Free Samples!

I just scored samples from Dove and Woolite. Go here to score yours. I love trying new products for free and they’re usually a travel friendly size.

Thinking outside of the box

 

What a great little coupon. One that I’ve taken advantage of many times.

 

We keep our cat treats under the kitchen sink, along with dish soap, dish sponges, trash bags, etc.

It was getting a little messy under the sink.

I knew I had a decent stock pile, but didn’t know exactly how many bottles I had of dish soap or cat treats. (Target recently had a coupon for 75 cents off a Target brand cleaning item, which took dish soap from $1.97 to $1.28, which is cheaper than Aldi’s price. Needless to say, I stocked up. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m guessing I’ll always dirty dishes to wash!)

So, what did I do? First I emptied the majority of the items, grouped everything and then reassembled the cupboard contents.

When I initially saw the coupon on the Target website I assumed “cleaning item” meant window cleaner, carpet cleaner, and so forth. At some point my wheels started spinning and I decided dish soap was a cleaning item. As you can see, the coupon worked just fine. I always do everything I can to make sure I’m being an honest shopper, but I still try to think outside of the box and get the most for my buck.

Just a cardboard box?

I started shopping at Aldi’s this earlier this year, thanks to a smart friend of mine. During my shopping trips I would often see empty cardboard boxes on the counter, where you bag your groceries up.

I always try to bring my reusable bags with me, wherever I shop, as it’s easier to bring everything into the house and I’m usually paid a nickel for every bag I use. Well, the other day I impulsively picked up a salad box while shopping at Aldi’s. Why, you ask?
This is why.

Since I’ve started couponing I’ve accumulated quite a stock pile, so now I have to figure out a way to organize everything. Hmm… go to Target and buy cute, expensive baskets and tubs or go to Aldi’s for groceries and take home a free box? I like free!
Here’s how it turned out.

I took everything off this shelf, sorted by type & size, took a few kitchen items to the basement (things we rarely use) and then put the box to work.

Organizing helped me realize that the next time I print a “food storage” coupon from Target's website, I should use it on Saran Wrap, as I only have one.
So there you go. Free organizing!

Organizing Coupons

This is how I organize my coupons. I have a few different categories and file them in order of how expiration date. I’ve seen other couponers (is that really a word?) walking around Target with their binders full of coupons, but this is the system that has worked for me, so far.
I like this little organizer (from the Dollar Spot at Target, I think!) because it fits into my purse.
Speaking of coupons…

I took a look at the Target ad for this week to see if anything was on sale that I happened to have a coupon for.

I saw flour was on sale, so I circled it, as I was pretty sure I had a coupon for it. I flipped through my “food” coupons and found what I was looking for, but then realized even after saving 50 cents I’d still be paying more than I would at Aldi’s, without a coupon. A deal isn’t always a deal. Using a coupon doesn’t always save you money.

I was delighted to come across the sale price of orange juice and I knew I had a few more Target juice coupons left. I printed them here.

Kraft cheese is also on “sale” at Target this week. Not that great of a sale, as I can get shredded cheese for a dollar per cup at Aldi’s, but I was able to combine my Target coupon with a manufacturer's, making it .58 per cup.

Be on the lookout!

I picked up a Papa Murphy's pizza for my family this past weekend and look what I found!

I went on-line and completed the super quick survey, so now I have another coupon to use!
 I managed to miss this on the previous pizza I had picked up. The coupons in the newspaper are the
 easiest to come by, but others are out there. Be sure to have your eyes open for peelies and other in-store coupons. 

What was my password???

If you're like me, you have that terrible tendancy to not write down a username/password for something, thinking you'll remember it later. Um, yeah. It doesn't usually work for me either. I made a simple Word document to jot down all of my couponing usernames/passwords on. Go here to download it and tweak it to meet your needs.

Also, here's another one for general usernames/passwords.

Managing coupon related e-mails

One of my first big coupon hauls.

I've had a personal e-mail account for over a decade now. During this time I've always had more than one account, be it a student account, work, or now, an account for couponing. If you haven't started a separate account for coupons, I highly recommend it. I receive so many coupon related e-mails on a daily basis, so it's nice to have that separate from the rest of my world.