Ok, no one can laugh at the name of this "Blog in Progress."  I have created this blog on a whim due to a compelling amount of requests that I received on Facebook (seriously, over 50 messages) related to couponing and cutting costs at the grocery.  I will attempt to answer some "Savings 101" questions in this first blog:


Q: Where did you learn how to coupons and why are you doing it, you both have good jobs right?
A: Yes, we both have great jobs, however about 2.5 years ago Jason and I took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class at a local church (highly recommend Financial Peace Classes).  We became addicted to the thought that we could be completely debt free in a relatively short amount of time, if we lived on less.  Needless to say in the first year we paid down a little over $24,000 (and we had our son that year).  We only use cash (debit cards), currently do not own 1 credit card, and both drive high mileage older cars....BUT the near thought of banking our entire paychecks monthly is a driving factor and provides sheer excitement to my husband and I.  Ok, so year two came and went, and although we did pay down a small amount of debt we had another child, made some home remodels, and well... NEED to buckle down.  We have my Graduate School loans left to pay on and will hopefully will be making our "WE'RE DEBT FREE" call to Dave Ramsey this year.  So that brings us to present day...we currently are trying to cut monthly expenses by 50% and couponing is an easy way to do this.  I like the coupon myth "Poor people coupon."  In a recent study of couponers nationwide, the average family income was $105,000.  Amazing, huh?

Q: Where do you get your coupons?
A: I currently am getting multiple Sunday papers from friends and family (yes, you will need more than 1 copy of a coupon), along with buying a few extras if needed.  The Sunday insert contains (Red Plum, Smart Source, Proctor and Gamble, and occasionally a General Mills insert).  Also, manufacturer websites offer a lot of great coupons, and facebook.com is awesome and offers some really high value coupons if you "Like" the manufacturer's/product's page.

I also am using these websites:
www.coupons.com
redplum.com
target.com
passionforsavings.com
totallytarget.com

**The last two websites are awesome resources with Facebook and blog daily updates on specific sale at the local stores.  They also provides weekly "match-ups" based on sales and coupons.

Q: How do I get started?
A: Well, first I would start by clipping the Sunday inserts, and watching for sales that you can combine your coupons with at your favorite stores.  Target  is a great "starter" store because on their website  they offer   Target Coupons  which can also be combined with a Manufacturer coupons and used in the SAME transaction providing a lot of savings.

Q: How do I organize all of these coupons??

A: I will share what I do, and you can adapt what works best for you...I am the type of person who likes to have my coupons with me at all times.  What will I do if I see an item on clearance that I hadn't planned for and forgot the coupon...lol?  I don't have a list of all of the coupons I have, I have clipped them and organized them, so I usually know what I have in my binder.  Here is an a pic of the organizer that I use.  You can't see the other side (for security reasons, lol), but I have an address label with my phone number on it, because I have been known to be forgetful at times.   We can address the labeling of the sections in a upcoming blog (trying to provide a brief overview).

This is also an option...baseball card pages make it handy to see all coupons and find them quickly.  It is also a great idea as shown in this picture to print a copy of the store's coupon policy to have with you at all times (I can also provide those in future blogs).

Coupon Lingo
~Ok, so you will have to brush up on some new terminology to aide in your savings.  Here is a link so that you can view the lingo that is used on most blogs and websites for coupon "match-ups."
Coupon Lingo resource


Overwhelmed?  Don't be, just keep it simple.  A few tips to remember:

• Small savings can add up – even those 25 cent coupons make a difference – especially if your store doubles coupons!

•  Do what you can – some weeks you’ll be able to give more to planning and saving than others. Something is better than nothing!
• Treat saving money as a game. Challenge yourself and make it fun.
•  Find a formula that works best for you and your family – there is no one size fits all approach to anything in life.