Couponing 101: What I Learned

As promised, I am here to share some of the tips and tricks I learned at the Southern Savers Couponing 101 workshop. Before attending the workshop, I had tested the waters of couponing already, so I was already familiar with many of the basics and how to use the Southern Savers site.

If you're new to couponing (I so hate that every time I use that word, it shows up with a red wavy line. It's a real word! I swear!)  I highly recommend you check out some tutorials on Southern Savers first. Jenny explains the basics way better than I every could!

Keep in mind that Southern Savers focuses on stores in the Southeast, and store policies/prices/etc differ through the states. Much of what Jenny talked about applies specifically to Florida, where we mostly shop at Publix or Winn Dixie, because we are different than many other states in the SE (no doubling, true BOGO sales, etc) If you live outside of this region, there are multiple other websites out there that can help you maximize your savings!

Here's what I learned:

• "Lowest Price" for an item is usually 40%-50% off of normal retail. I should not be buying a product if it has not hit it's lowest price. For most products, this happens every 6 weeks or so.
• Stock Up and only buy what is on sale. This requires committing to shopping weekly-- something I need to work on! If something is on sale and I don't buy it because I don't go grocery shopping that week, it means I won't see the lowest price for another six ways, and I'll probably be forced to buy it at a higher price.
• Get 2 Sunday Papers: The main reason for this is so that when items are Buy One Get One Free you can use two coupons, even though you're really only paying for one of the items. We get one paper delivered daily, and I think what I will do is when it is a "good" week for coupons, I will purchase another Sunday paper.
• Ask for Coupons: Jenny shared how her husband recently became gluten free, and she was having a hard time finding coupons that worked for this. She started calling gluten free companies and asking for coupons--and lo and behold, every single one of them sent her coupons! All you have to do is call customer service for a specific company, ask that coupons be mailed to you, and most companies will oblige.
• Ask for Coupons at Customer Service: This applies mostly to Publix, which is where I shop mostly. You know how there are a million little machines and tear pads spread throughout the store with coupons? If you ask at customer service, most stores have a stack of all of these coupons ready for you and you can skip the treasure hunt. Amazing! 
• Saving Star and UPromise: These sites offer e-coupons that can be loaded onto your store loyalty card (Winn Dixie) or UPromise card (Publix) and the savings goes into an online savings account. With SavingStar, you can cash out your account once it hits $5; with UPromise, the savings are placed into a long term savings account for your child (or future child). 
• Don't Clip the Coupons: This is where I was having the most trouble. I would go through the Sunday inserts, clip out only coupons for products that we normally buy, and then toss the rest. Later on, I would see a great deal to match a coupon I didn't clip, and regret it. Jenny's suggestion is to save the entire Sunday inserts, and not clip anything. Just save them whole. Then, each week, when it's time to shop, you can use Southern Savers to match up the weekly ad to coupons, clip out the coupons you need, and go to the store. This is my plan from now on. While I have to admit that I kind of missed flipping through the inserts this morning and getting excited about what I found, I know this will save me more money in the long run.
• Save on Produce & Meat: This is the hardest part for me, and likely for everyone. They don't make many coupons for fresh produce and meat, and the sales aren't always amazing deals. Jenny offered suggestions for both.
• Buy Local (for both): For produce, join a CSA or shop at a Farmer's Market. I use the Neighborhood Garden for organic produce and have been impressed so far. For meat, try a local butcher shop--their prices are actually around the same as grocery store sale prices and you may be able to negotiate.
• Know your prices: For bargaining power at the Farmer's Market, use www.marketnews.usda.gov to research Federal prices for produce.
• Buy in Bulk: Whether you purchase a whole cow from your butcher (not an option with an apartment sized freezer!) or shop meat sales such as Zaycon.

Whew. That's a lot.  And that's just from the few notes I jotted down. Jenny gave a ton of good information and I am so glad I went to the workshop!

If you have any questions, please ask. I'll do my best to answer! Happy Couponing!

The Proof is in the Salad

I am submitting this as proof that I am meeting at least one of my New Year's goals!

I made a huge chopped salad yesterday and am currently enjoying some of it with spicy Asian ginger dressing. Yum!

Thirty before Thirty

 As of writing this post, I have exactly:

 
until I turn thirty.

I have to keep checking the math in my head. Wait, thirty? Are you sure? Didn't I just turn 21?

Didn't I just turn 3 and get an awesome Rainbow Brite tricycle?

I'm not really stressing it, though. I don't feel that old and everyone says their thirties are better than their twenties, anyway.

Before I reach this milestone though, there are some things I would like to check off my bucket list. Things I have been talking about or thinking about and haven't done yet. Turning 30 gives me a date to countdown to. Like I said yesterday, I work better under pressure, so instead of giving myself the rest of my life to complete these, I'm hoping that giving myself a cutoff makes me more productive.

1. Read the entire New Testament

2. Take the ferry to Cumberland Island

3. Be pregnant (or trying)

4. Cook an intimidating recipe from Julia Child's cook book

5. Get my director's credential

6. Watch a Jax Beach sunrise

7. Lose 30 pounds

8. Sew a skirt I can wear in public

9. Pick our own fruit at a U-Pick-It Farm

10. Find a skin care regimen and stick to it!

11. Make bread from scratch

12. Go to a Gator home game

13. Go out of the country

14. Get a makeover & buy some of what is recommended

15. Grow out my nails & get a manicure

16. Give up soda

17. Make another quilt

18. Stay in a quaint bed & breakfast with Josh

19. Cut my hair & donate it to Locks of Love

20. Back up the photos on my computer

 21. Complete photo books for our honeymoon & first year of marriage

22. Run a mile

23. Save more than I spend at the grocery store

24. Go on a road trip with Josh

25. Have a significant amount of money in savings

26. Make authentic Pad Thai from scratch

27. Be a Vegan for a week

28. Reupholster a piece of furniture

29. Find a type of fish I like & learn to cook it

30. Play in the snow

It's Gonna be a Happy New Year!

Happy 2012, everyone!

Josh and I spent a long weekend in Tampa with my family, celebrating a belated Christmas. We had a wonderful, relaxing time. I've been off work for 5 days and while I love my job, I am not looking forward to the alarm tomorrow.

Seeing as how it's 2012 already, I wanted to write down some goals for the new year. I don't like the term "resolutions" because those always get broken. So these aren't my resolutions, these are just some habits I'd like to start (and some I'd like to stop).

1. Stop biting my nails. I have tried this multiple times and sometimes it lasts for a few weeks. But I always end up biting them again! I've tried having acrylic nails put on to help break the habit, but as soon as I get them taken off, I go back to biting. Part of my problem is that usually I don't even notice I'm biting them until I've already bitten half of them. Anyone have any suggestions on how to stop completely?

2. Eat Healthier: The reality is we don't eat that badly. I don't buy a lot of snacks or premade meals, mostly because of our budget. But I do cook a lot of pasta and I love cheese. And if there's a dessert around, I will eat it. I want to start eating more fresh fruits & vegetables and less sugar. I found a local organic produce company that sells huge bags of produce for $33 a week. I'd like to start doing this, because having all that fresh produce around will hopefully force me to eat more of it. I also need some healthy recipe ideas, so please share!

3. Quality Time with God Daily: I'm stealing this explanation from Whitney's (one of my favorite blogs that I follow!) because she said it so well: "Spend quality time in the Word each day and to nurture an ever growing and maturing prayer life."  Amen.

4. Explore Jacksonville: Josh and I are pretty conservative and unadventerous. We have routines and we usually don't explore outside of them. This year I want to see some new things! There are multiple parks, historic sites, and cool things to do in Jax. I want to try some of them this year. If you are a local and have some recommendations, please share!

That's it. I'm keeping it pretty basic in hopes that it will help me actually follow through! And I'm hoping that by sharing these with you, I'll have some more accountability to stick to my goals.