Couponing

I'll first start by saying that I had no earthly idea that "couponing" was even a word (well, it's not REALLY- you can't find it in the dictionary). But I have found that there is this CRAZY world of couponing where people pay nothing and get everything. I have been researching this for a couple of weeks now. At the beginning I felt there was no way I would ever figure it out- it's really quite hard. Here's what you do- you cut all the coupons you can find. Some ppl cut out any coupon- I have chosen to only cut coupons for items we will actually use regardless of brand. Then you examine all the ads for the week and match them up with coupons. So- if something is on sale for 1.99 from 3.99 and then you have a coupon for 1.50 off- you've got it for 50 cents! Great right? Well- yes, but it takes a lot of time and effort and not to mention it's really hard to find stuff... So you do this and you "stockpile" stuff. You buy stuff when you don't need it because you WILL need it at some point and you won't be able to ever get it cheaper. Like if body wash was on sale and you can get it for a buck a bottle- buy 8! You will eventually use it. There are all these pictures people take of their shopping trips that say something like, "Original price, 999, sale price, 799, after coupons....actual out of pocket payment 35 cents." Isn't that amazing?!

I remember growing up how my grandparents had a mini grocery in their basement. I think it was from their grocery store they had owned previously, but perhaps it was from coupon stockpiling. I'm not sure. I'll have to ask my grandma some day.

This whole process seems really complicated to me right now, but I'm learning. It takes awhile to make your "stockpile" and create real savings. I only have coupons from last weeks ads, where as on the list there are savings from coupons cut months ago- so my savings this week won't be that staggering. You have to build up your stash. I still haven't figured out how you manage expiration dates.

So I subscribed to a website called the grocery game where you pay someone to do the matching for you. Then you print off the list each week and cut your coupons and match them up. It makes it really easy. I think after a few weeks of the list and looking at ads I won't need to pay for the list anymore- I'll be seasoned!

So today I start. I have ads and coupons for 4 stores- Walgreens, CVS, HyVee and Price Chopper. I am curious to see how this will really work. I have previously driven past CVS and Walgreens and thought to myself, "Who would buy grocery there? Stupid." Well, actually, they have some GREAT deals- and their ads match really well with the weekly coupons. Diet Coke is on sale at CVS for 8 bucks for 4-12 packs! AMAZING!

I will let you know how it goes.