Coupon Clipping

Forget Extreme Couponing,  that is totally unrealistic in the military and probably in civilian life as well.  25 bottles of ketkchup??   come on now!

I am all about saving money and finding a deal (see new bedding post)  but it takes a little more effort than clipping a few coupons on Sunday to really see a difference.  I recently attended a couponing workshop that was hosted by our battalion.  The speaker was incredible and so knowledgeable about couponing,  especially couponing in Jacksonville NC.  Here are a few tips I discovered

-Big city newspapers  (raleigh,charlotte) have more and different coupons on Sunday than say for example the Jacksonville or New Bern paper.  Only a few places around here carry the Raleigh paper so get out and get one early.
-If you cannot locate a big city paper there are coupon clipping websites you can order the inserts and have them mailed directly to your home.  There is a small expense but totally worth it if you can find a good deal.
-Southernsavers.com  or hip2save.com  are excellent resources to get info on upcoming coupons that will be coming out in the paper.  This way you can know ahead of time if it is worth the mad dash to get a newspaper.
-also look for printable coupons online!  I just found a $1.50 k-cups coupon last night!!  they can be used just like regular coupons.
-CVS   best little drug store to get tons of things for FREE!   I cannot believe I did not realize this before.  I will post the later in greater detail about saving a CVS.  Southernsavers breaks it down really well if you want to research ahead of time
-Be organized!   I recently invested in a coupon organizer.  This organizer was made a by a local Jacksonville couponer who makes them on the side.  You can most definitely make your own,  but this was easiest for me!

Note I chose a zippered organizer to keep my kiddo's out and to prevent me losing any coupons

alphabetized and tabs to divide sections

My stash!!  all nicely displayed and easy to see while shopping.

It is easy to get a little crazy when couponing.  I make sure I coupon on items that I use and not to overstock items because being a military family we could move at any given moment!

Happy Couponing!