Some Changes

It has been almost a year since my last post. That being said let's bring on a new and better year. My blog this year is going to cover a lot of the in's and out's of my world. I started this blog years ago to keep my family updated on everything going on....I will continue with this. I will be adding some couponing greatness, some new discoveries, products I think are well worth the money, services that are important to our family, some bizarre daily life stuff, ongoing rebate information, our book club book of the month, and some other interest to me stuff. Buckle up your seat belts and lets take a ride through 2013!!!

Family updates: Madeline graduates this June (approx. 5 months), Brandon will be getting his license this year (my last child to teach driving too, YEAH!!), and Heather & Casey are busy raising my full of life grandsons (Gabe who will turn 5 this year, and Gideon & Lucas who will celebrate their 1st birthday). Brian & I will continue to be in awe of the family we created so long ago.

Okay let's get to what everyone that I have ran into the last few months has been asking...the couponing. Let's start at the very beginning for those of you starting out, and for those of you who still can't wrap your mind around all of it. I will tell you how I do it, and you have to decide what works best for you. I leave my house with my keys, my purse, my water, and my coupon binder. The binder is a 2 inch 3 ring binder that you find with school supplies. Cashiers roll their eyes when they see the binder, and people stop me to ask me where something is located in a store or just stare. Think of it like a giant grocery shopping list.
 
Let's break down exactly how this binder helps me keep things organized for my store trips. The picture you see here is my ads for the week. I clip them to the inside front cover for reference checks or price matching if need be. I include every store within a 30 mile radius of my home. Different store run different sale dates so pay attention. (Some start on Sun or Mon or Tues etc.) If there is a store that is within my radius but doesn't mail a flyer for the week or isn't included in the Sunday paper I go to their website make an online shopping list with the store name, address, and sale dates and print that one out. (Walmart will accept this for price matching, but Target will not.) It also helps me to know exactly what store are carrying what and what is on sale. I also check a lot of blogs out too, but you have to be careful because sometimes the blog is giving you California prices and a lot of the time it's not our states prices. 

Moving on...I divide the binder with different tabs for quick finding. My tab system is the system that I have found that works for me (EVERYONE is different) My tabs are: Misc, personal care, meds & make-up, health bars, cleaning, box food, refridge food, frozen food, other food, hair care, pets, and baby items. The sleeves that I use to hold the coupons are baseball card inserts. I check expiration dates on the coupons every 2 weeks.

After I clear out the expired coupons I have all my new coupons clipped and in piles by their tabs to insert into the binder. (I highly recommend inserting coupons in weekly so you don't get behind.) Constantly paying attention to the expiration dates. I usually shop every two weeks so if there is a coupon that isn't expired but will expire before my shopping date I take them out and paperclip them to the side just in case I need them before then. 

Some stores have there own coupons too which you can use that coupon plus a manufactures coupon. The picture is kinda hard to see, but next to the expiration date it will say manufacture or will give the store name. These coupons I keep in a blue pencil pouch thingy that stay in my purse. 

All this being said keep a few things in mind. I didn't get this way over night and neither will you. When I first started out I did a few coupons in an envelope in my purse. I also couldn't buy any extras because I needed every dime for my family's needs. I started with $5 to start on the stockpile. As time went on I learned to shop sales, specials, and the coupons so I always had an item on hand and wasn't at the mercy of the high price of the stores for the products I needed.