Why I coupon

Obviously I am not the first person to ever use a coupon, but I am certainly turning into an addict.I decided I needed to do this because I was TIRED OF WALMART. I HATE the place. I will still go there occasionally because:

A) It is close to my apartment and
B) only IF I have a coupon that can not be doubled and it makes the product so inexpensive that I can not resist.

Anyways, Ben(my dear hubby) was nice enough to support my move to Dillons(Kroger) who doubles coupons up to .50,like HarterHouse and Price Cutter. However, they also use a shopper card that you can DOWNLOAD Proctor and Gamble coupons onto. Sometimes, this makes the items when they go on sale FREE. The stinky part is that in Missouri you still have to pay sales tax on grocery/houshold items, but hey that's only about $0.20 usually for a bag of items. I will admit that in June when I started, I spent the same amount of money I had been using at Walmart and just getting more groceries for my dollar...it was mainly extra snack food too cause Ben was with me. But, I have done drastically better since then, especially after dicovering the joys of the ExtraBucksCare Program at CVS Pharmacy. If you have not discovered this goldmine you NEED to go to this website http://www.iheartcvs.com and read Erica's tips for starting out. The first time you go, you will spend $20-$30...(unless you can find a MM deal) try to make it items that generate large amounts of ExtraBucks and I promise you will NEVER have to spend money there again! Just keep using your extrabucks to buy more products that generate extrabucks. You can also combine manufacturers coupons with store coupons and your extrabucks for HUGE savings! You can also combine manufacturers coupons with target coupons too and gain free items.Couponing tips by "experts" that I frowned upon and learned...they were right.

1)CLIP-CLIP-CLIP! The Sunday paper, and magazines, have inserts and ads for that week. Clip all and save all. You NEVER know when you can stack coupons and what you can eventually get for free or even make money back on..like at CVS.You could do something I do also, I head to McDs in the morning and buy one paper(it's less than the machine to buy it at McDs) and then sit in lobby and get the inserts from the lobby papers. This is great for getting multiple items free. Or some look in recycling bins...but I haven't gone there yet.

2)Use a shopper card! You can download coupons from sites like...P&GEsaverhttp://www.softcoin.com/Sites/PG_eSAVER/Page/HomePage/RedPlumhttp://www.redplum.com/and http://Shortcuts.com

3)Print coupons! Use sites like coupons.com,eversave.com,ppgazzette.com,pronto.com, OR for a list of linkshttp://printable-coupons.blogspot.com/

4)Contact Companies! Customer feedback is largely appreciated, 1/2 of all companies will send you FREE item coupons or ones that can be doubled for free items if you simply compliment them about how much you love their product and it's the only kind you use. Just e-mail them and you'll be suprised!

5)Get involved in rewards programs! VocalPoint is a customer review board and you can test products before they hit the shelves and get TONS of coupons for yummy products. Also, mypoints.com is another good one. You can actually earn points for gift cards by redeeming coupons printed through them. I almost have enough points for a $10 gift card and I have used the site for a week!bzzagent.com allows people to test items and create "bzz" about their clients- sign up and put that I recommended you!When you get free items that you use frequently.

6)STOCK UP! I discovered a coupon for PertPlus 2-in1 shampoo that was $3 and now have 2 bottles of it. My favorite item I've stock piled is Johnson and Johnson's buddy bar soap, I now have 12 bars of soap that Tristan uses and paid zip for it.

7) Join companies mailing lists!Join snail mail and e-mail lists because unless it is a recipe e-mail lists the companies usually only send ones that include links to print off coupons and snail mail coupons are usually better because the experation dates are later.

8) Peelies, Tearpads, and Sample stations.When you're at the grocery store(an actual grocery store usually, not Wal-Mart) check boxes and items for peelies and tearpad coupons. These are generally good because when the store runs a special your coupon will work to your advantage. For instance, I've aqquired multiple "$1 off GM Cereal" which can be combined with my other coupons for "A FREE box of GM Cereal up to $4.04 when you buy 2 boxes"...I know stores run specials all of the time on cereals so I'm expecting free boxes when they go on sale again.In June Target ran a promo that if you bought 4 boxes of GM cereal you could get a $10 gift card and CVS I think ran an Extrabucks promotion with this too. In these instances there is potential to make overage toward the rest of your purchases or simply pay tax only.

9)Correct order! There is an order to maxamize your savings. At CVS you must use coupons that are i.e. $4/20 BEFORE your manufacturer and other store coupons, otherwise you'll pay more, and then use your extrabucks to pay for the total like cash.

10) Patience and smiles! Some cashiers are not aware of the stores coupon/ad policies. They don't know that if you are getting your items for free(let's say that's all your purchasing) that the items have to be entered as a coupon for the exact amount as the coupon as to not owe you any money. They are also usually unaware that at Dillons anyways, if a product does not ring up at the advertised price on the shelf or in the stores weekly ad the item is FREE. If you want to avoid waiting in line just print out the stores coupon policy or have a manager write it out for you to show the cashiers. Always smile and apologize to the customers behind you for being a pain, and if it is easier go to the customer service desk after checking out and have them fix your total there...it's worth it in the long run for you to save. The people behind you and the cashier don't pay your bills.

Hickory Creek Farms, KS

Last weekend the lil' ones and I went with my in-laws and friends to visit Hickory Creek Farms . We made the 2 hr. drive there to visit family friend who own the farm and also visit their old house and church they used to pastor. Hickory Creek Farms is the cutest pumpkin patch! I highly recommend going if you live anywhere within a couple hours. There is plenty to do! We brought a picnic lunch and the kids have many activities. When we were there a little girl was having a birthday party, which gave me the idea to do that for Tristan when he is older. Anyways, visit the site (and the farm!) and browse pictures of the place below :) Happy pumpkin picking! *I also got really excited because they have Cinderella pumkins, which I'd never seen before.

More Free food? Join Today!

Click here to join Kraft First Taste. This new program allows you to try new products from Kraft foods. Enjoy!