Where Do You Get Coupons?

You want multiple coupons so that you can stock up when you see a good deal

1) Sunday Newspaper – Subscribe or pick one up Sunday morning; ask relatives, friends, and neighbors if they get the paper and don’t want the coupons
a. Red Plum (RP)
b. Smart Source (SS)
c. Proctor & Gamble (PG)
d. General Mills (GM)

2) Online Internet Printable Coupons (IP) – Don’t print on draft
a. http://www.coupons.com/
b. http://www.smartsource.com/
c. http://www.redplum.com/

d) Specific manufacturers’ websites (ie http://www.deerpark.com/)

3) In the Grocery Store
a. Catalinas – these are coupons that print out at the register when you checkout (sometimes are $$$ off your next order)

b. Blinkies – those coupon machines that you see around the store

c. Peelies – these are “peelie” coupons that are on products in the store

d. Hangtags – these are coupons found on dressing, sauce, and marinade necks (you do not have to buy the bottle, just take the coupon)

e. Winetags – these are coupons found on wine bottles (you do not have to buy the wine, just take the coupon)

f. Tear pads – these are tear-off coupons found on displays in the store

4) Product Packaging – sometimes you will find a coupon in the product (ie on the inside of a rice box, cereal box, etc)

5) Magazines
a. Parade in the Sunday paper

b. All You – basically a coupon magazine

c. Other magazines

6) Direct Mail – sign up for coupon booklets to be sent to your house (free!)

7) Store Flyers – stores, especially drugstores, put coupons in their flyers

8) Trade
a. Friends
b. Online swaps – http://www.ecoupons.com/

9) Buy Them
a. http://www.ebay.com/
b. http://www.thecouponclippers.com/

Couponing Myths vs Facts

So many people hear about the words, "couponing" or "coupons," and a million things come to their minds.

Couponing Myths:
"If you coupon you have to waste a lot of time clipping and organizing the coupons, not to mention the time to figure out how to use them."
"I will just end up buying things I don't need just because I had a coupon."
"I will only save a little bit, so why even bother?"
"There aren't coupons for the things I buy."
"I shop at Walmart or BJs (or any other warehouse club) and they have the best prices, so I don't need to use coupons."
"I will have a house full of stuff."

Couponing Facts:
There is a simple system of finding, clipping, organizing, and using coupons.
You can only buy the things you need/want, but if you do buy things just because you have a coupon, they will be FREE or potentially make you money to buy the things you do need. (You can donate things you get for FREE if you don't need/want them.)
If you coupon, you can save a ton of money on things you were already buying.
There are coupons for almost anything you can think of from personal care to food to pet food to cleaning products to organic foods to fresh foods.
When used correctly, coupons can get you things for FREE at almost any store from CVS to Harris Teeter to Kroger.
Yes, you could potentially have a house full of stuff, but I think this is a good thing. You can set yourself up so that you rarely (if ever) have to go out and pay a ridiculous (AKA retail) price for anything ever again.

After seeing the facts about couponing, I hope you will take the time to learn how to do it. I know it has completely changed our family's budget, meals, and stress related to shopping for the better.

Teaching Couponing on My Blog

Hey Everyone!

After much prayer and thought, I have decided to attempt to teach couponing on my blog. I am really hoping it is as effective as teaching in a real class would be. I have found that most people are so busy nowadays and a lot of my friends and blog readers don't live locally, that coming to a class is not always an option. So, I will be starting to blog the "class" on here. The label for the posts will be "Couponing - How To" and/or specific to the store (ie "Couponing - Kroger") if you want to see all of the posts in one place.

I have a lot of material to cover, so I am going to be breaking it down into pieces. I am also requesting that if you have specific questions that you leave them in the comment section of that post or email me at ashley-webber@hotmail.com. You might want to become a follower so that you get updates sent to your email account whenever I post.

I really hope this works. Please feel free to give me any feedback as far as readability, understanding, and questions specific to couponing. I really enjoy having interaction with my readers. You guys are awesome!

Ashley

Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
Potatoes
Milk
Butter

Directions:
Peel and dice potatoes.

Put in pot and cover with water.

Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are softened.

Drain potatoes and put back in pot.

Add milk and butter.

Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes to desired consistency.

Enjoy :)

Salisbury Steak

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
½ pkg stuffing mix
½ medium onion, finely chopped
2 egg whites
Water
Olive oil
Brown gravy


Directions:
Mix meat, stuffing mix, onion, and water until well blended.

Shape into 4-6 patties.

Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat.
Add patties.

Cook 6 minutes on one side and flip.

Cook 6 minutes on the other side.

Add some gravy.

Cook until the sauce thickens and all patties are well sauced.

Here's the finished dish. I serve it with mashed potatoes and a green veggie.

Enjoy :)

Awesome Apple Pie

Pie Crust
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cup flour
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
1/8 cup shortening
½ cup butter
3-4 Tbsp ice water

Directions:
Mix flour, sugar, and salt.

Cut in shortening and butter.

Put 1 Tbsp at a time of water in center of flour mixture.
Work from outside in.
Add as much water as needed to form dough ball.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

Filling

Ingredients:

5 apples, peeled, cored, and chunked or sliced
2/3 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg

Directions:

Peel, core, and chop apples.

Put in bowl.

Add sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Stir until apples are evenly covered.

Get dough ball from fridge and press into pie pan.

Add apple and cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Topping

Ingredients:

½ cup sugar
1 cup flour
9 Tbsp butter

Directions:

Mix sugar and flour.

Cut in butter to form crumb topping.

Put crumb topping on top of pie.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

This apple pie is a family favorite. My Aunt Pam made these and gave me the recipe in a great recipe box she gave me when I got married. I love love love it! It's easier than it seems to make.

Enjoy! :)

Buffalo Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:
6 Tbsp butter
¾ cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce
1 lb chicken tenders
Salt & pepper
Bread crumbs

Directions:
Cut up the butter and put in a bowl.

Melt in the microwave.

Add Frank's Hot Red and mix.

Put chicken in bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Add butter/Frank's Red mixture.

Stir well. Let sit for about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Pour breadcrumbs on a plate.

Pull chicken out of sauce (make sure you leave a good amount of sauce on the chicken).

Dip in breadcrumbs. Press the breadcrumbs into the chicken.

Put on aluminum foil lined (and Pam sprayed) baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is crispy on the outside and done on the inside.

This is a family favorite. We could (and sometimes do) eat this once a week.

It goes great with yellow or flavored rice and some veggies. :)

PS This meal cost $3.00 including a box of flavored rice and bag of frozen steamfresh corn. :)