Couponing for the Apprentice

I couldn't decide what to write as my first post. I have so many great ideas for this blog! As I mentioned on my intro, in this blog I would like my readers to relate to me. What better way than to write about the things that I am learning about in order to live a frugal lifestyle. Since I just began couponing I thought that this is great start!

Lets start by saying that I love over-spending in grocery and I would like to blame that to the fact that besides my bathroom breaks, the grocery store is where I get some free time from the kids. Yes, I'm pretty sure stay-at-home moms can relate. So I've decided to cut down on my grocery (this include food and household must-haves). Since we follow mainly a vegetarian diet at home, I have noticed that saving on produce isn't very common, but saving on can goods and household items are! Because we are a family of four and love to host, we tend to run out of toiletry pretty often. We are constantly buying toilet papers, paper towels, and laundry detergents. Because we are learning to be frugal we stick to items we USE and items we NEED. I don't purchase things that my kids don't eat or over-spend on detergents if I already have ten sitting in the laundry room.

First things first: I began reading other blogs on how to begin couponing. I had to learn the terms they used and what they meant. Before I began buying the Sundays paper, I was just using printable coupons together with any EXTRAbucks from CVS or my points from Walgreens.

We learn from our mistakes:

When beginning your journey concentrate on one store and one store only. I made the mistake of believing I knew how to coupon from day one. I went to different stores with my coupons and ended up forgetting to use some coupons or simply not getting the best deal on the item I purchased.
Make small trips at a time. This is sort of piggybacking from the first mistake. I had created a list of about ten to twenty items per trip and this made me forget to use my coupons, losing some coupons or simply misplacing them. I brought down my trip size to three and five items per trip.

Tips:

-Only purchase things when they are on sale.
-Find a store near you that will double your coupons.
-Read the coupon policy for the store you decide to go to for couponing.
-Organize your coupons- this is something I am still learning because I haven't found a method that works best for me.

Do not worry it gets easier with time. When I began couponing I began by saving small amounts and that made me euphoric. I am now saving up to 50% on my trips. I can't wait to go up to 75% savings and then up to 99%; baby steps at a time makes a difference. I will not consider myself a mad couponer. A mad couponer under my definition is someone who does extreme purchases with coupons, for the adrenaline feeling. Don't get me wrong, the feeling you get when you save money is absolutely unique but, my main goal is and will continue to be saving for a frugal lifestyle.

This is what I've learned so far! I hope this helps. If you have any questions feel free to ask on the comment area, I will gladly response.