Becoming a Frugal Fanny 101

Hey everyone, 

Out of necessity (and addiction!), I have succumbed to the couponing world. I posted a few pics of some recent freebies I got at Super Target and had several Facebook messages with some couponing questions. I decided to do a few posts about the art of clipping...and it really is an art. The internet has opened up a whole new world for companies to post coupons and savings. There are thousands of dollars worth of savings that can be printed right from the comfort of your own home! (I sound like an infomercial! ;) 

We are a one income family right now. Couple that with our doubled housing cost at the moment, and we are stretched to the max in the money department. What do you do when you're poor? Push up your sleeves and get creative! I finally decided to stop moping about what we can't afford and focus on the things that CAN be done. Though I am not working and bringing in any substantial income, I can save our family money. 

Proverbs 31 talks about women of the Lord "looking well to the ways of her household and not eating the bread of idleness". It's pretty difficult to be idle with 2 kiddies under the age of 4, but still...part of homemaking is money management, not just money production! 

Here are a few questions people have been asking about the coupon world. 

(Note- All of this information comes from various blogs, books and people who have given me tips. I can take no credit- but I love to pass along great deals and info!) 

Question: How much time does it take?

Answer: As much or as little as you want really. Once you get a system, things will streamline themselves and will slash your research time. We as "modern" women ;) have the advantage of technology and the many many websites and blogs devoted to sniffing out the best deals. Many of them do the work for you, you will need to check them periodically and pick and choose which deals work for you.

For me personally, I have carved out time on Sunday evenings to get organized each week. Randy has HS youth group at church is isn't home until 11PM or after most Sundays. After I get the girls down for bed, I get my newspapers out and clip away. This is also when I do the bulk of my online research for the upcoming week. Monday evenings are "grocery" night for me. At this stage, it has been easier for me to shop around when I'm kid free for a couple of hours. This is something we have been doing for several months and it has been working well for us for now. We eat dinner early (5PMish), I kiss everyone goodbye and have the remainder of the evening to hit whichever stores I need to that week. I usually do 2 larger trips per month and 2 lighter trips on the off weeks. (Milk, produce, etc. doesn't last too long around here!). Whatever works for you will work for you. Just like most things, if it's a scheduled part of life, you're probably more apt to actually follow through. 

On the "lighter" weeks, I have been venturing out during the day on Monday with the girls. The Piggly Wiggly near us has child-sized metal shopping carts and Wyndham LOVES to shop for things on our list. She's also a pretty mean coupon clipper. It just depends on how much bulk things I need (i.s. paper products, etc.).

Question: Where do I get all of these coupons?

Answer: There are a multitude of resources. I will share with you what I know, but I'm sure there are more avenues out there...if you know of any, let me know!

Newspaper- any major Sunday newspaper usually has 2 coupon inserts: Smart Source and Red Plum. Living in the Chicago area, ours is the Chicago Tribune. The Tribune just finished a promotion for the Wed/Fri/Sunday paper for 50 cents a week!!! The price has gone up to $1 per week, but still- consider how much you will save, all for $4 a month! If you're interested in the Tribune,  Visit www.chicagotribune.com/savenow and enter discount code X581. Otherwise, you will need to research whatever local paper you have in your area- make sure to ask if they have the SS and RP inserts!

  All You Magazine- This is a new discovery for me. All You is kind of like a "Woman's Day"- a household magazine. The great thing about this magazine is that each monthly issue has between 30-40 coupons! I've also read that the coupons are organized alphabetically in the back so you can easily flip to the ones you actually want without searching through the entire book. How thoughtful! 

If you visit dealseekingmom , you can get a 2 year subscription for $17.99. Supposedly, this is the rock-bottom lowest rice out there. I signed up last week and am excited to get my first issue soon!

Internet: There are SO many printable coupon websites. You will need to invest in paper and ink, but again, you will recoup your cost pretty quickly once you get the hang of it! You will also need to download a coupon web printer- you will be prompted to do this on any of the major coupon sites. Bascially, it's what allows you to print off UPC codes. Here are just a few of the most popular sites, but you could easily do a google search and probably find more: 

www.coupons.com

www.smartsource.com

Now for the biggie. Specific Manufacturer Websites/Coupons. This list was compiled a Queen Bee of Super-Couponers: Jill Cataldo. (See below for more info on her)

Baby
Baby Basics www.babybasicsclub.com
Beech-Nut www.beechnut.com
Bright Beginnings www.brightbeginnings.com
Earth's Best www.earthsbest.com
Enfamil www.enfamil.com
Gerber www.gerber.com
Pampers www.pampers.com
Parents' Choice www.parentschoiceformula.com
Huggies www.huggieshappybaby.com
Luvs www.luvs.com
Nestle Good Start www.verybestbaby.com
Similac www.similac.com
Target Baby www.target.com - request baby catalog to get on baby coupon mailer list.

(note: Most baby manufacturers do not offer printable coupons often, BUT they do send regular coupon mailers out in the postal mail. Sign up at each site to receive mailers as they're typically high-value coupons!)

Bakery
Arnold www.arnoldbread.com
Baker's Joy www.bakersjoy.com
Betty Crocker www.bettycrocker.com
Duncan Hines www.duncanhines.com
Entenmann's www.entenmanns.com
Jiffy www.jiffymix.com
Natures Own www.naturesownbread.com
Pillsbury www.pillsbury.com
Wonder www.wonderbread.com

Beverages
7 Up www.7up.com
Bigelow Tea www.bigelowtea.com
Celestial Seasonings www.celestialseasonings.com
Florida's Natural www.floridasnatural.com
Hansen's www.hansens.com
Hawaiian Punch www.hawaiianpunch.com
IBC Root Beer www.ibcrootbeer.com
Lipton www.liptont.com
Mott's www.motts.com
Ocean Spray www.oceanspray.com
Old Orchard www.healthybalance.com
Propel www.propelwater.com
Sobe www.sobebev.com
Snapple www.snapple.com
Sunny Delight www.sunnydelight.com
Tropicana www.tropicana.com
Welch's www.welchs.com
Wylers www.wylers.com

Breakfast
General Mills www.generalmills.com
Kelloggs www.kelloggs.com
Malt O Meal www.malt-o-meal.com
Post www.kraftfoods.com/postcereals
Thomas' English Muffins www.thomas.gwbakeries.com

Cleaning
All www.all-laundry.com
Arm & Hammer www.armandhammer.com
Cascade www.cascadeclean.com
Cheer www.cheer.com
Clorox www.clorox.com
Electrasol www.electrasol.com
Lysol www.lysol.com
Oust www.oust.com
Pine-Sol www.pinesol.com
Purex www.purexsavesgreen.com
Tide www.tide.com
Windex www.windex.com
Woolite www.woolite.com

Dairy
Blue Bunny www.bluebunny.com
Breyers www.icecreamusa.com/breyers
Dannon www.dannon.com
Dean Foods www.deanfoods.com
Edy's www.edys.com
Haagen Dazs www.haagen-dazs.com
Heluva Good www.heluvagood.com
Horizon www.horizonorganic.com
Kozy Shack www.kozyshack.com
Lactaid www.lactaid.com
Land O Lakes www.landolakes.com
Promise www.promisehealthyheart.com
Sargento www.sargentocheese.com
Skinny Cow www.skinnycow.com
Stonyfield Farm www.stonyfield.com
Tillamook www.tillamookcheese.com
Wild Harvest www.wildharvestorganic.com

Ethnic
Boboli www.boboli.com
Chef Boyardee www.chefboyardee.com
El Monterey www.ruizfoods.com
Freschetta www.freschetta.com
Jose Ole www.joseole.com
Ling Ling's www.ling-ling.com
Mission www.missionfoods.com
Ronzoni www.ronzoni.com
Wanchai Ferry www.wanchaiferry.com

Frozen
Banquet www.banquet.com
Barber Foods www.barberfoods.com
Cole's Garlic Bread www.coles.com
Culinary Circle www.culinarycircle.com
Edward's Pies www.edwardsbaking.com
Farm Rich www.farmrichfun.com
Lean Cuisine www.leancuisine.com
Ling Ling's www.ling-ling.com
Luigi's Italian Ice www.luigis.com
Marie Callender www.mariepies.com
McCain's Potatoes www.mccainusa.com
Michelina's www.michelinas.com
Mrs. Smith's www.mrssmiths.com
Mrs. T's Pierogies www.mrsts.com
Smart Ones www.eatyourbest.com
Tyson www.tyson.com
White Castle www.whitecastle.com

Grains
Uncle Ben's www.unclebens.com
Zatarain's www.zatarains.com

Meats
Ball Park Franks www.ballparkfranks.com
Bar-S Hot Dogs www.bar-s.com
Carl Buddig www.buddig.com
Farmland www.farmlandfoods.com
Hatfield www.hqm.com
Hebrew National www.hebrewnational.com
Hillshire Farm www.hillshirefarm.com
Jennie-O www.jennieo.com
Oscar Meyer www.kraftfoods.com/oscarmayer
Perdue www.perdue.com
Pilgrim's Pride www.pilgrimspride.com

Organics
Cascadian Farms www.cascadianfarm.com
Eat Better America www.eatbetteramerica.com
Horizon www.horizonorganic.com
Kashi www.kashi.com
Mambo Sprouts www.mambosprouts.com
Naturally Savvy www.naturallysavvy.com
Organic Valley www.organicvalley.coop
Stonyfield Farm www.stonyfield.com
Wild Harvest www.wildharvestorganic.com

Other
Bic www.bicworld.com
Hanes www.hanes.com

Paper
Dixie www.makeitadixieday.com
Georgia Pacific www.gp.com
Hefty www.pactiv.com
Viva www.vivatowels.com

Personal Care
Blistex www.blistex.com
Clearasil www.clearasil.us
Dial www.dialcorp.com
Eucerin www.eucerin.com
Kotex www.kotex.com
Nexcare www.nexcare.com
Schick www.shaving.com
Sensodyne www.sensodyne.com
St. Ives www.stives.com

Pets
9 Lives www.9lives.com
Greenies www.greenies.com
Iams www.iams.com
Purina www.purina.com
Whiskas www.whiskas.com

Produce
BirdsEye www.birdseye.com
Del Monte www.delmonte.com
Dole www.dole.com
Idahoan Potatoes www.idahoan.com
Mussleman's www.knouse.com
PictSweet www.pictsweet.com

Seafood
Gorton's www.gortons.com
Sea Pak Shrimp www.seapak.com
Starkist Tuna www.starkist.com

Snacks
Blue Diamond www.bluediamond.com
Brach's Candy www.brachs.com
General Mills www.generalmills.com
General Mill's Spanish site - Que Rica Vida www.quericavida.com (sign up for Que Rica Vida free magazine, which has coupons too!)
Hostess www.twinkies.com
Keebler www.keebler.com
Kraft www.kraftfoods.com (sign up for Food & Family free magazine, which has coupons too!)
Luna Bars www.lunabar.com
Mt. Olive Pickles www.mtolivepickles.com
Pepperidge Farm www.pepperidgefarm.com
Tribe Hummus www.tribehummus.com
Vlasic www.vlasic.com

Spices, Sweeteners & Seasonings
Equal www.equalexchange.com
McCormick www.mccormick.com
Mrs. Dash www.mrsdash.com
Spice Islands www.spiceislands.com
Splenda www.splenda.com

Soups
Campbell's www.campbellkitchen.com
Healthy Choice www.healthychoice.com
Knorr www.knorr.com
Progresso www.progressofoods.com
Wolfgang Puck www.wolfgangpucksoup.com
Wyler's www.wylers.com

Vegetarian / Vegan
Boca www.bocaburger.com
Gardenburger www.gardenburger.com
Lightlife www.lightlife.com
Morningstar Farms www.morningstarfarms.com
Rice Dream www.tastethedream.com
Silk Soy Milk www.silksoymilk.com
So Delicious www.turtlemountain.com

Head spinning yet? This must have taken her DAYS to compile! Thanks Jill!

In the Store: Look around your stores for tear pads, "blinkie" dispensers and peelable stickers on products themselves. 

Catalina Coupons: Catalinas (named for the machine that prints them at the register) are coupons that print after you've made a purchase. They usually print out right after your receipt. The deceptive thing about these coupons is that they can (usually) be used at different stores. Example- If you get a Catalina coupon at Jewel- read the fine print. It might simply say "manufacturer" coupon. If this is the case, it can be used at any store. Some coupons will say "To be redeemed at____", and obviously, can only be used at that particular store. 

Questions: Ok. I have some coupons, how do I get all those deals?

Answer: This is where things get interesting. 

1. This is where your local store ads are a must. Start by looking through your ads to find things on sale. Obviously, things on sale will be even CHEAPER with a coupon. You can do your own research or use on of many sites that does the research for you (My fav!!!). 
2. Deal sites are especially great if you don't inderstand how to work thigs yet, or if you just want to save time! They can tell you: What coupons to use, at what store, etc. Here are a few, though if you do a google search, you may be able to find blogs of people in YOUR area that are doing all of the work for you...can't beat that!
   

www.couponmom.com

www.dealseekingmom.com

www.jillcataldo.com (a chicago native, but her research might apply in your area too)

www.freebies4mom.blogspot.com/search/label/coupons

http://www.flamingoworld.com/retail

http://hip2save.blogspot.com/

• Store Coupon Policies: It's good to go online and research these. Here are a few Examples: 
  

Super Target- You can combine ONE Target coupon (can be printed directly from site) and ONE manufacturer coupon. 

Using my example from this week, I had one Johnson and Johnson Target Q and one Manufacturer Q at $1 each. There are many J&J tems that are priced $2 or less, or even slightly more. SO, if a bottle of Bedtime Wash is $2.19, I use my 2 Qs and get it for 10 cents. Even generic can't beat that price. 

This post is already 3 miles long, so I will try and post some specific store strategies another time. Work on getting those coupons first!!

A few more miscellaneous things I've learned: 

• Create a separate email address for your deal/couponing ventures- example- mine is "moneysavinmom@gmail.com"...I even made one for Randy..."moneysavindad@gmail.com. That way, you can keep everything separate and not be worried about your inbox getting piled with spam. You will have to decided if you want to give info out- such as address, etc. If it is a reputable recognized site, you usually get on mailing lists for coupons. Target has some killer coupon books that come out once or twice/month.
  
• Get organized! I purchased an expandable file folder for all of my coupons with sections- example: Target, Walgreens...Frozen Food, Cereal & Snacks, etc. This makes life bearable!
• Plan meals around sales. This was a major DUH for me. Instead of constantly coming up with my own menus, let the sales lead the way. What a relief!
• Stockpiling is fun...and can be given away! I just got 29 bars of J&J Buddy soap for FREE...better than FREE! They owed ME money! Think of all of the pantries you could help stock, or gifts you could give? The freebie opportunities might be for random things, but hey, I'll take what I can get!
• Organic- We try and eat organic as much as we can around here, though, as everyone knows, it's much more expensive. Some organic websites are noted above, and I also stumbled upon this site. The nice thing about this site is that it has a special coupon generator that allows you to print multiples of Target web coupons on one piece of paper- paper savings!!! If anyone has any more organic coupon leads, let me know!
• Coupons Deals are for more than just boxed items. A lot of people think that the only deals to be had are on boxed/dry goods, but that's not true! I bought some Jennie O Lean Ground Turkey one week and each package had a manufacturer stickie coupon attached for $1 off. Super K-mart had a double coupon day a week later (making these coupons $2 each), PLUS JO Turkey was on sale 2 for $4, making ground turkey FREE!!! I got 6 lbs for FREE people! 
• There are endless opportunities online. I've heard of something called Swagbucks and Ebates that look interesting. Google them if you want more info.
• Ya win some, ya loose some. Sometimes, you just can't be on the leading edge of every deal out there. Oh well! Life goes on! There will be many more to catch. (I'm preaching to myself right now too:0)

Well, my fingers are falling off from typing, and your eyes are probably falling out from reading! I'll try and follow up with some more specific store couponing info. In the meantime, happy deal hunting! Fill me in on any info you have too!