Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Christmas gifts on a budget
I don't know about you guys but Christmas is coming fast, I'm reminded by Christmas items being put on the shelves in September. Being the savy lady I am, I'm already planning. Last year along with most other Americans Christmas was slim, not only do you have to worry about your kids but you have to worry about family and extended family. So last year I decided I'd put my craftiness to good use. I got some family photos together and headed to my nearest dollar general to pick up some frames and went to town. For the Grandparents I assembled multiple pictures of the grand kids. For extended family (aunts and uncles) I got their school pictures framed. And for their daddy (who I can never surprise or figure out what to get him) I made a collage of family pics, kids and pics of us together. Guess what? They loved them!!!! The family loved having pics of the kids. Try it this year, don't forget to look out for picture deals online and also deals on frames.
Now for the kido's. Coupons.com just put out coupons for board games to buy the kids, wait! Don't just go use them, match them with a deal. This week you can get the Toy Story Operation game at Big Lots for 5 bucks! But you can't use a coupon there so how do you get the best deal? Take Big Lots ad to Walmart and they'll price match it and then you can use the 4.00 off coupon and get it for 1.00!!!!! These would be a great stocking item, somebody's always got a birthday,lol. Right now Walmart is making room for new inventory so look around your local Walmart and look for the clearance isle. You might be able to score a toy deal that you can match with a coupon! Let me know how you do.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
How do I make a coupon Binder?
This is the couponers most valuable weapon,lol. When you first start out couponing you may think all you need is a envelope or a plastic baggy,lol, let me help you on your couponing journey with this first thought, that ain't gonna cut it. First of all it's not practical, thumbing through coupons and hoping to find what you need through the vast amount of coupons your starting to collect.
Now is the perfect time to start a binder, schools in session and binders are on sale!!! I'd recommend getting getting a binder that has a zipper around the outside, the other will work but your more likely to drop coupons out of it. Along with the coupon binder you get all kinds of great spaces to put your necessary items like, a pen, I always seem to need one to redo my math if I find another deal I wasn't expecting,lol, a calculator, I don't know about you guys but I didn't do very well in math and can not do it in my head so having a calculator of some type is needed your going to be doing a lot of it,lol.
Also handy for your binder is a divider system, it helps to have all of your food items and hygenic items separated so you can easily find them. Again now's a great time to grab these, Walgreens had them for .40 cents this week, look for a deal like that and stock up. How do I divide it up? Welp, this can get really technical or really simple it just depends on how organized you would like to be. I refrained from posting a picture of mine because I didn't wanna scare you into not making one,lol, as I have broken everything down into several categories. To start I would get a general list of sections, Baby (if you need it) Dairy, Household(cleaners, Lysol,ect) Hygienic, Pet, Produce, Pantry and Store coupons (Coupons from Walgreens(RR), CVS,ect). This would be good to start out with.
Now you wanna see mine? Hehe, you would be here all night reading, but I have it broken down like this in my hygenic section, Bodywash, Deodorant, Hair Care,ect. Then in the Pantry section, Bread, Cereal, Chocolate,lol, ect. I break it down like this because when I'm looking for my coupons I want to find them fast and know where they are, plus I'm a organizing freak,lol. Figure out what works best for you and go from there.
Next topic, Can I take it into the store? Of course you can!!! I went to the store with my husband for the first time so he could see me in action,lol and as I was getting out of the car he said, "are you really gonna take that big thing in there?" A lot of people are afraid of embarrassed to take in their coupon binder, I've just gotten used to it, especially after not having and finding deals and not being able to get them, that's a pet peev of mine. I make my list of what I'm going to buy but I always take my binder with me, chances are there's a deal that wasn't listed and if I have my coupon binder with me I'll snag it! Always check the clearance isle, there's almost always something on sale that you can use a coupon with and get for cheap or free!!!
Now is the perfect time to start a binder, schools in session and binders are on sale!!! I'd recommend getting getting a binder that has a zipper around the outside, the other will work but your more likely to drop coupons out of it. Along with the coupon binder you get all kinds of great spaces to put your necessary items like, a pen, I always seem to need one to redo my math if I find another deal I wasn't expecting,lol, a calculator, I don't know about you guys but I didn't do very well in math and can not do it in my head so having a calculator of some type is needed your going to be doing a lot of it,lol.
Also handy for your binder is a divider system, it helps to have all of your food items and hygenic items separated so you can easily find them. Again now's a great time to grab these, Walgreens had them for .40 cents this week, look for a deal like that and stock up. How do I divide it up? Welp, this can get really technical or really simple it just depends on how organized you would like to be. I refrained from posting a picture of mine because I didn't wanna scare you into not making one,lol, as I have broken everything down into several categories. To start I would get a general list of sections, Baby (if you need it) Dairy, Household(cleaners, Lysol,ect) Hygienic, Pet, Produce, Pantry and Store coupons (Coupons from Walgreens(RR), CVS,ect). This would be good to start out with.
Now you wanna see mine? Hehe, you would be here all night reading, but I have it broken down like this in my hygenic section, Bodywash, Deodorant, Hair Care,ect. Then in the Pantry section, Bread, Cereal, Chocolate,lol, ect. I break it down like this because when I'm looking for my coupons I want to find them fast and know where they are, plus I'm a organizing freak,lol. Figure out what works best for you and go from there.
Next topic, Can I take it into the store? Of course you can!!! I went to the store with my husband for the first time so he could see me in action,lol and as I was getting out of the car he said, "are you really gonna take that big thing in there?" A lot of people are afraid of embarrassed to take in their coupon binder, I've just gotten used to it, especially after not having and finding deals and not being able to get them, that's a pet peev of mine. I make my list of what I'm going to buy but I always take my binder with me, chances are there's a deal that wasn't listed and if I have my coupon binder with me I'll snag it! Always check the clearance isle, there's almost always something on sale that you can use a coupon with and get for cheap or free!!!
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