You Gotta Eat - Extreme Couponing!

I'm very excited to have a guest blogger today! I won't lie - I'm not a devoted coupon-er. I've tried it a few times and ended up spending several hours in the grocery store trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong. So I'm super excited to have a coupon pro (and his awesome mom) to talk about couponing tips today - my second cousin (I think... the counting and "removal" of naming cousins escapes me a bit) Elliot and his mom, Kammy! As I've read through these, there are definitely some tips that I'm putting into place for our family this week.

Kammy is a way cooler blogger than me, so if you get a chance, check out Reflections from the Red Couch for her hilarious and thought-provoking views on life, autism (two of her three children are on the spectrum), and occasionally alcohol and controlled substances. ;-)

Elliot is a man of few words (which I can appreciate), so included with his awesome tips are commentary from Kammy in italics.

FYI – Elliott is a terrific guy who has an amazing memory for numbers & directions, never forgets a birthday, runs 10K races & has autism.  While autism makes some things challenging in his life, it also has provided him with some wonderful strengths that we do our best to encourage. When he struggled with leisure skills, we found that coupon matching was something he loved, and so he started to coupon for our family.When he is able to collect items through couponing above and beyond what we need, he is able to gift them to some local shelters, and thus has learned to help our community in his own way. He’s inspired all of us – as I don’t think I had ever used a coupon in my life until Elliott shared his knowledge with me!

My name is Elliott. I am an extreme couponer and I’m thirteen 13. I will try to help you learn how to use coupons and not get ripped off at paying the regular price.

Getting Coupons: I get coupons from the newspaper inserts and I get coupons online. I get most of my coupons from inserts and online.

Our biggest sources are inserts from the Sunday newspaper and on-line coupons that we print.  We have 2 major newspapers in the Twin Cities, and have found coupons for a 1-year-subscription for $2 for one and $4 for the other.  This way we usually get 3 sets of inserts each week for minimal cost.

Storing: I store my coupons in a binder in my office. I have four tabs in my coupon binder. They are FOOD, BEVERAGES, HOUSEHOLD, AND PERSONAL CARE. I keep my inserts in neat piles by date.

We have a ridiculous purple binder that we keep our coupons in. Elliott maintains it (with help), and if it is embarrassing to take to the store, just remove the coupons you think you will use and leave the beast at home.  That said, we have no shame, and have been able to switch gears by having the binder with us when a store is out of something, etc.  We got one like this, except that ours has crazy red and yellow stripes in addition to the purple.  Our binder has 4 tabs:  Food, Beverages, Household Supplies & Personal Care.  You can have many more tabs if that’s your deal – but we aim for ease so these work for us.

Additionally, we don’t cut coupons out of the newspaper inserts (again, this is a time saving measure).  We just keep them stacked in piles by date (usually about 3 months) and only cut them out when we need them.  Elliott does cut them.

Use Websites: Websites do the coupon matching for you to save time. I use COUPONMOM.COM, AND POCKET YOUR DOLLARS. I USE THOSE THE MOST.

This is key for us – as our lifestyle does not permit a great deal of time each week for these tasks.  We use websites that do all the matching of deals for us by store.  One of the best national websites is www.couponmom.com – you can look up stores based on your geographic area, click on the store, and it lists the deals by % savings so you know the best deals each week.  Additionally, it lists links to on-line coupons you may need and/or lists which coupon insert needed in order to get the best deal.  You can just check the items you need, print a list, gather the coupons you need, and head to the store.  Likely, you will have regional/local sites that may be even better.  We have www.pocketyourdollars.com – which is fabulous, but geared towards the Midwest.

Last, this is something that may work for some people and may irritate others.  We have signed up for a number of daily emails that compile the best bargains of the day (or week).  These may be grocery related, or often list huge deals on Amazon or let you know when Target puts items on clearance, etc.  Frankly, many days, we just delete them due to lack of time, so we don’t feel overwhelmed by them.  But, if Elliott or I have time to look through them, we have been able to take advantage of some great deals.  Here are our favorites – if any interest you, just visit their website and subscribe for email reminders.  If getting emails drives you nuts, don’t do it!  Most have Facebook pages as well (Elliott does not have FB yet, but I have “liked” some of these pages).

For The Mommas: http://forthemommas.com/

Couponing for 4:  http://www.couponingfor4.net/

Couponers United:  http://www.couponersunited.com/

Couponing to Disney:  http://www.couponingtodisney.com/

Addicted to Saving:  http://www.addictedtosaving.com/

I hope that helped you learn how to coupon. If you have questions for me I can be reached at my email address ElliottTKramer@hotmail.com My goal is to save fifty percent or more on the receipt.
___________________________

Did you read that last line?! Elliot helps his family save FIFTY PERCENT... HALF... on their purchases!

Honestly, almost all of this, especially the websites that will do coupon-matching, is new to me! I will admit that I can be lazy-level frugal, but Kammy's hints and tips make me confident that most of these are things that I can put into place for our weekly grocery trips!

2014 'Do More With Less' Money Challenge #2:

Use at least two of Elliot's Extreme Coupon-er tips to save at the grocery store this week!