Couponing

So, I think I am officially the last person on earth to start couponing and definitely the last person to blog about it!  I just got really started back in March.  My friend Rebecca had told me about some great websites over a year ago and I would peruse them for ideas, but never really did anything with the information.  That all changed when my dad started sending me his Sunday morning inserts (kind of nice, right!).  Getting my coupons in the mails has become one of the highlights of my week.  The people at work enjoy it too because I pass the coupons on to them after I get the ones I want.

Anyway, I am so amatuer at this!  I only shop at Publix (haven't gotten into the drugstore thing yet) and I only buy the stuff when we absolutely need it or it is on sale (Publix has good buy 1, get 1 free deals each week). 

I think half the fun is the search for the coupons and the other half is waiting for the deals to come.  There is a thrill of handing the cashier my organized stack of coupons! 

Do I get the $90 worth of groceries for $10?  Um no, that is not me.  I am the one who is lucky to have one great deal week.  One deal that I leave the store saying, wahoo!  Like this week my good deal was cokes.  They were buy 2, get 2 free and I had 2 $1 coupons.  Other good deals have included paper plates , diapers, Shout, and dog treats.

I thought it would be fun to share the websites I reference and some of the other groups I have joined.  1) http://www.southernsavers.com/.  This one is based out of Atlanta I believe and is good to list all sorts of good deals, not just limited to coupons.  They have a section that goes over all of the different coupon policies which is nice when I start to question what I can and cannot do.  2) http://www.frugalfairhope.com/.  You may think this would only be helpful if you lived down here, but I think it could be useful for anyone.  They do list the stores that are "competitors" of each other and those stores may not be in your area but I don't really do the competitor thing (maybe I should).  They are good to list other deals as well too.  I also print coupons from Target and Rite Aid, both of which can be used at Publix. 

Since reading these 2 sites I have joined RecycleBank to get coke and yogurt coupons.  Recyclebank is pretty easy.  You just do little quizes to earn points and the points get your coupons.  I have also started doing the Swagbucks thing, http://www.swagbucks.com/.  The jury is still out on this one.  You earn points by using swagbucks as your search engine.  Then you are rewarded points.  Sounds simple enough but it will take awhile to get anything that I really want.  I figure it can't hurt to try; I am wanting to get a Paypal gift card or maybe Target.  Finally, I do the Pampers Rewards, which I have mentioned before.  Both of the websites listed above are good about listing bonus point opportunities.  You really could not buy diapers and potentially get stuff (i.e. a Starbucks gift card) through these bonus points - kind of a neat concept.

Well, I guess that is about it.  Now to decide if I am going to go to the store today to take advantage of this week's deals since I won't be able to go to the store this weekend!

Happy Couponing!!