New to Couponing with a Full Time Job

[drpotter2807]

Hi,

I am a mom of two (3yr and 4m) and work 12 hour days away from home. I am also on call one night a week so my time to do "background" work and shopping trips is limited. What are some good suggestions for newbies without a lot of extra time? I have joined some of the "subscription- based" web sites that match coupons to sales for you (GG and CS) on a trial bases to see if its worth it to me to pay for these services. Any thoughts?

What I am doing now:

* I have coupons clipped and organized in categories in a SMALL handheld organizer.

* I also started my "bin" with the weeks labled for the inserts from the sunday paper. I seems that most ppl here clip and organize instead of using the "bin" method.

* I like the idea of being able to easily look to see what I have, but not sure if using the organizing method of the service would help me in the long run.

* I have Off on Tuesdays and I usually do my shopping trips on these days and drop the kids at daycare for a few hours so I can "concentrate" in the store.

* We have Krogers, Super walmart, Rite Aid and Walgreens here.

So my questions are:

1. Organization method perferred by most couponers? I am still coupon shy so I'm not sure I am ready for the big binder... but the idea is growing on me
2. Are the subscription services worth it? Time is money after all
3. Any other advice? I am working my way through the info on the boards. GREAT STUFF GIRLS! (and guys) THANKS!


P.S. I in NO WAY mean to imply that being a SAHM or WAHM has ANY more free time than I do... I KNOW what a job that truly is!!!
Rachel

[434Teresa]

You will find lots of the same info here and you will learn to find the deals yourself so I would not pay for that service myself..

You can print coupons from three sites on here that helps some..

Price match at walmart from your sunday sales ad to keep from running all over town, saves gas to..they price match store brand from other stores for great value brand so dont foget that..

I would make a list on my frig as the week gose by then on tuesday morning I would look at the list and see what coupons I have to go with the list and pull them out so you dont have to in the store..then look to see what other coupons I may want to use since you dont take them all with you yet...however I do find in store sales that i use coupons from my book on that I could not of if I did not have it with me. Like today ziploc bags were 2 for $3 and I had coupon for $1.50 off two lucky I had them with me because they would be gone by tommorrow..

You just have to give it time and see what works best for you working 12 hours and having two little ones is hard alone i know been there done that..they are now 14 & 15 but here I am again with twins(3) but I am lucky this time I get to stay home with them....

Here is one good one there is a $3 surf coupon and its makes the 40 load $2 a box.. you might find some on here, its a hot coupon now....or you can buy them on ebay...

[kval07]

NO NO NO on the paying for people to do the work for you. You can get all of that here for FREE!! First rule of couponing, don't pay for it if you can get it for free!!!!

I work a full time, four day work week. No kids, but I have two dogs who are as much work as kids. I still find the time to coupon. The money savings make it worth it. It is in my best interest to find the time.

I use a binder, but if you want to start out small, you could use one of those little accordian files for your take to store coupons.

[tmsmalley]

I also have a more than full time job as well as 2 kids (6 and 3) and a dh. I wouldn't pay for someone to tell me what to match up. If you want to know, just go to the grocery store forum for that store and someone will have the latest ad and all the matches right there for you. Lots of people do like you are and keep the full inserts until they get a specific match up for a specific coupon.

What I do is cut the coupons that I'm likely to use and put them into a binder. I've got the photo pages but a lot of people use the baseball card pages. I've got mine organized by the store aisles of the store I go to most often. Cutting and filing takes me about an hour at most and I usually do it while I'm watching TV or something anyway. I go through the store ad and match myself by using post-its right on my plastic pages. I even cut out ads and stick them down too.

Then, I go to the store, usually early on a Saturday morning when there are few people there. Kids stay home with dh because you cannot think with them in tow. I go up and down each aisle, pick up what I have on my post-its as definite things to get, then can also spot any unadvertised specials that catch my eye. Takes me 1 1/2 - 2 hours to leisurely browse the store. I could do it faster but hey, it is kid free time, why rush!

I recommend focusing on one grocery store. You don't have time to run all over town for stuff or make multiple trips every week. I still save hundreds of dollars without doing all that.

Tess

[notsyourbeezwax]

I also work full time (but since my "baby" is 32, he does not require too much of my time). I am most effective when I treat the couponing as my second job, and schedule the time for clipping, shopping, organizing. When I don't follow my schedule, and just try to make the time, I quickly get overwhelmed. I do use my lunch break at work for filing into and cleaning out of my binder, so that is very helpful.

Also, as a previous poster said, don't try to work ALL of the stores and ALL of the deals. I had to stop going to Kroger, even though I was getting really great deals there, because the nearest store is a 20 minute drive from my office, in the wrong direction. So, I was adding an extra 40-45 minutes to my commute just to go to Kroger. It was such a relief when I stopped going there.

For organization I go through the inserts (I get 6-8 papers each week) and staple like pages. That is time consuming, so I schedule that for a time when I am watching TV or a movie. I cut the coupons that I am pretty sure that I will use and file them in my binder. The rest get filed uncut in hanging folders indentified by week and type (11/1/09 SS). When I make my shopping lists, I transfer the coupons I need along with the list to my small accordian type organizer, that has a labeled section for each store that I shop in (Harris Teeter, Walgreens, etc). And if someone on HCW says "Food Lion is going to have X on sale in 2 weeks, I put those coupons in the FL section of the organizer so that I am ready for that week. I also have sections in that organizer for frees, fast food, and impulse items (sodas, candy bars, etc). The binder is generally in my car, but I seldom take it into the store. I always have my store organizer with me. Even if I am just running in for milk and bread. Cuz you just never know.

Wow, I typed a lot more than I meant to, but I sure hope that it helps. Remember, everybody has their own system, and you will develop yours as well. And if you try it, and it does not work for YOU, go ahead and change it until it DOES work.

[justagirlnamedStormy]

I have a full time job, no kids though.

For ME, what works best...

I generally purchase 1 insert per week. I'm in a smaller town so we only have a harveys, bilo, walmart, kmart, walgreens, riteaid. For me, the best deals I've found are at BiLo, Walgreens, and sometimes Walmart so those are the 3 stores I focus on.

I always check the forums for my 3 stores. For me it is easier and cheaper to stockpile (check out the stockpiling forum if you want more info) so if I find a great deal at one of my stores, I will order a set of coupons off eBay (usually around $1 for 10), then go to the store and buy 10 of the item.

Like right now, I've only been couponing for a few months and I have enough razors, cleaning products, shampoo and conditioner, deoderant, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, chapstick, and floss to last me a year or more and all of it cost me less than $200... I didn't keep track of exact cost, but i'd probably say actually less than $100. Food deals seem to be harder to come by (at least in my town of only 2 grocery stores), but I'm working on it. I usually utilize my lunch break for couponing... either going to a store to get a deal, or looking up deals.

[mommas2moody]

I'm a full time working Mom of 3 (8, 6, & 1) and was looking for similar advise. I want to better my routine by finding more time saving tips.

I have finally gotten a organizing system that works for me..... I have a binder but use an accordion file to carry into the store with me that has a section for the stores I shop at plus one for general needs/wants. I cut all my coupons out of the inserts as that's what works best for me though it seems to take more time.

I have my store limited to the ones that are the easiest for me to get to such as the ones near work. (I work and live on opposite sides of town) I do most of my shopping on my lunch breaks during the week. Sometimes that means that I take a trip to a store everyday...... so what. On an up note, getting it done on my lunch break frees up my weekend. I use my weekend to get my coupons organized and search for deals.

[Shadowchasy]

Again I agree with everyone else...Do not pay for service, everything you need to know is right here at HCW for free.

1) make a list of what you need, add to it as you go.

2) Check the store forum here for the stores you shop at each week, pull coupons for items on your list. Krogers here will double and triple coupons, where Walmart does not.

3) Also see if there are items for nearly FREE or FREE in the sale ads you check.

4) Start slow and dont get frustrated. It takes time to master more than one store. Also you will find the best organizational way that works best for you. We all have our won way of doing it. Me.....I have a big plastic file box that I have file folders for most products, (ex. canned good, campbells, condiments, dawn, etc), I cut my coupons out as I have time and file in my large box, this way I know what I have. I also have a small coupon holder that I carry with me into the store. I pull the coupons I know I will be using before I leave. I also take my big box and leave it in the car, this way if there is an awesome deal, and I know I have coupons I will go back out to the car and get it.
I also shop when my little one is in school or at least I try too.