The Krazy Coupon Lady

This is the lady that got me thinking about writing this blog...she really has it going on and has been featured on Extreme Couponing on TLC. Here is a link to her site. You can also follow her on Facebook http://thekrazycouponlady.com/2011/04/22/new-organize-in-style-coupon-book/?utm_source=feedburner

How to Read a Blog on Blogger

Please remember that Blogger always posts the current entry first, so PLEASE either scroll down to the older posts or click on the dates that I posted earlier threads for very important information about how stores in our area except coupons. It's just the way Blogger is setup. I have all the stores listed that take internet coupons and which stores double their coupons. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to the entry titled "Can You Coupon Successfully In a Rural Community?" and work your way up.
Thanks,
Cindi

Printable Coupon Site

This site is fabulous for savings on grocery items to toys....Walmart, Martins and Foodlion all take internet coupons, so do Family Dollar and Dollar General. The link for this site is http://www.coupons.com/couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=15557&zid=kt96&nid=10&clickid=0004a15b98bf6dc30ae0d2c2aa9522b7&bid=alk04200804243fe0f9a1917316

Don't Forget our Military

You can send your expired coupons to military families overseas and abroad and they can use them in the commissary on base..Please give back to those who struggle and fight to keep the USA free. Here is a link that should be current with addresses that you can send them to. Expired diaper coupons are greatly appreciated. http://www.grocerysavingtips.com/expiredgrocerycoupons.htm

Family Dollar Stores

They are renovating both Family Dollar stores in Romney and that means there is going to be more room for grocery items...also don't forget that coupons are not just for food. Cosmetics, shampoo, toothpaste and whiteners...all kinds of non food items can also be purchased with coupons, so keep an eye out for any of those. Also, Family Dollar stores also distribute coupon books monthly and of course they take manufacture coupons. Here is this weeks flyer ad...happy shopping http://www.familydollar.com/pages/hotitems.aspx

More FREEBIES

I have used this site many times and continue to get freebies...this site DOES NOT pull in malware or spyware into your computer. There are tons of great deals and freebies and sometimes they give away FULL SIZE items. http://www.freeflys.com/register.php?noph=1&gclid=CIrxpI2FqagCFYFM5QodPVd1Hg

Keep On Top of Ads

Every week most of us get the Hampshire Review and the Weekender with ads for Food Lion, CVS, Rite Aid, Family Dollar and Dollar General. Keep on top of the bargins each week and use those MVP, CVS and Rite Aid savings cards. It's fun to challenge yourself each week to see how much you saved, so another thing to do is get a small box or ziploc and keep your receipts from week to week to look back and see how much you are saving. It can also give you a baseline to find out where you started and how you can get better at finding the deals.

Timing is everything too. Knowing when to use your coupons is what will set you apart everyone else. How you use them will distinguish you from the amateurs, separate you from pretenders and define you as a great couponer! Couponing success is much less about what coupons you have and much more about at what times you will use them! By following these three rules you can be absolutely certain that you’re getting the most out of your coupons.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is using a coupon just because you have it. The key is to wait until that item goes on sale or the store runs a promotion. Nearly all stores run a weekly ad with newly slashed prices and great promotions like: Buy 1 Get 1 Free, Spend $15 on these products get $5 back, Buy 4, Save $4 instantly. When you’re certain the item is marked at a bargain price or the promotion is too good to pass up then add a coupon on top of it and you’ve just scored an amazing deal!

“Stacking”, or using more than one coupon on the same product, is a fabulous way to save money. Nearly all stores allow you to use both a manufacturer coupon and a store coupon together on one item. By combining both types of coupons when purchasing one item you’re sure to get tremendous savings.

County Pride is the only store in our community “double” coupons, meaning they accept your coupon at twice the face value. So if a coupon is $0.50 off one item, the store will honor that coupon at $1.00 off. County Pride DOUBLES their coupons EVERYDAY up to $0.50

The absolute perfect scenario occurs when more than one of these rules align. That’s how you end up bringing home items for free, or better yet, how you leave the store with more money in your pocket than you came with. Since I just started this extreme couponing, this it hasn't happened yet. I will be sure to let EVERYONE know when it does. I like to shop at County Pride because they are a privately owned and operated store and they give Food Lion a run for their money a lot of the time. Reminder...County Pride DOES NOT take internet coupons.

FREEBIES

Everyone wants to get stuff for free, but this website is a great way to pass on the freebies to your friends...you can join through your Facebook account or just on the site it self. It's a very simple site to navigate and you'll be happy you found it. The link is http://www.guide2free.com/

Maps and Binders

Make a map of every store that you shop at AND buy a binder with inserts for each store. Write down your grocery list according to each aisle. You can buy binders and inserts at Walmart. The inserts should be the kind that you use to collect baseball card with. It sounds like a lot of work, but if you want to be a great couponer it will be worth it . You can also buy the small according style coupon holders and label each slot by each aisle of the store. This method cheaper, but by using the binder method, you can put the map of the store at the front of the binder AND you can see the coupons you are planning to use. Everyone develops the best way that works for them, so it's entirely up to to the individual.

Buying Coupons on Ebay

I just discovered that buying coupons on Ebay can be cheaper than buying all those Saturday and Sunday newspapers..well in most cases. People are selling coupons in same item grouping...I just bought ten Tide coupons for .99 cents with FREE shipping.

I was almost out the door to go buy the Sunday papers and something went through my head saying "go look on Ebay"....my intuition was correct. l am still going to buy the papers, but now I don't have to buy a bunch, because it can add up to big bucks and I may not get the coupons that I will use. You can also go and sign up for coupons at the manufactures websites and get coupons sent to you or get REAL printable coupons.

What I like most about the Ebay deal is you can make your grocery list and then look for them on Ebay to buy. There are coupon clipping services out there, but I will get into those later when I research them more. I appreciate you reading my blog and being patient with me as we go on this journey together. REMEMBER to scroll to the bottom of this blog to begin at the beginning....HAPPY COUPONING EVERYONE .....please leave your comments here or on Facebook, you can also email me at wvcoupongurl@gmail.com

How to Read a Blog on Blogger

Many people don't understand that here on Blogger the beginning entry is always the last post at the bottom of the page, so you have to scroll down to the bottom or click on the right hand side at the dates of the LEAST current post. Remember, I am learning this whole extreme couponing thing along with you, so if you have some questions or advice you can leave a comment here,send me an email or message me on Facebook.

Right now, I am focusing on the Hampshire County area, because it's what I know. Later, I will expand out to the other areas, so everyone can plan shopping trips father away, since it looks like gas prices are not going down anytime soon. I hope you can be patient with me as we take this saving and couponing trip together
Cindi

Baby Coupons

One of the best things that I did while my daughter was pregnant was sign her up for every formula site there was. You can get all kinds of REAL samples such as full size cans of powdered formula, plus check for free baby food and diaper coupons for up to $3.00 to $5.00 or more off. You can also subscribe to American Baby magazine for free. Just Google, Similac, Enfamil, and Gerber and the sites can direct you to the pages where you can sign up for real deals. MAKE sure that it is a BRAND name site such as www.similac.com
As long as you go to the BRAND name site you will run less of a chance of printing off fake coupons and have less chance to pull in malware into your computer, plus you have a chance of getting great samples and freebies.

Can You Coupon Successfully In a Rural Community?

The answer to this question would be "yes, you can." In our small community we have no Wal-Mart, Kroger,Walgreens or Target, but we do have Food Lion, County Pride, Family Dollar stores, Dollar General stores, a CVS drugstore and a Rite Aid drug store. Although in the past,it have may not have seemed that the thought of couponing in a small community was worth it, but the extreme rise in gas prices is making it a necessity. I just recently found out that ALL of the "dollar" stores, Food Lion, CVS and Rite Aid do take coupons including internet coupons. Their scanners can tell whether or not the internet coupons are fake or real, which is a great surprise. County Pride does NOT take the internet coupons, however, they have DOUBLE coupons EVERYDAY!!

How to get coupons in our area is the next question. The Washington Post, Cumberland Times-News, Martinsburg Journal and The Winchester Star most of the time have coupons in their papers on Sundays. Each paper has different coupons for their particular area, but the manufacturer coupons are mostly the same. A LOT of people throw the inserts away, so sometimes it pays to ask your neighbors or family members if they can help out by giving you the inserts or the coupons that they do not use.

So, please subscribe to my blog and find out the great deals and coupons that are available. In my next entry I will be covering where the best sites there are to get online coupons, hopefully without pulling in Malware, Spyware or viruses into your computer.