Welcome to The Coupon Crate! You are on the main page and you can find whatever you are
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Every month when my cable bill arrives,
I bitch and moan at the expense to practically anyone who
will listen. It’s a complete rip-off! Could I live without 5000 channels? Of course. Will I?
Absolutely not. I pay the bill
feeling taken advantage of as I surf for another episode of
Criminal Minds. By the first commercial,
I am over it and pleased once again with my viewing
experience.
Am I frugal? Yes, I am. I am just not frugally deprived.
There is a difference. I have evaluated my life and save money where I feel
it least. An average night at the movies
and dinner for 2 costs approximately $100…the cable bill. We don’t go to the movies very much anymore.
We got rid of our landline phone and just use our
mobile. I changed from growing flowers to
growing vegetables. And so on….
A huge expense every week was my
grocery bill. No one at my house is a
picky eater nor do any of us pretend we diet. I had to do something, so I learned the fine art of
coupons and stockpiling necessities when they are on sale. Now, one of the places I feel a cut back least is
grocery shopping. Just follow these
guidelines:
1. Stockpiling no longer means you’re in a militia group! Now it means you are a savvy
shopper. In case you have trouble knowing
where to start, I have compiled a list of items that I try
to stockpile all year long. Make sure to
customize this list to fit your families needs.
STOCKPILE
LIST
2. Skip the prepared meal section of the stores. Sure, they are quick and easy, but they are also
expensive. You can buy the ingredients to
make the same meal for about ¼ of the price.
3. Learn when certain produce is in season and shop for
it then. You will get the best quality
and the cheapest price when items are in season. If you decide to stockpile produce, you can freeze
the extra or make additional items. For
instance, you can have cooked carrots for dinner, raw
carrots for a snack, make chicken soup to freeze and have
some carrot cake for dessert. Who doesn’t
love carrot cake?
PRODUCE IN
SEASON
4.Produce is not the only item that has “seasons”,
regular foods do too based on coupon cycles. That’s right, coupons have cycles.
If you know when these cycles occur, you can plan your
stockpiling based on the item’s season.
COUPON SEASONS
5. Try generic. There are some
products I will never cheat on…one happens to be Dawn dish
soap. I love the smell, the feel, the way
it cleans, and so on. But there are many
products that I could care less of the name. Some items that I buy generics:
cereal, sugar, flour, paper towels, baking cups, bread,
margarine, spices and milk.
6. There are also certain stores that have great deals on their
products. I am quite fond of the Kroger products.
They have a steak or chicken marinade for $1 that comes in
about 8 different flavors…yum! They also have great
vegetables, shredded cheeses and bacon, all of which are at
a great price. Unfortunately, you will only learn thru
trial and error. Heads up: Aldi salad dressing….yuch!
7.
Another tip is to shop your local dollar store for name
brand items. My Dollar Tree has Pringles, Little Debbies, Snyders pretzels, Ole Monterey and
Starkist….all for $1.
8.
Most grocery stores have a reduced or quick sale rack.
Most of these items are simply dented or have ripped labels.
A couple weeks ago, I bought Hunt’s tomato sauce for .10 a can because
they were dented. Look for your store’s deals.
9. Shop drug stores for food items.
All drug stores carry at least one isle food items. Although the selection isn’t awe inspiring the prices
can be, especially when they get marked down. It’s a marketing ploy to get you in the store, but if
you’re strong enough not to keep throwing things in your
basket, you can really save some money.
10.My final thought….in order to really become a Coupon
Master and save big money, you must be willing to put in the
time to go to more than one store. Keep
in mind convenience comes at a price. If
you don’t believe me buy batteries from the gas station.
Okay, so you’re willing to do all of
these things, now what? This is the
simple part…keep your Sunday coupon inserts and date them. Then come back here, click on the store you wish to
shop at, and clip the appropriate coupons! How easy was that??!!
Did
you know that expired coupons help military families?
The military bases overseas can use manufacturer coupons for
6 months after their expiration date. What an easy way
to really help the people that keep us free and safe...
