Need a coupon...just print one :)

So what do you do if there is a great sale on Cheerios this week and you have every coupon BUT a Cheerios one? You head to the internet to search for one! One of my Sunday rituals now includes spending time on the computer browsing for coupons that I will need to match with the sales for the week. These coupons are called "printable coupons" and you can find these all over the internet. There are many websites where you can find a large selection available for printing. Here are the ones I use on a weekly basis:

www.kroger.com or www.shortcuts.com (they have the same coupons on either site)

www.coupons.com

www.smartsource.com

www.redplum.com

www.couponnetwork.com

If you are new to printable coupons then these websites are a great place to start because the coupons are right there for you to look at and print! *Secret Alert* With printable coupons you can print 2 coupons from each computer in your home. If you find a great deal on a product you use frequently..stock up on the coupon by printing two from any available computers. Stocking up on high value coupons is the best way to get items that are on sale very cheap...or even free! The picture above is what a printable coupon site looks like. Simply choose "clip" under the coupons you want to print and then when you are finished click "print selected coupons" and your coupons will print in a matter of seconds.

Sometimes I will search all of these sites and STILL cannot find a coupon for something on my grocery list for the week. When this happens...I go to the source! This past week Rotel Tomatoes were on sale for $.50 a can (when you bought 10 participating items at Kroger) and I looked everywhere for a coupon for Rotel. After coming up short on all the internet sites I simply went to www.ro-tel.com and there was a coupon for "buy 3 cans of Rotel save $1.00." The sale on the tomatoes combined with the coupon meant that I got 3 cans for only $.50! I printed 2 coupons from every printer I could find (including my moms!) and was able to purchase 12 cans of these tomatoes for only $2.00. When this item is not on sale you can easily spend $2.00 for one can, but I now have enough to last me through the end of winter without having to pay full price :)

Browsing the internet for coupons can take a lot of time, but if you know what you are looking to buy and you find the coupon..it is so worth the effort! *Secret Alert* Many stores have coupons right on their store website! Kroger has a whole section marked "Print at Home Coupons" along with Target, CVS, Wal-Mart, Rite-Aid, and many more. Some of these sites allow you to use the coupons at any store while others want you to use them only at their store. Just make sure to read on the coupon after it is printed to see what the restrictions are.

One other note about printable coupon sites is that new coupons are added at the beginning of each month. I thought it was fitting to post on this topic tonight because today is 1/31 so start browsing these sites and printing coupons you may use, because tomorrow they may be different!

Another thing I would add while we are discussing coupons is that sometimes you may think "I am not going to print a $.50 off coupon because it costs me more than that for the paper and ink!" I understand this frustration and that is why I do all of my grocery shopping at Kroger. It is their policy that they will double any manufacturers coupon up to $.50. What this means is that your $.50 now becomes $1.00! If you have a $.55 coupon...it will not double. Kroger will double coupons any day of the week so print that $.35 off coupon! I did this last week and was able to purchase 4 bottles of Softsoap liquid hand soap for $.17 a bottle! They were on sale for $.88 a bottle and I had a $.35 off coupon that doubled to $.70 making a great deal...even better!

In my next post I will talk about digital coupons and how this changes the coupon game even more! Feel free to post comments or questions below! I want everyone to learn the most they can about printable coupons and there may be questions I have left unanswered. Thanks for joining us on this journey. I am definitely passionate about this topic and I hope you will become coupon lovers as well :)

What's this coupon thing all about anyway?!

As economic times get harder, people are constantly on the lookout for ways to save money and cut corners. In the Patterson home this takes many shapes and forms, but the method that has stayed constant is the use of coupons. When Chad and I first got married times were tough for us! We were a young couple hit with the reality of a mortgage, car payment, utilities, home expenses, gas for our cars, and groceries. We both had decent jobs, but this was all new for us and so I made it my job to do all I could to stretch our money the best I could. The easiest way I knew to do this was to cut down on our grocery bill each week. I was probably like a lot of you at that time. I would clip the coupons that was sent to my mail each week and maybe cut the coupons off the back of the cracker box from time to time, but that was the extent of it. If I was able to save $20 or $25 each week then I was excited! Over the course of the month that $80-$100 would...well....pay another bill! As I got older and Caeden came along I became swamped with the monthly expense of formula, diapers, wipes, baby Motrin, teething tablets, and all the other necessities that a baby requires. It was at this point that I started to really look for coupons. I would go online to the manufacturer websites and sign up for their mailing lists to get coupons sent to me. It was at this time that I discovered printable Internet coupons and coupons that you could load directly on to your shopper card! My addiction for coupons grew and it has now evolved into a situation where my husband and I were able to go to Kroger and have a $230 grocery bill that we only paid $65 for! Coupons work and they can save you a lot of money! I have told you about a lot of different forms of coupons, but do not get overwhelmed! That's what this blog is all about. I am going to break couponing down to it's simplest form so that ANYONE could save money on their grocery bill. So how do you get started? Get out there and collecting some coupons! If you want to save BIG like we have....you will need lots of coupons. So start today with creating a stockpile of coupons. It's Sunday night so hurry out and grab a Sunday paper (or 3 or 4 like we do!) and snag those coupons out of it! I also ask around and gather coupons from people who don't use them. Ask your family members, friends, neighbors, and coworkers to save their coupons for you and then get to clipping! We also get coupons on a weekly basis in the mail so start saving those as well. If you buy a box of cereal and it has coupons on the inside of the box...cut it up and get those coupons! Chad is the best at going through the grocery and snagging coupons off of food boxes or out of the blinkie (little coupon dispenser). Whatever it takes...collect those coupons. In the next post I will talk more about online printable coupons and how you find those. What are you waiting for...go find some coupons!! They are money in your pocket :)