Intro to coupons

Many of you have requested that I do a post on coupons and how I save as much money as I do. The coupon thing has expanded for me lately, so I am new to doing it as much as I am now. I am certainly not an expert, but I am saving a lot of money and will let you know what is working for me.

I attended a class in May that taught me a lot about coupons and newspaper subscriptions. It was at this class that I signed up for a years worth of two newspapers for Friday, Saturday, and Sundays (they do not offer only Sunday). I paid about $70 I think for the two of them, which is a great deal. In my area, it is possible to get up to four subscriptions of the newspaper to one household. I started with two to see if I liked it. In theory, the “extra” papers’ coupons are used to stock your house, and get a food/supply storage going.

After you start receiving your Sunday papers, it takes a few weeks before you get a good supply of coupons that will apply to almost everything on sale at the stores. The first few months of this process, you will spend MORE not LESS because you are stocking up, and it is really fun, and hard to pass up any coupon and sale combo.

I just added up my totals for the month of June. For every store I went to and everything I bought there (including Father's day gifts, 4th of July clothes for the girls, etc.) I spent $440.89 for 237 items (an average of $1.86 an item) and saved $296.64 or 67%!!! Not bad for my first month!!!

While at the class, I was told by a friend about some great coupon sites as well. I have listed them and given links under “My favorite coupon sites”. I have used these sites in combination with Sunday coupons, and the printed coupons that the sites lead me to or recommend. As of yet, I have not gotten into rebates. Currently, it feels like too much work, but I will let you know if that changes.