LeeLee Helps Save U Money: Getting Started

How To Get Started

Where do you get all of those coupons?

WEEKEND NEWSPAPER: Here you can purchase the AJC Early Sunday Edition and the Sunday Edition; as well as, the local Cartersville Paper (in addition to these, the Herald Tribune sent free on Wednesday has coupons too, Cartersville area only). Check for them coupons before purchasing them papers, I’ve been burned a couple times…got home…no coupons! Ugh. That’s the worst. Most holiday weekends the papers do not have coupon inserts, but sometimes they surprise you, so always check. The coupon inserts are as follows: RedPlum, Smartsource, Proctor & Gamble. Go here to view the 2011 Coupon Insert Schedule and here to see what coupons will be in the coming weekends inserts!

INTERNET SITES LIKE: coupons.com, smartsource.com, redplum.com, etc.

ASK FRIENDS and FAMILY: Chances are most of your friends and family are not using all of their coupons. Speak up and ask if you can save them from the trash!

BLINKIES and TEAR PADS: Blinkies are little machines that spit out coupons and tear pads have coupons attached to them. Be on the look out for these at all times! But be nice and leave some for others, remember coupon etiquette.

PEELIES: These are coupons and offers attached to products. These are ONLY for the customer purchasing the item. It is NOT okay to peel off coupons from items you are not buying! Again, coupon etiquette's.

CATALINA MACHINE: This is the little machine that prints along with your receipt. Sometimes it has advertisements for upcoming Catalina deals and such, sometimes it spits out extra coupons! Always check!

CHECK RECYCLE BINS: Now some of you might turn your nose up at this idea, but you can get some great finds in those dumpsters.

TRADE ON THE INTERNET: There are several coupon trading/clipping sites. Here are just a couple you can choose from: Manufacturers Coupons, The Coupon Clippers, Ebay (Go through Ebates or ShopAtHome to earn 1-3% cash back on E bay purchases!).

MAGAZINES: Several magazines feature a few coupons per month…don’t let those get away! ALL You magazine, features 40+ coupons each month.

STORES: Many stores, especially drugstores like Walgreen's will put out their own monthly coupon booklets to be used exclusively in their stores. The great thing about these is that these are store coupons that can be stacked with a manufacturer coupon, which makes for some great deals! Another way they promote coupons is in their weekly ads, so don’t forget to check those out.

EMAIL YOUR FAVORITE COMPANIES DIRECTLY: Just ask! I try to email about 15-20 companies each month to compliment them on a quality product. In response they mail me coupons! It only takes a few minutes of your time and the majority will respond with coupons. These coupons are usually higher value than ones you find anywhere else. To avoid bombarding your inbox with junk mail, I would definitely open a separate email account through yahoo or hotmail just for this purpose.

MAILERS: If you sign up with different companies they will usually mail you promotional offers and coupons periodically.

INSIDE PRODUCTS: Make sure to check inside the products you buy. Also sometimes manufacturers will put coupons on the box, so don’t throw away anything without checking for coupons first!

LOAD ELECTRONIC COUPONS TO YOUR STORE LOYALTY CARD:

Another great way to amp up your coupon savings is by loading them directly to your store’s loyalty card (example: Kroger Plus Card). It is very convenient…never forget your coupons again!

3 easy steps to instant clip-free savings

1. Register your store card on each electronic coupon website

2. Check the coupons you wish to load

3. Swipe your card at checkout and coupons are automatically deducted

(the coupon deduction does not show up at the end of your receipt with the other coupons…it shows up immediately after the item scan)

Here are the 5 websites I load coupons from each month:

Shortcuts, Cellfire, P&G e-Saver, Kroger and Upromise

Each month, I always print a list of what I’ve loaded to my shopper’s card and keep it with me so I can easily match up sales to coupons to clip-free coupons. This makes for some great deals on the spot!

Sometimes these coupons are stackable with a paper coupon. It depends on your store, which site you loaded it from – and sometimes it just depends on the weather! It is so inconsistent that I always consider it a bonus when a digital coupon comes off in addition to a paper coupon.

Upromise is a savings program that rewards you with money for college education or to pay off current student loans. BUT you can also request a check for the money you have saved in your Upromise account and spend it on anything you want!

There are many ways to earn cash in your Upromise account. The main ways I save is by linking my Kroger card, CVS card, debit and credit cards. When I purchase a Upromise participating product or shop at a Upromise participating merchant, I get credit to my account balance.

After you’ve registered, you’ll want to first go to “Ways to Earn”, then “Groceries”. Enter your zip code on the right side of the screen to find participating stores in your area.

One of the best ways to grow your Upromise balance is by using the Upromise e-coupons. Each month Upromise releases coupons that you load onto your cards at the Upromise website. When you purchase that item with your Kroger or CVS card, you receive the equivalent balance of the coupon in your Upromise account. And remember, you can also use paper coupons on the same items and get double the savings!

To load e-coupons go to “Groceries and Deals” button at top, then “e-coupons”. Make sure you ACTIVATE them!

You can also earn even more by opening a UPromise credit card, but you don’t have to. Just skip all the extra stuff it asks you during registration. It’s completely FREE!

Organize those coupons!

The number one reason why so many coupons go unused is because many (with good intentions) clip them, only to forget they have them when it comes time to purchase the item.

The binder method for those that like over the top organization; I am a clipper! I take the time to clip and file all of my coupons. So what do you do with all of those coupons once they’re clipped? For starters, you can get yourself a small accordion style coupon organizer (usually only a couple dollars at Wal-Mart or a dollar at the Dollar Tree). When you find yourself with too many coupons to fit, it’s time to graduate to the coupon binder.

Example Picture

It is a zip-up case with a 3-ring binder inside (you can just get a 3 ring binder, however if you drop it --- you will have a mess). Baseball card inserts house all of my coupons. I have dividers that separate my coupons into departments; you can do this too but it's not necessary. I organize the pages by departments; for example, store coupons/loyalty cards and coupons, then fridge, freezer, baking, dry goods, pet, health, beauty and household. I also have several store-specific envelopes that I fill with the coupons I am going to use on that day in the front of my binder. This is what works for me! You do what works best for you…and it might take you a few tries to get it just right. Play around with it until you find the method that helps you get the most out of your coupons.

The binder method is time consuming, so if you prefer; you can try the insert or box method. With the insert method you file your inserts by date in a large accordion folder (preferably 1 with 12 pockets; since coupons begin to expire about every 12 weeks) and keep a small accordion/check file for the blinkies, peelies, store coupons and the couple coupons left in a mostly expired insert. The box method you clip your coupons and either file alphabetically or by department; whichever is easiest for you.

Get To Know Your Local Store Policies

(and keep a printed coupon policy with you to avoid cashier disputes)

Coupon policies vary, so ask them at the service desk if you’re unsure. Some stores don’t accept internet coupons, some do. Some double coupons, some don’t.

Bartow County stores that double: Kroger and Publix.

Kroger will double coupons of up to $.50 in value; they have been known to limit the number of coupons of like items that will double (policy is of 3, I think) but I have not had a problem getting that enforced in our area. Example of that is I buy 4 cans of soup at $1.00 each and give them (4) $.50 off 1 can coupons, they technically only have to double 3 not all 4.

Publix accepts all manufacturer coupons and double up to $.50 values with no exceptions; you can also "stack" Publix store coupons with manufacturer coupons to get more bang for your dollar. Publix will also accept competitor coupons with manufacturer coupons. In our area they will accept Kroger, Ingles, Kmart, Wal-Mart and Target.

PRICE-MATCHING: This term means you can take a competitor ad into another store and they will match (or beat) that price for that specific item. Each store has their own policy, so you’ll want to find out before you try it. Wal-Mart, Kmart and Target are the stores in our area that price-match. It’s nice because many times Walgreens will have a great sale on something, but since they are a smaller store, they don’t stock much…which means they run out quickly. I just take their ad into Wal-Mart and get it for the same price! As long as no rewards or store coupons are involved, it’s better than getting a rain-check!

Now that you have your coupons organized, it’s time to STOCKPILE.

STOCKPILING basically means getting your groceries at the very lowest prices, and then purchasing enough to last you until you can get to the next great sale. This way, you never pay full price for any groceries at all. Organize a space to store all of these items and before you go to the grocery store, check your stockpile first. Make sure you don’t purchase too much of anything with a short shelf life, and of course, always use the items that are due to expire first. The whole point is to get your weekly grocery bill down as far as possible.

CHECK THEM OUT!

Here's a list of websites that assisted me in getting started; I hope that you will check out these fabulous ladies. They can help you save too!

thriftytiff.com

couponkatarina.com

couponingtodisney.com

COMMONLY USED ABBREVIATIONS