Whip Your Grocery Budget Into Shape: Organize Your Coupons

Welcome to the second major series of posts on Frugal Made Fun! Each week, I'll post 1-2 tips on how to develop your own plan to save money on groceries. I'm going to start with some of the most basic, easiest things you can do to save money, and then progress from there. You can take as much or little advice as you like. As the series progresses, a little more work may be involved, but you will definitely save more money.

Cutting coupons is a great way to save money. But if you don't take the time to organize them, what's the point? You'll never be able to find what you're looking for! There are many, many different ways to organize coupons. My advice is to do whatever works best for you. Everyone thinks a little bit differently and what works well for some people may not work well for others.

Here and here are some great resources with some different ideas to organize coupons. I personally use a coupon organizer like this one and divide coupons between 3 categories (Food, Health & Beauty, and Household Supplies), and then I organize them alphabetically. It works really well for me!

Whip Your Grocery Budget Into Shape: Know your coupon policies

Welcome to the second major series of posts on Frugal Made Fun! Each week, I'll post 1-2 tips on how to develop your own plan to save money on groceries. I'm going to start with some of the most basic, easiest things you can do to save money, and then progress from there. You can take as much or little advice as you like. As the series progresses, a little more work may be involved, but you will definitely save more money.

Different stores have different coupon policies. The next time you set foot in your favorite grocery store, be sure to swing by the Customer Service desk to find out the exact policy. Here are a few good questions to get you started:

1. Do you double coupons? If so, up to what value?
Some grocery stores double manufacturer coupons up to $0.50

2. Do you offer any store coupons?
Some grocery stores put out their own coupons each month.

3. Can I use a store coupon with a manufacturer coupon for the same item?
Some grocery stores allow you to "double up" and use a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon for the same item.

4. Is there a limit on the number of coupons I can use?
Some stores require that you have at least as many items as you do coupons. Usually this can be "overridden" by a manager but most cashiers do not know how to do this.

5. Do you accept printable coupons?
Most stores do, but there are some that don't. Also, some stores only accept printable coupons below a certain $ amount (i.e. some won't accept printable coupons over $5).

6. Do you price match?

Some stores (like Walmart and Target) will price match competitor's items if you bring in the flyer and buy the exact same thing. There are limitations on this as well (i.e. Walmart will not price match items that are "Buy one, Get one free.")

7. Do you accept competitor coupons?
Some grocery stores accept competitor coupons in addition to their own. This can be great because there are a lot of stores (drugstores included) that offer coupons that are $5 off $25 or something similar.

8. Do you offer any coupon promotions throughout the year?
Some stores offer double or triple coupon days.

Menu Plan Monday

We did it! Last week we actually stuck to our menu plan! Well, almost! We went out for drinks after work on Friday with Tom's lab and ended up getting a few things to eat out. So much for our under $20 week! Here's what's on tap for this week!

Sunday: Gnocchi, frozen veggies
Monday: Broccoli quiche
Tuesday: Tuna Melts, salad
Wednesday: Chicken parm w/ pasta, fruit
Thursday: Spicy black bean veggie burgers, rice, salad
Friday: Homemade calzone
Saturday: King Ranch Chicken casserole

Be sure to check out Menu Plan Monday over at Org Junkie's site. Over 300 bloggers link up which means lots of new recipes and ideas!

Publix Trip

So far I'm sticking to my word and still only buying things from Publix that are super cheap! I really couldn't pass up $0.20 soup, especially considering how quickly my husband goes through them! Also, I think this may have been my best ever Publix trip in regards to saving. I saved quadruple what I spent!

Spent: $8.72

Saved: $32.83

Bought:
8 cans Campbell's Select Harvest soup
2 boxes Ronzoni orzo
2 boxes finish dishwasher detergent
1 box of Wheat Thins
1 bag of Publix coffee (this was the penny item)

We also went to Sam's Club and bought 4 gallons of milk at $2.39 each for a total of $10.42.

So we spent $19.14 on groceries this week. Not too shabby :)

Whip Your Grocery Budget Into Shape: Get coupons via the Sunday Paper

Welcome to the second major series of posts on Frugal Made Fun! Each week, I'll post 1-2 tips on how to develop your own plan to save money on groceries. I'm going to start with some of the most basic, easiest things you can do to save money, and then progress from there. You can take as much or little advice as you like. As the series progresses, a little more work may be involved, but you will definitely save more money.



The majority of coupons come from the Sunday paper. There are usually at least 2 inserts (smartsource & redplum) in every Sunday paper (except for major holidays). If you don't already receive the Sunday paper, you can buy it for only $1 at The Dollar Store. You could also call your local paper or visit their website. A lot of papers offer specials on Sunday or weekend delivery. For example, we currently get the Wednesday and Sunday papers for only $1/week. This site even tells you which inserts, and what coupons, will be in each Sunday's paper. Keep in mind that there are regional differences, but this site can give you an idea if you want to buy that Sunday's paper (or if you want to buy several)!

Whip Your Grocery Budget Into Shape: Online coupons

Welcome to the second major series of posts on Frugal Made Fun! Each week, I'll post 1-2 tips on how to develop your own plan to save money on groceries. I'm going to start with some of the most basic, easiest things you can do to save money, and then progress from there. You can take as much or little advice as you like. As the series progresses, a little more work may be involved, but you will definitely save more money.



The easiest way to adjust to using coupons is to print online coupons for free. (But be sure to check with your grocery store to make sure they accept printable coupons, most do, but it doesn't hurt to double check). Most coupon sites have you download a "coupon printer" and require you to register with them. I recommend creating an email account solely for coupon sites so your regular email doesn't get bombarded with coupon emails! Here are a few good free coupon websites:

http://www.coupons.com/
http://www.smartsource.com/
http://www.redplum.com/
http://www.bettycrocker.com/
http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/

A few important things to remember about printable coupons:

• Most websites reset on the 1st of every month
• You can print 2 coupons per computer (by hitting the "back" and then the "refresh" buttons)
• You CANNOT photocopy these coupons! That is illegal. Most of them have watermarks to prevent people from doing this.
• All coupons have an overall "print limit." This means if it is something popular, it may not be available all month. So if you see a printable coupon you know you will use, go ahead and print it!

Menu Plan Monday

Last week we ended up having leftovers several nights during the week. The Chicken Tortilla Casserole and Chili Noodle Casserole made A TON of food! Here's the plan for this week.

Sunday: Stuffed shells, salad, garlic bread
Monday: Lemon Garlic Tilapia, orzo, frozen veggies
Tuesday: Romano's Grill spicy sausage and pasta
Wednesday: Frozen veggie mix, baked pasta with cheese and chicken
Thursday: Slow cooker salsa chicken
Friday: Spicy black bean veggie burgers (Morningstar), rice, salad
Saturday: Sausage & Broccoli Noodle Casserole (from the Ultimate Casserole Book)

Be sure to check out Menu Plan Monday over at Org Junkie's site. Over 300 bloggers link up which means lots of new recipes and ideas!