A day in the life of a couponer...

Well, not really. But I would like to show you what it takes for me to get the deals I find. I know many people think that the time spent clipping coupons is not worth the savings in the end. Honestly, if you don't use the coupons you clip, then yes, you are wasting more time than saving money. But I'm here to show you how easy it really is. All you really need is Internet access and at least 2 Sunday newspapers (always buy in doubles, that way you have the correct number of coupons for bogo deals).

So this week, as I was making my weekly Publix list, I decided to document my process. By using a coupon matching site, like this one, making your list and matching the coupons is already done for you. When it comes to stores not listed, that's when the time starts adding up. However, I do most of my shopping at Publix, mainly because they always have a ton of bogo deals going on.

Once on the site, select your store from the drop down menu at the top (in this case I chose Publix). All of the deals in the weekly flyer will be listed along with any and every coupon that matches up with those items. Simply check the items you wish to buy and click "create list". From here I usually de-select the coupon I know I don't have, that way there's less to print.

Once printed, I circle all of the Internet printable coupons that I want to seek out and print. That way I know which ones I have left to find and which ones I already have. Also, as I print them, I like to use tally marks so I can keep up with the number of prints I've made. All of the coupon sites allow a max of 2 prints per coupon, per computer. Since we have 2 working computers, I'm allowed to make 4 prints total, therefore I can buy more items.

After I have all of my coupons printed I like to go over my math calculations so I know exactly what I plan to spend. I'm a math person so this is the best part for me. It may seem like a jumbled mess to some, but it makes perfect sense to me. The important thing to remember is that you can use two ($/1) coupons on BOGO items, or one ($/2) depending on the quantity listed on the coupon. Also, don't forget about the $/3+ coupons. You can use those as well, but you just have to make sure you are buying enough of the product. Here's an example: this week Voskos Greek Yogurt was on sale at Publix for $1.00 each. I had (4) $1/3 manufacture coupons, so that means I would need to buy 12 items in order to use all four coupons. But I also had (4) $1/3 store coupons (which can be used with manufacture coupons!). Since you can use a store and manufacture coupon on an item, I was able to get the yogurt for just $.33 each. Here's how it works... yogurt is on sale for $1.00 each (regular price $1.75), so if I buy 12 that's $12.00, but if I use the (4) $1/3 manufacture coupons it lowers the total to $8.00. Then if I also use the (4) $1/3 store coupons, my total is lowered again to just $4.00. If you divide that number by the total items bought (12) you come up with your price per item, therefore $.33 each.

Don't worry though if you're not good at math. If you use the site I mentioned above, she'll have the total (per item) listed. Just multiply that amount by the total number you wish to buy, and you have your total! It's that easy when you use that site. Honestly, if it weren't for the coupon matching sites, I wouldn't have caught on as quickly as I did. It really takes the guess work out and does it for you. One thing to remember though, if you live in FL, Publix (where I mainly shop) does not double coupons. So a few sites may have two different totals for each item. If you live in FL, the correct price, sadly,  is usually the higher one.

Now comes the fun part of gathering all of my printed coupons and any that I need to clip from the newspaper inserts (this week was mostly Internet printables) and make my final list. If you wish to take the simple coupon route (which I'm now converting to) you don't need to clip anything until you are ready to use it! Keep all of your inserts intact and just file them (in a large accordion file folder) by the date they were issued (newspaper date). The coupon matching sites will tell you exactly which insert any coupons come in, so all you have to do is pull out the insert, find your exact coupon, clip it, and then put the remaining insert back in the file. See, easy huh?

So here's my list. I try to be as specific as I can when writing everything out. The last thing you want to do while in the store is search through your stack of coupons because you can't remember what size or quantity you have to buy (trust me, I've done it enough times to know I hate doing it, ha ha).

After my list is made, I use a paper clip and attach everything together with my list on top. Since I make sure I write down specific information about the items I need to buy, all I need to look at while shopping is my list. Then I just mark off what I get, and also circle the items that are out of stock (which happens a lot if the item is free or cheap).

Again, if you ever have any questions, just ask. I'm always willing to help others save money.