My personal experience with Coupons!

So I thought I should give my readers a little information and background info on what I have learned. Here is the PYP website, and the PYP blog.
This is where I have learned so much information! Hopefully it can help you too! They work with IDAHO, UTAH and ARIZONA stores. ANYWAY...

HERE is a video on showing you how much money you really earn by saving. It's motivating!!!

Ok, with this said... all things are good in moderation... I am not a die hard couponer... I use coupons to best inhance our budget... I have't perfected it, I do mess up and I don't worry too much if I do. I will buy things without coupons and don't assume it is for everyone.... AND please NEVER buy anything JUST BECAUSE you have a coupon... make sure it's a good deal (mainly on sale and using a coupon) and watch expiration dates, you don't want to buy a ton of something that's freaking cheap if it's going to expire... that's pointless!

Now moving on:

There are a few ways to begin couponing... I started just by using printable coupons and printables ONLY! I would sign into the PYP website and go to either the grocery guide, or the forums and pick screaming deals by state. Then I would see what is a 5 star price and what was a sale price for something I needed soon. Then I would see on their grocerylist chart where the printable or coordinating coupon to use with that product would be found. (links taking you right to the coupons) THAT EASY! I would print the ones I wanted and make a shopping list.

Now I have started saving the coupons I get in the mail each week with my store ads, and since I don't subscribe to the newspaper I have my mother save her Sunday paper inserts for me. Now that I have more coupons to handle and dig through, I realized some of you might have this same problem. Well there are mainly 2 methods to be organized with coupons.

1. you can have a binder of some sort, cut the coupons and throw them in baseball card holders with tabs marking the different catagories, if you do this just while watching your favorite tv show at night, they are cut in no time!) that way when your already in the store and find something you weren't originally planning to buy (could be clearanced or something you simply forgot to add to your list) you can flip right to the page and find your coordinating coupon to maximize your savings. I myself use this method and found a great binder system from a gal on PYP (anyone who wants contact information please let me know.)

2. you don't have to cut the coupons until you use them. When you print the grocery lists from PYP it tells you right where the coupon is that goes with that item. They code them like SS: Smart Source RP: Red Plum etc... (see abbreviations on my side bar!) They tell you the date that insert came ... (Example: Campbell’s Select Harvest soup cans, any .50/2 (2-15-09) Nestle SS-1/4 and SS-12/14) so then you can grab your inserts (make sure when you get these you write the coordinating date on it, so you can find things later!) and just find that one coupon and cut it... Saves you some time cutting them all up, but it also means you don't have all your coupons at the store to use... *shrug* but still very effective...

Anyway, I hear silly things that people are shy about using coupons, or are too embarrassed or have too much pride... this is my opion... start small, take just printables or take just 5 coupons .... start small... then work your way up larger... Don't feel dumb because your being smart by using these coupons and saving yourself the hard earned money... It is a hard first step but it will be worth it!




p.s. some random information. Before coupons I shopped mainly at Walmart for our groceries.. they price match so I would take my ads in and go to town. Now after using PYP I have learned that I have switched to using mainly Albertsons, they have the best sales... and I run into multiple PYP'ers or Couponers there, they are GREAT about taking coupons at checkout and the cashiers always tell me good job, and are impressed with my final totals.