Couponing 101-Lesson #3

You may be asking why I use couponmom.com only as a guide. Here's why: The deals and coupons found on this site are for what is found in the Atlanta area. My local Sunday paper does not have all of these coupons, and my local stores don't have all of the displayed deals. Also, the filing system did not work for us and many of my coupons expired. Here's what I do: every week, I log on to the site. I live in Louisiana and have a Kroger (which I love because they double and triple coupons every day). I go to grocery deals by state, hit the drop down arrow, scroll down to Louisiana Deals-Kroger and click. I then check off the deals that are beneficial to my family and print the list. Then, I look through my coupon binder and pull out the coordinating coupons. If I do not have the exact coupon to match the deal, usually I have one for that particular brand that will do just fine. I pull the coupons out of my baseball trading card holder and put them in a zippered compartment at the front of my binder with my list. While going down the aisles at the store, I keep my coupon binder open. I do this because many times, you will find "surprise sales". Sales that are not advertised or items that are on closeout. 90% of these closeout items, I end up getting for free after using a coupon. When I find a deal like this, I pull the item into my cart and pull the coupon out of the holder and place into the zip compartment of my binder. I do this method for drug stores, too. Stay tuned for Lesson #4 to be posted tomorrow. The subject will be how to shop for free at Walgreens.