How to COUPON…

That seems to be all anyone and everyone is asking these days, and I get it… believe me, I get it.  As a mom of 4 boys, I’m all about saving money the best possible way I can.  I’m never known how to coupon when it comes to food, I’ve always been a lost cause… or better yet, I just never wanted to sit down and actually learn.  My mother-in-law has been trying to teach me for over 10 years how to coupon, she’s one of those people that can walk into a market and actually get paid to buy her groceries there… she’s one of those extreme coupons.  She was an extreme couponer before there was such a thing!  My husband and I would sit there in her living room on our trips from NYC asking “the” question – How to coupon?

Here’s the thing… when it comes to fashion, I can find you the best deal in the world.  I have my sources, I have my strategies, I have my fashion-deal-smarts. I even use coupons on some of my favorite stores when I’m buying some fashion and beauty items.  But when it comes to buying our groceries and everyday household items… it’s like CRICKETS!  I don’t have a clue how to “play the game.”

Well, that’s all stopping.  I know I will never, ever be the best couponer in the world… and I know I will never be extreme when it comes to my Stop & Shop runs, but I want to be smart.

I want to learn how to coupon because I want to be smart.

I’ve seen so many of my friends get the “game” down over the last couple of years, and so… now I want it to be me.

I can get you a designer handbag for under $100… and I have scored Manolos for $50… now I want to learn how to get boxes of pasta for a dime.  Is that too much to ask?

My best friend Vera was over this past weekend.  She is a coupon’ing QUEEN!  As much as I didn’t want to sit down and have her give me a couponing 101 class, I knew I needed it.  My husband even joined in.  I told her NOT to make it too hard for me because I know myself, I’ll stop.  So the question was asked, “How to coupon?” And she literally brought me through the first steps.  We’re taking BABY STEPS HERE.

So who is with me? I’m going to start this puppy off. I’m going to dip my feet into the waters and try it out. Why not, right?

Vera saves over $700 a month!  A MONTH!  That’s like a Louis Vuitton bag!

So my first lesson from Vera… she gave me 2 assignments:

1. I had to buy 4 newspapers and pull out the circulars.

2. I had to date them on top.

DONE.

Now I’m waiting for next week.

I told you I’m taking baby steps, right?  I’ve been trying to get this down forever, I’m not messing this time up, I just want it to be nice and easy for me.

THEN… she told me to check out LivingRichWithCoupons.com and DealSeekingMom.com… (I’ve known Tara since I first started to blog, so I was excited to be told to report there!)  Not to mention, Vera does a daily round-up, so I’ll be checking in there everyday, too.

OK. So I’ve got the circulars covered. I’ve got the sites to check out covered. And I’ve got my binders to store the circulars in.

Now I need to buy paper to print coupons.

It’s a start.

Right?