2011 Coupon Schedule...................well from March on!

March
6 — Smart Source & Red Plum
13 — Smart Source & Red Plum
20 — Smart Source & Red Plum
27 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
April
3 — (2) Smart Source
10 — Smart Source & Red Plum
17 — (2) Smart Source & Red Plum
24 — Procter and Gamble
May
1 — Smart Source & Red Plum
8 — Smart Source
15 — Smart Source & Red Plum
22 — Smart Source & Red Plum
29 — Procter and Gamble
June
5 — Smart Source & Red Plum
12 — Smart Source & Red Plum
19 — Smart Source & Red Plum
26 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
July
3 — No Inserts (Independence Day)
10 — Smart Source & Red Plum
17 — Smart Source
24 — Smart Source & Red Plum
31 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble

August
7 — Smart Source & (2) Red Plum
14 — Smart Source & Red Plum
21 — Smart Source
28 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
September
4 — No Inserts (Labor Day)
11 — Smart Source & Red Plum
18 — Smart Source & Red Plum
25 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
October
2 — (2) Smart Source & Red Plum
9 — Smart Source & Red Plum
16 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
23 — Smart Source & Red Plum
30 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
November
6 — Smart Source & Red Plum
13 — Smart Source & (2) Red Plum
20 — Smart Source
27 — Procter and Gamble
December
4 — Smart Source & Red Plum
11 — Smart Source & Red Plum
18 — No Inserts
25 — Procter and Gamble

THE BOTTOM LINE! are you really SAVING MONEY? "APPLES TO APPLES"

Photo Credit: http://mykidsneedshoes.com

One of the biggest shopping tips that I can give you is DO NOT (I repeat) DO NOT spend more money than you need to...........this defeats the purpose of couponing.   Another thing that is a "throw off" is how some blogs show you "how much money I saved" meaning how many coupons and discounts they rec'vd, NOT the amount they spent.  THAT IS WHAT COUNTS, the BOTTOM LINE.................HOW MUCH MONEY WAS SPENT , HOW MUCH MONEY CAME "OUT OF POCKET" as I originally coined it!
DONT GET CAUGHT WITH YOUR PANTS DOWN TRYING TO SAVE MONEY!

If you are buying items that you don't use and you don't gift or donate then all of those coupon savings are a waste.  In Addition some people actually end up spending MORE money than they used to because they not only are buying EXACTLY WHAT THEY USED TO but they are also purchasing couponed items IN ADDITION.   If you do the math, the only way this saves you is if all of your "extra items" are absolutely FREE.  It is very disenchanting and confusing when you are not savvy in the coupon world and you attempt to "do like the pros" and copycat buy what they buy.................just because they are "saving money" and your bank account shows that you are "spending more."  YES THIS IS A COMMON NEWBIE MISTAKE and often discourages you from continuing your process because ................is this really saving money?

A great example of what I do that really works.AND SAVES YOU MONEY..................I have been pantry shopping since December, when I made my last huge grocery shopping trip because I was having my people over.  Even though it was "bring a dish" I still spent $250 on supplies, food and drinks.   This is over my "monthly" budget for an entire month.  In addition ,  we emptied our chest freezer when we built our carport and donated 8 bags of grocery items to the Food Bank since December.   Soooooooooooooo I normally spend $30- $50 a week and have been spending much less on misc. items to "fill in the gaps" which actually frees up $30-$50 a week (depending on what I Have to buy) for other things.   THIS IS SAVING MONEY when you save in one area and use that money to pay off other things (credit card balances, bills, birthday gifts or even stashing it in the bank) BECAUSE I have had other things to pay I wasn't able to "stash" this money but yes I was "robbing Peter (my grocery money) to pay Paul (other things). 

I am not making my weekly pilgramages out to the DRUG STORES to pick up the "free and almost free items" either. Saving money on gasoline and also the item cost (if any)  I am depleting some of my resources as I truly am bursting out of the seams of my closets and storage places.   I am not willing to use even more space, I have shared with non-couponing friends and have made up a few baskets as gifts as well.  This is in addition to making a large bag of donations and oh yea gifting a person I freecycled from.  I love what I do but I have enough...........more than enough when I run down on supplies then I will replenish.............  A few times I have participated in the community yardsale and sold many of these items at a fraction of the cost of what they could be bought for (without the couponing skills) and done very well.   I haven't done that in a while and my supplies runneth over! NOT that I would love the FREE BUTTERFINGERS From Rite Aid but until I "need" to drive that way it is not cost effective to go get them or time effective either.

Creative Cooking Skills come to play when you "pantry shop" and meals take a bit longer, this is TRUE but they are so worth it.   I am making lasagna tonight, I had to buy the Ricotta as a "fill in" item but everything else was here ............ and I am making the sauce from Tomatoes I bought with paypal money from MUR GLEN that I had on my other blog.   Yes it will take a bit longer and it cost about $2 out of pocket (ricotta) but will be eaten and the left overs will be frozen for Butch's lunches.  If I were "buying" groceries instead of pantry shopping we would be having garlic bread and salad with this but because I am creative cooking
we will have biscuits or tortillias with parm . cheese on them and fruit salad (from cans).

This week our Grocery list has on it:   Olive Oil, Canola Oil, Hormone free Milk, carrots and deli turkey for Faith's lunches.  Oh yea and we may need some Paper Towels.   Now, when Butch goes to the store he may pick up something else he sees/wants but that is because he has no will power LOL not because we NEED anything! :)   The total for what we need should cost around $10 - $12 which is at least a $20 savings.   If I were to write a blog and say that
"I saved $20 this week at the grocery store"   and you saw another blog that said "I saved $180 at the grocery store" you would assume the 2nd scenario was the best scenario wouldn't you?   ITS NOT!  unless the person that saved the $180 also  spent $12  after the savings.  THEN that would be a comparison of apples to apples.


THIS IS HOW TO CALCULATE
Ask yourself  "what do I normally spend at the STORES  (all of them ,  divide them up to "GAS"  "clothing" "food" "health & beauty" etc)  "
TAKE THAT AMOUNT AND REDUCE IT.................... if you are INCREASING YOUR SPENDING
you are NOT SAVING MONEY its that simple.............I don't care what your receipt says , what matters is what your BANK ACCOUNT SAYS!   :)

You want to do little things that MAKE MONEY (maken baken) to apply to the items you want to SAVE MONEY ON !   

NEVER FAILS:  fabulous freebies and items that you WIN on the computer without leaving your seat
are NEVER FAIL items, you cannot lose!  you got them free doing something you like to do and didn't spend any more time (if you follow along with me I save the time finding the REAL items for you) and the money / gas .  You get items for FREE and you can use, donate, gift or sell them for a profit.

NEVER FAILS:  surveys, search to win, paypal interest, referral dollars pennies on the dollar, mystery shops etc ............. MAKING MONEY you wouldn't otherwise have AGAIN saving the time (I do this for you) and I don't WASTE YOUR TIME by posting things that will get you no return or just because I will get paid to share.

REMEMBER ..................if your BANK ACCOUNT or your CREDIT CARDS say you are spending too much money it doesn't matter what discounts you got...................and thats the BOTTOM LINE!

SHOPPING STRATEGIES: don't put all of your eggs in one basket

Photo Credit:  www.rainboweggfarm.com

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Hello Southern Cooking Fans! My name is Anjie and I am The Frugal Freelancer. I ! I am originally from the deep south, the state of Louisiana but now reside just below the Mason Dixon Line in Virginia. I was thrilled to have found Christy and her blog several months ago while surfing the net. Being a lover of both cooking and books, her site caught my eye and I had to make an order! After reading her blog and ordering her cookbook, It quickly became apparent that we shared the same recipe heritage! I didn’t think that many other people even knew about these! My readers will certainly recognize the home made doughnuts along with a few other goodies that I have posted over the years

I have been on the internet now since 1996. Back then you turned your computer on and a little blinking line welcomed you. It was the PONG vs’s WII Days - if ya know what I mean! I met some friends on the only internet choice “Prodigy” that shared some of the same interests that I had: Couponing, Cooking, Saving Money, Free things, Contest and anything that could help one to live more lavishly , but for LESS! I traded coupons and upcs with a “group” (the one and only original group) of couponers on the net! (”the starving student, anjie” is now waving to Dorothy, Bobby & Ethel in case you are reading this) We all met each other here in Virginia and Dorothy even came all the way from California!

Couponing and Saving money is an entirely different story! I started that hobby / necessity in 1982. I was a single parent, with no support that didn’t want to be “in the system,” but rather yearned to “live lavishly” and buy named brand products, eat well, and live well! :) So I worked full time, lived in government subsidized apartments and did “what ever it took” to have and experience the finer things in life. I do all of this now because I love it, it’s my passion, and I don’t know of any other way to do it! I occasionally splurge and buy things without a coupon now (even though it is a air tight economic climate) like a LAVISH $10 bottle of peach tea syrup at lunch today with my girlfriends at a local tea shop and a bottle of wine for when my husband gets back from his trip to California next week. This lifestyle is made possible for me because I live beneath my means. I use a plethora of making money and saving money ideas and strategies to “make it work” and it is just a “way of life” for me. I don’t live in huge house but I still have that southern big front porch and a deck with grill that was won recently in a sweepstakes! I live in a cottage bungalow that was a fixer upper on a lake, drive a Hyundai and spend UNDER $45 a week in groceries.
$45 a week in Groceries? YES that’s right and it has recently increased to that amount from $30 - $35 in the past due to the recession and drastic increase in prices! I know a lot of you think that I must eat poorly to do this because they have read my $30 a week menu / shopping article I wrote years ago. This isn’t exactly so, those menus (along with other sites menus that have popped up drastically in the last few years) were written to help out people who are “just starting out on their journey’s to save money” or have just recently had a hardship etc etc……… They work and are better than ramen noodle and peanut butter & rice diets, if you know what I mean? They are not the healthiest of diets and tend to be mostly “carbs.” It is expensive to eat healthy………. and eat gourmet style meals ESPECIALLY if they are organic ! So with all of that in mind, I would like to give you some ideas on how you can save money and cook “SOUTHERN STYLE” but for less money………..
I use any and all of these strategies together…………. not one excusive strategy……….for now you may want to try ONE at a time and work your way up, if you are a “newbie freelancer.” First you learn to SHOP and then you learn to COOK around what you bought!

REMEMBER YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING………….
Couponing….…… wanna see me in action? THIS Today Show clip shows me “couponing” in 2002. I have also started a blog called Coupononomy. It will eventually hold all of my past articles that are still relevent. Right now it has a good amount of information if you are interested in the “how to’s”

REBATES
HERE is a recent example at Walgreens……
which we STOCKPILE (buy lots of)

it is expired NOW but you can get the idea:
2 Nabisco crackers 4-8oz are $1.99 each *****STOCKPILE ITEM!
- Buy one get one free SALE
- $2/2 Sunday paper coupon = 2 FREE
****GET EXTRA COUPONS FROM YOUR FAMILY / FRIENDS to STOCKPILE THIS ITEM, DONATE AND/OR SHARE YOUR EXTRA……….. OR COOK CREATIVELY WITH CRACKERS AND PACK THEM IN LUNCHES!

Angel Food Ministries This is for EVERYONE, no income limits or barriers……. it benefits religious organizations when you buy it and you get a lot of food , no coupons needed for $30. Read about it here and find out if there is a local pick up site in your area. I had to wait until late last year to take advantage of this program. I have been “watching” this program in other areas for years! Great program thus far! You order online and pick up 1x per month at scheduled date and time. Some areas take Food Stamps and my area takes a Credit Card. This is not a benefit for “poverty” it is a “nutrition program” for everyone.

Outlets / Salvage stores: Big Lots, Salvage Barns, Ollies, Dollar Stores: these can be good resources at times, but no coupons are allowed. I don’t have a bread outlet near me but if I did I would definitely take advantage of it) I recently found the entire ZATARAINS LINE at Dollar General (they do take coupons btw) and they have BLUE RUNNER RED BEANS (rare find in VA) …….oops…..maybe I shouldn’t have given away that secret….. and they have a sweepstakes there now……so enter while you are reading about it, remember you gotta be in it to win it!

ORDERING ONLINE From time to time if you order items online they are cheaper, or should I say “not as expensive” to get them online. When this happens I share this information with people via email in my newsletter HERE. I call these GDAS or Good deal alerts. A recent example of this was that I was able to buy 4 boxes of Kashi Mountain Medley Cereal for $1.98 shipped to my house! The only way to beat this deal is FREE and they would have to ship it to me, because the gas would cost more than this to go pick it up these days.



TEST / REVIEW PRODUCTSI have done several from survey sites as well as on blogs …here is just one example.I had my husband make meatballs for one! Blogs are FREE. You can start one on blogger its easy! You too can test products and review them from your home!


GROW YOUR OWN here
I use an aerogarden now! I love it. I have eaten lots of fresh herbs and now am growing romaine lettuce. It is wonderful and is EASY! A great way to buy this product is save your Amazon Gift certificates. Get these with your search and win points and redeem for a pricey item you otherwise wouldn’t buy for yourself. If possible (as I did) match with mail in rebate & make money for buying it. The rebate for $25 was used to buy another “kit.” I think you could probably make your own kits for these if you were savvy! I also have grown outdoor herbs and gardens as well, on a small scale (raised bed)


CONTESTS / WINNING
I have won several small prizes that reduce my shopping expenses! Even if I don’t normally buy a product or don’t use a product I will get it to GIFT it - if I cannot use it! More recently I won a $50 Gift Certificate to use on BEEF at Safeway! How cool is that? Christy, get ready I will be asking you for some BEEFY ideas! ***note that I am using 2 strategies here……..
In a pinch menu
Use this menu in emergency (the prices have gone up since written)
THIS IS WHERE IT GETS REALLY INTERESTING…………. IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE DO THIS:

Stockpiling / Sale Shopping: take advantage of items that you can get for nearly nothing or free and stockpile them. (SEE PICS of one of my pantries……… some stockpiling going on there!) Do you see the stacks of canned chicken? I recently paid 25 cents a can for them with coupons. What would you do with 20 cans of canned chicken? Well, if you don’t already know the answer to this question I have the answer…………CREATIVE FRUGAL COOKING! The steps are easy………… pay as little as you can for the healthiest of foods and cook around what you ALREADY HAVE rather than what you need.
USE COOKING SITES AND VIDEOS to find recipes using ingredients. You can search for these recipes by using SEARCH & WIN SITES (if I am going to be searching, I might as well have a shot at winning something or earning points! I have won many items this way) I have a drop down menu of them on my blog if you are interested in a list of them (l see eft side of home page) I usually will shop for a “main” ingredient or the item I have the “most” of . Here is a Favorite that gives you suggestions by ingredient

THIS WEEKS NO COUPON SHOPPING was under $39 without even touching my coupon box! multitasking , tax season, catching up, scrapbooking, lost an hour, electricity out, full schedules, meetings, school, PTO, sports ………. etc etc.. does this sound familiar? I had to “stay home” from the trip to California that I was scheduled to go on….. this ought to tell you how much “extra” time I had this week………. in this case you are “in a pinch”
If you are an average spender of $145 a week you can use my techniques (there are many others) and save $100 a week if you want or need to! What would you do with the “extra?” MAKE SURE you give extra items that you don’t or won’t use to charities, share with your neighbors, friends and family too! They will all appreciate the help and you can earn a tax deduction, pay it forward and/or barter for other things you may need! Take the monetary savings and use on items that are “splurges” or pay down your other bills, take trips, buy diapers, heck, what ever you do with it…………… its like Free Money! I have stockpiled my kitchen with all kinds of cookware, serveware, appliances and even kitchenaid dishwasher for FREE! If I can do this YOU CAN TOO!   What are you waiting for ? Get started!
Remember Neva Neva Neva Pay full price for ANYTHING!
@njie

"To Cut or Not to Cut?" that is the question!

Photo Credit:  helix.co

I used to cut EVERY COUPON and I mean EVERY SINGLE ONE , even if I didn't use the product or know anyone who did I  cut it...........and filed it and then threw away what I didn't use.........those days are over !

THE HISTORY
I had a GREAT filing system.  I had a gutted and remade Cassette Tape box that was PERFECT with ziploc snack sized (short bags) in each compartment to hold the sorted coupons.  It fit perfectly in my basket ,  locked tightly and was easy to manage (carry) but ............was a bear to clean out (the only pitfall of this particular system)  I don't have any photos to show you , but I used this tried and true system for many years.  I put other products on "test runs" "trials" and "reviews" to try to find a replacement that would be more efficient or really "more anything" but nothing every compared............it was damn near perfect I gave it a "10" for the "times."   I also had a rubbermade, locktight file box for rebate forms (there were a plethora of them in those days) and I filed them by expiration date...........and ad a box for "extras" and even filed TRASH (my trash and everyone elses that I could get my hands on)  to "pull the UPCS" I needed for an offer.   I traded via snail mail , conventions and some friends I met along the way and then started trading through "Prodigy" in the old days when there was a black screen and a cursor to work with.   I subscribed to every publication that talked about rebating and couponing to make friends, traders and contacts nationwide.
I even wrote articles to earn more issues...................... THOSE WERE THE DAYS

FAST FORWARD 20-30 YEARS LATER
there are many many sites that tout many many systems as the "best" and "tested" filing systems for couponing.   Its almost comical to see those binder systems and boxes that file the coupons.  I have reviewed most of them and trust me they are NOT worth the time and effort for the occasional deal that I may miss for doing things the way that I do now.  Not to mention the "cost" "bulk" and paper cuts on my fingers from the plastic inserts.   

The digital age has changed things and even though I am not sending out 100's of rebates a month (the postage increases have also dampened the "worth" of such ventures) I am still SAVVY SHOPPING ,  FREE SHOPPING,  GIFTING , STOCKPILING, DONATING and "rocking" the coupon world.
I barely send out 1 per week, if that these days when 1 per day was heartbreaking in the day.

Just as you "DONT WANT TO PUT ALL OF YOUR EGGS iN ONE BASKET"   you also don't want to depend on one SAVINGS STATEGY.............actually I have written several articles on the topic of using the different ways to shop depending on what you need, whats on sale and what you can afford.  I will be REPOSTING a "guest blog" that I did some time ago NEXT on this page / series on HOW TO BE A COUPONER! 

One of the strategies I use depending on the week is........ this online DATABASE here to "look up" items and match coupons with them.  This system allows for you to NOT cut your inserts and file them by date and look up the coupons to match with sales weekly.  I know it sounds complicated but really it isn't................ this video actually makes it a bit MORE SIMPLE THAN IT REALLY IS................truthfully it is somewhere in between









NOW here is another video about the STRATEGIC SHOPPING that she uses for DRUGSTORE DEALS...........I call is SAVVY SHOPPING .........its the same thing

THE FILES & THE PILES ......................UNCOVERED.

THE FILES & THE PILES ......................UNCOVERED.

One of the most frequent questions I get about "saving money" or "couponing" is how to organize things.  When I say things, freelancers know I mean "piles"  the piles of "things" that are necessary to the art of SAVING MONEY.    

• coupons  (clipped and unclipped)  or how do I do this exactly?
• rebates
• printed store specific offers/deals
• groupon type gift cards
• gift cards
• frequent shopper cards
• magazines
• receipts/bills/invoices

There are many tried , true and not so savvy ways to do the things I do,  I have tried most of them in my now almost 30 years of "doing my thing."  The VERY BEST system I had was learned in the days of "coupon conventions" and if you have been a couponer for a long time you FONDLY remember the days..........well.............. I know that I do.   ................but that is another subject...........

So let me start by saying that a "couponers work is NEVER DONE" and if you are one of those people that get frustrated with a lot of unfinished tasks going on then this hobby or lifestyle may not be for you.

There are piles of "things to do" "things pending" and "things that are complete" around my house and sometimes they end up in baskets like the one pictured  and oh yea did I mention closets, under beds and anywhere I can find are the perfect places for HIDING THE PILES when necessary?   LOL

My SYSTEMS have evolved to meet my personal need and technology.   Currently this is what I am using and what appears to work best for me.   GRANTED there are draw backs to every system and there are to this one as well.......but............... so far it works just fine for me RIGHT NOW

Cheap folders with pockets in them are 1¢ to 20¢ each depending on when you buy them.  I try to stock up at BTS time (august) when they are minimally priced.   I replace them often and do not expect a long life time out of them.  They are easily taken with me and fit nicely in a reusable shopping bag when I grab them out of their "file".

This is a tv tray that tucks under my kitchen island or is portable to bring anywhere in my house.  It has unfiled entire inserts, sharpee, scissors and magazines that I need to cut or tear out items from to put elsewhere, it is a WIP (work in process station)

This is a CLASSIC PILE of coupons, receipts etc that need to be filed ..........with my letter opener as a paper weight.  As I open mail the items that "need to be filed" go into a pile.  Yep another pile........if you are feeling panicky at this point, there is no sense in reading further , this is not the lifestyle for you...........if you are ok with this.......... then READ ON you are going to do just fine!

 

My CLUTCH that goes into my purse.  It has Credit Cards, Reward Cards, Punch Cards,  Loyalty Cards, etc etc in it

This is a peek inside ^^^^^^ note that the Carlton one is for stores that have long since gone out of business LOL ...........I think I need to throw that away...........or do you think an ebayer would want that?  LOL!

My Desktop Monitor with surrounding PILES of gift cards, loyalty cards and items that I need to "Input" and a few business cards that need to be filed in my roladex............I maybe convincing myself that an "assistant" would be nice .......LOL

CALENDAR :  at least 2 of these are NECESSARY AND NEEDED to "mark" so you don't forget to cancel , take advantage of , renew by dates, etc etc etc.........without this ...........I am LOST.  Note:  the "for dummies" book is for Photoshop 7...........My class is for CS5...........but I only have 7 at home .......so this is something else I cannot do without "at this moment"   this area is yet another transformed TV tray stand.

This ^^^^ is my work in progress as I am "sorting"  I am going thru piles and putting them elsewhere.  either in their respective folders, my clutch ,  my snap wallet , TV TRAY or envelope that is for "items to share"

I also have a box that you cannot see for the expired coupons to send to Military Members that can use for up to 6 months after expired.

 This is a closer view of my clutch which houses my GC,  ECB, WALGREENS REWARDS, etc etc
this is where I place the CUT coupons that I intend to use when I go out............ so they are not flying all over the place.  If they don't go there they go with a paper clip into one of the folders.........

I hope this photo blog has helped "some" in the process..........but if you are wanting more.............

I wrote a blog that I add to and do not publicize much a long time ago that is a place that is a reference to couponing . It has a lot of broken links due to the time sensitivity of them but you can get some valuable answers to questions and the "general idea" about a few coupon related questions and answers. if you want to check it out it is located HERE and if you are really in the mood for reading check out the Frugal Diary from 2004-2006 posts HERE that discusses a lot of "how and why" but again the time frame in which they were written is important to remember.

I will search for some GOOD VALUABLE INFORMATION  and make more posts on this subject soon.
this is a good start!