Pilot G2 Gel Pens 2 pk $1.00 - $1.00 Register Reward = FREE
Paper Clips 100 pack .19
Flexible or Wooden Ruler 12 in .19
10 pk Yellow Pencils .29
2 pk Pink or 15 pk cap erasers .29
Poly Binder .39
Glue 4oz .39
24 pack crayons .49
8 pk jumbo crayons .49
Scotch 4x7 to 10.5x15in Mailer .59
7 to 10 pk Clasp Envelopes .59
Crayola Colored Pencils 12 pk .99
Filler Paper 260 - 280 sheets 1.50
3 Subject Notebook 120 sheets .99
Walmart (deals I found on Friday--probably the same for next week)
10 pk Carola markers (skinny ones) 1.00
24 pk Rose Art crayons .20
1 subject notebooks .15
2 pocket folders .15
Staples
Buy any backpack, get 100% back in Staples Rewards. It's like getting a FREE backpack! Limit 1 backpack per mailing address. Must be a member of Staples Rewards®.
FREE After Easy Rebate - Limit 1 per household. While Supplies Last.
Zebra® Cadoozles® 0.7 mm mechanical pencils, 10/pack $2.99-$2.99 easy rebate = FREE after rebate
Zebra® Sarasa® retractable gel pens, medium, black, 5/pack $4.99-$4.99 easy rebate = FREE after rebate
Good shopping and coupons are not only for groceries. This time of year you can get some screaming good deals on school supplies.
Even if you don't have any school age kids, this is the perfect time to stock up on pens, pencils, whatever you fancy. I will try and post the good deals I find, as over the next month or so there will be great deals.
If you find great deals I miss, please comment and let me know. Your email me at coupons [at] emmymom2 [dot] com
Walmart:
70-page spiral notebooks .15 each! Yep, you read that right. I have seen them as low as .05 at Walmart. I buy a ton when they are this price and then whenever my kids want paper to draw on I just give them a notebook.
24 box crayons .30
CVS:3 Day Sale Only! 7/12, 7/13 and 7/14
2 Pocket folders .05 each! (does not list any limits)
CVS brand glue .99 --but get .99 reward bucks* so FREE (limit 2)
Paper Mate Grip Pens 8 pk .99--but .99 reward bucks so FREE (limit 3)
CVS wood or plastic 12" ruler .99--but .99 reward bucks so FREE (limit 2)
CVS 3 or 5 subject notebooks .99--after 3.00 buck rewards (limit 2) [[best deal ONLY if need more than a one subject notebook]]
5" blunt or pointed scissors 2.99--but 2.99 extra buck rewards so FREE (limit 2)
Penway 8 pk Mechanical pencils or 5 pk with grip .59
Penway 12 pk colored pencils .59
Pilot Easy Touch Pens 2 or 3 pk .99
Friskars Pointed or Blunt Scissors .79
Penway 80 sheet composition notebook .79
Penway 24 pk yellow pencils .79
Filler paper 120 or 130 2/$1 - limit 4 with in-ad coupon
1 subject notebook 60 or 70 sheets 3/$1 - limit 6 with in-ad coupon
2 pocket folder with prongs 8/$1 - limit 8 with in-ad coupon
sharpie permanent marker 2/$1 - limit 4 with in-ad coupon
Staples: 7/12-7/18 {In-ad coupon ~ $5 off any in-store purchase of $20 or more - valid 7/12-7/18}
1¢ Items - valid from 7/12-7/15 only!
#2 yellow pencils, 8/pack--Limit 2
Staples 8.5" x 11" copy paper, 500 sheets $3.69-$3.68 easy rebate = .01 after rebate LIMIT 2
$1.00 Items - Limit 2 per customer
Acme Junior 5" Blunt or Pointed Scissors, 2 pack
Bic Wite-Out Quick Dry, 2 Pack
Bic Velocity Stick Fashion Pens, assorted, 5-pack
Scotch Magic Tape
Sharpie Major Accent Highlighters, assorted, 6-pack
Staples Mini Magnetic Stapler
Staples Pink Wedge Erasers, 3 pack
Staples Translucent Pencil Boxes, assorted colors
* CVS bucks are received when you use your free CVS card. They are basically like in-store credits. They usually have an expiration date (about two months I think--it will say on the receipt) So then just make sure you use that money to buy something you needed anyway and it is a great deal. Or you can even buy some of the stuff, then use your bucks in a separate transaction to get the rest.
Have you had a great shopping trip yet? A trip where you used lots of coupons and saved lots of money? Have you left the store feeling successful and amazing?
Do you want to know the quickest way to lose that feeling? Going over your budget. Sales and coupons now matter how great they are, if you are spending more than your budget, well it defeats the whole purpose.
So what do you do? First you need a budget. This is something that definitely deserves a nice sit down between you and your significant other. I used to have a food budget and then would just buy clothes and other stuff when I needed it. But this left me feeling a little guilty if I would buy something for me as I wasn't sure if I had money for it.
So Eric and I sat down and looked at our budget and now I get paid a weekly amount. With my money, I am responsible for buying food, clothes and household things that may be needed; but whatever extra I have is MY money to do whatsoever I want with guilt free. (See I have incentive to save money with coupons) I can save up the extra for something I really want or just spend the excess on all the chocolate I could dream of! The point is you need to figure out a budget and then stick to it, even if it means not buying as much of a great sales item because you would go over your budget.
I keep track of my money with an excel spreadsheet. I get money on a weekly basis, but you can do it monthly, bi-weekly.. whatever works best for your situation.
The following video will demonstrate how to use my budget sheet.
You will want to watch it in full screen to see it clearly
And then if you love it as much as I do, you can download your own copy here.
So I hope you are all enjoying the world of coupons so far. Are you keeping track of how much you are saving? You should! It is so fun to watch how much you save go up and up as you coupon more. When I first started I saved about 34%, but now I regularly save 50-60%(or more) every time I shop. How do I keep track of this? My husband helped me create some great forms in excel and I am going to share them with you. This lesson I will share my coupon sorter. In my next lesson I will share my budget/coupon savings sheet.
My Coupon Sorter To understand how to use this sorter, watch the video on this lesson here.
#-the acutal number I put on the coupon
Product-what the coupon is, I like to put the product name and then what it is specifically, example Colgate-toothbrush or I might have Colgate-toothpaste
Expiration Date-date coupon expires
Amount-if it is off 1 item, I just put the amount, off of two, I put .50/2 for example
No Doubling-I just make a x in this column if it says do not double
Store-I write the name of the store in this column if it is a store specific coupon, like Target
Quantity-how many I have of that EXACT coupon
I love this sorter because of all the great features my husband put in. If you click on any of the arrows at the top of the column, example shown below, you can sort your entire chart how you would like.
Here is the window that pops up if you pick Custom Filter from the arrow. I then pick the less than or equal to and put in a date, this time 5/31/9. After saying OK; my spreadsheet will then show me all of the coupons that expire on or before 5/31. I can then take them out of my coupon box and after I am done with that, I then delete those entries from my spread sheet.
This sorting is also great with the product, as a pull down list will appear so I can show just my coupons that have the word Pillsbury for example.
You can also do multiple filters at a time, I could pick a expiration date filter and then pick a certain product. If you have questions about how to use this please leave a comment and I will do my best to help you out.
If you would like this sheet you can download it here.
So finally getting to this, I want to do these right and have them be useful so well it takes a while.
1-The first and VERY IMPORTANT rule of couponing: Is you must shop the sales!
Really the coupons themselves, while they save you money, only save so much. But combine coupons and sales and you are set.
Example: We love sliced salami at our house. Oscar Mayer Salami, is regularly priced around $3.00. However, it is often on sale (and not usually advertised) for $.99! So when it is on sale for this price, I stock up. I check the expiration dates, figure about how much my family will eat and buy a lot. That way I do not have to buy it until it is on sale again.
(By doing this you will also inadvertently begin building your food storage!)
So, get out those store ads and shop the sales!
2-The SECOND very important rule is you DO NOT need to spend money for any coupon services or e-mails. There are SO many good ones out there that are free. And I figure any money you put into this thing you have to subtract from the money you are saving.
3-Third Rule: Sometimes small is better. You may be in the habit of looking at unit price to see which to buy, typically bigger items (i.e bigger boxes of cereal) have a better unit price or you get more for money spent. However, when you coupon, it is often the smaller items that are on the sale and the ones that will be a better deal with coupons.
Example: Daisy Sour Cream, the small 8 oz ones will often go on sale for 1.00 (often not advertised). The 16 0z ones are usually a better deal, in that you pay less per ounce. But if you have a .50 off coupon, that doubles and you can get a 8 oz one for free, that is obviously your better deal. Free never adds up.
4-Fourth Rule: Sales and coupons circulate. You will learn that there are pretty much the same coupons out there, just over and over. Often as a coupon is about to expire, probably about a week later there will be the same coupon with a later expiration date. Occasionally there will be rare ones that come out only at certain seasons, i.e. coupons for turkey around Thanksgiving.
5-Fifth Rule: Find out your stores coupon policies. Some stores double only one coupon of the same item, some don't double at all. Some claim they only will double three of the exact same coupons but will really double as many as you have as long as you don't go too crazy (i.e. Frys and Bashas in AZ!--unless you get a pyscho checker)
6th-Sixth and very important rule--DO NOT use coupons just because you have them. I throw away many coupons; coupons which at some point if the sale is right I might use a ton of. But if it is not something I need and the right sale does not come up then I do not use it!
So now that you have all your coupons nicely organized, what do you do? Depending on where you live, the following four sites should take care of you, browse all of them and see which one you like best.
Couponmom.com --this is the same site with the coupon database. (from lesson 2) It has great resources for A LOT of the states, (This would not be my first choice if I lived in AZ or UT).
This time click "Grocery Deals By State"
Following is a video I made with my Mac (yeah!) about how to navigate and understand coupomom (it is a bit blurry, sorry--something with the way youtube converted it)
Pinching Your Pennies--LOVED this site when I lived in AZ, this site also great for Utah.
State Forms: Has some info from every state out there, some states have more information than others. This is where you can find lists of store sales and coupons to use, like in couponmom.
Coupon Link: Has coupons available listed for the following states: Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Nevada, Utah and Virginia.
Grocery Guide: Enter your zip code, available stores will appear, pick a store, then you can see sale prices, coupons for that item, and PRINT off a shopping list right from this page! So cool!
**If you live in AZ and are not couponing, you are probably missing out on the state with the best stores and couponing polices!
Hot Coupon World--This site has it all but a little more tricky to find what you want. The best page to go to is the Resource Tab, which you can access here.
It also has the Grocery Guide and blog type listings where individuals list the sales.
**Something unique this site has is this link where you can find what newspaper in your area has coupons (not all papers are created equal when it comes to coupons.)
Grocery Smarts-is a site I recently discovered. It has lots of coupons you can print, for free of course, and also has the sales matched up with coupons but you have to have the free access code. *Grocery Smarts has a great list for Walmart!
The codes I currently know for this site are:
Southren California: g92ro1
Eastern Washington: g99ro1
Idaho g83ro1
These codes are free and supposed to be shared but only published for a short time, so if anyone has codes for the other states please let me know!
So just check these sites out, decide which one you like best and try! What I personally do, when my ads come I sit down and go through them. I write down the things I need and also things that I might want if there is a good coupon to go with it. (I usually put a question mark by those things on my list), then I come and check one the above sites. They should all have the current sales up usually by Wednesday, the first day the sales start. I then add to or cross out things depending on what I find and then I go shopping and come home happy!
If you have any questions, please leave a comment asking me and I will do my best to answer it soon.
Oh, and once you get started, write down on a spreadsheet or even in a notebook how much you are saving. As you coupon more I promise you will see that go up and up. It is great!
Okay so I have debated about what lesson to do next, how to organize your coupons or how to use them. I decided that if you don't know where your coupons are, because they aren't organized then you won't be able to use them anyway. So here we go.
1st- You need to learn the number one rule, DO NOT throw coupons away! Unless it is something you are absolutely not going to use, i.e. dog food coupons and you do not have a dog. Otherwise keep them!! You never know when there will be a sale that combined with the coupon will make the item free or practically free, which might change your motivation about getting it.
Obviously once coupons are expired you can throw them away. Or you can ship them overseas to the troops. Their families can use coupons that are expired for up to 6 months.
Okay, so what to do with all those coupons:
Way #1 to Organize: First the kind of intimidating scary way, but the best way, this video shows the method I use
This way might seem like a lot of work but it really is the best. Imagine you are at the store and see a great price on something you need but didn't realize was on sale, if you do it this way you will have the coupon with you and will not have to make a trip back to the store or lose the money you could have saved if you had the coupon.
With my spreadsheet, I will also sort my coupons by expiration date (I don't print it this way though), then I can quickly see what ones have expired and go through and pull those out.
You will want to update your spreadsheet weekly or you will get way behind and overwhelmed, trust me!
Way #2 You can always cut coupons and sort them by category, beauty, medicine, food, etc. etc. Choose whatever categories are best for you. This way is good as long as you don't have tons of coupons and as long as you remember what category you put that coupon in. You will not have a nice list in this method to search from though. Also it is easier to miss out on a coupon because it expired this way.
Way #3 Don't cut any coupons out until you are writing your shopping list. You are probably thinking, well how will I know where my coupons are. The best site I have found for this, is www.couponmom.com. The is a free site that seems a little tricky to navigate initially but really isn't hard.
When you are on the site just go to the Grocery Coupon Database, circled above. In the Database select your state and then it will list the coupons from Sunday inserts. It also shows internet coupons, from coupon.com which are available to print.
You can search for whatever coupon you are looking for. For example if you want Pillsbury crescent rolls, then you can search Pillsbury. A word of caution, if you don't spell it right it won't show up. So use less words in your search (just search "Pillsbury" instead of "Pillsbury crescent rolls") and to be safe you can even put part of the word (pills-for all Pillsbury items). As you are looking at your ads and writing your list then you can pull up this site and search to see if there are coupons for the items you need.
The trouble with this method is you will not have coupons with you for unexpected items. Also what do you do with all of your extra coupons, the ones you get from the store, in the mail, etc. You could make a miniature spread sheet where you enter all your "other" coupons.
If you do this method you will want a place to keep your Sunday inserts, not your kitchen counters it doesn't work trust me. I use a file cabinet with hanging folders to put my inserts in.
Ultimately it comes down to figuring out what works for you. I cut and store coupons like in method #1 but I also use couponmom.com all of the time. I do not cut out every single coupon so I keep the extra ones, just in case, hanging in file folders.
As you start couponing more you will begin to realize which coupons are important to make sure you have on hand. You will also learn what method you like best, or even invent your own.
Take it slow, do what you want and don't get burned out as I promise you it will save you a lot of money.
And to leave you with a little inspiration: Today I spent $33.08, with sales and coupons I saved $47.40 or 59%
She listed me as a resource for information about coupons. So I figured I better not let her down and get started with the coupon lessons I promised. Over the next month or so I will share my secrets and tips on couponing.
How it began...
When I lived in Arizona, I attended an enrichment night at church where a good friend of mine taught about couponing. I remember leaving that class, thinking it just sounds like a lot of work that I don't have time for. As the week went on I kept thinking.. hmmm maybe I should try. I did not want to invest any money into it. I wasn't getting the paper and didn't really want to, as I wasn't sure how this coupon thing was going to go. So I decided to try freecycle.
I put out a want for Sunday coupons. I asked if there was anyone in my area that would be willing to let me pick up their Sunday coupons every week. I got a few bites, including my dear friend Rita, who in the end helped me take my couponing to an insane level (best result spent $11.57 saved $110.68)... but before I get way ahead of myself,
today's lesson is: Where to find coupons
Local newspaper--if you already get the Sunday paper start saving those coupons. There are some papers, such as the Arizona Republic where you can get deals to get multiple Sunday papers for a great price.** You can always sign up for just Sunday's paper
Free newspapers around town--example, La Voz, Hispanic free paper in AZ (outside of Food 4 less) has coupons in it on Thursdays usually
Coupons.com--free site with printable grocery coupons
Shortcuts.com-site to load coupons on to your Store shoppers card
Neighbors, friends, freecycle.org or craigslist.com (my current city for freecycle has policies about not asking for coupons but most don't)
Grocery stores recipe/advertising booklets at front of stores
Dumpsters-especially recycling ones (might get in trouble for this one though--so look at your own risk)
Something I have learned is that not all newspapers are created equal when it comes to what coupons are available. The Arizona Tribune and Arizona Republic would both have the Red Plum and Smart Source coupon inserts, however, the ones in the Tribune were different and have only about half of what the Republic has.
So to check out what paper in your area has coupons available check this page here.
So start getting your coupons, in our next lesson I will teach you how to know where to use them. I know lots of great sites that make the work so easy and all free.
For lessons on coupons click the pig!
**If you live in AZ, join Pinching Your Pennies, then you will be able to access the page which gives you a great discount on multiple copies of the Sunday Arizona Republic
Pull-Ups $11.56 for 24 ouch! But wait they are on sale for $9.47 I have a $3.00 off coupon I have a $2.00 off coupon loaded to my store savings card
24 Huggies Pull-ups only $4.47 much better!
I began couponing when we lived in Mesa. I really didn't want to at first as why did I want to spend all that time to save $2.00... oh did I soon learn my lesson. I know I was clueless about what to do at first, so over the next few months I will ocassionally share my tricks and secrets to making couponing doable and profitable.
The first quick lesson, go to this site here, to load coupons to your store's savings card. No cost, and the coupons come off automatically, and as I did you can also then use a regular coupon to increase your savings even more.
