Coupons 101 - Tip # 1 - What is a coupon & where can I get them?

What is a coupon?

From Wikipedia:

In marketing a coupon is a ticket or document that can be exchanged for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in retail stores as a part of sales promotions. They are often widely distributed through mail, magazines, newspapers, the Internet, and mobile devices such as cell phones.


HERE's a link to how coupons work!
Where can I get them?

Copied and edited from several blogs I read:

NEWSPAPER ~ You could sign up to receive your local newspaper on Sundays only. (I didn't even know you could do that!) It's fairly inexpensive to do it this way, especially considering the savings I will be getting. Each Sunday there are 1, 2 or sometimes even 3 coupon inserts. I try to wait for Sundays, to look through my mom's paper, but if I'm not going to be there early enough, I will just go ahead and buy 1. Sometimes I take my time and look through the "preview" on other blogs, which will tell me if it's going to be worth it to me or not.

i.e. I know that tomorrow there will be a $1 off any CoverGirl cosmetic. I also have a PUBLIX $2 off CoverGirl coupon. That makes the CoverGirl $2.99 eyeshadow completely free! If I get 8 of these, I can then apply for the Proctor & Gamble Breast Cancer Awareness cooking kit for FREE! So, basically for the cost of the papers, I will get 8 eyeshadows (donate or save for gifts), 8 sets of coupon inserts (with more savings) and a FREE cooking kit!

****ETA (edited to add): Several dollar stores sell the Sunday newspaper for, yup, you guessed it, $1.00! For me, that's excellent, because our local Sunday paper is $2.00! All I want are the coupons, so I end up with a TON of recycling. LOL. Anyways, I can get 2 for the price of one! Which is great for me because if I know there will be good coupons in the upcoming paper, I can buy 8 papers for the price of 4! (Yes, I generally buy about 4 papers, except on BIG holiday weekends when there are NO inserts!)****
ONLINE ~ There are many websites that offer FREE printable coupons, but these are the ones that I've found, so far, to be the best. Also, keep in mind that some stores do not accept printed coupons. I've already checked in my area and every store where I live does. There are plenty more sites, but I'm trying to save myself time by going to the best ones. I will definitely be adding to this list more as I do more research.

http://www.coupons.com/
http://www.redplum.com/
http://www.smartsource.com/
http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/
http://www.afullcup.com/

EBAY ~ Yes, I just said EBAY! There are tons of grocery coupons for sale there. Now, it is against the law for people to actually sell coupons, but they can charge a fee for their time to clip them. I've never done this, and don't plan on it. But, I've read about people that do! And I bet for Kmart Double Days, this would be a great idea!

STORE ADVERTISEMENTS ~ Lots of times there are coupons in the different advertisements for different stores (ie. Target, Walgreens, Rite Aid, etc.). You would find these in the mail, in the newspaper or at the actual store. Also, a few places post coupons online. Target is a good one to check out for coupons online. Some stores will take competitor coupons. My Publix will take Winn-Dixie coupons, which is great because I get $10 off $50 coupons from Winn-Dixie all the time. They may also price match any sale in our area.

MANUFACTURE'S WEBSITES ~ If there are some specific brand names that you like, go to their website and sometimes you might be surprised to find a coupon right there. You could also, email the company and tell them how much you love their product and see if they might send you something special. I've gotten several coupons from my favorite product's websites.
THE MAIL ~ I was pleasantly surpised to find a bunch of grocery coupons in my mail just this weekend! In the past, I've considered these junk and would have tossed them, but now how could I? It's like money in my pocket that I would be throwing in the trash! I open EVERY envelope now! This past week I got an envelope from SC Johnson, and would normally have thrown it away. I opened it to find a little coupon booklet, with a couple of really great coupons!

PRODUCT PACKAGING ~ I was amazed to find coupons already in my pantry! Some companies put coupons right on the packaging of the food items that you already use.

MAGAZINES ~ I'm not talking about coupon magazines. I'm talking about regular old magazines (ie. Everyday w/ Rachael Ray, Family Fun, Country Living, etc.).

STORE SHELVES ~ A lot of times, you will walk right past a coupon in your grocery store! They have machines that spit out coupons attached right to the shelves! Also, I've found coupons before that someone has actually left on the shelf because they didn't need it! (I call those the coupon fairies!!)
Wow, that is a lot of places to find coupons! Just think, that I've been throwing away all of these things all these years! I am seeing coupons in a whole new light these days. They are like free money.

Do you have any coupon resources that I haven't already mentioned here? I would love to hear 'em!

Tip About Buying Produce

Alright. Now, I have to tell you, that I went produce shopping Friday, late morning, which is why I never got to make the chicken broccoli orzo. Anyways, there's a little "farmer's market" (actually it's about the size of a barn), called C&D Produce, not too far from my house. While I was there, I spent $18.29! For 2 weeks worth of produce! Now, if you shop at a grocery store for your produce, $4.xx of that would just be for pre-bagged lettuce! Here's what I got:


1 red pepper - $0.90 ($1.29/lb)
5 plum tomatoes - $0.58 ($0.79/lb)
.59 lbs string beans - $0.47 ($0.79/lb) - that's less than a can costs, and it's better because it's fresh!
2 green peppers - $0.37 ($0.69/lb) - these were $0.78 EACH at Walmart on SALE!
Romaine lettuce (2 hearts) - $1.75
1.97 lb Mini-bananas - $1.75 ($0.89/lb)
3 beefsteak tomatoes - $0.85 ($0.49/lb) - these would have cost about $4 at Publix!
1 orange - $0.35 - I think these were 3/$1
3 LARGE red potatoes - $0.93 ($0.59/lb)
3 bulbs garlic - $0.79 ($1.49/lb)
6 Idaho potatoes - $2.16 ($0.59/lb)
2 Granny Smith apples - $0.76 ($0.79/lb)
1 pint grape tomatoes - $1.79
red creamer potatoes - $0.99 ($0.99/lb)
1 red onion - $0.33 ($0.59/lb)
1/2 pint blueberries - $1.99
6 LARGE carrots - $0.90 ($0.49/lb)
2 HUGE sweet potatoes - $1.28 ($0.69/lb) - I really mean HUGE when I say it about these! 1 could feed 3-4 people!

Total cost: $18.29! Next time I go to Publix, I'm going to check out prices on these items, and I'll compare. I'll try to make a spreadsheet to show you! These are all items I would normally buy even if I wasn't planning monthly meals. If you include the less than a gallon of gas it takes me to get there, I probably spent a total of $20! Not bad!

It's totally worth it! Plus, the little market is Spanish based, so they have some REALLY interesting fruits/veggies there, and the kids get to feel and hear the names of the stuff. Plus, they can TOUCH everything without getting looked at funny. It's a whole learning experience!

Next time you need to buy produce, think twice before getting it at your normal store! (Plus, you can go here before your grocery store because it won't go bad sitting in your car while you grocery shop...as long as you don't take forever!)

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

A Tip for Juice Boxes

So, we all know that Juice Boxes make a HUGE mess! One squeeze and SQUIRT! Everywhere! We've even tried those plastic holders with handles you can buy at the grocery store. Somehow, my kids skip the handles and go straight for the middle. One good squeeze, and there you go again!

Anyhow, one morning when I woke up, I came out to the dining room to find both kiddos drinking their juice boxes out of a cup! Literally! My dear husband had put the juice box into a cup before putting the straw in. Then, put the straw in and gave it to the kids. It's great! The kids can hold their juice boxes (independence you know) and not spill! Thankfully, neither of them even try to take the juice box out of the cup! Here's what it looks like:



So, whenever we have a party, or people over, we will ALWAYS have plastic cups available, if not for any other reason, definitely for this one!