Peter Pinches Pennies - aka - coupons !

In the past year the coupon craze has caught and kept my attention. Also in the past year, I started PhD studies at New Orleans Seminary. These two things have become my hobbies :)

With so many people asking how I do it, what I clip, and what sites I read for coupons I thought a blog post on how "peter pinches pennies"...

First, realize that I live in Brunswick, Georgia. I shop primarily at Publix for food, CVS for whatever is on sale, and Target for both.

Second, you have to buy the newspaper. We have a local paper on the weekend that is a 2day (Saturday and Sunday) paper. It costs 75cents. I also have the opportunity to get the Georgie Times Union that costs $2. Sometimes I spend 75cents and sometimes I spend up to $6.75!

Third, you have to do your homework. You will get better as you go.

Fourth, you need to spend one-two hours a week on blogs, cutting, clipping, and planning your purchases to maximize your savings. (Personally, I make $10-$20 an hour based on coupons if that makes sense)

Fifth, purchase the ALL YOU magazine. You can typically find it online for about $20 for two years, so 24 issues at 83cents each. (link)

here we go:

1. PUBLIX

- doubles coupons 50cents or below with BOGO sales, you can buy 1 product at half price (but, you do not need to buy two)

i. e. Orville microwave popcorn (3 count) retails at 2.89 is on BOGO free sale
Buy one box at 1.45, use a 40cent coupon (which doubles), pay 85cents.

- you can use a manufacture coupon and a publix coupon for the same item

i. e. Orville microwave popcorn (3 count) retails at 2.89 is on BOGO free sale
Buy one box at 1.45, use a 40cent coupon (which doubles), and use a publix coupon that is 25cents, and then end up paying 40cents for a box

- will accept all competitor coupons

2. TARGET

- you can use a manufacture coupon and a target coupon for the same item

i.e. Sobe Lifewater bottles on sale for $1.
Buy two bottles for $2, use a BOGO manafacture coupon, and use two 50cent target coupons, and pay nothing for bottles except sales tax.

- take advantage of deals that offer $5 target gift cards

i.e. Sobe Lifewater bottles on sale for $1 : Buy ten and get a $5 Target Gift Card (after)
Buy ten bottles for $10, use 5 BOGO manafacture coupons, and use ten 50cent target coupons, and pay nothing for the bottles except sales tax & get $5 gift card

- will price match competitor ads (i.e. walmart, pharmacies, grocery)

3. CVS

- become an ExtraCare card holder (one person in your family)

- receive ExtraCare Bucks for certain items each week (expire 4 weeks after)

- you can use Extracare Bucks, manufacture coupons, and CVS coupons all in one purchase
i.e. a previous purchase looks like this:
bought 2 gillette body washes @ $4.00 each
bought 1 gillette deodorant @ $5.29
bought 2 papermate pen 10ct.@ $0.99 each
used BOGO coupon for body wash
used Free couopon for deodorant w/body wash purchase
---------------------------------------------------------
total $5.98 plus tax
received $8.00 in ExtraCare Bucks (per that weeks ad/sale) b.wash
received $1.98 in ExtraCare Bucks (per that weeks ad/sale) pens

* but I didnt pay 5.98 because i used ECBs from previous purchases
so, I paid sales tax only, still walked away with $9.98 in ECBs

WEBSITES:

www.southernsavers.com

www.myfrugaladventures.com

COUPONS: (typically can print 2 per computer)

www.coupons.com

www.smartsource.com

www.redplum.com

www.sundaycouponpreview.com
(preview for coming Sunday newspaper coupon inserts)

www.target.com (bottom left)

Hope this helps :) Feel free to ask questions
(by way of facebook messages, please)

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