Learning sale cycles can seem like a daunting coupon chore. I have preached about keeping a price book, and this will help tremendously, especially with specific items, but I am going to share with you what is on sale the cheapest each month of the year, so you will know when to stock up.

** feel free to print this and keep on your fridge or in your Coupon Binder**

January
New Year’s Resolution: Diet Foods, Health Foods, Low Fat Brand items
Oatmeal
Soups
Super Bowl: Salsa, Chips, Crackers, Soda, Condiments, Sandwich Foods, Frozen Pizza & Wings
Storage & Organization Items, ( Rubbermaid totes…etc)
Medicine: Cold & Pain Relief items & Vitamins
Christmas Clearance Items: Baking goods, sprinkles, cupcake liners, towels, baking pans, candy molds, decorations, wrapping paper, etc
After Christmas clearance Toys
Clearanced Winter Clothes & Accessories
oranges, pears, grapefruit, tangerines, lemons, papayas, cabbages, leeks, broccoli, cauliflower

February
Chinese New year: Soy Sauce, Noodles, Terriyaki sauce
canned Foods ( National Canned Food month)
National Hot Breakfast Month: Oatmeal, Frozen Waffles & Breakfast items
Valentine’s Day: Candy
Clearance Valentine’s Items: Sprinkles, pencils, goody bag fillers, cards, candy, baking pans, etc
Christmas Toy clearance : Should hit 75% off this month if not already
artichokes, asparagus, oranges, tangelos, grapefruit, lemons, papayas, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, kiwi, avocado, spinach

March
Frozen Food Month: Frozen Foods of all sorts will be on sale & coupons will be out for many
Easter Food Items
Spring Cleaning Items
Gardening Items
pineapples, mangoes, broccoli, lettuce, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, collards, fennel, kale, leeks, lemons, limes, mushrooms, onions, strawberries, tangerines

April
Easter Food Items ( If it is a year for a late Easter)
Earth Day: Organic and Eco Friendly Items ( Energy Saver Items, Light Bulbs etc)
Clearance Easter Items: Time to stock up on baskets, decor, novelties for next year
pineapples, beets, mangoes, zucchini, peas, rhubarb, artichokes, asparagus, spring peas, broccoli, lettuce

May
Grilling Items
Condiments
Cinco De Mayo: Mexican Foods, Salsa
Paper Products, Utensils
Insect Repellant
cherries, blackberries, raspberries, pineapples, apricots, okra, zucchini, rhubarb, artichokes, asparagus, spring peas, broccoli, lettuce

June
National Dairy Month: Eggs, Milk, cheese, Butter, Ice Cream
Start of 4th of July Sales: Picnic Items, Grilling Items
watermelon, strawberries, cantaloupe, grapes, honeydew, nectarine, squash cherries, blueberries, peaches, apricots, corn, lettuce

July
School Supply Items Start: (Office Store Penny Items, remember you can price match)
4th of July Items Continued
Toy Clearance ( Target has 75% off, and KMart usually has additional 50% off clearance toys)
Summer Clothing Clearance
Patio Furniture, Garden Decor
watermelon, strawberries, cantaloupe, blueberries, green beans, peaches, apricots, kiwi, raspberries, plums, cucumbers, tomatoes, summer squash, corn, green beans, lettuce

August
Lunch Box Food Items
Back To School Snacky Foods
Antibacterial Hand Sanitizers, Kleenex, Cleaning Wipes
Clearance Sunscreen or Tanning Lotions or Insect Repellants
Clearance Grilling items
watermelon, strawberries, cantaloupe, blueberries, peaches, apricots, kiwi, raspberries, plums, cucumbers, tomatoes, summer squash, corn, green beans, lettuce, figs

September
Finishing up Back To School Deals
Tomato Products
Diabetes Test Supplies
apples, grapes, pomegranates, persimmons, eggplants, pumpkins, tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, peppers

October
Halloween: Candy Deals
Start of Baking Items: Apples, Pumpkins, etc.
almonds, cranberries, apples, pomegranates, grapes, sweet potatoes, turnips, yams, pumpkins, winter squash, broccoli, spinach, lettuce

November
Halloween Clearance Items: Costumes, Decor, Candy, Goody Bag items (pencils, stickers, rings, erasers… great for adding in your candy bowl!)
Baking Food Items ( Thanksgiving Ingredients)
–Chocolate morsels, nuts, baking powder, Evaporated milk, Condensed Milk, Cake & Brownie Mixes, Syrups, Butter, etc
Canned Foods: Broth, Soups, Vegetables, Gravy
Cocoa, Coffee
pears, oranges, tangelos, grape fruit, tangerines, papayas, pomegranates, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, celery

December
Fall Decor 75% off ( Buy all your Thanksgiving platters, Carving tools, and table-settings for next year)
Baking Goods
Christmas Dinner Ingredients
bananas, potatoes, mushrooms

In Ad Coupons:
These are coupon in the weekly store circular
There is a limit listed on the coupon
These are considered Walgreens Store coupons
Can be stacked with a Manufacturer’s Coupon

Instant Value Coupons:
Monthly Coupon booklets located in store usually near the ads
Considered Walgreens Store Coupons
Can be stacked with a manufacturer’s coupon

Register Rewards: ( RR)
–In the Weekly ad, items will be listed as giving a register reward
–These are catalina coupons in x amount good off your next order
–There are no limits on items you can buy for RR, however, these can only be 1 per transaction, and can not be rolled. ( see below)
–These Can NOT be rolled. ( If you buy item A and get a RR, and then buy another item A and use the RR, you will NOT receive another RR for the second item A) This is why it is best to rotate your items if you want multiple.
–You will only get 1 RR for the SAME deal in the SAME transaction. ( if you buy 2 A items in the same transaction, you will only receive 1 RR)
–You can use coupons and pay with a RR!

Walgreens coupon policy states that you can NOT have more coupons than items in a single transaction.
–So, if you only have 1 item and are paying with a manufacturer coupon, and a register reward, you will need to add a filler item. ( This also applies to In Ad Coupons, And store coupons, or etc.) A Filler item can be anything. If you need something anyways, then just add that, but if not, look for something CHEAP such as a single piece of candy, cheap pack of gum, or even a single pencil.

***In order to maximize your savings, scan in the following order:***
1. Manufacturer Coupons
2. Walgreens Coupons
3. Then any Register Rewards

You can find Walgreen’s Coupon Policy HERE. Print it and keep it with you if you ever run into any problems!

Here we go! The second week of vlogging! I hope that this will help some of you!

Maybe next week I can do a more interesting video! I thought I would start things off easy at first and work our way through being Thrifty!

Let me know if you like it or not!

Here is the Printable Shopping List that I have in my coupon binder. You can click and open in a microsoft word document to use for yourself if you like.Shopping List

Keep this list handy in case you ever have an experience where you would like to contact a corporate office! It does not have to be bad, it can be to ask a question, or just a comment!
I found this list FOREVER ago on the internet, so I am not sure where I got it, but I saved it under a word document for JUST IN CASE times!

Publix: 1-800-242-1227 or email

Kroger: 1-866-221-4141 or email

Bi-Lo: 1-800-862-9293 or email

Food Lion: 1-800-210-9569 or email

Harris Teeter: 1-800-432-6111 or email

CVS: 1-888-607-4287 or email – customercare@cvs.com
Walgreens: 1-877-250-5823 or email

Rite Aid: 1-800-748-3243 or email

Wal-Mart: 1-800-925-6278 or email

Target: 1-800-440-0680 or email

I have had several questions about coupons, so I decided to make another post that answered some specific questions that people have been asking me!

Where to get coupons?
– Major Area newspaper  (AJC for my locals)

–See if you have a local FREE newspaper

(coupons are regional, so smaller papers = smaller and less value coupons, but a great way to build up on extras)

– Get your family and neighbors paper if they do not use theirs!
–blinkies
(machines in stores that dispense coupons)
–Tear pads
(in stores you may see a pad of coupons hanging near objects…feel free to take these!)
–peelies
( coupons on packages in stores for when you buy that specific item)
–Home Mailers
( When a specific store or company mails you coupons to your home)
–Internet printables
( I will link you to these as I find them. You can click on the blue bar on the right side of my page to print coupons from coupons.com!)

How do I organize my coupons?
Watch my video HERE and see how I organize mine!

The Binder may not be for you, HERE are some other organizing ideas
When should I use my coupons?
Do not use immediately wait for sale price, and coupon
When I post sales, they are rock bottom prices…this is when you stock up!
If it not a rock bottom price, the store brand may be cheaper even with the coupon
Know what stores will double your coupons

My coupon say 1 per transaction…so how do I stock up if I can only buy 1?
If coupon says 1 per purchase…some may think that means you can only use one coupon per transaction. It merely means you can use 1 coupon per 1 item purchased. so if you have 5 coupons, you CAN buy 5 items.

I went to the store, but they were already out of the item I wanted…Oh well….
NO NO NO! If they are out of an item, go to customer service and get a rain check. At many stores, the rain check NEVER expires. Sometimes it is better to get a rain check, because a better coupon may come out in between the time you get your raincheck, and they have ore in stock, making it an even BETTER deal! Publix will honor an expired coupon for rain check items…they say it is their fault if your coupon expires before they get it in stock!

If the sale says 10 for $10, do I have to buy 10 to have them for $1.00?

It depends… at grocery stores, the items ring up $1.00 when it is a 10/$10.

At drug stores, if the price is listed 2/$4. then they may not ring up $2 unless you buy 2.

You will need to ask, or scan the item yourself at drug stores, each is different.

How does a buy one get one free work?
At grocery stores, a BOGO will ring up half price, (meaning you only have to buy 1 if you just want 1)

At drug stores, the first rings up full price, and the second is $0.00, so you must buy 2 to get the deal.
If an item is buy one get one free, can I use 2 coupons if I buy 2?
PLEASE DO! You can use a coupon for each bar code that the cashier scans , so it will better your savings to use 2 coupons if you purchase 2 BOGO items.

I have a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon for cereal, can I use both?

first — a store coupon is a coupon that a specific store puts out as a promotion

ex: (At Target, you can use a manufacturer coupon, and a Target coupon for a better deal)

Know if your store has coupons, here is a list of stores that Has their own coupons:
walgreens ( in their weekly ad)
Target (HERE)
CVS (in their monthly booklet in the front of the store, in their magazines sold in the store, and through emails)
Publix ( they have a yellow advantage flier and a green advantage flier in the front of the store, and they have home mailers)
Food Lion (here)

At these stores, you can use THEIR store coupon, and a manufacturer coupon…this is what we call stacking!

**Some Publix stores accept competitor coupons. This mean you can use store coupons from any store they consider a competitor, plus a manufacturer coupon.**

If you are new to couponing…(who knew the word coupon had a verb form)

Any who, if you are new, then this may all seem like jargon, and be overwhelming. I, like every other coupon blog use acronyms, so here is the list of abbreviations!

• AC ————–after coupon
  AR————– After rebate
  Blinkies———-machines found in stores
  BOGO———–buy one get one free
  Catalina——— coupons dispensed @ register with receipt
  CRT————-Cash register tape
• e-coupon———coupons loaded to your store’s loyalty card online
  ECB————-CVS Extra Care Buck
• RR—————Walgreen’s money, Register rewards
  IP—————-internet printable coupons
  MFR————- manufacturer coupon
  OOP————-out of pocket
  OYNO———– on your next order
  Peelie————found on packages
  Q or CPN——–coupon
  RP—————red plum
  SS—————smart source
  PG————– proctor and gamble
  YMMV———-your manager may vary
  WYB————when you buy
• $1/2————-(example) coupon states $1.00 off 2 products

1. The coupon box:

2. The accordion style coupon filer

These are pretty inexpensive, and you can purchase the at most stores like Walmart. You sort your coupons by category. These are small and easy to carry into the stores. These work only when you have a small coupon stash.

3. The couponizer

This is a professional system you can purchase for around $20.00. It is a small spiral bound notebook that has categories like a grocery store, and small pockets for you to store your coupons. You can check online if you wish to purchase one.

4. The Binder method:

This is my method of choice. I have a VERY large 3 ring binder. IT zips up, and has many pockets. I use the baseball card holders…(clear protective sheets that have 9 slots on each page) to hold my coupons. This way, as i flip through my pages, I can see each and every coupon I have.

The front of my binder has an extra accordion style pocket, in which I store store ads, and large coupons, and anything extra like that that I may need…rain checks as well.

The front also has a small zip pocket, in which I keep a small pair of scissors. As I shop, and put something into the buggy, I pull out the coupon for that item, and put it into this pocket. That way when I get to the cashier, and can simply pull out all the coupons at once, and hand them to her.

I categorize my notebook…It is very similar to the aisles of the store…Here is what I have:

• store coupons
• medicine
• batteries
• cleaning supplies
• paper goods
• make up and facial items
• shampoo and conditioner, and stylers
• lotions
• shaving needs
• deodorant
• baby items
• refrigerated items
• baking needs
• canned goods
• condiments
• cereals
• boxed and packaged food
• chips
• meats
• frozen
• candy

5. Whole insert method:

Some people do not clip coupons until they need them. They use a file, and file the entire coupon insert by date. Then when a blog tells you what coupon to use on an item, they reference the dates, and then cut it out when they are ready to use.

*note, this seems easy, but I like to have my coupon on hand, so if I am in a store and see an unadvertised deal, or clearance rack, I can still use a coupon*

So, this is all the methods that I can think of…if you have any other ideas, let me know! Leave me a comment and tell e what method you use…or what method you are going to start using!

What is Stacking???

So many people do not realize one of the biggest tips that save me money…stacking coupons.

Most stores will allow you to use one store coupon with one manufacturer coupon. (You can NOT use 2 manufacturer coupons, or 2 store coupons on the same item.)

Stores that have coupons:
Publix sends them to me in the mail
Kroger sends them to me in the mail
Target, you can print them off their website
Food lion
CVS
Walgreens
Rite Aid

If you do not receive mail from these stores, go to their website, and sign up for an account. Publix has the awesome baby club, and I FULLY recommend this! They are all free of charge.