I have a good friend, Susan, who lives near Atlanta. She has been 'couponing' for many years. She tried and tried to get me involved--but I just didn't have time. WELL---once I retired and had more time in my life (HA HA), I started talking to Susan about what to do and what not to do. She was a great teacher. She even bought me my first coupon organizer. (I now have TWO--both quite full!!)
Couponing is NOT for everyone --but someone with my Type A personality and my love for lists and details, would enjoy it!!!! AND--if you have time (it does take time every week), then it may be for you. SO--for the past couple of years, I can call myself a Coupon Queen... WELL--I might just be a Princess, since I don't go into as many details as some people do with coupons. BUT--I have saved us quite a bit of money the past couple of years.
Here's a few pointers:
-Look for store specials; If you have coupons for those items, you'll double your pleasure.
-Look for the store's policies about coupons and savings (my Kroger's offers double coupons up to 50 cents; my Kroger's also takes expired coupons--which really helps; AND my Kroger's offers a 5% discount to Senior Citizens every Wed.--on top of our coupons.)
-Compare the store's own brands with the name brands; Sometimes the store brands are cheaper, and just as good, than a name brand WITH a coupon.
I could go on and on and on, but I know how much I hate reading LONG blogs. So I won't go into more details about how I save money using coupons. BUT--anyone who is interested is welcome to email me (betsyadams@mac.com) and I'll give you lots of pointers. It's really alot of fun--if you enjoy this type of thing.
Comparing what we spent in the year 2007 to the year 2008 in our grocery budget, we saved almost $500. And you know how much the price of groceries have gone up in 2008, don't you?? SO-- saving $500 on top of that is SUPER, don't you think??? Therefore, when I can save a bunch of money by using coupons, it is worth all of the effort I put into it!!!! That gives us more money to travel and see waterfalls!!!
