Freebies....

A good way to get coupons and free things is to keep a look out online for freebies... most of the time they send coupons with the free sample of the items... I have gotten anything and everything from a can of soda to shampoo! there are all kinds of freebies out there!

This freebie i got today from Sams club, its by Proforce and its antibacterial hand soap and lemon fresh disinfectant cleaner and also came with reusable towels! I can not wait to try this out in my house! I will fill everyone in as soon as i use it!!

Part of my wounderful stoke pile....

These are the shelves that my very sweet husband made for me!!! Along with some of my stoke pile! The other half if my food portion and its in 2 places! More pictures to come!

How to get the most out of your coupons...

To me i look at coupons as another form of money! When i leave the house i have my checkbook, cash, credit cards and my coupons, you never know when you will need and or use them! To get the most out of your coupons you need to make sure that you print out all of your stores coupons policy's (which i will post the links to at the end of this) and check out if any of them double coupons! One store here in the county doubles everyday up to .99 and on Wednesday's they double up to 1.00! Then once a month they will double up to 2.00! But there are limits on how many you can use, like you can only double 20 coupons and only 2 like coupons will double! These stores are where you will get the most out of your coupons! Also there are stores out there that will stack coupons, like if you have a store coupon they will take that plus your manufacturer coupon!
Here are some coupon policy's for you!

Walmart:
http://connect.walmart.com/feature/?_prevTerm=coupon+policy&_sc=0&search_redirect=true

Target:
http://www.target.com/HelpContent?help=/sites/html/TargetOnline/help/promotions_sweepstakes_and_discounts/target_coupon_policy/target_coupon_policy.html

Food Lion:
http://www.foodlion.com/assets/docs/customerService/CouponPolicy_Food%20Lion.pdf?utm_source=Social&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_campaign=Wall%2BPost-Grocery

Harris Teeter:
  http://www.harristeeter.com/promotions/online_coupons/coupon_policy.aspx

Farm Fresh:
http://www.weusecoupons.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Farm-Fresh-Coupon-Policy.pdf

Dollar General:
http://www2.dollargeneral.com/Customer-Care-Center/pages/coupon-policy.aspx

Family Dollar:
http://www.familydollar.com/documents/pdfs/couponpolicy.pdf

And if did not know already Walmart and Target price match! Here are there price match policy's

Walmart Price Match Policy:
http://connect.walmart.com/feature/?_prevTerm=coupon+policy&_sc=0&search_redirect=true

Target Price Match Policy:
http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-040400

I would recommend that everyone take a look at these and print them for your binders! If there is a store that i missed please let me know and i will add it!! 

How to start your binder.....

For those that do not have one then its time to go to which ever store you love the most or live near, for me its walmart to pick up a 3 inch zip up binder! Mine is a Fivestar, and i love it! While your there you will need to get yourself some clear protector sheets for your coupon policy's, and some baseball card inserts for your coupons! Alot of my friends and family have asked where to find the baseball card inserts, well where i have found them in my walmart is where all the baseball cards are at, its up front near the cash registers! You will also need to get dividers so that you can organize your coupons! I will give you my list as to how i have my binder set up! But you can set it up the way that you feel comfortable with!

Produce
Salty Snacks
Granola Bars/Fruit Snacks
PB&J
Canned Fruits and Vegetables
Pasta/Sauces/Soups
Baking
Breakfast
Prepared Sides
Condiments
Drinks
Refrigerated
Frozen
Candy
Baby
Reynolds
Paper Products
Surface Cleaners
Laundry
Dish Washing
Miscellaneous
Air Fresheners
Cold Medicine
Vitamins
First Aid
Beauty
Oral Care
Soap
Hair Care
Lotion
Shaving
Feminine Hygiene
Pets
Meats
Restaurants

I know that it is a long list but it works for me and like i said if you want to do it different that is great to!! It took me about 8 hours... yes i said 8 hours to get my binder in order it is not one of those tasks that are done in 30 min or less like a Rachel Ray meal!! It takes time to get it together and once it is done you will love it!! In my Binder i also have a pencil bag to put my scissors, calculator, and my pens in!!  I also save one baseball insert for all of my savings cards, like my VIC card or Kroger Plus, MVP.... keep them up front that way you will always have them with you no matter how many times you change your purse!! LOL!!   

I know that the next question that you will ask is:

Crystal, where do you print all of your coupons and how many can i print?

Well I print from a lot of places www.coupons.com is a great place to get them, and if you put in different zip codes from the USA you can find others! Another great place to print from is www.smartsource.com the same goes for that put other zip codes in and get more coupons! Now as to how many you can print the answer is 2 like coupons per computer! So if you have 5 computers in your house then that means 10 like coupons per house! If you are like me then you have 1 laptop witch will work just as good! I also get the Sunday newspaper, and my dad and step mom save me theres and other family members that dont use all of theres they save for me! I hope that this has helped and if there is anything that you have a question about please just let me know!!

The first of many......

As most of you know that will, and i hope, read this i am one of those CRAZY people that have a coupon binder and spend every day hunting, price matching, and organizing my coupons and sales adds... as well as having a nice stockpile! As my husband says "If the apocalypse where to happen we would be set for life, but if a tornado came thru here we would be screwed! Because everyone else would be eating and keeping clean but us!" Never the less i thought that since all of my friends and some of my family have asked me "Crystal, how do you do it? Can you teach me? Do you teach classes?" Well the answer is Sure why not! Just so everyone knows, when you are a couponer you are not going to always get the shampoo, toothpaste, lotions and other items that you normally use everyday, you have to have an open mind about things to get your items free or almost free! I have about 10 different types of shampoo and lotions, some i have never used before but if i can get it for free then guess what? Its coming home with me and i will have to test it out! With that said i will also write product reviews on the items that i use that iv never tried, also i will be giving out tips to help with couponing and with price matching! I will post all of the coupon policy's for any if not all of the stores that i can think of! As a mommy of 2 very fast moving and growing boys i will let you know whats in and whats out when it comes to them, like toys, cloths, games and other products that they would use! If i buy it you will know and i will tell you all about it! So if there is anything else that you can think of please let me know and i will try my hardest to help you out!

Wow so that was blog number one and it really was not that bad i definitely think that i will have loads of fun this! I hope that everyone has a great day and i will return soon!