Showing posts with label Coupons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coupons. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Coupon Binder - Take Three -Photos

Goodness! It is hard to believe that I haven't posted anything in 5 days! I do apologize, I really wanted to post the binder pictures.... but I was unable to log on from my own laptop to upload my photos. My new camera never did arrive in time thanks to DHL. So, it will be arriving tomorrow. The pictures I'm going to post are okay. Not great, but they are the best I could do. It will be interesting to compare them with the new camera when it arrives

Now, onto the coupon binder, and the photos. I used the baseball card inserts that my friends suggested as well as the 4x6 photo sheets. (These were also suggested). My friend Jennifer used the Post It tabs and so I also implemented that idea to be able to really categorize each section. To get the internet printed coupons into the baseball inserts, I just folded them. Some people might not like to do this, but I don't mind. I suppose for those that like them straight and unfolded, you could use the photo sheets

I also want to add that dh had this binder just laying around the house from a job interview he had two years ago. (For the job he is at now). He never uses it, so I asked to have it! It is way cool, with handles to carry it and a zipper to keep everything intact. So here it is.... binder, categories and inserts!








Thursday, March 20, 2008

My Coupon Binder- Take Two

Okay, that was a little longer break than I anticipated.... lol! My old camera is so not cooperating with me! The photos I took came out very poor. My new camera is supposed to be coming in the mail here any day. I had it sent to Florida because I didn't want to have it arrive while we were away. But they emailed me shortly after saying that the shipping was delayed. I'll be really disappointed if it arrives the day after we leave. So say a prayer it arrives today or tomorrow!

Let me start by listing how I have the binder categorized. This is my favorite part and really works well for me. I'm the type of person that needs things in categories! Sorry for the crazy formatting.... I am a stickler for that kind of stuff, but I have fiddled with it enough and that's all the time I have! The bullet points are the subcategories that I have those sections broken down into.

I used the post it file tabs that my friend Jennifer at All Things Frugal used. It's a fantastic idea and combined with my label maker looks really good! So here they are: (I will try to take some better photos and post them next....)

Baby
Bags
Baking
Beverages
Canned
Cereal
Cleaning

  • Air Freshener
  • All Purpose
  • Bathroom
  • Dishes
  • Disinfectant
  • Floor
  • Furniture/Glass
  • Laundry
Condiments

Dairy
  • Beverage
  • Bread
  • Butter
  • Yogurt
Frozen

Hygiene
  • Deodorant
  • Feminine
  • Hair
  • Lotion
  • Makeup
  • Medicine
  • Soap
  • Vitamins
Meat
Misc
Oral Care
PBJ Bread
Paper/Plastic/Wrap
  • Tissues
  • Towels
  • TP
  • Wraps
Rice Etc.
  • Mexican
  • Pasta etc
Snacks
Restaurants

    Wednesday, March 19, 2008

    My Coupon Binder....Take One

    Jenny sent me the following email right before I left for vacation:

    Hi. I am wondering if you would post pictures of your coupon binder? I remember you blogging about making it, but it would be neat to see the finished product. I have been "couponing" for about a month and would love to get more organized...those coupons are taking over my house :) Also, I'm wondering how you get the large Internet printed coupons to fit in the baseball card holders?

    Absolutely! I'd love to display my coupon binder. But with one caveat: I totally got the idea from many others. The gals at the following websites are friends of mine, so I had the opportunity to not only read their sites, but check out their coupon binders in person. :-) What's a Girl To Do? Living Sensibly, All Things Frugal and Growing-in-Grace. I also checked out Laura Williams Musings. I gathered ideas from all these folks and included some ideas from Money Saving Mom, who inspired my first coupon organizer.

    Let me quickly give some history. My first binder idea I got straight from Crystal at Money Saving Mom. I had every item I needed already in my house, and so I just worked at labeling the sections and getting them in an old Rubbermaid shoe box. I was being over run with coupons and needed a system fast! I was happy to be so organized, but quickly learned it was a pain to carry them around in that shoe box at the stores, and even if I left them in the car, who wants to run out to the car to get extra coupons when you see something unadvertised on sale. Plus anticipating adding two small children to our household, there would be no place to put the box when a child needs to sit in the shopping cart (or buggy as they say in the south). I didn't even want to think about that box of coupons flipping over! Yikes! So, I began to think about the coupon binders that my friends had made. To view the old organizer click HERE.

    I'll be back in a bit to post photos of the new binder and show what products I used, and how I organized each section.

    Tuesday, March 18, 2008

    Hearing Aid Batteries....

    For those of you folks that have hearing aids or parents who have hearing aids....or maybe grandparents who have them. Here is a deal I found today:

    My dad was going to purchase hearing aid batteries at CVS today as they were on sale. I quickly showed him two websites where he could print coupons and save even more money. Click HERE and HERE for those websites....to get $2 off Energizer hearing aid battery coupons.

    Anyway, we went to CVS and the batteries they advertised were not the correct size he needed. But Walgreens had 8 EZ change batteries on sale for $5.99 (The same batteries were $8.99 at CVS). So with the two coupons they ended up being $3.99 each. He was so pleased...and we'll be going back again tomorrow to get 2 more sets.

    I plan on helping him out whenever I can by sending him hearing aid battery coupons. Those things are expensive and they don't last very long either. Too bad I never see ECB's for those! lol!

    Wednesday, March 5, 2008

    Coupons and the Food Network....

    Can you believe it's almost Thursday and I haven't tackled my coupons yet? I bought 3 papers and was given the inserts to two more. Until a few hours ago I hadn't cut one coupon! Dh helped me cut a few, and I have many more to go.... I'm swimming in them! lol! Sifting through them to put them in my binder should be fun. (Not!) Thank goodness for the Food Network....so I can sort of watch TV while I clip...Anyone else try to multi task while you clip?

    Or for that matter anyone watch the Food Network? What's your favorite show? I have many... Iron Chef is awesome, and Mission Impossible (or something like that) is good too. Any cake competitions I love, and I'm not sure if it's on this network, but the Ace of Cakes is great too!

    Saturday, February 23, 2008

    Oust BOGO coupons

    Just a quick deal: For those of you with a Publix that has Oust BOGO, here is a coupon you can print twice for Oust Buy one get one free. (Make sure your printer is ready) I know Publix will take one of the coupons, but since they split the price of the BOGO and apply it to each item individually, only $1.69 got taken off my bill. (I didn't check it until I was home, or I would have tried the second coupon or combined with a $1.oo off coupon that I had). Anyway, this coupon might help someone, as that Oust sure is expensive on it's own!

    OUST BOGO Coupon

    Saturday, February 16, 2008

    Coffee-Mate Coupons


    I love Coffee-mate French Vanilla Creamer. My sister actually got me hooked on this a year ago, and I am now brand loyal!

    I signed up to receive a free bottle of Coffee-mate here. Then because I registered, I received an email letting me know about some Coffee-mate coupons I could print...If you go there you too can register and print coupons for $1.00 off (1) package of Coffee-mate liquid or powder. It will allow you to print two coupons, with two different SKU's. Then they also have $1.50 off of 2 packages of Coffee-mate liquid or powder. This coupon is also allowed to be printed two times. (Just click the back button once it has printed once.) Click here for the coupons....Coffee-mate.

    Thursday, February 14, 2008

    More Coupons!!

    In the mail today came two envelopes! One contained the coupons I ordered from The Coupon Clippers....and the other contained the coupons that my mom sent me! Yeah!!

    I called my mom to thank her for sending me the coupons! She rocks! So, now I have to start organizing a whole slew of new coupons again. I sure hope next weeks deals are good! I've already started planning out my menu using stuff I've got on hand.

    In other news: I have not done the year end filing yet... can you say PROCRASTINATION? Kind of like laundry in my house. And I am not even going to talk about taxes.... for those that have filed and already received a tax refund.... picture me with my fingers in my ears....... "LaLaLaLaLa....... I can't hear you....." LOL!

    Coupon Cartoons

    I was at Pubix last night, and my favorite cashier said to me, "Hi Coupon Lady! I don't know what I'm gonna do if I ever see you in my line without coupons? I think I'll go into shock or something!" lol!

    Thursday, February 7, 2008

    What would you do for some coupons??

    Last week our local Bi-Lo was offering tripled coupon savings for the third week. I had to take advantage of that, and I'm glad I did as this week they are not... Bummer! But also at my local Publix they had a BOGO deal that was very sweet to our family. I mentioned it in an earlier post... Johnsonville Sausage BOGO...one of my husband's favorites. We like it on pasta, or just in the crockpot and served with peppers and onions on Italian rolls. Dh loves to take the leftovers to work during the week. How could I pass that up? Only I didn't have the coupons for the sausage as I used them up at Bi-Lo the previous week. (But who knew Publix would put them on a BOGO deal???)

    My friends to the rescue!! I had posted on one of my homeschool group boards that I was looking for the Johnsonville coupons as those were a hit in my family. I asked if anyone had any they weren't using to email me and I'd arrange to pick them up. 1st email, my friend S., she thinks she has the coupons and will call me if she does so I can meet up with her. She calls me later and we agree to meet at Publix. Yeah! I sat down to dinner that evening and after dinner, I went to logon to my computer. Email from my friend J.- she is at basketball practice and will be there until 7pm.. (12 minutes from now). The subject says I have the coupons you need. Ack! I grab my purse and keys and yell to dh...I'm heading out to meet J.....she has the sausage coupons I need!! I can save $6.00! He chants as I run out the door..."Go Jackie Go, Go Jackie Go!" (I'm serious). I yell "If S. calls tell her to call me on my cell!" It's pouring rain, my windshield wipers are smearing- not wiping, and I'm trying to get there as quickly and safely as I can. I make it to J. and give her a big hug for helping me out! I'm also just glad I made it safely and in time. lol! We talk about the deals we got this week, and I check out her coupon binder...I'm envious.... and then I head home. Get a call from S. about 30 minutes later and meet her at Publix. I had fun hanging out with her and helping her while she finished her shopping...

    Now fast forward a few days. It's another rainy/foggy night. I get a call in the evening from another friend K. "Hey Jackie, I was wondering if you wanted the sausage coupons still? Because I'm at Publix and I will not be using them." Me: I'll be right there! So I yell to dh once again....K. has sausage coupons for me....I'm headed out to get them...I'll be back in a bit! He by now is quite familiar with the drill.... and is just pleased as punch that I'm saving money at all. $18.00 on one of his favorite meals is a bonus. LOL! I hung out for a bit talking with K. about making homemade cards. Very, very cool and something she is going to teach me!

    So, now my freezer is full of Johnsonville sausage, and that's what I did for some coupons.... lol! What a great bunch of friends!!!

    Monday, February 4, 2008

    Review: Coupon Clipping Service

    Last week, frustrated with the lack of coupons in our local paper, I decided to go ahead and try a coupon clipping service. You can see that post HERE. Several of my friends were interested in this service and asked me to write a review .…so here it is!

    The service that I used is called The Coupons Clippers. Let me give a little background on this small business. It is run by a homeschooling mom of 5 children, who is married to a pastor of a small Baptist church. This business is a way for their family to have an extra income to help augment the small Pastor’s salary. If you would like to read more about her family and the operations Click Here. She has a very interesting “About Us” page.

    When you get to the site, everything is arranged and organized very well. You can search aisle by aisle (their way of saying by category), or by the beginning letter of the product you are looking for. So, let’s say you are looking for Morningstar Farms Veggie Foods Products… you can click on the M-O section and if they have the coupons available you will see it. (It is there by the way, I checked). You can also do a search by typing in a specific coupon as well. I was looking for coupons in general, so I browsed by category so I could peruse a wide variety of coupons I might need. The search functions truly help, so I don’t have to look very hard for what coupons I need. The following are the aisle by aisle categories:
    Baby/Children, Baked Goods, Beverages, Breakfast Products, Condiment/Baking, Coupon Carriers, Dairy,Deli Meats/Cheese, Energy/Diet, Ethnic Foods, Expireds, Feminine Products, Forms(Rebate Forms), Frozen Foods, Health Foods, Health and Beauty Aids, Household, Insect Control, Laundry, Legwear/Clothing, Meats, Media, Pantry, Paper/Plastic, Pet, Pharmacy, Produce, Refrigerated, Restaurant Coupons, Sauces, Snacks, Store Coupons, Unclassified,

    Then let’s say you want to peruse the aisle Health and Beauty Aids. That encompasses a lot! When you click on that aisle, it further breaks down your coupons by category and also lists the number of coupons they have available. Here is what you might find depending on the number of coupons available:

    Deoderant 13 coupon
    Fragrance 0 coupons
    Hair Crae 23 coupons
    Hair Coloring 10 coupons
    Lotions/Cremes 42 coupons
    Make-up 19 coupons
    Misc. 0 coupons
    Nail Care 0 coupons
    Oral Care 39 coupons
    Sanitizer 0 coupons
    Shaving Products 9 coupons
    Shower Products 14 coupons

    Then if you click on any one of the above listed categories, you will find the coupons to order. I copied and pasted a piece of the website to give you an idea of what it would look like. As you can see it gives you a blank to enter the quantity of coupons you need. The one thing I wasn’t crazy about is most times you must order a min. quantity of 5. I suppose we would eventually use those coupons, but I watch to check the expiration, and to make sure it’s something we would use a lot of. You can go to the HOT section (see below) as they list coupons in individual quantities in that section.

    The order section tells you the quantity they have available, the minimum order quantity, the value of the coupon, the date of coupon expiration, and the handling fee which is the amount they charge you. In the case below it is $0.12 per coupon.


    If you didn’t want to search aisle by aisle they have an alphabetical search by product on the top of the main page. Included on this banner is a Hot section, that lists all the coupons that are really good and popular. There are several great value coupons that are almost out of stock, as people snap them up, knowing they will use them later on before they expire. There is also a NEW section, which lists all the most recent coupons. They even have a Gluten Free section which if you click on it, lists all the gluten free products that offer a coupon.

    After you have placed all your coupons in your cart you proceed to check out. If you find that you have selected a quantity in error or even a coupon that you decide you don’t need, just go to the “My Shopping Cart” page, and there is an option to delete it or change the quantity. At checkout they take Mastercard/Visa, Paypal and they do take cash, checks or money orders ($25 minimum mailed in advance). You will receive a confirmation email almost immediately after you place your order, letting you know when it will be processed and mailed out. Mine took one day to process and mail, and I was sent another email informing me that my order had indeed been sent. A very nice touch in this day and age of internet business. The Coupon Clippers are located in Dade City Florida, so take that into account for how long it would take to receive your coupons.

    The three things I like most about this website….

    1. They are well organized and provide lots of detailed information. The available quantity, value and expiration dates, really help me determine if the coupon is something I will need.

    2. I also really like the selection! Some of these coupons I never get to see….our paper just doesn’t carry the inserts, or they may be older, and I missed them. So, I love to be able to get coupons after the fact, and pick and choose the ones that I would use.

    3. Finally, I like the convenience of this website. It's a great way to stock up on additional coupons that you know you will use! If I need extra coupons, that I know are a really good value, then all I have to do is hop on my computer, and order then from The Coupon Clippers. They’ll be in my mailbox within the week.

    For more information about The Coupon Clippers visit their FAQ page.

    Sunday, January 27, 2008

    Coupons Inserts....

    I just have to gripe for a minute.... our paper recently switched from the Valassis coupon insert to something called Red Plum. I have to say, I feel completely jipped out of an extra coupon insert each week, especially when I see what is listed in the Valassis. Secondly, the Red Plum is pretty much worthless. 8 coupons in the entire thing. Eight! And 5 of those were for dog food, and we don't own a dog. I really wish I knew what the deal is and why our paper switched. The larger metro paper doesn't carry either one (Red Plum or Vallassis). I am seriously considering finding out if the large metro area northwest of us carries better coupons. Maybe my mom can send me some from Florida.

    Anyway, because I was so dissatisfied with the coupons inserts this weekend, and it was an unusually busy weekend as well..... I only got two papers. Not a big deal, since I wasn't enamored with the selection.... but there were a few things in there that I really could use. So this is what I did and it cost a little less than buying 2 more papers. It worked really well for me!

    I went to The Coupon Clippers site and selected my coupons to have clipped and sent to me. They will be mailed to me today. Yeah! A few things I missed because I didn't start clipping coupons until January....so I'm missing all of December. Plus, if you are savvy and you see a good coupon come out...like the recent Electrosal... it would be worth it to order those and use them again later! I wish they still had them, but of course since they came out a few weeks ago, they have all been snapped up. Anyway, this is another option for those who would like some extra coupons.... As long as I keep it under what I would pay for a couple of papers...I will do this again!

    Thursday, January 17, 2008

    Organized Coupons...

    Several of my friends have shared how they organized all of their stash of coupons. Trust me, after several weeks of cutting multiple coupon inserts...you're gonna need to be organized! Too much paper floating around the house! Mine is in our homeschool room, which happens to be where I blow dry my hair. (Yes, I know that's odd, but I multi-task and surf the net while I dry!) lol! Anyway, with all that paper everywhere.... all I could think was one wrong move with the blow dryer...and it will be raining coupons!!

    Anyway, I organized them using a method I found from Crystal over at Money Saving Mom. Click her link for a great blog post on how to organize all those coupons...she offers a wealth of information. Click the following to see how others have organized theirs What's a Girl To Do? and Living Sensibly.

    Here is a picture of my organizer...and nope it's not as snazzy as a binder (which I think are so cool), but this bare bones method works for me. It cost me absolutely nothing to pull together. I had the envelopes, index cards, staples, marker and even the plastic storage box! I bring it with me everywhere I shop, and just bring in the store envelopes filled with coupons that I will be using. The rest stay in the car in case I see something that I didn't expect to be on sale, and I have a coupon for it. I've included a few close ups of the envelopes for different stores, and then two subcategories in my coupon filing system. Maybe one of the ideas mentioned here would work for you!





    Wednesday, January 16, 2008

    Triple Coupons-Bi-Lo

    My friend Kris got a tip earlier today that one of the grocery stores in our area was running an unadvertised promotion of triple coupons. Now, I have to say that I am not really a fan of this grocery store....and so I filed the information for later research. I found out that I had NO CLUE how triple coupons work. I know what your thinking....

    "How is that possible? I mean really you just triple the coupon, it's simple math. And by the way weren't you a business major in college?"

    Yes, I mean business management was my thing...so you'd think I would have known this.... BUT, I never really clipped coupons before. Not like I'm doing now, and I never knew how to use the coupons to the best advantage.... so I really was clueless! In my mind I thought that they tripled up to $1.00. Don't ask me why, but I thought $1.00 was the maximum you could get on any coupon. So, $0.50 coupon would double to $1.00. $0.35 would almost triple to $1.00. Get it???

    I was sooo wrong! I just confirmed this with the same Kris above in an email, that if I had a $.075 coupon, the grocery store would triple it to $2.25 off!!! I am so not kidding you!! Anyone else feel giddy at the possibilities here? lol! I swear who needs drugs, alcohol or even sugar for that matter....this is such a rush! (Okay, sugar would be nice sometimes too).

    So, I pulled all my coupons of the things that we need or could stock up on. All the coupons are under $1.00, since they won't bother tripling $1.00 or over. I'm going to take my time tomorrow sometime going to the store and seeing what would be the best deal. I'm going to have a list of of items and the final dollar amount after tripling, and I'm also going to have my calculator to see what my final amount might be.... But I will need to think while I'm there, so it's not the best trip to bring the kiddos. Especially since every other sentence will be... "Can we get this, or can we get that?" :-)

    Oh, I really hope it's gonna be a good shopping day tomorrow!

    Coupons Preview Website

    This is a website that I go to frequently to see the weeks current list of coupons. It's alphabetically listed by flyer, so I can see if I overlooked a coupon or two from my grocery list. Plus they have online printable grocery coupons, plus printable CVS coupons and much more! I also go to this site to see the Coupon Previews for the coming week. This was, since our grocery stores run their ads until Wednesday or Thursday, I can see if a coupon is coming out that Sunday for an item on sale. If it looks like sweeter deal, it will be worth it for me to save those items for a quick trip in on Monday or Tuesday after the coupons have come out that week. Make sense? This site is a fabulous resource!

    Here is the link for the website, and I've included it under Blogs I read as well. Click Here!