Couponing 101: Lingo and Planning Your Shopping Trip

Okay, now that we have learned everything about setting up for couponing and where to find coupons, we are ready to get to the good part!

First lets talk lingo.

$2.00/1, $0.50/2

Two dollars off of one product, Fifty cents off two products, ect…

BOGO or B1G1

Buy one get one. Sometimes it may say B1G2 (buy one get two).

Extra Bucks

CVS rewards system to use on your next purchase. 1000 Pts=1.00

One Coupon Per Purchase

Only One coupon can be used per item. This means you cannot use one coupon to cover 3 different items.

One Coupon Per Transaction.

Only one coupon can be used for each transaction. For example, if you have 3 of the same coupons, you may need to break up your purchases into 3 different transactions.

Inserts

Coupons books that come in the Sunday newspaper.

SS

Smart Source inserts that come in the newspaper.

RP

Red Plum, another insert that comes in the sunday newspaper.

P&G

Proctor and Gamble, another insert that comes in the sunday newspaper (Comes only once a month, usually the first sunday of the month. They expire at the end of the month and are usually really good coupons).

Stacking

Combining a store coupon and a manufacture coupon on one item. Some stores allow this. Check with your stores policy. Only one manufacture coupon can be used on one item.

---

 

Now, how to use coupons…

First things first, make sure you read your stores coupon policy. Its a good idea to visit their website (or store manager) and have a copy on hand for checking out (more on that next time). Having this, can save a ton of trouble in the stores.

I have people tell me all the time, “I thought you could only use one coupon for an item.” Unless store policy says other wise or the coupon says “only one coupon per transaction, per day”, you can use as many coupons as you have. For example if you have 3 coupons for shampoo, you can buy 3 shampoos and use all 3 coupons. However, only one coupon can be used on a single item.

If your coupon is a BOGO, this coupon covers both products and cannot be combined with another coupon on these two products (you can use two coupons on four items, three on six, ect…).

Now, pull out your store ads, coupon match-up websites, and your binder… we are now getting to the “work”.

The first thing I like to do is reference coupon match up websites. Please note that you have to double check prices, but most of the time they are right. My all time favorite match-up site is thekrazycouponlady.com. You can also google “store name” Match-ups and usually pages, upon pages, will come up. Also, any deals that I score (and have time to write about) I will post on here. Looking up the match-ups can save a ton of time! Always make sure to double check prices and if you have the coupons.

Then, pull out those ads! Usually the first page is the best deals (not always, though). See what coupons you have and calculate total price with coupons. Also note, that most of the time, smaller sizes are usually the best deals when combined with coupons. This process can take time and be pretty monotonous.

Make sure to look for any store coupons that you have (ex. $5.00 off 25.00 purchase). Stacking these coupons with manufacturer coupons can save you even more money.

Don’t forget to calculate your savings with the mobile coupons/rebates (target, ibotta, checkout 51, ect…).

Also, look for printable coupons on coupons.com.

Make sure to write everything down! It is easy to get overwhelmed in the store and forget. I use a spreadsheet to write everything down.

To Download click here ->Couponing Shopping Trip Spreadsheet

Thats it for now. Pretty much all the basics of couponing! Trust me, it is not as hard as it seems. :)

Next: Shopping and Checkout

Couponing 101 Series:

1. Changing Your Attitude.
2. Couponing Methods.
3. Where to Find Coupons.
4. Lingo and Planning You Shopping Trip
5. Shopping and Checkout.
6. Stocking Up and Keeping Sane.

 

 

 

Making a Budget that Works for You

One of the hardest things when starting a budget is to decide how much you want to spend in each category (clothes, personal, food, ext…). If you are in debt, you have to cut out all extra spending and buckle down to pay it off. If you do, you can get out of debt faster and have plenty of money left over each month (but more on that in another post coming soon).

I personally use Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover website for my budgeting. Its $9.95 a month, but while first learning, I needed some extra pointers. Now that I know what I am doing, I will be canceling my subscription and follow on my own. I mean hey, thats 9.95 extra I could be putting towards my debt. Every penny counts!

I was getting ready to set up an excel worksheet to share with you (and use for myself) but I happened to look at the templates on Excel 2013 and they have some pretty fabulous templates already created. I am going to be sharing it, for those who do not have this already. I mean, look, this is just great!

 

To Download click here->Family monthly budget planner

As an example I am going to be sharing with you my personal budget:

Income: 2897.00_________

Expenses: 2897.00

• Charity:290.00 (Tithe 10%)
• Savings: 131.25
• Debt Pay off: 401.60
• Housing: 600.00 (mortage, maintance, ect..)
• Utilities: 492.00 (water, cell, internet, electricity, ect…)
• Food: 200.00
• Transportation: 242.00 (gas, insurance, ect)
• Clothing: 20.00
• Minimum Debt Payments: 520.15____________________

Left Over 0.00

(Keep in mind that every Category is broken down into separate sections, these are only major categories.)

Recommeded percentages: According to Dave Ramsey, your budget should look something like this. Honestly, mine is a little different, but this give you an idea.

• Charitable Gifts 10–15%
• Saving 10–15%
• Housing 25–35%
• Utilities 5–10%
• Food 5–15%
• transportation 10–15%
• Clothing 2–7%
• Medical/Health 5–10%
• Insurance 10–25%
• Personal 5–10%
• Recreation 5–10%
• Debts 5–10%

Over Estimate. The first time you use a budget you will not know exactly how much you will spend on food, gas, ect… Make sure you over estimate this number at first! Underestimating can result in bills not getting paid (been there, done that).

Your budget should be zero based. This means that your expenses should match your income. Notice, that for budgeting purposes savings is an expense. If you know where every penny is going, you are less likely to go over budget.

Save and Pay off debt. Whatever is left over after expenses goes into savings or towards your debt (excluding mortgages).  If you have no money left, reevaluate. You should have at least 5% left over. It is recommended to have 10-15%. Throughout this series we will go into deeper discussion about this subject.

Write everything down! Everytime you make a purchase write it down! For anything that is not automatic payment or online bill pay with one transaction, use the envelope system. The evelope system is pretty much a cash only spending technique that can save you TONS! Take your budget divide it by how many times you get paid and put that amount into the envelope each time you are paid. Everytime you spend money fill out the form on the envelope (date, expense, amount, and money left).

You can download my simple envelope here ->Money envelope

I did not add too much design to it, so you can save ink and money. If you want it pretty buy some pretty cardstock paper!

Wow, that was long. Sorry guys! So much information to cover..

Next: Paying Off Your Debt and Saving

Budget 101 Series:

1. Why You Need to Budget
2. Making a Budget That Works For You
3. Paying Off Your Debt and Saving