Getting Started Couponing

Below are the series of articles I have written for those that are just getting started couponing. But some of these tips are good for long term coupon users too!

You can also find all of these posts in an easy to read outline.

May

11:30 am

Join Food On The Table For FREE | Plans Menus Based On Your Store’s Sale

in Getting Started Couponing

Join Food on the Table, a meal planning website for FREE when you enter the code SPRINGFREE at checkout (normally you get 3 meals per week, but this code gives you unlimited meals for LIFE!).

This is a quick and easy way to do Meal Planning and get an Organized Grocery Store list in minutes. It will help you plan your weekly menu, find recipes your kids will love, help you save at the grocery store and create an organized grocery list.

Plus by creating a menu, you will cut down on your grocery budget which will give you more money for your fund!

I personally use Food on the Table and I love it. Here are a few of my favorite features:

I can choose which store I want to shop at this week and it will bring up a list of recipes using the foods that are on sale at that store
I can choose what type of meals I want. If I want a meat-free night, they will bring up a list of recipes for that
It automatically designs an easy to read shopping list based on what is on my menu
It’s not the same recipes every. single. week. which helps keep us out of a rut

So be sure to sign up now. There are only a certain number of FREE memberships available.

{ 24 comments }

May

7:00 pm

Getting Started: Tip On Finding Available Rebates

in Getting Started Couponing

This great tip comes from my reader Amber…

Several times a month I do a search for rebates on items (large or small) that I have recently purchased. I put the name of the item and “rebate” in the search box. Sometimes I miss a rebate that you may have posted or that recently came out. I received about $60 in rebates last week doing this.

If you are new to Couponing, you might want to take a moment to read more in my Getting Started Couponing series.

{ 5 comments }

May

7:00 pm

Getting Started: Best Price Point On Over-Priced Processed Foods

in Getting Started Couponing

Here’s a great Getting Started tip from Elizabeth that might help you with your price book…

I have a “rule” for myself that helps me put a limit to buying over-priced processed foods… I try not to pay more than $0.10/oz on anything like cereal, crackers, cookies, snack bars, etc. It’s easy to remember because if a product is 28 oz, it should cost me $2.80 or less. This also gives me an easy way to compare “apples and oranges.” Such as asking myself which is the better deal? These cookies or those snack bars?

You can also download the Couponing to Disney Price Book to keep track of your best prices for items.

{ 0 comments }

Apr

5:30 pm

Check Out My 101 Best Couponing Tips

in Getting Started Couponing

My second biggest passion next to Disney is teaching others how to Coupon to Disney. I know a lot of random Couponing tips and I decided to put them into a list to share with everyone. Check out my 101 Best Couponing Tips.

If this helps you learn how to save even more money, please consider posting it on Pinterest to share with all of your friends. It would really help me out too. You can also follow me on Pinterest where I pin Disney crafts, recipes, and tips and home decor ideas. I really love Pinterest.

{ 0 comments }

Apr

7:00 pm

How To Protect Your Family From Tornadoes

in Getting Started Couponing

One year ago today, we watched a massive tornado rip through Tuscaloosa, Alabama. All we could do was sit and stare at the television and pray. Pray for those that were in the path of the storm. Pray for those who lived where it was headed. And pray that it did not hit us. You can’t outrun a tornado, but you can be prepared.

The absolute most important thing you can do is to keep an eye on the weather. Don’t rely on your friends or family to keep you abreast of the weather. Make it a daily habit every morning to check the weather for your area. Storms caught so many off guard that day because they didn’t check the forecast and didn’t know about the potential of tornadoes. You don’t want to be on the road in this weather!

Next is set up alerts so that you will be notified immediate if a tornado threat is in your area. My alerts call, email and text me. And our new home alarm system even has a built in tornado warning. We bought it because it alerts us if there is a tornado warning in the area.

Weather Call
Vivint
Emergency radio (I purchased this one on Amazon)

Prepare a box for sheltering in place during a tornado warning. In that box, you need the following items:

Candles
Matches or 2 lighting sticks (in case one doesn’t work)
Flashlight with extra batteries
A corded home phone (if all you have is operation in your home are cordless phones)
Water
Snacks
Emergency radio (I purchased this one on Amazon)
Shoes (or put your shoes on as soon as you know there is a tornado warning)

Also if you are under a tornado warning, put bicycle helmets on your kids to protect them from falling debris.

You might also consider purchasing a tarp, ladder, chain saw and chain saw oil. These 4 items were impossible to find after the tornadoes hit.

Prepare a stockpile for natural disasters where going to the store is next to impossible (such as in a blizzard or a flood).

The government recommends that you have at least 72 hours worth of items because it might take them that long to reach you in a natural disaster. Visit Ready.Gov for more info.

Enough bottled water to last your family 3-5 days
Enough easy to make food to last your family 3-5 days (tuna, canned goods, etc. Stuff you don’t have to cook.)
Enough food to last your pets for 3-5 days.
Enough candles, matches and batteries to last 3-5 days
Emergency radio (I purchased this one on Amazon)
A corded home phone (if all you have is operation in your home are cordless phones)
Warm blankets if your power is out for a while in the winter
Medical information for each family member – The information should include chronic illnesses, allergies, and prescription medicine information such as name, dose, and frequency it should be taken.
Cash – If the power is out in your town, ATMs and credit card machines will not work.
Important numbers – if you don’t know the numbers of your family and friends by heart (common in this day and age), keep a list of their numbers in your kit so you can use a landline to reach them.

If your home is not built with a good and safe area to use to shelter in place in the event of a tornado (such as a basement or cellar), you can always add an after market tornado shelter. They range in price from about $5,000 to $7,000. But if you live in an area where the threat of tornadoes are high, that is cost is nothing in the grand scheme of things. We are adding a tornado shelter this fall to our home. It is a worthwhile investment for us. We have been under the threat of tornado 4 times since April 27th, 2011.

Flat Safe (the one we are purchasing)
Survive-A-Storm Shelter
You can also Google for more tornado shelter companies in your area

I hope these tips help your family to prepare but I do hope you never have to put them into action.

{ 6 comments }

Apr

7:00 pm

Getting Started: Check Your Receipts Before You Leave

in Getting Started Couponing

Always check your receipts before you leave the parking lot of the store. Check to make sure every item scanned at it’s correct price, they didn’t scan 2 of the same product and make sure all your coupons were deducted at the end of your purchase. It is easier to correct an error immediately then to try to argue at the service desk a few days later that you did not purchase 2 packages of chicken nuggets.

If you are new to Couponing, you might want to take a moment to read more in my Getting Started Couponing series.

{ 16 comments }

Apr

7:00 pm

Getting Started Couponing: FREE Envelope System App

in Getting Started Couponing,Your Disney Fund

I love the envelope system. I’ve spoken frequently about how I get my budget out in cash each week and keep it organized in multiple envelopes. I have a grocery budget, gas budget, misc budget and entertainment budget.

Well….. we just updated our Disney Visa credit card to the new Premier version and one of the incentives since we are existing Disney Visa card holders is that for the next 90 days, we will get 5% cash back on our Gas, Grocery, Restaurant and Disney purchases. So it makes better financial sense for us to charge everything on the card and pay it off each month (that is always the most important part).

So in order to make sure we stick to our budget for each category, I needed an App for the iPhone to help me keep track. I found an excellent and FREE app called EEBA (I found it by searching Envelope System). It is FREE for up to 10 envelopes and 3 devices which is all I need it for.

Wow! EEBA is awesome!

I can set up envelopes for each area of my budget and specify how much I want to spend out of that envelope. I can also tell it what day to fill the envelope with more money.

I can transfer from one envelope to another if I overspend or borrow from a specific category.

I can save money for later in it’s own envelope and move it as needed.

Both hubby and I can track the envelopes on each of our phones.

And I can also manage it all online at EEBACanHelp.com!

If you are new to Couponing, you might want to take a moment to read more in my Getting Started Couponing series.

{ 4 comments }

Apr

7:00 pm

Getting Started: Circle Your Items To Buy

in Getting Started Couponing

The very first thing I do when I get a new circular in the mail is go through it with a big black marker. I circle all the deals I know I want to buy.

Then I go through the coupon match up for the store that I am shopping at and see if there are any other great deals I want to buy and I go ahead and circle those items too.

Then I take my circled sales circular to the store with me. If I am questioning a sale item’s size or quantity, I can find it quickly in my own sales ciruclar. If an item is out of stock, I can easily find it in the circular and show it to the customer service rep.

If you are new to Couponing, you might want to take a moment to read more in my Getting Started Couponing series.

{ 2 comments }

Apr

7:00 pm

How To Design Your Own Coupon Binder (Plus New Printable C2D Cover!)

in Getting Started Couponing

The most popular way to organize coupons is with a binder. If you are interested in starting your own binder to keep you organized and on track as you Coupon to Disney, here’s what you will need:

A 2 inch binder (I use an Avery 2 Inch Binder)

Currency and Coupon size binder pages (my favorite)

9 Pocket Inserts

Avery Write-On Tabs

And if you are interested, I have a new printable binder cover of the above logo. Just print this out and put it in the cover of your binder to keep you inspired to reach your goal.

Choose between these 2 organizing methods:

Organize by category (such as diary, canned, fastfood, etc)
Organize in alphabetical order (Kraft foods in the Ks, General Mills in the G’s etc)

Or you could do like me and combine the 2. I have 9 different categories where I organize all the coupons I know I am going to use no matter what. I then organize the rest in alphabetical order.

My categories are: Baking, Canned, Condiments, Dairy, Frozen Food, Kid’s Foods, Sides, Snacks, Non Foods and coupons for things my mother in law buys.

{ 4 comments }

Apr

7:00 pm

Getting Started: Freezing Items To Extend Their Shelf Life

in Getting Started Couponing

Freezing food can save you a ton of money. You can stock up when the item is on sale and save it in the freezer until you need it. Here are a few items you can freeze:

Apples – Freeze whole or chopped, peeled or unpeeled.

Bananas – Peel before you freeze them. Cut into cubes or slices for breads or smoothies before freezing.

Bell Peppers – Chop to desired size, flash freeze on cookie sheet, then put in clean water bottle and use what you need as you need it for recipes.

Block Cheese – Slice and shred it before you freeze it, otherwise it will crumble.

Breads – Pop extra loaves of bread right into the freezer until needed. Sit on the counter to defrost. It doesn’t get wet either.

Butter – Put right in Freezer and thaw in the refrigerator to use.

Celery – Wash and cut, then freeze on baking sheet for 1 hr before transferring to a freezer bag.

Cream Cheese – Put straight in Freezer. It might be a bit “lumpy” after it defrosts but it still tastes the same.

Eggs – Wisk the whole egg together, and pour into an ice cube tray. Two cubes are the equivalent of one large egg.

Fresh Herbs – Chop real fine, then put in ice cube tray along with a small amount of water.

Meat – You can freeze most meats. Make sure when you thaw it, that you do in the fridge over night, and not on the counter.

Milk – Pour out enough milk to allow for expansion, and freeze in original container. To thaw, place in refrigerator, and shake to remix before drinking.

Nuts – Freeze in freezer bag or another air-tight container.

Onions – Chop to desired size, flash freeze on cookie sheet, then put in clean water bottle and use what you need as you need it for recipes.

Ready to Bake Cookie Dough – Freeze until you are ready to use. You can put in fridge over night or put right onto baking sheet frozen.

Rice – You can freeze cooked rice in freezer bags

Tomatoes – Wash and freeze whole and unpeeled on a baking sheet. Later, transfer to freezer bags once fully frozen.

Zucchini and Other Squash – Wash, blanch for three minutes and freeze in an air-tight container once cooled.

If you are new to Couponing, you might want to take a moment to read more in my Getting Started Couponing series.

{ 15 comments }