Tips from the Coupon Queen!

By Cherie Brewer

I have so much to learn from our guest blogger, Cherie, pictured right with her family. You will quickly see why I have given her the title “Coupon Queen” when you read this post. I am amazed at these women who find such great bargains! Just last week at Harris Teeter and CVS, Cherie’s total spent was $160 and her total saved was $300. So, she saved 65% on groceries that week. Wow! Plus, the food she bought lasts her family 2-3 weeks. She will only have to purchase milk, bread and a little produce. Cherie also claims to have spent $2 and saved $30 at CVS many times. As you can see, this new craze of couponing certainly pays off. Here are some great tips from Cherie! – Rachel H.

I LOVE COUPONS!!! I am a domestic engineer to five-year-old quintuplets (Morgan, Sean, Ben, Maddie and our angel Carson). I have used coupons here and there for the last 15 years. Last year I took a free couponing class and knew that I could take couponing to a whole new level. It is not magic but it does take some time and patience.

Here are my tips:

1. Know your prices and ALWAYS buy at the lowest price.

2. Stock up!! The key to stocking up is buying an item at its absolute lowest price (to find out the lowest price you can keep a running list of the prices over an 8 week span). I would do this on all items you buy on a regular basis.

Example: Frosted Flakes is on sale at Harris Teeter for $1.99. You have a $.50 manufacturer’s coupon. The coupon will double to $1.00. You will pay $.99 for this box of Frosted Flakes. This would be the time to stock up. I would purchase enough Frosted Flakes to get you through to the next cycle (6-8 weeks).

3. Know your store coupon policies. I keep copies of each stores coupon policy in the back of my binder.

4. Join store loyalty programs. This is the way to get the sale prices and also a great way to get coupons mailed to your home.

Where to find coupons:

* Sunday paper – buy more than one copy. You can go to www.southernsavers.com. They always have a list of the coupons coming out in the newspaper.

* www.coupons.com

* Trade coupons with friends, family and co-workers

* Blinkies- Red Smart Source boxes attached to shelves that blink

* Catalina- register coupons

* Peelies- coupons on packages

* All You magazine- found at Wal-Mart

* Manufacturer’s websites

* By calling or emailing manufacturers

* Purchasing coupons on ebay or at www.thecouponclippers.com

I have all my coupons in the binder system using baseball card pages. I do have it labeled by aisle/categories. That way I am able to easily find the coupons I need. I check coupon blogs daily, and www.southernsavers.com is one of the blogs I check. Jenny will tell you what is on sale, where to find the coupon and give you a link to print the coupon (if one is available). She has most grocery stores listed, CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid and Target. She also shares great deals in general, whether it be a deal going on at McDonalds or Snapfish.

The other site I check daily is www.caringwithcoupons.com. Dawn lives in Kernersville and updates her site several times a day with the deals she finds in the Triad area. She lists deals at all the local grocery stores, Wal-Mart, Target, and the drug stores. She uses coupons as a way to donate and give back to her community. She has free coupon classes which you can find out about on her site.

Hopefully these tips can give you a start to saving your family some money! Be sure to share with us some of your own couponing tips!