Coupons.

Jen and I have been couponing like crazy for the past two-three months. For those unfamiliar with the coupon process, it works like this:

1. Get a Sunday paper
2. Cut out the coupons and organize them
3. Flip through your local supermarket pamphlet
4. Match the sales with the coupons
5. Supplement your matchups with those defined on any of numerous coupon websites

This has been a very fruitful endeavor. Our typical savings on a grocery trip has been between 50-60%. Not bad!

The common counter question I’ve received in this process is: Do we buy things we normally wouldn’t buy?
Answer: Yes. Absolutely.

But usually the deal is too good to pass up on. For example, we got two boxes of popsicles for $0.50. Lloyds BBQ singles? I got three of those for free! There are always examples of weird buys. But most of the stuff we’ve been focusing on has NOT been these funky items but items that we can store and use in the long term. Cereals are a GOLD MINE for coupons (our best deal has been $0.25 cereal!). Mayonaise? We’ve got 3-4 bottles in the pantry purchased for ~$1 a pop. Toothpaste? piles – most nearly free! We buy what we use, not what we need.

It’s been massively fun.

If you’re interested in trying out the methods, I strongly recommend the following websites:

www.couponmom.com (go to grocery deals per state, choose your state and your store. Cha-ching!)
www.livingrichwithcoupons.com (click on Bogo the coupon dog. He will guide you through the education process)
www.coupons.com (for printing extra coupons!)

And make sure to check out coupon sites that are specific for your state. I found a bunch of CT coupon sites that focus on CT specific stores. Happy Couponing!