The Cash Wallet- Part 2

Thanks Angie for helping me make my awesome cash wallet! I am so thrilled to be trying out a new way to budget- The Cash Envelope System. I have always wanted to try to use the cash envelope system. This is a system where you just pay cash for everything. The cash is divided into categorized envelopes. I was always nervous that I would lose the envelopes or that they would get buried in the bottom of my purse. Well now I have the envelopes built into my wallet so I don't have to worry anymore. I no longer have an excuse not to do it.

Here are the simple steps for using a cash envelope system:

1. Decide each month how much you are going to spend on a category (ie: $200 for groceries, $50 for clothes etc.)
2. Take that out in cash and stick it in the envelope for that category
3. When it is gone, it's gone! You aren't spending more than you planned.
4. You now know how much you are actually spending.

I really hope this encourages everyone to try this. Even if you aren't on a tight budget, this is still perfect because at the end of the month you aren't scratching your head saying, how did I spend $321 on eating out?

I would love to hear your success stories using the cash envelope system. I would also love to hear any other great budgeting tips that have worked for you!

Coupon Lingo

When starting to coupon it can be very overwhelming. There is so much information and a lot of things to learn. When looking at websites that post deals, like some of the ones that I have talked about HERE and HERE, there will always be coupon abbreviations. This can only add to the confusion. Hopefully I can help clear up any confusion. Please feel free to ask any questions. I want to help, and I want you to love to coupon!

P&G: Procter & Gamble Sunday insert
RP: Red Plum
SS: SmartSource
$1/1, $1/2: One dollar off one item, one dollar off two items, etc.
B1G1: Buy one item get one item free
B2G1: Buy two items get one item free
Beep: Sometimes the register will beep when a coupon is scanned to indicate that the cashier need to take an action, like entering a price.
Blinkies: Grocery/drugstore coupon dispensers with blinking lights
Catalina: Catalina coupon, prints from a separate machine when your receipt prints
CRT: Cash register tape, usually used when referring to CVS coupons that print with receipt
DND: Do not double
ECBs: ExtraCare Bucks, CVS loyalty rewards system
ETS: Excludes trial size
Exp.: Expires
GC: Gift card
IVC: Instant Value Coupon, Walgreens' store coupons found in ads and monthly booklet
MIR: Mail-in rebate
OYNO: On your next order
OOP: Out of pocket
OOS: Out of stock
Peelie: Peel-off coupon found on product packaging
RRs: Register Rewards, Walgreens' Catalina coupons
Q: Coupon
SCR: Single Check Rebate, Rite Aid monthly rebates program
Stacking: Using both a manufacturer's coupon and a store coupon on one item
UPC: Universal product code, bar code
Tearpad: Pad of coupons attached to a display, shelf, or refrigerator door.
+UP Reward: Rite Aid reward program
WYB: When you buy
YMMV: Your mileage (or manager) may vary, meaning some stores might give you a deal but others might not

The Thrill of the Coupon

For those new to the blog let me explain what we do here. I(Angela) share crafting, sewing and decorating projects. Whitney shares recipes and couponing tips. Lauren is the expert on all things nutrition and exercise related. Like I mentioned yesterday we are going to switch that up this week. Today I am going to be sharing my experience with couponing and a few things that I learned from Whitney(the extreme couponer) last week.

Let me explain how this all got started. I had to run into Target to return something. Whitney came with me. On our way out of the store, I remembered that I was out of dishwasher detergent. I turned around and headed for the soap isle. I picked up my usual. Brand: Cascade Color: Green Price: ? That is when Whitney intervened. “Do you have a coupon for that?” “No, why would I happen to have a coupon on this random trip to Target?” I thought.

-Now let me explain here that in the numerous times Whitney has tried to explain her couponing tactics they have completely escaped me. I know that I am about to make myself seem ridiculous here, but couponing is like a foreign language to me. I do not get. I mean sure, if I have a dollar off bread coupon. I hand it to the check-out clerk and she takes a dollar off my bread. But when you start getting into stacking coupons and using multiple coupons, that is just too much to me-

Whitney kindly put back the soap on the shelf and the proceeded to pull out a giant binder from what must be a Mary Poppins purse, because I had no idea she was packing such a mass amount of coupons!


“I’m sure that I have something in here.” Whitney said. And she did. Next thing I know she is cutting a coupon right there in the middle of the isle.



Then I was handed a $1.75 off of Finish Quantum, not my usual brand, but a brand that I am sure works just fine.


I had to try this again. “So Whitney, I also need some Clorox wipes.” It was like magic! All of the sudden I was handed not one, not two, but three $1.50 off coupons for any Lysol product. I was able to get 3 cans of 35 wipes for $0.50 a piece. Which was cheaper than getting 1 container of 100 wipes- which I believe was close to $5 or $6. It wasn’t my usual Clorox brand, but it still got me wipes for cheap.

Whitney had all of the sudden became my money saving fairy. If I wanted to save money on something, my wish was her command.


I tried my luck on a third item. I also needed some dish soap. My usual- Brand: Dawn Color: Blue Price: ? But Whitney didn’t have any coupons for that. But lucky for us, Palmolive was on clearance. A 10 oz bottle was $0.70. Buying three 10 oz bottles was cheaper than buying one 30 oz. bottle for $3.



What I learned (I’m sorry if these lessons are so obvious to you, but they are new to this coupon novice):

1. You cannot be brand loyal when couponing. This is something that will take a little while for me to get used to.
2. Sometimes buying more of a smaller item can be cheaper than buying one of a larger item.
3. Get organized! Whitney explained a little about coupon organization systems in this post here. Really couponing isn’t as scary as I think it is. I think if I got myself organized I could do it.
3. Get a hold of as many coupons as possible. I learned this week that she actually purchases coupon inserts online. In fact she almost postponed her trip to Denver, by a day because her coupon inserts were supposed to arrive the day after she was scheduled to come to Denver.

Now this is where I can put Whitney in the extreme couponing category. I went with Whitney on a coupon scavenger hunt. See Monday morning is recycling pick-up. Sunday night everyone puts out their recycling bins. So can you guess what Whitney did Sunday night and then again Monday morning? She went around the neighborhood looking through neighbors recycling bins collecting coupon inserts that others had thrown out.

 

My husband and I drove her around the neighborhood. As we were doing this, we were cracking up- not because we were making fun, but because Whitney found so much joy in riffling through others recycling. We had almost never seen Whitney as happy as she was that night collecting coupons. I never knew couponing could be such a thrill!

Any other advice you can give this coupon novice?

Stockpiling 101

The best way to coupon and get the most for your money is to stockpile. Stockpiling simply means buying multiples of one item when it is at it's lowest price.That way you run out of something, you will never have to run out and pay full price for that item. You can just shop from what you have. So this asks the question, when is it at its lowest price and how much do I need to get? A good way to know if it is at it's rock bottom price is if it 70% off or more. This is when you know to stockpile! Knowing how much you will need of that item is really up to you to decide. All I ask is that you buy only what you need! There is no sense in buying 100 of something just because it is free or cheap. When you do that, that means there are none leftover for others to get the deal and who really needs to hoard that much stuff. Here are pictures from my stockpile. It may look tiny, but it is all that we need.

Favorite Ways to Save Money

There are a ton of ways out there to save money. Here are some of my favorite ways I like to stretch a buck.

1. Only use cash. Now I will say that I do not only use cash. I pay all my bills and things that are a necessity (ie, food, power, gas) out of my bank account. Then I use cash for just the extras (ie. my diet coke run, eating out, clothes)
2. If you see something that you really want, wait to buy it. Then if you are still thinking about it 24 hours later and decide that you have it have it, then go back and get it.
3. Don't buy it just because it is a good deal. Just because you find a clearance shirt for $3 doesn't mean you have it buy it. I know I am very guilty of this. It is very easy to get sucked into this when you begin to coupon. You find all this stuff you can get for cheap, but ask yourself am I really going to use this?
4. Use only cold water to wash your clothes. I have just started doing this and am excited to see how much I will save on my next bill.
5. Get rid of cable and land line phone.

What are your favorite ways to save money?

Coupon Organization

I have a love/hate relationship with coupons. I love that I save a lot of money with them. I love the thrill of using coupons and seeing my total at the check out line keep going down and down. What I hate though is having to cut them all out. And then this leaves the question, what to do with all the coupons? So today I want to talk about coupon organization. I have three methods on how to store your coupons. Each have pros and cons, but each one works well depending the level of the coupon users.

First Method: The Binder system
This is the one that I use. You will need dividers, 3 ring binder, and baseball card holders. You divide your binder into different categories. My categories are: baby, beverages, canned, cereal, cleaning, dairy, laundry, meat, medicine, misc., personal hygiene. You can have as little or as many categories as you want. This is what works for me.

Pros: The pro to this is that you always have all your coupons with you at all times. So if you find a deal you weren't expecting you have your coupons right there with you. Another pro is being able to see all of the coupons that you have.

Cons: The cons to this method are that you have to cut out every coupon and they don't always fit perfectly in the baseball card holders.

Here is a picture of mine.

 Here is someone elses that is very similar to mine.

Dividers

I always carry the store coupon policy with me

I always have a pair of scissors, because I don't always cut every coupon before going to the store.

Second Method: Accordion Folder
This is a great method for just starting out. All you need is an accordion folder. You can usually find these in the dollar spot at target. Just as the first method, you cut all of your coupons out, and organize them into different categories.

Pros: The pro is that this is a lot smaller to carry around than a 3 ring binder. It will probably fit into your purse easily.

Cons: The con is that you can't see all the coupons you have, because they are smashed together in a folder. You have to take the coupons out of the folder to view them.

Third Method: File System
This system works great if you don't want to coupon aggressively. When you get your coupon inserts you just write the date you received them on the front. Then file them away in a folder. You then rely on people posting deals, going to the specific coupon, and cutting it out. (Here are a few of my favorite deal sites.)

Pros: The pro to this is that you don't have a to carry around a huge binder.

Cons: The con to this is that you only are going to the store with those prepared deals, and if you find something else you won't have your other coupons with you.

I hope this helps you feel a little more organized, and I hope it gives you the motivation to start or continue to coupon.

Coupon 101

There are so many things I want to share on my first post and I don’t know how to start. But I do know that I want to start out with the very basics of couponing.  It may seem silly for me to eagerly wait for my Sunday newspaper but inside holds these tiny pieces of paper that can literally save you thousands of dollars. The whole idea of cutting, organizing, and shopping with coupons is just so exciting to me.  I want to hopefully get your coupons veins pumping. I’ll share what I think are the best ways and tips to know to start couponing.

1.     Get 1 Sunday newspaper per person in your family. That way, when you find a really good deal, you can stock up and have enough for everyone in your home.

2.     Kroger brands (Smith’s, King Soopers, Dillons) doubles the value of your coupon everyday up to $1.00. So if you have a coupon for .40 it will double to .80 or if you have a coupon for .60 it will double to $1.00. Although it may seem like nothing, but those savings really add up!

3.     Let others do the work for you. There is no way I would enjoy this as much if somebody didn’t help my find the deals.  There are websites and blogs everywhere that tell you where the best deals are and what coupons to pair that deal up with. My favorite is http://www.moneysavingmom.com/

A good Utah based coupon site is http://www.freebies2deals.com/

A good Denver site is http://denverbargains.com/

4.     Find a system that works for you. There are many different ways and levels to coupon. Maybe I’ll make that my next post!

The effort you put into this will definetly pay off . This weeks challenge. Go out and find an item you can get for free my couponing. You’ll be amazed at what you can find. I’ll start off my giving you one:  go here and find the $1 off suave product. Target has Suave shampoo and conditioner on sale for .84-.97 this week. Use this coupon to get it for free plus a .3-.16 profit!