Thursday, June 17, 2010

Coupons Again?

ok, so I'm trying to use my coupons again, on a smaller scale. This is my old coupon organizer which I bought from Gooseberry Patch, using my birthday $5.00 coupon, of course. Its getting a little worn, but it still works and fits in my purse or totebag.



This organizer is about as high tech as it gets for me!

At one time I saved EVERY coupon I could get my hands on, no matter what it was for, just in case a deal came up that I could combine the coupons with and maybe, just maybe... get it for free.

Well, I'm still interested in getting free stuff, but it has to be something we really need and will use. I don't have the time or energy to keep up with a big pile of coupons. So, I am simplifying as much as I can, but at the same time I want to save lots of money on my family's grocery bill.

I enjoy getting extra bucks from CVS and Register Rewards from Walgreens. Its fun to keep rolling them on more items, but it can become overwhelming if you let it. So, I'm not going to let myself get carried away with it.

One way I have failed in the past with this was by letting the extra bucks and register rewards expire. Here's how I am trying to avoid this in the future. I have set aside a pocket in the organizer JUST for the extra bucks, register rewards and also Food Lion Coupons. These coupons have a short period of time before they expire, so I need to keep them in a separate place, like this:



Since I usually make my drugstore runs on my lunch break, I wrote down the dates I need to have used them on a post it note which is on the front of my computer at work like this:



So where do I get my coupons from? We don't subscribe to any newspapers, but I still have more coupons than I can keep up with! My mother gives me her coupon inserts and I subscribe to the All You Magazine. I'm not a big fan of internet coupons, but will occasionally print them out. Food Lion emails me coupons that are good just at their store each week and I use lots of these, especially the ones for meat, eggs, and produce. In addition, all kinds of coupons print out at the register at Food Lion, CVS and Walgreens. CVS and Food Lion now have a machine at the front of the store that prints out coupons when you scan your little card.

Coupons are everywhere!

6 comments:

Denise said...

You are not alone, I have hot and cold times with my couponing.

Anonymous said...

Hi Debbie,
I know what you mean. I do the coupons for church and at times that get so over whelming. I have had to step back and now I do them on a smaller scale. What i use for my family is mostly internet coupons since we eat mostly organic. I printed out a few yesterday that I plan to take tomorrow with me. That is a great ideal about the store coupons. I have been known to let them expire too.
Hugs,
Elizabeth

Little Penpen said...

I used to cut out every single coupon and try to save them too. Way too much work... so now, I'm playing the grocery game... I have to pay for the subscription, but she does all the work for me. Not sure if it's "worth" it, but is sure is fun! An inexpensive hobby, if nothing else!

Mary Ann said...

I do more couponing at some times than others. I also used to clip and save every coupon but it's just not practical anymore. Now I clip what I want and leave the rest in the insert. Makes it so much more manageable.

I've been known to let things slip and my Extra Care Bucks/store coupons have expired on me. I like your idea of listing the expiration dates.

Rhonda said...

I like your organizer-book!

Anonymous said...

I also love that coupon organzier! I might go to Gooseberry Patch and see if they still have them. I want to start again on couponing but not like I did. I agree cutting out every single coupon gets tedious. I need to also find a happy medium!

Melinda

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