To save or Not to Save..

I would clip more coupons if more were available for the products that I buy. My kids are on a special diet and those products RARELY have coupons. But you can save a bundle.

Watch the show extreme couponing on TLC on Sat night. You might even be able to watch it online.

I use a website called http://www.savingwithshellie.com/ . It is a mom based out of Austin Tx but it has nationwide stores on there. She has great tips about couponing, but also has the good deals that stores have every week. As for which coupons to get I just get 2 of the Sunday papers, and I organize my coupons in a binder in baseball card sheets. Hope this information is helpful and if you would like more help feel free to message me :)

http://www.couponing101.com/ i just visited this site and it seems pretty good. i am couponer, it takes time to learn just like anything else but it is worth it if you take the time to do it practically. you just have to be aware of prices and sales do a little bit a math and use a coupon. you gotta change your mindset from "i need this item" or "i want that" to "what could i use instead" or "do i want to spend that much" i never buy hamburger or chicken breast for more than 1.99/lb. canned soup 1.00 or less. to me it is always worth saving the money because i am a stay at home mom and it is my part time job so to speak. get the sunday paper at least on one of those promotions for cheap. if we eat out which is rarely i always have a coupon. internet you can get free coupons, they come in the mail, paper don't need to spend tons of money to get coupons or you will defeat the purpose. a lot of the time to save money i will see what is on sale this week and meal plan around it i.e. 7bone steak on sale make a pot roast, pasta and sauce spagetti night, sausage-sausage lentil soup, roast chicken can make dinner then make chicken ceasar salad the next night too or chicken soup. dried beans and lentils keep well and fill you up find a variety of recipes with cheap items.

if you are trying to save money look at your expenses first what can you cut. we had to cut our cell phones down to prepaid and cable is gone we kept the internet because he needs it for work and we can access shows,music whatever we need via internet. or just rent a movie or series at rental store. go to the library they have dvds and books. that alone saved us over a hundred dollars a month. if you have to keep your plan can you cut off the internet with the apps and junk bring it down to a lower payment and use it less etc. eating out dollar menu for fast food. see if you can get your interest rates lowered. go to local food bank handing out for communties and such there is no requirements plus many can point you to helpful financial operations. go to the beach or whatever for a walk instead of dinner and a show. so many ways to cut down on money you just gotta be honest with yourself on paper about where your money goes then you can attack it with cuts and coupons good luck it feels really good once you save yourself money cuz no one else is doing it for you!

Yes - if you use a certain item on a regular basis - heck yeah get a coupon and save that money!!! Coupons are fabulous. When I would get the Sunday Paper - I would cut out all of the coupons and if I'm not going to use it...I'll take it to the store with me and put it with the item - someone else can use it.

LOVE coupons. I am that lady in the store with her little tin full of coupons (and I'm only 27, so I get a lot of stares, I love it)... I am VERY hesitant to use a coupon site.. I shouldn't have to spend money to save money. I go through the Sunday and daily circulars, I don't use coupons on things that I didn't intend on buying to begin with, and I ask my neighbors for their leftovers (and we play swapsies... my toothpaste coupon for your baby food coupon)... Get your girlfriends involved. It will be slow going at first, but then it becomes a game :)

You should definitely use the coupons if you aren't spending a ton of time collecting them. Time is money. I have found that all I ever seem to run across are coupons for processed foods and we don't eat a lot of that. I do use some. I just don't feel like I run across many that I'd use. ....and I don't have the time to go out and seek coupons. I have better luck planning my meals for the week. For example, I write out our dinners on a piece of paper; from Mon-Sat (and eat out 1x/wk). If I have to buy a bunch of celery for one dish, I make sure I make another dish or two that calls for celery. We waste very little food this way. If you still don't use the celery, chop it up and freeze it in a bag for your next stew. I also plan our meals around what's on sale at my grocery. Get your hands on their circular or look it up online while you write out your menu and grocery list. I also love to freeze. If I make meatloaf, I'll make mini meatloaves and freeze half of them. If I make soup or stew, I freeze the leftovers in a gallon sized zip bag and there's an easy meal for later. If I find a good deal on meat, I buy plenty and freeze it in smaller portions. Lastly, always dig through your freezer before making your list. Don't let those frozen foods be forgotten!

I am also a full time student but working and i still find it necessary to take a few minutes before i go shopping to find some deals before I venture out. With the internet finding deals is so simple from looking for HEB meal deal and printing out a few coupons or browsing online for B1G1 meals at local eateries. If I can save a few dollars in my spare time I definitely go for it, its a few dollars I can put towards my next pedi.
Once you find the coupon sites you like it almost becomes a hobby of sorts to see how much food or stuff you can walk out with for little to nothing.

I find most coupons to be of things I wouldn't purchase anyways.

However, many of them are good, especially when used when a store is having a promotion on that item and also accepts double or triple coupons, it can save tons of money.

Lots of couponing advice like this can be a task, but worth it to many. You can find lots of helpful articles on it online.

You can also order food from http://www.angelfoodministries.com

You should definitly use coupons, but a lot depends upon your shopping and spending habits. Unfortunately, manufacturer coupons aren't what they used to be. Now most of the them are $1.00 off 3, so unless you want 3 of that product it may not be worth it. If you're already getting the Sunday paper, take 5 minutes to flip through and cut up the ones you would use.

As for coupon books, like the entertainment book. I used to buy them because I could easily save $50 on items/services I would be purchasing with or without the coupons (the book only cost $20). However, several of the business I frequent no longer advertise there, so it's not worth it for me anymore.

I recently started couponing, about 4 months ago. Man have I learned a lot! I always assumed it was for stuff I wouldn't use, like overly processed foods. While there are a lot of coupons for that stuff, there are also fresh produce coupons. Better yet, I bought my hubby a steak, and I have a 4 dollar meat coupon!

I've also learned that most cold medicines and things shouldn't cost you anything, or very little.

So is it worth it? Sure! It takes time time, and there is a real learning curve, but I can easily see how we can cut our budget in half without really changing how we cook/live.

As a side, we don't pay for TV and things like that. No point in putting forth energy in saving money on food if you spend too much elsewhere. We do Netflix. Cheap, with access to most of the TV shows.

I use coupons. And love it , what i have found is that i can get toothpaste, cereal, shaving cream, gum, shampoo, dish soap random things like that for close to free at the drugstores, It isn't the typical stuff people think of when they look in their cupboards and try to make a grocerylist, but it is stuff people pay a whole heck of a lot of money for, which gives you tons more money to spend on bread and milk
find a coupon match up site that you like, ask friends to save their coupon inserts for you or buy an extra Sunday newspaper, and give it a shot.

Definitely use coupons! The best luck is the Sunday paper. I have bought a few of the coupon books (from school kids) but then would forget them cause it was too big!!
You have to be very careful about online sites. I have heard groupon is good but never checked it out myself. Many stores won't take the coupons you print at home due to fraud. Ask the place you shop the most-if they know you, they might be more inclined to take them.
If you are on FB, add the major places/brands you use. They post coupons. I use a site called Hey it's free for samples and get coupons with them (plus free products).
But I agree with some of the others-cut cable/cell phone bills to just the basics. I irritate the phone company cause I have a phone that is 3 yrs old but it still works fine for me and we don't have cable at home. With an antennae, we get 10 channels-CW, Fox, Ion (movies), country videos and rock videos, 5 religious, weather and PBS plus the top 3.
Good luck on RN school!!

I use coupons and have for years. The key to using coupons is to use them for items you normally purchase, and to combine them with items on sale or items that have in store coupons. You can save quite a bit of money if you do it this way.
It does take a little effort sometimes though. Watch the sizes and do the math on the price per ounce. Make sure you are getting the best deal with the coupon and don't just assume it's the best price because it has a coupon.

I use paper coupons and Kroger's e-coupons. Between the two, I save anywhere from $10 to $40 per week, especially when combined with sale items. It helps to be aware of prices and to compare name brands vs. store brands. Check out if your favorite store has an on-line coupon program. My store even keeps track of what I buy and sends me special offers in the mail, including dollars off my total and free items.
Unless you eat out a lot, the entertainment book is a waste of money and in many cases, you can find the same coupons for free on-line or in the mailers we all receive.
Here's to the challenge of saving money!

Hi A., a few months ago I ran into a single mom buying groceries at Wal-Mart. She had a LOT of coupons and told me how she saves a bundle of money each week. Apparently, when she was a newlywed someone taught her a system for making them work for her and she swore by her system. I keep meaning to try it but here are a few things I remember:

1. Most coupons come out about three weeks before those items go on sale. She kept an envelope/file where she put each Sunday's coupons--the SECRET was to postdate the envelope for three weeks in the future. Just before that date she pulled that envelope out to shop; by then the item was often on sale. (She had worked in a grocery and said there's a shelf life for many things and almost everything goes on sale sooner or later)
2. She said it's hard to find stores that still double or triple coupons but they're out there (Randall's? Kroger?). She knew which days were double and triple days and shopped then. Also, her mom or aunt shopped at an different grocery and told her when there were sales worth noting.
3. I asked who had the best prices and she said it had to be Wal-Mart.
4. She also mentioned some of the drug stores and their deals (like the CVS card; I have one but rarely shop there)

Someone mentioned Groupon and I love that one. Subscribe for your city at www.groupon.com and watch; each day there is a different deal for that day. Our favorite thing is being able to try different restaurants, often at half price! For example, you might buy a groupon for $15 but it's worth $30 or more at the restaurant. We have had wonderful luck using groupons with no trouble. Once one of the ones we bought went out of business but groupon e-mailed me and offered to refund or credit me. They have been great that way.

We find the Entertainment Book doesn't work as well for us any more as it used to now that we have a family; however, we ALWAYS made back the money we spent to buy it so it wasn't a bad investment. The problem was that our favorites were never in there!

Another thought regarding anything I need to purchase. I always look online at www.froogle.com. (It's really google shopping) Once there I enter specifically what I need and then search. It's a great way to compare prices and find different sources for the items. Just watch the shipping costs.

Good luck with your studies. You are so smart to be frugal; try also to stay out of debt. Dave Ramsey has lots of good advice about all that at www.DaveRamsey.com. If you listen to his radio show it often doesn't take long to feel better about living wisely!

i'm not an avid coupon collector, but i find that you can find a coupon on almost anything when you need it by searching for it at the moment you need it. it's not a 100% guarantee that you'll find one, but i think it'd be more economical than having to buy a coupon book and letting the coupon book rule your purchases than the other way around.

If you can use the item on the coupon, why not use the coupon?

Why purchase a coupon book, when they are offered online and in print for free. The only time to purchase the book is when you know the savings will exceed the purchase price.