Frugal Friday With Marsha -- Let's Talk Coupons

It's been a long time since I've done a Frugal Friday post.  I hope to make them more regular again.
This week I want to talk about coupons!



Are you using coupons to help save on your grocery and household item spending?

I used to be what my children called a "coupon queen".  When the TV show Extreme Couponing first came on, my children kept telling me that I needed to be on the show.
Well, if you watched the show and you know me, you know that I was never able to stock pile even a tenth of what those people on the show did!  Actually, I wouldn't want to either.  If I had that kind of stock pile, the majority of it would be given to family and friends and to charity, not stored up on shelf after shelf in my house.

As of late I've really slacked off on using coupons.  Every Friday I make sure to add the Dillon's (Kroger) Friday Freebie to my shoppers card, but that's been about the extent of my couponing.  I'm sad to say that!  It's time for me to really get back to the "business" of using coupons.

There are lots of ways to get grocery coupons:
*Buy a Sunday newspaper for the inserts.  If there are enough coupons in the inserts for items we use then I go to our local news office on Monday where they allow us to buy 5 Sunday papers for $6.  Check if your local news office also might offer this deal.

*Print coupons from your computer.  Printable grocery coupons are all over the place.  There are even websites such as swagbucks, inboxdollars, and mypoints where you earn points for printing and using them!

*Store coupons.  Many stores offer store coupons, either in the store, or they will send them to you in the mail.  Get on every mailing list you can if the store offers them as if these coupons are for name brand products, the store coupon can be combined with a manufacturer's coupon.   Many stores offers coupons on their brands of products which saves you even more.

*Ask a friend to save them for you.  Lots of people don't care to take the time to use coupons, but still get them in their newspaper or otherwise.  It doesn't hurt to ask them if they would mind saving them for you.

Here is a picture of my coupon binder along with a huge stack of coupons that need to be cut and filed inside.

If you are looking for deals, simply search for what you are looking for online.  You will be amazed at the search results.  Search Facebook for coupon and deal groups.  Find good deal blogs to follow.  It's amazing the deals you will see that you would have missed out on if these wonderful people weren't out there finding them for us.

I hope my post was an inspiration to you to get out there and start saving money with grocery coupons.  I know I'm ready to get the ones I do have now out and get to cutting and sorting!

For more motivation for myself, I am including a picture from one of my many good coupon shopping trips.  I was able to get everything in the picture and only pay $10.44!

Frugal Friday With Marsha 3/27/15

What does being frugal mean to you?

For me it's making due with what you have....finding ways to re-use.......recycling.....planting a garden to provide some of your foods......saving money wherever you can.

This past week I've thought a lot about my couponing.  It never fails that when I post about good deals I have gotten, that at least one person comments such as  'you aren't saving if you are buying things you don't need'  or  'you aren't really saving unless you putting the money that you saved with the coupons into a savings account' or even things like 'I would never buy that brand of toilet paper unless it was free' or 'we don't buy boxed and processed foods'.    You get the picture.

Yes, I buy a lot of things that we don't really need.  Yes, I buy things that I wouldn't buy if it weren't for the fact that they are so cheap with coupons.

But.......my Christmas and birthday gift stash is growing immensely.  I soon will have a shelf in my bedroom where my children can come in and get the things they need.   I have given lots to charities.
Mostly, if I am going to have a hobby, or something that I enjoy this much, then couponing is a great hobby to have.  I have FUN.

This past week I only got a few things at Walgreens.  I paid less than the sales tax, paying just 55 cents.  And, I came home with $4.50 in their register rewards coupons to spend on whatever I like next time I shop.   How can that be wrong?

The Glade plug ins made sense.  I love to have a scented home and I have so many of the plug in units that I bought as fillers on KMart's double coupon days.  We all use toothpaste....and hopefully hand soap.  The headband is now in my gift stash.

Well, that's it for me this week.  I have a huge list of things to look for at Target while I am out today.  I'm pretty anxious to get to shopping, in hopes that our Target does sell at least most of them.

I look forward to your share this week of your frugal posts.

An InLinkz Link-up