My Road To Frugalness And Stockpiling

Some of you have asked via email and comments about how I do my frugal shopping. Tonight I'm going to link you to the two websites that give me my info and how I go about it.

These websites will lead you to others and could take up a ton of your time if you are so inclined (as I am) to save money and stockpile items that your family uses every day. If you are a "green" family then you probably have no use for what I'm about to write but you still may get some decent tips for other items.

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ is a great website that will lead you to others. I get my CVS info from there and other drugstore info. I use the CVS info mainly, and jump off from the links in the comment section to see how people are doing their transactions. I've had a few really cheap transactions, but mainly I still pay for stuff like 12 packs of pop, and then get the rest of my stuff for either really cheap or free.

The other website is a freebie tip website. http://www.freebies4mom.com/ There is a lot of good info on this site regarding freebies and sweepstakes. Almost every day freebies plus coupons come to my home because of items that I have signed up for through this website. Especially from good ole Wal.mart.

I'm a little obsessed with it and have signed up two email addresses and use my home address for one and my dad's for the other. This enables me to get coupons and freebies at both places and get some really great deals. I also go every Sunday and pick up two Sunday papers. Those coupons in those papers are usually paired up with the weekly ads going on at the drugstore. I also use those coupons at the local grocery store by my house that doubles coupons up to a $1. For example, tomorrow a sale starts at that store and I'll be getting cereal for $.77 a box. Name brand cereal that my kids adore but I only get when it's on sale. And $.77 a box is enough of a sale for me!! Especially when cereal prices are inching from $4 to $5 a box! I will never pay full price for any cereal again!! Ever!

I also print off Internet coupons and use them at places like CVS, Walmart and Meijer. I never have any trouble using them there. They have to be good quality with a readable bar code but so far so good on those. Stores that double to a $1 aren't likely in my neighborhood to take internet coupons so I stay away from there with those coupons.

I CVS-ed for about four weeks without realizing that there is a scanner in the front of the store right by the health and beauty aisle. You can scan your card, just like you are price checking an item and it spits out coupons at you. I usually get a $5/$25 coupon each time. And I never buy anything from CVS unless I am using one of those coupons. I pair it up with manufacture's coupons, CVS coupons, sale prices and manufacturer's rebates....and voila! Free or almost free stuff. I will never again pay for health and beauty products unless I have done my price checking at all my local drugstores and gotten the best deals for the week.

Another thing I am doing is passing on coupons to friends who use them for products that I don't buy anymore (i.e. baby supplies). And in return I sometimes ask them for coupons or to sign up for something that they may or may not use and send it to me. And I have asked all of my aunts to save their coupons for me. I am the coupon queen. And it's working out wonderfully!

My best advice to you is to buy your Sunday paper, check the ads and check out those two sites. The very first site will lead you to many more sites that give examples of deals that people are working on to save money. And most of all, don't buy something just because it's almost free. Buy the stuff you use or that you know other family members use. My dad and brother are going to be recipients of my freebies in the future (and I've already given them tons of q-tips and paper towels). I love gifting the freebies and am hoping that eventually I have enough stocked up to use as baby shower presents, wedding shower presents, etc. If it's free and I give it as gifts to those types of events then I'm saving myself even more money rather than buying a shower gift!

One last word of advice, check out Walmart's All You magazine. I'm planning on getting a subscription. And just by using a coupon or two from that magazine the subscription will pay for itself!

Questions or comments? I'd love to hear from you!!!