I've not read through all the responses, so if I repeat, sorry.
Best site in the world for couponing is krazycouponlady. She not only has tuturoials, but lists major store chains & their weekly sales with lists of coupons matching those sales and where to find those coupons (paper, internet ect) She also explains the benefits of store discount cards and how to use them to your advantage.
Coupons can be found in the sunday paper or there are locations online to print those same coupons. Yes, if you so choose you can use them together as well.
A tip from experience: Nearly all stores have their weekly sale ads online. Just look up the store and hunt for the ad on the site. If our local mom & pop market has it that way, I'm sure just about everywhere else does. I scan ads (all ads) prior to shopping for anything, not just food. I also do a quick search online for coupons on something I'm planning to buy, even non food, before heading out.
If you really want to use coupons to your advantage, you'll learn the way your local sales work (what goes on sale when, it's done in cycles), to buy in bulk, rotate stock, and discover quickly that it will eventually drive you nuts to buy something for full price. lol No joke. I rarely buy anything for full price.
Go slow, be careful, do your homework. You WILL make mistakes. It's a process. It took several months before I started to really get the hang of it. I've been doing it for 4 yrs now. It will take lots of practice and some trial and error to find your own groove and what suits you best. Some people buy several sunday papers each week and keep an organized binder of coupons. I did that for a while, but it didn't work well for me. I instead scour ads, match them online with coupons, make my list and go. (especially after I was fully stocked on everything I could just about possibly want/need)
Brand loyalty on a lot of items is not the way to go. I still have brand loyalty on some things but honestly there is not much difference in most products. Brand loyalty makes it more difficult to get the best bang for your buck couponing.
Does it pay in the long run? Yes. Most certainly. And in the short run. I'm STILL using laundry soap bought in bulk 4 yrs ago, same for shampoos, bath soaps, ect. I stopped buying them due to space issues. If it's ridiculously cheap I'll still pick it up. (like krogers has colgate .89 cents this week!) I am just now getting to the point where I can begin to ad to the stock of these things. There are things I flat out refuse to buy over a certain price, my stock makes this possible. Toilet paper sells around here for like 7.00 for 12 rolls. I NEVER pay more than 5.00 and often with coupons I get it free. When I buy, I buy up to 5 at a time....unless there is a limit on the sale. Toilet paper doesn't go bad. lol
For those here that know me,
now you know how
vast my stock was.....since I'm still using the same stock.
I worried about waste. I've not had much. Oh, a few things I bought on whim that were my early mistakes.....but didn't really go to waste, they were routed to grandchildren to eat ect. If it's free, I pick it up. I don't care if I use it or not. I'll find someone who does/can use it. Times are hard and prices are jumping like mad.
I also garden. I don't have an issue with a green thumb, but I'm no expert. Things just tend to grow for me. However there is TONS of information, videos, ect online with hundreds of wonderful tips ect on gardening, plants, container gardens ect. Again, start small. How about some container gardens this year? Tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, onions, carrots you can grow just about anything in a container. I grew peanuts last year!
I don't go heavy on fruit.....but there are strawberries and blueberries growing in my yard. I might add blackberries this year. These come back every year. One time cost, years of free fruits. Fruit can be had other ways cheap. Watch sales. Ask around at farmer markets Does anyone have fruit trees but too much fruit or doesn't want to harvest the fruit. (you'd be amazed at how many yeses you're going to get) This year we may be harvesting apples from some folks we know because they no longer harvest them. I get walnuts free by simply going to our online community facebook pages and asking anyone if they want their yard cleaned up. Walnuts are EASY to store away.
Most of my flower garden has been converted into a herb garden. Plants do amazingly well and it smells great. lol I have fresh herbs available anytime I want. They also come back each year. Tip: grow mints in a pot unless you want them to basically take over. They grow like ivy.
To avoid waste, I learned to can produce and meats. I also learned to dehydrate foods which is easy and awesome and if you vacuum seal it into canning jars it lasts forever. My grandkids go nuts for dehydrated fruit and have developed a serious ick factor to fruit snaks you get in the store due to it. Grow foods/herbs you use a LOT. I don't tend to grow produce I don't use much of because there is little point. Learn proper short term/long term storage methods for food. (again all over online) A freezer is handy but once I learned to can and dehydrate foods, my freezer isn't very full these days. But it does help if you get an opportunity to buy meat in bulk to hold it until you get the time to can it. I have a local market that sells the best local meat and has ridiculously awesome sales and that is mainly what the freezer is for.......because I buy in major bulk when they do. They've gotten used to me and are prepared to see me coming. lol
Bees are a necessity and won't actually bother you much if they're honey bees. Other stinging insects can be dealt with in simple inexpensive ways. I understand about bees, Nichole is allergic to them. But even she encourages them into her garden.
Do more cooking from scratch. There are endless recipes online as well as tips. Often it's far cheaper than processed foods. It doesn't take that much more time than processed foods, except for a few things.
Learn to make things like household cleaners, laundry soap ect. Easy, cheap, and very effective. The laundry soap is awesome by the way far superior to what you buy in the store and fabric softener is no longer required.
My mom is utterly amazed at my pantries and stock pile of household goods and food. She is more amazed it doesn't go to waste.
The other day she toyed with the idea of making cream cheese icing. She said, "oh, but you probably don't have powdered sugar in that supply....." I just looked at her. "OMG! She said, of course you do!" LOL I rarely "run out" of anything LOL I went to make strawberry jam with Nichole not long ago, which by the way takes a TON of sugar. Mom fretted about that sugar. I just pulled it out of the pantry. Didn't put a dent in my supply of sugar. (stored properly it lasts forever)
All that said, I spend very little when it comes to food / household goods. I have an extremely well stocked home. There is much spare cash to tuck aside and wait for a good stock up sale or to direct to other places where it is needed. Monthly bills being what they are and my income being what it's not......it was necessary to learn when I did. Now? It's just a way of life.
