Couponing for Free Groceries

Couponing for free groceries is simple, easy and doesn't take much time for anyone to do that wants to save money and perhaps eat good for free.  It has been demonstrated on TV by many on how to use coupons, how to use multiple coupons on products called stacking and various tips for couponers have been discussed and taught by many recently.  Shows such as "The Extreme Couponer" and "Couponing 101" have found success through teaching the basics to the world.

We all know that coupons regularly are included in our Sunday newspapers as well as whichever day the grocery store ads come out each week.  These inserts and store ads with coupons in them are great and convenient for everyone to clip and use.  The problem with this is that the stores know in advance which coupons are being printed and released to the general public in the newspapers.  It is to their advantage to keep those items at regular price or even to raise the price by a few cents when the ads and coupons first are released.  That is when most people try using their coupons, as soon as they get them.  WRONG!!

I can't say it enough.  Do not use your coupons the first week they come out in the paper, the stores are expecting you to and are doing their part to make sure that they still come out ahead instead of you.  Save those coupons for a few weeks.  Most coupons are good for at least a month if not 6 months or a year.  If you hold onto those coupons and use them when the store is actually having the product on sale, you will maximize your savings.  If your store has a double or triple coupon day, use them then to really maximize the benefits.

Besides newspaper sales inserts, grocery ads and Sunday inserts, there are several other great places to get some high savings coupons which will really help cut the grocery bill or get your groceries for free.  The internet has become a great source for this.  Many sites online provide coupons to print out at home, while others offer ones which can be loaded directly onto your shopper's rewards cards for various stores.  I personally shop at Kroger most of the time and load these savings onto my card weekly.  That way, even if my husband is who goes to the store, the coupons are available for his use on our store card.  (Most men don't want to take coupons with them, but like the savings - loading reward cards is a great way for them to have the coupons with them and not have to be carrying them along!) 

Besides the sites like Cellfire.com, Coupons.com, etc., there are also sites which offer opportunities to try products for free in exchange for writing a review of the product or for sharing coupons for the product with others.  There are many great sites which do this.  But mostly, the actual brand manufacturer's often offer coupons on their web sites for their brands.  Many will mail booklets of their brand's products coupons to you or will allow you to print them at home for use.  Proctor and Gamble is a great site for this.  I sign up every couple of months with their website and they mail me a booklet of current coupons for their various products.

Trying products out in exchange for writing a review is a great way to score big in the grocery store.  I recently agreed to host a party of my peers for product sampling and to distribute coupons to everyone at the party for a company wanting people to try their new organic, all natural meat line.

As you can see from the receipt above, I went to the store and purchased over $38 in meat and a bottle of ranch dressing for dip for chicken nuggets and it cost me $0.00 - that is ZERO my friends.  This is just an example of what one can do if they want to.

Kroger sends me coupons in the mail each month.  They are ones that are picked for me according to the merchandise I normally purchase in their stores.  At first I wasn't sure if I liked that my shopper's reward card allowed them to monitor my purchases in this manner.  However, after over a year of their mailing me coupon packets monthly, I find I have saved enough money that I know I don't care if they monitor what I buy as long as it helps to save me money in their store, at their pharmacy, at the gas pump or any other way!

I often will log on and go to manufacturer's websites before going to the store to see if they have a coupon available for something I intend to purchase.  Coffee, dog food, laundry detergent, dish soap, toilet paper, cat food, cleaning supplies, etc., are all products that most manufacturers do keep coupons online for their consumers to benefit from.  Food items vary all the time according to what new flavors, products, line of product, or whatever is new and being promoted at the time.  Some food items have coupons available for them ALL the Time!  For instance, Yoplait yogurt most always has coupons available, Hot Pockets and Lean Pockets are two more products that are usually always available.  You just have to take the few minutes to check, clip-print-or load, and save money.

 

Eat for free this week!  Check those ads against your grocery list and search out those coupon savings that are available for use.  You could be very pleasantly surprised!  After a year of paying attention, clipping and printing and uploading, see how much money you have saved.  A friend of mine recently took a vacation for a week on what she had saved from couponing in the past year.  Maybe you can finance that trip, that new laptop or phone, or a trip to the movies by just watching what you spend where and how much of what you spend is from using coupons or using actual money.

Good luck and enjoy!

Just Me Granny D

Couponing

 I grew up couponing and saving stamps.  My Mom saved the yellow Top Value stamps from Kroger.  I saved the S&H green stamps from other places.  Every year at Christmas, my two brothers and I were given the Top Value stamp catalog to pick out the things we would like to get for presents.  We each usually could spend one book of stamps each. That was back in the late 50's and the 60's.

Today, the economy has taken a backwards turn and once more people are saving stamps, joining store reward programs, looking for rebates and sales, and clipping coupons.  I had never stopped!  As far as I am concerned, I was raised to know the value of those coupons and stamps.  They meant the difference in what we could afford to eat, where and what we could do, and whether there were presents for Birthdays and Christmas.  Our entire lifestyle was dependent upon my Mother's wages and stretching those meager wages with stamps, sales, rebates and coupons!!!

I raised my family the exact same way.  I clipped coupons, saved UPC codes, collected boxtops, mailed in rebates, shopped night owl special sales and did anything possible to stretch my actual wage dollars.  By doing so, we ate better, enjoyed more activities, dressed better and were able to have a better life than if I had just depended upon my income from working.

It is not difficult or time consuming nowadays to take advantage of couponing.  With the advent of the internet, there are now coupon sites online where one can print the coupons they want each month, or other sites where you can download your coupon to your reward card for a specific store in order to use it with your card at the store automatically.  No more forgetting to take your coupons with you, they are automatically on your keychain reward card!!!

For further savings, many stores offer double and/or triple coupon days.  Find out if your store does this and what their schedule is for doing so.  Some stores have a double/triple coupon weekend once a month.  This is the perfect time to take advantage of using some of those smaller value coupons, such as the ones for 25 cents off or 40 cents off.  Most stores double or triple coupons whose original value is 50 cents or less.  That makes those smaller cent coupons become large savings on products and on some will make the item actually free.  A point to remember is that stores usually only double or triple manufacturer's coupons not their own store coupons.

Store reward cards are a great way to save.  Yes, the store is collecting information concerning your personal buying habits with these cards, however, through the use of that information they are able to offer you special savings and coupons tailored to meet your buying preferences and habits.  I receive a coupon pack in the mail monthly from Kroger with coupons specific to items I normally buy there.  This is their way of showing customer appreciation and a great way for me to save more money.  Other store reward cards I have offer cash back on purchases, coupons which can be downloaded to the card, gas discounts and a wide variety of ways for me to make my money stretch so that I can now spoil my many grandchildren!!!

A friend of mine has for the past couple of years tried using couponing to fund her vacations.  It has worked great for her and she has enjoyed a couple of great vacations!!  She started taking the amount she saves on her grocery bill with coupons and depositing that amount in a savings account each week.  She can afford to do that - some of us can't, but it's a good idea for those that can.  She then uses the amount she has saved each year for her vacation fund.  She went on a Disney Cruise Vacation this year!!!!

Couponing is a practice that I highly recommend to all.  It can stretch dollars, allow one to afford a better healthier diet, and enhance one's lifestyle.  For the few minutes each week that it takes to look through the coupons offered by your stores and online couponing sites, the difference it can make is amazing.  Try it - I guarantee you will find that regularly using coupons, rebates, mail-in offers, reward cards, etc., will make a difference for you in today's economically challenged world.

Just Me Granny D