Couponing Classes

I am going to a couponing class tomorrow afternoon. I am so excited that I can hardly stand it. I hope that I am able to learn something new from the instructor. I went to a couponing class in the beginning of April that was supposed to be taught by Mary from Couponers United. Unfortunately she was under the weather that day so a man named Perry filled in for her. To be completely honest, I was disappointed. I thought to myself, "How is this guy going to teach us anything about saving money on groceries?" Come to find out, he did an outstanding job of showing us some of the in and outs of couponing. I was very impressed with how he taught the class. I have been couponing for almost a year now, and I was still able to learn some useful tips.

I said all of that to tell you this. Never stop learning! You may feel that you know everything there is to know about couponing; however, I suggest that you continue to gain knowledge about saving money. Someone is always going to be able to offer helpful tips and tricks. Keep reading blogs written by couponers, keep checking couponer Facebook pages, keep watching couponing videos on Youtube, and try to find a couponers class or workshop in your area.

If you live in the Central Florida area, I suggest you visit http://www.couponersunited.com/ and look into the classes that they offer.

Come visit my Facebook page to see how the class goes tomorrow! The Young Couponer

Best of luck to all of my fellow Money Savers♥

The Reason Why I Coupon.

Ever since TLC's show "Extreme Couponing" hit the airways, the couponing industry has really picked up speed. Many people start couponing only to stop in a few months simply because they cannot seem to get the crazy deals that the couponers on "Extreme Couponing" are able to get. Unfortunately, they become frustrated and quit.

 I believe that couponing is a way of life. People need to realize that couponing takes work, and a lot of it. It really is like working a part time job. You will not be an extreme couponer overnight. It will take time to learn all of the tricks of the trade. You must keep reminding yourself that you are helping build your family's stockpile and saving money all at the same time. Overtime you will be saving your family an average of about 60 - 70% on groceries. Now there will be times when you can get items for free. Occasionally you will be able to save 90 - 100 %. Of course, I am sure that there are exceptions out there in the world. Some people may pick up quickly on how to coupon, but others will take more time learning how to coupon.

I have two reasons why I love to coupon. The first reason is that I enjoy doing everything I can to help my family save money and stretch the money that we do have. Getting the best bang for your buck is something that will forever be in my brain. Not trying to sound greedy, but our family can have so much more when we coupon. If our budget is tight, we do not have to settle for buying generic brands. I can almost always find the name brands for a cheaper price if I match a coupon to the weekly ads. The second reason is that I love doing it. Couponing is so much fun for me. Every week I get excited to see what coupons at are the Sunday paper and what deal I will get.

Why do you coupon and what do you enjoy about couponing? Please leave a comment below : )
Feel free to ask me any question that you may have. I will answer to the best of my ability.

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Couponing 101 at CVS

CVS is one of my favorite stores for couponing. I have done some of my best deals here. Here are a couple of steps to getting started at CVS.

1. Sign up for an Extra Care Card. This card is the gateway to saving a lot of money at CVS. You will want to make sure you fill in the email address line. CVS will send occasional store coupons such as $4 off of $20 purchase.

2. Once you have your card, scan it each time at the Coupon Kiosk inside the store. This machine will randomly print off different coupons.

3. Grab a weekly sales ad. This will show you the deals that are currently running at your store. Pay attention to Extra Care Buck deals.

4. Extra Care Bucks are basically CVS money. ECB's come in different amounts. CVS will run different sales where you can buy an item and get an ECB back for the same amount of money that you spent on that item. (Example, contact solution. Pay $8.99 then receive an ECB worth $8.99) CVS also has deals where you can spend an amount of money and get ECB's back. (Look at the weekly ad above. ^^ Spend $25 and receive $10 in ECB's.) You can spend ECB's on pretty much any item in the store. A list of what cannot be purchased can be seen at the bottom of each ECB. Each ECB has an expiration date, so be sure to use them before the expire.

5. Remember that coupon kiosk? It prints store coupons that can be stacked with manufacturer coupons for even more savings!

6. Beauty Club Rewards. Ladies, be sure to sign up at the link below. The CVS Beauty Club will send you a $5 ECB for every $50 you spend on beauty items.

http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/promoContent/promoLandingTemplate.jsp?promoLandingId=1284

7. The Reinventing Beauty Magazine is a CVS magazine. It is full of beauty tips, tricks, and best of all coupons. Some of the coupons are actual CVS store coupons, while others are manufacturer coupons.

I hope that these tips will be a help to anyone reading this! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to comment below. Happy Couponing  :  )

I am so excited about this deal!

6 boxes of Rice Krispies
(BOGO Free, 3 $1 off of 2 boxes, and 2 $1 off of 3 boxes from Target)

3 bags of M&M's
(used 3 coupons off the Rice Krispy Boxes for free M&Ms)

2 boxes of lightbulbs
(2 $2 off of 1 Target coupon)

4 packages of Kraft Freshtake
(on sale 50% off, BOGO free coupon, and 2 $1.50 off 2)

 2 packages of Kraft Big Slice cheese
(on sale 50 %off, used 2 $1 off coupons)

1 bag of Splenda Brown Sugar
($1 Target coupon and $2 Manufacturer Coupon)

6 Scotch-Brite Disinfecting Wipes
(BOGO free from Winn Dixie, used BOGO free coupon)

And I used a $5 off of 30 coupon

Check out my Facebook Page (The Young Couponer)
Happy Couponing! : )

Today was a great day! I visited a couple stores and here is what I ended up with. 10 bottles of Scotch-Brite Botanical Disinfecting Wipes, 10 boxes of Kraft MilkBite granola bars, and 2 bags of Bird's Eye Voila dinners. I paid $9.92 for $70.98 worth of product! Here is how I did it - I had 5 Publix coupons for BOGO free Kraft Milkbites and 10 .75 cents off manufacturer's coupons. They are originally priced at $2.99, so I got them for .75 cents a box. Next is the Bird's Eye Voila dinners. They were BOGO free this week at Publix so that would make them $5.49 for both, but I had 2/ $2 off coupons. I got both bags for $1.49. Last but definitely not least, I got the Scotch Brite Botanical Disinfecting Wipes. These babies were on sale BOGO free. I had 5 BOGO free coupons. These coupons combined with the sale made them FREE, but since I live in Florida, I had to pay tax. Looking forward to my next couponing adventure : )

I started my couponing adventure in May 2011 when I came home from college. My Mom had started a few months earlier. I watched her get all these crazy deals because of couponing. I definitely wanted to join in on the fun and we quickly became "Coupon Buddies". Now I look back on the days before we were couponers and think of how much money we could have saved! I truly believe God has blessed our family for wanting to be as frugal as we can be with the money He provides us with.

I started this blog to show that anybody can be a couponer! You don't have to be just like the people on TLC's show "Extreme Couponing". Just start with baby steps and you will soon be on your way to saving your family a lot of money. Happy Couponing! : )