Coupon Workshop

Hello Readers-

I am going to start offering coupon workshops!!

For a 2.5 hour workshop the cost is $50 per person. Group of 3 or more $20 per person. These can be done in my home or in yours!

This workshop would consist of a power point presentation that is designed for great interaction!!


Overview

My Pantry
Coupons
The Grocery Game
Store Coupon Policies
New/Transferred Prescriptions

If you are interested in a coupon workshop please email me!

savvyshopperdenver@gmail.com

I am located in the Denver area.

Any scissor will do...
Alli

Prepare to Shop-Becoming a Savvy Shopper Part 2

Now that you have become a Savvy Shopper, you should be organized and ready to go shopping!!

Creating a List: Once you have subscribed to The Grocery Game, you can start your list making! (Samples below are directly from Teri's List)

• Log in

• Next to each grocery/drug store you will see a link that says "TERI'S LIST" and open it

• At the top of the list she has directions about how to read the list.
  

• The big things to note are:
  

Green Items:	FREE! (Plus Applicable Sales Tax)	Bold Text
Blue Items:	Best deals for stockpiling!	Italic Text
Black Items:	Buy these only if you need them	Normal Text

• This is the top of the list. To view this list, my preference is to view "GROUP LIST ITEMS BY COLOR." This shows all of the items in order of color. When I first started I shopped all colors, now that my stockpile is large, I now really only shop blue and green items.

• I recommend print the entire list the fist time that you go through it! I find that it helped the first few times to make sure you understand the different column. Highlight as you go the items that you are going to get.

• After you get the hang of it, you can then check the box (all the way to the right) on the items you plan to get! And then when you have finished you select "SHOW ONLY SELECTED ITEMS"

• Make sure to take this list with you to the grocery store because you want to make sure the items are actually on sale for the price listed. Sometime items are incorrectly marked.
  When I first started, I didn't realize that some sales are select items only. I made the mistake of not taking my list and actually bought some items that were not on a good sale. So just make sure to check that you have your list!!

• When shopping watch to see how many items you have to buy to get the deal. Some sales you must buy the specific amount to get the deal or some coupons might give a specific amount of items.
  

• In order to go to the store organized, I print off my list with the selected items I am going to buy. I then go through my coupons and place them in a note card sized expandable file (see below) according to the stores that I am going to. This helps when at the store to just pull out my list and my coupons instead of digging through my entire book for every item.
  

• I always make sure to take my coupon binder with me!!! There are always extra items that we all put into our cart and most of the time there is a coupon to match!

• One tip...just because you have a coupon for a name brand item that is not on sale does not mean that it is cheaper than the store brand.

• Always make sure to take the store ad with you!!!

So...that seems to be all of the basics to get you into the stores!!! If there is anything that is unclear, please leave a comment and I will answer any questions I can!

Any scissor will do...
Alli

Senior & Military Discount Days

Albertsons offers a senior and military discount on certain days of the month (you'd have to check with them to find out the particulars). The Albertsons in Loveland offers the senior discount on the first Wed. of each month. Military discount is the first Saturday of each month. Discount is an addition 10% off.

Walgreens in Loveland has senior day each tuesday. They offer a 15% discount to anyone 55 and older on that day. They offer 20% off on Walgreens brand on that day to seniors.

Thanks, Jean

Clppin' Lingo

When Becoming a Savvy Shopper it's very important to understand the lingo to help ease confusion when clippin' and makin' your lists to shop.

RP- Red Plum
SS - Smart Source
P&G - Proctor and Gamble

GM-General Mills
Mnf. - Manufacturers Coupons

OOP-Out of Pocket Expense

BOGO-Buy One Get One Free

GC-Gift Card

FAR-Free After Rebates

RR- Register Rewards (Walgreens)

WYB-When you buy...

I hope that this list helps you get started. If you come across any other abbreviations that you are unsure about, please just leave a comment and then I will add it to this list!

Any scissor will do...

Alli

It's Hip to Save!: "Follow Me Monday" Coupon Organization!

If you have started clipping but are unorganized and have coupons coming out your ears...check out this great video done by Hip2Save!!!!

"Follow Me Monday" Coupon Organization!

Thanks Hip2Save for your great work!!!

Becoming a Savvy Shopper

The basic idea of Savvy Shopping is combing store sales with coupons to get free or almost free food & household items!!

Step 1. Subscribe to your local news paper to receive the Sunday paper. For Denver readers you can subscribe here. For the best savings and most stockpile, I encourage you to purchase 1 paper per person in your family.

• Until you subscribe, you can go to any Dollar Tree and purchase the Sunday paper for only $1.00. Tip: They have the papers there until the following Sunday or until they sell out, so many times you can go on Monday and there will still be papers left! WARNING: Check the papers to make sure they have the coupon inserts. Many people go through the papers and pull out the inserts and do not buy it, sad, but true.

Step 2. Develop an organizational system that works for you. Not every system is perfect for each person, but you must have some kind of system or the coupons will become overwhelming!!! I take my coupons with me every time I go shopping, so I like them to be organized by category according to how my stores are organized. Here are several different methods of organization. I recently changed from the expandable folder to the binder method.

• Binder System: I just recently switched over to this method and I am loving it! Hip2Save has a wonderful video on how to set this system up! Go to her home page. On the right hand side you will see "Follow Me Monday" Videos. Click on "Coupon Organization" and that will take you to the two part video series on how to buy and organize your binder. Because of the video I switched!

• Expandable Folder System: Here is a photo of a similar expanding file that I used to carry. I had 3 different folders, one for toiletries, one for food and one for miscellaneous.

• Index Box Method: This method is good to get started to make sure you are actually going to clip coupons and save, before you go out and buy the items for the binder or expandable folders. Check out Money Saving Mom for her method of setting up the Index Box.

Step 3. Subscribe to The Grocery Game (GG). To sign up, it will ask you for your zip code and then it will provide you with the stores in your region. The first month in only $1. After the trial, it's $15 for the first store and $5 for each store for an 8 week subscription.

If you find this blog helpful to you in saving money, when you sign up for GG, please put down my email under the referral section.

savvyshopperdenver@gmail.com

You might ask, "How can there be any savings after you are paying for subscriptions?" I had the same question, but when I save 60-90% off of my total each time I shop, it proves to me that the $25 every 8 weeks that I pay is worth it! It only takes me about 2 trips to the grocery store to cover my costs.

Step 4. Register your grocery discount card for ecoupons. When you load a coupon to your card, the coupon does not double and it works only for one item. You can stack your ecoupons and a printed manufactured coupon to get great deals!!! There are three different sites available for this.

• Cell Fire-The key to Cell Fire is to only register one card per person. If you register 2 cards then you will not be able to get all of the coupons for each card, you have to choose which store you want the one coupon loaded to. So I have one card registered under myself and one under my husband. New coupons are available all of the time, so check this site frequently for new coupons.

• P&Gesaver-Proctor and Gamble have coupons available at the beginning of each month.

• Shortcuts-I am new with Shortcuts, so I do not have much to say about it. As I learn more I will update you with another post if there are any tricks to it.

Step 5. Begin printing coupons. On my home page there is a long list of sites that you can print coupons from. I typically print coupons out that I know for sure I will use because they change the coupons frequently. But I do not print all of them because it take a lot of ink from my printer. Many people do print off all of the coupons any time new ones come out. I file these coupons in the correct category so they are easy to locate in the grocery store.

These are the basic of clipping coupons and getting organized! If you decide to get started with this crazy "sickness" of couponing, then check out how to prepare to go to the grocery store; organized with your list and coupons. After you get the hang of clipping coupons and actually using them at the grocery store, there are lots of little tips that I will offer in another post to help you become the best savvy shopper!

Any scissor will do...

Alli