10 Tips to Get Started with Saving

Have you decided that you're ready to start saving? Are you a cute single guy? Call me! Ha! Okay seriously, if you're ready to start saving, here are 10 tips to help you get started.

1. Budget-Decide on an amount of money that you want to spend on groceries each month or each pay period.

2. Make a list of items, including your favorite brands, of things you purchase regularly.

3. Find and clip coupons.-When clipping coupons, while clipping things you normally eat, clip coupons for things that you'd eat/use if it were free. My favorite places to find coupons: Sunday Paper, www.coupons.com, www.retailmenot.com (you can also find great coupon codes here), www.smartsource.com, www.redplum.com, and you can also find coupons on the manufacturer's website. For instance, I like Horizon Organic Milk. I'd never seen a coupon for it until I visited the website. I found three coupons. One for $1.00, which Homeland doubled. I paid around $2.00 for Organic Milk!

4. Once you've found your coupons and have clipped them, you're gonna want to organize them. I suggest visiting the office supply section of Walmart, or rolling by Office Depot or Staples. Each of these places have the little plastic accordian folders that you can use to organize your coupons, or you can buy a binder and photo pages and put it together that way. I will post some pics of what I'm talking about.

5. Decide on categories to place your coupons in. I have two major sections. Edible and Non-Edible. You can definitely begin with just two categories. After that, I have sub-categories like meat, bread, milk/dairy, cereal, pasta, pet food, air fresheners, self maintenence, etc. Decide on the categories that work best for you and your purchasing system.

6. Make your shopping list.

7. Now that your coupons are categorized, and your list is made, pull your Sunday Paper back out and take a look at the local ads. Homeland, (their ad actually comes in the Wednesday Paper, and is also available online) Walgreens, Walmart, Target, CVS, Crest, (I've only seen their ad online), and any other stores you like. As you're looking, remember the coupons you have so you can combine sales with coupons. For instance, I had a $1.00 coupon for Kraft Homestyle Macaroni and Cheese. It was on sale at Homeland for $1.99. Homeland doubles coupons up to a $1.00, so guess what? FREE MAC AND CHEESE BABY! You can get free stuff too!

8. Look for things you plan to purchase. Now as you're looking, you may think "I'm busy. I don't have time to shop at 3-4 stores." Good news, neither do I, but I look at all the ads, and usually shop at the store(s) I can get the best deals at. I usually shop at Homeland, but if Walgreens has Haagen Daz on sale, I'll run by after work one night. If Target has Tide on sale, I may run by during lunch. Do what works best for you. I live close to Homeland, Walmart, Target, and Walgreens, so I shop mostly at those stores. I work close to a Crest, so I may run by there if they have a heck of a major deal.

9. Set a goal for saving. If you're just starting out, set an easy goal. For your first time, your goal should be $1.00. If you walk in thinking you're gonna save $100.00 your first time, you'll either give up because you didn't reach that goal, or you'll buy things you don't need in order to reach that goal. Remember, baby steps. You'll get in the big leagues, one trip at a time.

10. Before you walk out the door to shop, you should have: Your coupons, the ad of the store you're shopping at, your shopping list, and the cash amount you've budgeted to spend. Using cash helps you stick to your budget.

Ready? Set? SHOP!!!

How'd you do? Take a moment to comment and share how much you saved with coupons on your first shopping trip!

I'm single and I'm saving,

Dedra

Coupons for MOVIES and GAS?!!!

Would you like to save money on movies and gas? Of course! We all do!

To save money on movies is pretty easy. To save money in the theatre, simply visit www.retailmenot.com, and search for movie coupon codes. This is only effective if you purchase your movie tickets online. To save money on DVDs and Blue Rays, simply visit coupons.com, and scroll down each page past the groceries until you find a coupon for your favorite movie. The coupons average about $4.00, but I've seen a coupon for $10.00 off a Blue Ray!

Now, to saving money on gas.

If you shop at Homeland like I do, you may already have some gas coupons. Each time you spend over $25.00 at Homeland, you get .05 cents off each gallon. If you spend over $50.00, you get a coupon for .10 off each gallon. If you spend over $100.00, you get a coupon for .20 off each gallon. I think you see the pattern. Now, you may say to yourself "Self, Homeland is really expensive! I'd rather just shop somewhere else and pay full price for my gas!" Here's the deal though, if you are combining sales with coupons, (and Homeland doubles coupons) you're already getting a great deal on groceries, and saving on gas is just gravy! Well wait! There's more! Homeland's gas coupons are good for about six weeks, and you can use UP TO THREE at a time, so you could use them as you get them, or hang on to them until you have three, then get great savings! Last week, I used two. I used a .10 one, and a .05 one. I got $2.62 back. It doesn't sound like much, but those little amounts add up over time.

I'm single and I'm saving,

Dedra

RED HOT DEAL! Sauces for 9 CENTS!

Do you like Soy Sauce? How about Teriyaki Sauce? Sweet and Sour Sauce anyone?

Well, if you visit Kikkoman USA, by clicking here, you can print three coupons.

1. 1.00 off ANY Kikkoman Soy Sauce. (List price at Homeland, 2.09)

2. 1.00 off ANY Kikkoman Marinade. (List price at Homeland, 1.89)

3. Buy ANY Kikkoman Sauce (10 oz. or larger) and get a Ponzu Sauce FREE. (List price for the Ponzu sauce at Homeland, 2.35)

Since Homeland Doubles Coupons up to a dollar, using a coupon for each item, you get all three sauces for....drumroll please....

.09 cents!

If you don't like Kikkoman Sauces, buy them and give them away!

Have a great Wednesday!

The Single Lady!

Saving Money on Eating Out

Since I'm single and ready to mingle, I don't eat at home as often as my married friends do. So, while I get great deals on groceries, I also get great deals on eating out. Tips for saving money on eating out:

1. Make a list of your favorite fast food restaurants as well as sit down restaurants.

2. Visit each of their websites.

3. Sign up to be on their mailing list. (Chili's will give you free queso just for signing up)

4. Do their survey.

5. Check your receipt. (I get free sandwiches from Chick-Fil-A often because I'll get a receipt that reads "Do this survey and get a free Chick-Fil-A sandwich)

6. Check both sides of your receipt. (Every now and then McDonald's will slide some coupons on the back of their receipts)

7. Check the mail. I get weekly coupons from Arby's Taco Bueno, Popeye's, and IHOP. Less often, I get coupons from Mazzio's, Sonic, and Elephant Bar.

8. Check the paper. I've found coupons for Logan's, Red Lobster, and Olive Garden in the Sunday Paper.

9. Join the club. Some restaurants have memberships for additional savings. (I signed up and got a Warrior Card from P.F. Changs, and I get 10% off my entire bill each time I go. 10% may not seem like a lot, but here in Oklahoma, it at least covers the tax.)

10. Go on the deal day. (I always go to Qdoba on Mondays for lunch. Why? 'Cause it's Dollar Taco day!)

11. Network. If you frequent a place, the Manager may just give you some free coupons just to be nice.

Feel free to share any other methods of saving when you eat out!

Tip of the week

Okay, as you may or may not know, I'm relatively new to couponing, but here's something I tried the other day that ended up working well for me.

Make a list of the items that you normally purchase, i.e. milk, toothpaste, dog food, etc. Once you've made your list, Google those items. I tried this the other day, and found great dog food coupons, I use Horizon Organic Milk, and found three coupons for this. I rarely find milk coupons! I found 3 great soy sauce coupons, and more, all from visiting these various websites.

Keep in mind:

Some sites make you sign up, i.e. give up your personal info. If you're not comfortable with this, create a new email address just for couponing so you won't get overwhelmed with emails.

Surfing and Saving!

Okay, the following sites I frequently visit to save on groceries, and one is a blog that I just found yesterday! They are listed in the order I visit them on any given day.

www.coupons.com

www.smartsource.com

www.redplum.com

www.couponcloset.net (Great blog!)

Enjoy!

Quick tip

When shopping, be SURE to check your receipt! I bought two bottles of Simply Orange Juice from Homeland that were listed on sale for 2.99 each, but I was charged 3.79 each. I found the mistake and my 1.80 plus tax was quickly refunded to me.