprise! Isn't it just so great to get real mail addressed to you? It never gets old. I look forward to getting the mail every day. I'm always wondering what new surprise will be in my mailbox. It's always something: a magazine, a sample, a coupon...

I am addicted to freebies now! I sign up for just about every single offer of a free sample. Here are some of the reasons why I love freebies:

1. Like I said, you get a surprise addressed to you when you check the mail! It's something to look forward to, something to brighten your day a little. =)
2. Every little freebie adds up. You wouldn't think that getting 10 samples of shampoo is worth anything, but it really is! That's one less time you have to use regular shampoo that you buy at the store.
3. You can try new things to see if you like them. A perfect example of this is the Nature Valley nut clusters. I received them last week in the mail. I busted them open, tried them, and was instantly craving more after my small bag was empty. They were so yummy! I had a high value coupon for them that I printed recently. I decided to use it at Publix, since they were on sale this week. I got a retail-sized bag for $.90, when they are normally almost $4 a bag! Anyways, it's a chance to see if you like something before you spend the money on it.
4. You can give them to friends or other people who could use them. For example, I get the Parents magazine. I signed up, just because I figured there would be some coupons in it for baby items (which I always buy when free or cheap for my baby shower gift baskets). Now I have a pregnant friend at work, who I can pass the magazine along to!
   
5. Some freebies are just awesome to have, like the recipe booklets. I absolutely love free recipe booklets. I have at least 10-15 of them in my kitchen. They're fun to flip through and get some inspiration! Calendars are great freebies, too!
6. Sample sized toiletries are great for guest bathrooms. When you have guests stay the night, they have a bathroom full of toiletries in case they forgot to bring their own! I have a little compartment in my guest bathroom full of these - soaps, lotions, shampoos, conditioners, toothpastes, etc.
7. Some of the really nice samples make great additions to gift baskets. You could add a recipe booklet to a cooking gift basket. Add a baby item to a baby shower gift basket. Add cleaning product samples to a bridal shower gift basket full of practical household items. You can make an entire beauty gift basket out of beauty samples (perfumes, makeup, etc.) It's great for teens. Or even put a snack basket together for a younger child. There are many options!
8. Free samples are great for traveling. When my husband and I go on a trip, I simply go to the "free sample stash," grab one of everything I need, throw it in a small bag, and I'm ready to go! I don't have to leave my toiletries out of my bag for the next morning's use, in hopes that I don't forget to add them at the last minute. It doesn't take up nearly as much space, either! It's just so much easier, all around.

Also, there are often great deals at CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and Target for trial or travel-sized items. You can often get these for free with coupons. I list these each week with the store's weekly deals. Don't brush these aside anymore, when you see "travel size" in parentheses. Instead, grab that coupon and go get yourself a freebie! Let it be an opportunity to get creative in how to use that awesome free sample!

One last tip, though. I highly recommend you create a separate e-mail account that you use when signing up for coupons, freebies, deals, newsletters, etc. This allows you to have one e-mail for all of the clutter, and your normal e-mail stays personal! Also, when filling out forms, just go for the boxes that must be filled out (have asteriks by them). Don't fill out anything extra that is not required! Makes it quicker, and it's less info you have to give out about yourself...

I hope I've shed a different kind of light on how great freebies can truly be! Have fun collecting some free samples and trial-sized items!!!

What about you? Do you tend to overlook the free samples and trial-sized items? Do you already take advantage of them? Are you now considering signing up for some great freebies? Or maybe you have more ideas on how to make the most of samples? Comment below! =)

Did you miss last week's Tuesday Tidbits and Tips? Go here to read all about the programs you can sign up for to score some awesome high dollar coupons!

Tuesday Tidbits and Tips: Some Programs To Sign Up For!

One of the best ways to receive awesome free samples and hot high value coupons is by signing up for programs on various websites. Here are three of my very favorite ones:

1. Vocal Point - This is the absolute best program ever! I receive surprises from them in my mailbox all the time. They will usually send out free samples, high value coupons, or both! Just last week I received a $3 off of ONE Kashi Go Lean cereal coupon (along with five or six $1.50/1 coupons as well). You never know what you will find in your mailbox with this great program! So go sign up! They also have a great website, so be sure to browse around.

2. Kraft First Taste - Very similar to Vocal Point. Just recently, I received 2 coupons for FREE mac n cheese! They send out many different great samples and coupons.

3. Pssst - Also very similar to the two programs above. The only difference I've noted is that I don't receive items or coupons nearly as often with this one. It's still a great program, though, so be sure to sign up for this one too! Most of the time, they give you a chance to try products that are brand new on the shelves, FOR FREE!

So have fun signing up for these three programs. Trust me, they will give you something to look forward to when you check your mailbox every day! =)

Did you miss last week's Tuesday Tidbits and Tips? Go here to read all about resolving problems when printing coupons from the computer.

Tuesday Tidbits and Tips : Printable Coupon Links

Ever come to this blog (or any other blog/website) to print a coupon from a link, and then it won't print? It just keeps saying "please wait" but it never prints? It has to do with which browser you are using. All you have to do is change 1 or 2 little letters in the web address, and your problems will be over forever! Here's a hint:

Example of a Bricks Coupons Internet Explorer link:

http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=qgcicyr18009850&bt=vi&o=56289&pt=&lang=&ws=&ct=&ci=&cl=&cp=&eb=1&c=MF&p=2781186&z=&r=&pc=&tc=

See the "vi" in red? Sometimes it says "wi" also...

To make this link a Firefox link:

You need to change the "vi" to "vg" or the "wi" to "wg":

http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=qgcicyr18009850&bt=vg&o=56289&pt=&lang=&ws=&ct=&ci=&cl=&cp=&eb=1&c=MF&p=2781186&z=&r=&pc=&tc=

If you use Safari:

You need to replace the "vi", "wg", "vg" or "wi" with "xs".

You can also reverse any of these (Firefox to IE, Safari to Firefox, etc.)

When I found out about this 8 months ago, I couldn't have been happier! I was so frustrated with never being able to print Bricks coupons on the FireFox browser.

And for the record, I try to provide an Internet Explorer (IE) and FireFox (FF) link for coupons that have the problem, but sometimes I forget. Now you know what to do, though! Pass the info on to your friends! =)