Join us for Day #7 of the 20 Day Budget Bootcamp!
Hopefully at this stage of this 20 day budget boot camp, you have your basic budget set up, you know your financial goals, and you even have a plan to pay down debt.
Now there has only been a week since this challenge started, so you may need more time – and that is ok. Just put it on your calendar of when you will finalize these details so that you really can accomplish your goals within this month!
Now we are going to focus a bit more on money-saving tips, that will hopefully help you reach your financial goals even faster.
One category in your budget that we all have is for groceries.
Depending on the size of your family, this could be one of your larger monthly expenses. The good news though is that this is a category that with a little time and effort, can easily be cut down so that you are spending much less.
The most common and obvious way to cut your grocery spending is to officially become a coupon user.
I will say though, that the coupon deals that were available 8-10 years ago (when I started this blog) are a lot less these days. Now don’t get me wrong, there are still good deals to be had by clipping coupons – but I’m just not coming home with $80 worth of products for $15 from drug stores like I used to.
1. Where do I get coupons?
The 3 main places I use to get coupons is the weekly Sunday newspaper, Coupons.com (for printable coupons), and jackscardsandcoupons.com where I can purchase multiple copies of the same newspaper insert coupon without having to buy multiple newspapers.
I also like purchasing coupons for an amount I won’t find locally. Many times I will get a $1/2 coupon in my newspaper insert when a $0.75/1 coupon is available to purchase at jacks (that was from another region in the nation).
That way I can double the $0.75/1 coupon and save $1.50 off of one item, rather than $1/2. If the coupon is printable, you should be able to print 2 copies of the coupon per computer. If you want more than 2 coupons, then you’ll have to use a friends computer to print more.
2. I have coupons collected – so now what do I do?
If you are new to using coupons, then rule #1 is to pick just ONE grocery store to start using coupons at– and weekly check the deals list for that store.
Pick the store you are already the most loyal to and just use coupons at one store so that you don’t feel overwhelmed by feeling the need to shop at 7 different stores in one week.
I don’t want you to feel like you can only use coupons at one store – I just want to emphasize that it is not realistic with normal life time constraints to try and shop at more than probably 3 stores on a regular basis.
When you look at these deal lists, there may be some acronyms or verbiage you may not be familiar with.
Read this page on “Deal vocabulary” to help you interpret “coupon-ese” in no time!
Note: You CANNOT Photo copy coupons! That is illegal!
Looking for a specific store and what coupons they have available? Use the Coupon Database!
3. Did you know that you could Stack Coupons for even more savings?!?
Did you know that you can stack a STORE coupon with a manufacturer coupon and use both coupons on the same item? This is when saving money gets fun! Here is an example of a stacking coupon deal at Wegmans:
You’re able to use the printable manufacturer coupon with the Wegmans app or home mailer coupon on the same item.
This is called stacking coupons. Sometimes there are even money-saving apps you can use to triple stack! (There will be more on money saving apps on Day #16.)
I also have 3 Facebook groups where there are myself and a few other bloggers that post updated deals daily. Check these out and join them if you want great deals, but don’t want to have to search for them yourself.
Couponing to Slash Your Grocery Bill
I usually glace at these once a day and see if there is anything I should add to my weekly grocery list.
I’ll print coupons and leave them on my printer. Then each Sunday I sit down for an hour or so and create my shopping list and menu for the week and cut any coupons that I will use that week from the newspaper or from what I printed out throughout the week.
Then I put them in my coupon holder that I bring to the store with me.
Here are some cute ways to make your own DIY Coupon Organizers!
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I realize that this post contains a TON of info (so much so that I don’t cover this much in a 2 hour coupon seminar!) So head OVER HERE to my 20 Day Budget Bootcamp Challenge for Day #7 and ask all of the coupon questions you want to over there! There is no such thing as a stupid question and this is a safe group to ask what you want to know about coupons!
Check out more from this 20 Day Budget Bootcamp:
How To Stop Impulse Purchases & Avoid Retail Temptation While Shopping
Ideas on How To Begin Paying Down Debt
How To Easily Create Long Term Budget Goals
Want all 20 days of the Budget Challenge to come straight to your inbox? If so, sign up below:
20 Day Budget Challenge
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