Coupon Binder....Done!!!!!

I finally finished my coupon binder!!!!!!!!!

I had been stuffing coupons into my tiny accordion folder and quickly ran out of room.

Here it is!

It's a dark denim 12 x 12 scrapbook binder I found for $7.48 (50% off!!) at Target.

The clear pocket pages were $2 per pack(60% off!!) at the craft store.

I used the same size card stock(I already had this) to place in each page.

I gave each category a different color.

The first page of pockets has my savings cards, notes, and restaurant coupons.

Next is the Expire section. All of these will expire within the next week.

Then we start the food coupons. They are all categorized.

Then I have the non food coupons categorized.

Then I have the misc. section of items like candy and vitamins

And the last page is for rebate forms and grocery fliers.

I still have to cut and put these in the binder!

For The Love of Band-Aids!!!!

I went to purchase some Band-Aids today with my stack of coupons thinking I would save 55 cents per box if that. WRONG!! I came across a special 'Rewards Card' 1/2 off price on NexCare Band-Aids. I have a rewards card and thought it was a great deal. Then I looked in my stash of coupons and found 4 $1 off ones! So, I got 4 boxes that are regularly $3.49 each for 75 cents each! Plus.......they each had 55 cent coupons attached (for future use), and I got a register receipt for $10 off my next $75 purchase! I was so shocked to get all of this for spending $3 on Band-Aids!!!

Giving Food To Those In Need

My sister in law gave me a book around Valentines Day called 'Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom'. I have chosen this as my March book. There are a lot of great ideas about how to use coupons to save the most money. But, there is also a chapter on giving food to the needy. The author shows ways to use coupons to purchase food for pennies or free to give to the needy.

Last August, when my husband had his 2nd heart surgery, money was very tight. We lived on what we had in our savings account and tried to live by the bare minimum. By November my husband was in the hospital again having a pacemaker implanted to keep his heart pumping, and we were broke. Thanks to our church, we had food for Thanksgiving and beyond.

I think it is important to help those in need. There are people that are hard working, but have something tragic happen that changes everything. There are single parents working to keep a roof over their children's heads, and there just isn't enough money for food at the end of the week. There are elderly people who just aren't getting enough social security to help pay all their bills.

So, I have chosen to place the items I purchase at ridiculously low prices or free in a box for the needy. There is a food mission about 10 minutes from my house that it will go to when I fill it with much needed items.

Our church helped us in our time of need, and now I can help someone in their time of need. It's a good feeling passing on the favor!

I encourage everyone who reads this to do the same!!

More Coupon Savings!!

I went to my favorite store today(Target) looking for bargains, and I scored again!! With my coupon binder in the cart, I looked up and down the aisles for bargains. I found deodorant on clearance! Not the brand I usually use, but not the cheapest brand either. I checked my binder for a coupon, and found 4 of them for $1.00 off! So, here are the totals:

Regular price each: $2.24
Clearance price each: $1.12
Less $1.00 Coupon each: $0.12 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got 4 deodorants for a total of $0.48 plus tax!

Dollars Saved: $8.48
Percentage Saved: 94% !

What a thrill it is to save money on these every day things!

Get $3 at Office Depot

I found out that Office Depot will give you a $3 coupon for every empty printer ink cartridge you turn in to them. You don't have to fill anything out either! You just walk up the the register and give them the cartridges. They scan a little UPC code and the register pops out a $3 coupon for each one!!! You can us 1 coupon per purchase per day. And they don't expire!

I turned in 5 yesterday and used one of the coupons today. I purchased a box of envelope and a box of paperclips. Price before coupon was $3.51. After coupon I paid $0.30!!! What a deal! I knew I was holding on to the cartridges for a reason!! I have 2 more to turn in this weekend!!

The Coupon Strategy

The art of couponing is being taught all over the web. Of course grocery store checkout clerks are stunned when someone purchases hundreds of dollars worth of food and only pays fifty bucks!! I have been fortunate enough to find a great group of online women that use coupon strategies to save 40% to 90% off their regular grocery bills.

I tried their strategy and this is how it went:

I gathered my grocery store fliers for the 3 local competing stores and found items I usually purchase. I looked in my coupon folder for coupons to use with the items on sale. I actually found all at 1 store and saved big time!

I purchased 6 items totaling $16.49 before coupons. With my rewards card savings and coupons I saved a total of $15.75! So, my purchase price for the 6 items... $0.56!!!! Yes, you read that right, 56 cents!! And they are all items I will use. Some are brands I usually don't buy, but at about 9 cents per item, I am willing to try them! So, percent saved on this trip to store....96%!!!!!!! I can live with that!!

I was kind of a skeptic when I was reading how these moms were saving lots of money on groceries. So, I have proven to myself that with some research it can be done! I will gather the new fliers this week and try it again on Friday! I will post my results this weekend!