Organizing My Coupons, and Another Great Mail Day!

    So here's what I got in the mail today!

    My photo book I told you about previously, two Eucerin Lotion samples, along with two coupons.  Pretty good huh? The photo book alone is worth $30.00 not counting the shipping, and I got it ALL for FREE!!!
    Below is an inside pic of the book...

    This thing is hardcover, and the pages are like what you'd get in an actual photo book you'd buy from a bookstore.  Really great quality.  I'm thinking about making another one and actually buying it this time.  If anyone else wants one go to Mixbook.com  BUT I will give you fair warning that the site is SLOW.  It takes ALOT of patience.  I'm going to extimate that I spent 4 hours with mine.  Also, you MUST use a Picassa account for uploading your pictures.  There are other options, but they either take WAY too long, or don't work at all, which explains why I took so long to make mine I suppose.
    On another note, I did make a catalog of my coupons.  I wrote down all my coupons, their value, and the specific items they are for.  They are in alphabetical order, and I HOPE that they will cut down on in-store stress.  I also hope to purchase a printer to make this process faster, and not to mention neater. I put these pages in the front of my binder for quick access.
    Who is going to be my first follower???





Wow!

My first full size sample.

    How great is THAT???  A full 13.2oz of Downy UnStopables in-wash scent booster.  I am SO excited to use this product. 



Goodies

I'm having better luck with free samples!

These came in the mail today.

    Pretty cool right? I guess I'll keep investing time in looking for the free stuff online.  It seems to be paying off!  Not to mention the coupons that came with the stuff.

A New Trip, and a New Strategy

    Hello shoppers! I've got a few things to talk about today, the first being my savings on my last shopping trip. Yesterday, my husband and I did our monthy restock of our pantry at Kroger's. Our complete out of pocket came to $342.61.  Yes, still alot.... BUT I took a closer look, and found that, on the items I saved on, I had almost a 50 percent savings. The regular price of the items came to 107.58, but I paid 58.27 for them! Isn't that great??? I hope to bring down my monthly bill significantly in the future, by building up my stockpile.
    I'm having a hard time getting a stockpile started. I'm pretty sure that the problem has to do with my not having enough coupons collected yet, so I'm gonna push on through. Also, on that shopping trip, I found myself becoming frustrated with looking through my binder for a coupon, and then not using it because the deal wasn't that great. Due to that, I THINK I'm going to make a list of my coupons, alphabetically, including their values and all that for a quick in-store reference.  I'll let you know how that goes.  I have a feeling it's gonna be a little complicated because I don't have a printer. Everything will have to be hand written. . . Hopefully it will be worth it.
    In other news I received my CVS card in the mail today, and I'm uber excited about it.  I've never shopped at CVS, but it seems to be VERY popular with fellow couponers.  I'll also keep you posted about that.
    I've started getting coupons and a few freebies in the mail.  I have invested some of my time searching the internet for free samples, coupons, and free fullsize products.  I have gotten 1 book of coupons, and a recipe book.  I'm waiting on a photobook to come in as well, a 30 dollar value, and I got it FREE!  I will be sure to post pictures when it is delivered.
    I still need commenters and followers people!  Peace~

Contacting Companies Directly

    I told you I'd been doing my homework right?  Well, here are the beginnings of the payoff!  These two coupons were sent to me directly from the company.  What did I do? I simply went to the company's website, found their customer feedback section, and told them just how much I love their product! It took about 3 minutes, and wasn't really hard to do, seeing as I really do love these beans! It only took about a week after I wrote them for these little babies to come in.  I'll keep you updated as to if I receive more from other companies.  Happy couponing!



Just Another Sunday

    Did everybody get their papers today?  I know I did.  I bought one extra to go with the one I already have delivered. I ended up cutting a total of 113 coupons to add to my collection. I also updated my circular collection, which I still need to look over.  So far, I haven't found the circulars THAT useful, but I can definately see how they will in the future when I have alot more coupons. I've had the best luck browsing the clearance aisles when I go into a store.  Good luck!

SUCCESS! On a small scale.

A Successful Trip

    Above, you see the evidence of a successful trip to good old Walmart. Here are the details....

                Bought:
                2 boxes Curad bandages
                4 cans Pedigree Puppy Chow
                1 pack Huggies wipes

                Regular price-- $6.89
                After coupons -$3.89

    I saved a total of 50%! Not bad! Especially considering that these are all things that I would buy at some point and time anyway. So, I'm happy about that.
   Yesterday, I also found out that Big Lots doesn't take coupons... none at ALL.... I had four bottles of Pantene Pro-V, and I was going to get them completely FREE, and they tell me they don't take coupons.... I have never heard of a place that takes no coupons at all.  Needless to say, I was a smidge upset...
    Anyway, I also got an application for a CVS card. I can't wait to start earning those extra care bucks.
    That's all for today! If you have any questions, feel free to ask.



Disappointment

    Went on another sale hunt yesterday, and came up with nil... I'm guessing that I just don't have enough coupons to fit the sales at this point. That's what I'm gonna say at least.
    The trip to my local Dollar General was a little discouraging, but I shall push forward! Haha! I DID use one coupon, but it wasn't really a good deal or anything. We needed cat food and I had a buck fifty off, so I went ahead and used it. That's still saving money right? Just on a small scale.
    At any rate, I'm looking forward to this Sunday, and some new coupons. I'm guessing that the stores and manufacturers don't put items on sale that have new coupons avaliable for them, so maybe after I've had them for a while things will start to look up. After all, anything worth doing isn't easy is it? Until next time!

Coupons Across The Country

     I've recently figured out that different parts of the country, get different coupons.  Seems obvious doesn't it? SO, I'm hoping that a dear friend of mine, who just happens to currently be living on the complete opposite coast than me, will be able to hook me up with some coupons from her side.  YAY! So, hope guys, cause I sure am. I'd have a good advantage if I also had those coupons, just for that fact that most people here won't have them, meaning I'll get to take advantage of deals most other people won't.  Wish me luck!

My Coupon Binder

   Here it is! The binder I worked for DAYS to put together. I really don't plan on keeping the particular binder shown in the pictures, mainly because I'd rather have on with other pockets, and most importantly, a zipper to prevent losing any coupons (which has already happened).

  Above, we have the first inside page of my coupon binder. As you can see, I've deciede to keep a few basic tools here. I have a shopping list, a receipt from my first couponing experience, scissors for the obvious reasons, and a pen.

    Just an inside view of my dividers, and my coupons.

    In the back I keep all my circulars for the week. Gotta make sure to study where the best sales are. I am aware that there are websites that will do this for me, but I want to make sure I have a good foundation, and that I know what I'm doing before I let someone else do it for me.





So Here's The Deal

    Welcome!

    If you are here, I'm guessing you are also interested in this new craze known as ,"Extreme Couponing", or at least some form of the art. I've decided to give this thing a try, and thought maybe some of you would like to come along for the ride. Here is a run down of what's been happening over the past week...

   When I decided I wanted to try this couponing stuff, I quickly realized through a little research that I was going to need a method of organization. The most popular, and my favorite method, was the binder method. When organizing your coupons this way, you seperate them into sections according to what the coupon is for (Meat, dairy, cosmetics, etc...). The coupons are kept in sheets of baseball card protectors. The slots are just the right size.
  The first thing I did was make my way over to my Dollar General to look for the key items I mentioned above. I found the binder no problem, but the bbc sheets weren't carried there, which I expected honsetly. Here is the kicker... I spent the next 4 days trying to track down a store that actually had them in stock. I think I contacted and visited a total of 13 stores. While I was on the phone with the manager of a Hobby Lobby, he exlpained to me in a confused tone:
   "We usually have them, but we just can't keep them in stock at the moment. Everybody wants the for... coupons????"
  I laughed, and thanked him for informing me about their next shipment. I waited till that shipment came in and FINALLY acquired the bbc protectors.
   Today being Sunday, I gathered my first sets of coupons and circulars. I already have a newspaper delivered to my home, and I usually get one for free at my place of employment. They say the best rule to go by when buying papers is to buy one for each person in your family. My family has three people, but I don't want to get overwhelmed just yet, (haha).
   So I excitedly clipped and organized my coupons, and studied my circulars. I was happy to find some ok deals at my local stores, but I won't go into those seeing as I haven't taken advantage of them at this point. I DID have my first official couponing experience today. I only used two coupons for 3 items, but I'm pretty satisfied with the results.  I bought a box of Reynold's Wrap for 25cents, a 75% savings, and I also bought two 24packs of Pepsi for 10dollars, which was only about a 20% savings. Considering I am addicted to Pepsi, and am quite used to paying full price, a 20% savings is a nice breath of fresh air.
    I hope to be able to bring in some big money savers as I build my stash of coupons, and wait on those sales! I'll keep you updated! I'd appreciate any feedback about any part of this blog, whether it be about the subject matter, or suggestions on improvement.