7 Tips for Beginning Couponing

I have people ask me from time to time how I coupon. I'm not going to go in depth on the how-to of couponing, because it's been done to death and there's nothing really new to add. Instead, I will share a few tips that I think might be often overlooked.



1. Do a little research about which stores in your area are coupon friendly. You'll want to start with a store that isn't a jerk about coupons.

In my area, I really like CVS for non-food related items. I would never buy anything at CVS when it's full price (or even on sale if I didn't have a coupon to pair with it) because their regular prices are ridiculous, but when it comes to sales and coupons it's a great place to shop! If you choose to coupon at CVS, set up a cvs.com account, sign up for the beauty club, sign up for RX rewards, sign up to get coupons in the mail, sign up for minute clinic emails, and get a CVS card. They have a million ways for you to earn "Extra Care Bucks" which spend just like cash in the store and can be combined with both store and manufacturer coupons. Sometimes I almost feel bad when they pay me for taking merchandise out of their store. Almost.

For grocery items, I like Kroger. The coupon policy isn't as great as CVS, but it's still pretty good. If you shop at Kroger, sign up for a kroger.com account and make sure your kroger plus card is handy. You also earn a .10/gallon gas discount for every $100 you spend. My one issue with Kroger is that they don't stock sale items as heavily as they should. Often they have "Mega Sales" where you can get extra savings if you buy X number of participating items. These sales are a couponer's happy place...or a couponer's sad place if they're out of stock on something that you need to count toward a "participating item". If you ever see me weeping in the aisles of Kroger, this is what has happened.

2. Once you find the store you want to start with, find a good website that breaks down the weekly ad and matches available coupons to sale items. I like iheartcvs.com and krogerkrazy.com. Both of those also have Facebook groups which are incredibly helpful. Do not waste your time going through the sale ads and trying to find coupons to match. Not all sale items are advertised and there are so many internet resources that have already done that work for you.

3. You don't have to be extreme to get a good deal. If you don't have the space or inclination to stockpile 2000 packages of toilet paper, don't. Personally, I buy two Sunday newspapers per week. That gives me two copies of every coupon and that's enough for my family of 3. The key is to get enough stuff so that you never have to buy something at full price, but not so much stuff that items expire before you can use them. If you see an item that says, "Sale 10/$10!", you do not have to buy 10 of that item. It's $1 each (at least at most stores).

4. Dust off your printer. I use more coupons that I've printed from the internet than newspaper coupons. The store specific couponing websites that I mentioned above will tell you whether a coupon needs to be printed from the internet or if it's available in a newspaper. You can print most coupons twice per computer.

5. Load your store loyalty card with coupons. Just be aware that if you have a coupon loaded to your card, it takes precedence over a paper coupon. You cannot use both, so know which value is higher and remove the coupon from your card before your shopping trip if it's not the better coupon.

6. Follow couponers on instagram. Search #couponcommunity #extremecouponing #kroger #cvs, etc. If you want to know some of the folks I follow, ask me. Instagram is a great way to keep up with crazy good clearance sales.

7. Use grocery rebate apps. There are tons of apps out there and they can generally be used in addition to coupons (check your app for details). These are some great apps that I use regularly. (When you sign up by clicking my referral links, I may or may not get extra rebates.) I think everyone should be using these, even if you don't plan to do any hardcore couponing. It's just an easy way to save on stuff you're buying anyway.

Ibotta- Referral code b6kbyq
Checkout51
Snap
SavingStar - You're not supposed to use coupons in conjunction with this one and it takes awhile for your rebate to show up.

Finally, don't show up in the grocery store expecting to walk out with carts full of stuff for free like you've probably seen on TV. A few items per trip for free is doable, but in the real world, your cart is going to contain perishables that we just don't see many high value coupons for. That's ok! Any amount you save is better than paying full price. Just build your small stockpile of non-perishables and go from there.





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The Homemaking Party

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Ever notice how much vanilla extract costs and how quickly it disappears?  Maybe it only disappears so quickly here because I'm married to the world's best waffle maker, but it seems like there's only enough in one of those little bottles to make a few desserts.

As it turns out, it's really simple to make your own.

See exhibit A:

What you need:

• Some sort of bottle that seals (we got ours at Hobby Lobby, isn't it cute?)
• Cheap vodka (we used a couple of cups)
• Whole vanilla beans (we used 5)

Now in order to do this, you are going to have to get over your fear of running into some of your fellow church members at the liquor store.  Some of y'all know what I'm talking about!

Vanilla beans can be pricey, so you might want to find a place that sells them in bulk or order them online.  If you're wondering why they're so expensive, it's because all of the growing and harvesting of the beans has to be done by hand.  Isn't it strange to think that in this day and age, there are still crops that are handled without the use of machinery?

I digress.

1. Wrangle your vanilla beans onto a cutting board and cut a slit all the way down the bean.
2. Drop the beans into your cute little bottle.
3. Pour in enough vodka to cover the beans.
4. Close the bottle and shake it up.
5. Store in a dark cupboard and take it out to shake it up every now and then.
6. As you use it, top it off every now and then with more vodka.  You can reuse the same beans in this way for awhile.

Within a couple of weeks, it should be ready to use!  When we first made it, the color was a light brown,but the picture was taken after about 2 weeks and you can see how dark it had gotten.  It has been about a month now and it's even better.

If you look around on Pinterest, you can find some variations on doing this, and some free printable labels for the bottle (very cute ones!).

Linked up here:


The Self Sufficient HomeAcre

It Doesn't Get Much Cheaper than Free!

If you're interested in cloth diapering, subscribe to some cloth diapering blogs.  There are always giveaways out there.  Here's a giveaway for newborn diapers, cloth wipes, and a wetbag via a blog hop. Look around and you'll find tons more, plus tutorials on how to make your own diapers, covers, wetbags, you name it!

I'm considering taking my fear of wool on and attempting to make my own wool cover this weekend.  If I do, I will keep you apprised.  If it's easy, I might make several (the more I read about wool, the easier it seems to use it--- but I think I'd have to use several to make it worthwhile.  More on that later).

Being Thrifty

If you are curious about how cloth might work for you, but you're scared to buy a starter stash, I've just discovered that there are trial programs so that you can spend a minimal amount of money to try it out for 30 days or so and see how it goes.  This could also help you pinpoint which types of diapers work best for your baby with minimal commitment.  Here's a link to a directory of trial programs.

It seemed like everyone asked me in the beginning if I would be using a diaper service.  I still can't for the life of me figure out why I would need one, but I guess for some folks, it's a good choice.  It might also be a good way to try out a variety of diapers.  I haven't looked into it, but the one thing I know is that they come by to pick up soiled diapers once a week.  That seems like an awfully long time to have wet/poopy diapers marinating in one's house, but that's coming from someone who voluntarily washes them every day.

I mentioned before that cloth diapers have resale value.  This could work in your favor if you're looking to save even more money over the price of disposables.  Check Craigslist, Ebay, or do a search for cloth diaper swap boards.  If you have a local diaper store, they may sell used diapers as well.  It doesn't hurt to ask.

Once you know what types of diapers you want, most brands have bundles you can buy.  If you're opposed to buying used diapers, searching for package deals will save you quite a bit of money on new diapers.

One budgeting idea I've heard is that you should put away $60 per month to go toward diapers.  Apparently that's what you might expect to spend on diapers per month if you use disposables.  Then you can use that money to buy cloth diapers little by little or save it up for awhile and buy a bundle.

Here's an approximation of what our beginning stash cost:

24 prefolds - $48
7 covers - $79   (this is probably 2 more covers than what we actually needed)
2 Diaper pail liners - $33
Diaper pail - $10
1 Travel Wetbag - $21
Snappi 2 pack - $5
3 Wool Dryer Balls - $21
Total:  $217 (give or take a few bucks)

If the $60 per month for disposables thing is true, I have made my money back in less than 4 months -and we didn't really shop around or bundle as much as we could have.

If you use disposables, how much do you spend on diapers/wipes per month?  I would like to know if the estimations I've read are accurate.

Pockets and All-in-Ones and Prefolds, Oh My!

A friend recently asked about the difference between pockets and all in ones.  There are actually several different types of diapers and all of them have pros and cons.

All-In-One

The name says it all!  These are the most similar in use to disposables (except you don't throw them away!).  The inside is absorbent, the outside is waterproof.  Depending on the brand, they are available as "one size" or sized.

Pros - Very user friendly, all one piece, available in cute prints, most have a stay dry lining that helps wick moisture away from baby (great for night time)

Cons - They tend to be thick, can take a long time to dry --even in the dryer, take up lots of room in a diaper bag, the "one size" versions aren't usually recommended for babies under 10 pounds.

Examples:  Thirsties($15-16), GroVia($15-$24), Bumkins ($17) , Bumgenius ($18)


All-In-Two/Hybrids

These consist of a waterproof shell with an absorbent insert that snaps in.   Available as sized or one size.

Pros - The shell can be used multiple times before you have to wash it, quick drying since the absorbent piece is separate, having two pieces allows you to hang the cover to dry to prolong its life, easy to use, inserts are available in "stay dry"(usually a synthetic like microfleece over a natural fiber), natural fibers like cotton, hemp, or bamboo, and even disposable.

Cons - Fairly thick, inserts and shells are sold separately which can make them more expensive than all-in-ones, some brands (I'm talkin' to YOU, GroVia!) don't have a wipeable cover...probably solely to make you have to buy more covers.  Shady, shady! 

Examples:  GroVia Shell($17) and Insert($17-18 for two), Best Bottom Shell($17) and insert ($4-10 each)


Pockets

Pockets combine the ease of all-in-ones with the ability to separate the soaker from the cover. Available as sized or one size.

Pros - separate soaker allows you to customize the absorbency and hang covers to dry, most have a stay dry lining, great for night time, some brands come with two soakers per diaper so that you can double up for night time.

Cons - you have to take the soaker out of the pocket before tossing into the pail, you have to re-stuff them after they are dry (adds a little time to your diaper routine).

Examples:  Fuzzibunz ($20), Blueberry ($29), Thirsties ($17-19)

Prefolds

I've mentioned before that prefolds are our main diaper right now.  They are several layers of fabric stitched together and must be used with a cover to prevent leaks.  They are sized.  One word of caution -- you will see "prefolds" sold in retail stores like Walmart and Target.  Those prefolds are great....as burp cloths!  Don't use them as diapers.  You'll want to buy Diaper Service Quality (DSQ) prefolds or you will probably be disappointed in their performance.

There are several different natural fibers that can make up a prefold and they all have different absorbency.  Cotton is the cheapest, then there are hemp (25% more absorbent than cotton) and bamboo (I think it's more absorbent than cotton too, but I can't remember how much more) versions.

They are probably similar to the mental image you have of a traditional cloth diaper (except you don't use diaper pins anymore!).

Pros - These are GREAT for tiny babies since you can adjust the size down as far as you need to with the use of a Snappi, very trim, super absorbent, inexpensive, quick drying, can double as burp cloths, covers can be wiped down after each change, so you don't need a ton of covers.

Cons - Have to be used with a cover and you have to make sure that none of the prefold is "peeking" out of the cover or you will have leaks, if you're using a snappi it will take a little longer to get baby diapered than if you're using an all-in-one or pocket.

Prefold Examples: Bumkins Indian Prefolds (cotton - $2.33 each),  Osocozy Chinese Prefolds ( cotton $2.25 each) , Thirsties Hemp Prefolds ($7.75 each) , GroVia Bamboo Prefolds (3 for $12)

Cover Examples: Thirsties Duo Wrap ($12.75) , Bummis ($12.95)
(I should mention that you can also use wool covers, but they require special care so I won't consider them even though my husband wants to get one every time we go to the diaper store!)


Fitteds

Think of fitteds as prefolds with elastic around the legs and snaps/velcro closures.  They are very easy to use and ours seem a little more absorbent than the regular prefolds, but that probably varies from brand to brand.  You will use the same covers that you use for prefolds with these diapers.

Pros - Easier to put on a baby than prefolds, more absorbent

Cons - More expensive than prefolds by a landslide!

Examples: Sandy's ($12),  Sustainable Babyish ($30), Bumkins ($13-$15), GroVia Kiwi Pie ($27), Osocozy ($7.50)


Flats

Are you good at origami?  Want to try it out with a diaper while your undiapered child writhes around on the changing table, just begging to flop off on the floor? Well that makes one of us!

Pros - I have no idea!  I guess since it's such a big piece of fabric, you can probably use one size for a very long time.

Cons - Haven't I made that obvious?

Examples:  Seriously?  You want examples?  You can look here.


There are probably other types of diapers that I haven't listed, but those are the ones I know about.  If you aren't sure which ones are right for you, you might want to try just getting a couple of each kind and trying them out.

Clothonomics

Is it worth it?

If you're looking at cloth diapering from just an economic standpoint, how much money does it save?

This article suggests that using cloth diapers is like paying yourself $18/hour to do the diaper laundry, based on the amount of time it takes to launder diapers and the savings over disposables (She estimates 15 minutes every other day....I do mine every day and probably only spend 10 minutes per day on them, including the time it takes to fold them, put them away, and get distracted by The Fish several times).

I've seen other estimates that cloth diapers save anywhere from $1100 up.  It really depends on what kind of diapers you buy, and how long it takes your child to potty train.  Diapers range from the inexpensive (good quality prefolds like we use are about $2 each, plus the cost of covers) to all in one diapers which can be around $25 each (but they're REALLY easy and  REALLY cute!).

The more kids you reuse the cloth diapers on, the greater your savings, obviously.

By the way, the article estimates the price of cloth wipes at about $1 per wipe, but I think that's exaggerated.  If you have an extra flannel receiving blanket that you don't need, you have several cloth wipes.  You just need to cut it into squares, and if you're ambitious, topstitch two squares together to make it more substantial.  (I was lucky enough to have a sister and niece who did this for me, so mine cost me exactly nothing!)  Otherwise, go to your local fabric store and look in their remnant bin for flannel fabric or go to Goodwill and look for old flannel shirts.  You're wiping up poop with it, it doesn't have to be pretty.  :)