Coupons and Sales

Our buddy Kari popped in again and asked how I match coupons with sales. I have to tell you that honestly, I do it by the seat of my pants. Here is how I do it....

First off I get two Sunday papers. There is always a guy in front of WalMart selling them for a buck a piece so I get two. After lunch and changing from church clothes into something comfy, such as flannel PJ pants and one of my fave huge tshirts or sweatshirts, I settle down with the coupon sections and scissors. If hubby is nearby he helps. I got through each section of coupons and cut out every single coupon. Yep, that's right.....every single one.

Next, I get up to stretch my legs which are usually rebelling by this time because I sit cross legged on my bed like a DOOFUS the whole time I cut. I do this awful little hobble/stagger thing to get the circulation back and take all of the scraps from the paper to the recycling bin while Hubby laughs. Hey, I do what I can for his amusement... :)

I grab some Coke Zero (ah...) and return to my room where I sit cross legged AGAIN and sort the coupons into two piles. One for what I want to keep, one stack to take to Church and give away to friends. (I have no use for dogfood coupons or Serenity pads but others do!)

Next I file my coupons into my little file box by category. I got a media box from Goodwill that works well because it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to find a plastic lunchbox to store coupons in which is what I used to have until it went missing....I made my dividers and grouped stuff together by hoe I will remember it. (Baking, Cereal, Dairy, Canned foods, Frozen, etc.)

Then I rifle through the store ads. My personal favorite to have a ton of fun with is Walgreens. I cut out their sale coupons and make a note of sale items with and without their coupons in my little notebook. Then I go back down the list and mark a "W" by the item if I am using a store coupon. Next, I go through my coupons and try to match them up. They will let you use both coupons on one item there. For example, this week they had Betty Crocker cake mix on sale for 99 cents, and I had manufacturer coupons for 45 cents off. :) YAY ME!

Then I move on to CVS, Publix and Kroger. I match sale ads with coupons, make a list for each store and then put the coupons into their own little section in my file box labeled with store name. I keep my box in the car so I am never without it in case I get the opportunity to shop.

I know it sounds like a lot of work, and I suppose it could be to some but I truly love it. I find it relaxing, almost therapeutic in some ways. I make my little lists, mark each item with a "W" or a "C" or a "P" or a "K" to designate a store coupon, then mark with a "M" to denote a manufacturer coupon. This saves me a lot of time and stress when I go into the store. I know exactly what I need, and exactly what coupons to be sure I USE to get the best savings.

Also don't forget to check the blog at Fiddledeedee. Sarah takes the guess work out of it all for Publix shoppers and makes a list of weekly sale items and links to get a coupon for each one. Then she goes a step further and figures up the savings for us! See? Told you she rocks!

I know everyone has a different system, but this is what works for me. I went shopping today and destroyed my list with scratching off items but when I make my new list Sunday I will publish it for you so you can see how my system works. Hope this helps!