Couponing -- Work, but Worth It!

Hello readers! What I have for you today is a few tips on couponing. I find there's a big learning curve involved, and I'm still perfecting it -- so feel free to share your own advice with us in the comments section!

First of all, resist the temptation to run out to the stores with your freshly-clipped coupons. Instead, spend more time planning the trip -- this means organizing your coupons, watching the circulars for sales, and finding manufacture coupons you can pair with store coupons, called "stacking." (Good stores for opportunities to stack coupons include Target, Walgreens, and Hy-Vee.) This will help you avoid buyer's regret when you see that spaghetti sauce on sale two weeks later and think "Aw man, I should have waited!" Last month I spent a good part of two weeks planning a trip to Target and felt downright giddy when my bill shrank from $130 to $42! Even the family in line behind me commented, "We need to start couponing." :)

Secondly, if you have a coupon, getting the smallest-sized product the coupon allows will give you the best deal. A dollar off the $6 bottle of lotion is a less than 17% savings, but find a smaller $2 bottle and you're getting half off! Print multiple online coupons to get multiple products (most sites let you print two). Smaller containers of products like shampoo are easier to handle in the shower and can be placed in multiple bathrooms, sent with your kids to the pool, or kept in your gym or travel bag.

And lastly, I used to be that woman frantically digging through my coupon wallet with little pieces of paper flying everywhere, saying "I know I have a coupon for that!" It was frustrating and I was ready to quit the whole thing... until I realized I'd outgrown the wallet. I bought a cheap three-ring binder and some baseball card holder sheets at Wal-Mart. (Staples also sells coupon sheet protectors for this purpose). Now I clip all my coupons and organize them alphabetically, routinely going through to throw out expired ones. Now if I see a sale on Huggies, I can flip right to the H's and find out if I really do "have a coupon for that!"

Product Testing = FREE Stuff in the Mail

Just in the past week I've received a full-sized box of Cheerios, a package of Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies, and four containers of Gerber baby food in the mail to try (and got paid to do it!). When you're taking surveys, you never know when they're going to offer to send you the product in the mail -- it's one of my favorite perks of the "job." :) I've tested everything from Gillette razors and Tide detergent to diapers and Kraft macaroni & cheese. It feels really good to feed my family a meal that I not only got for FREE but got PAID to eat, or do laundry with detergent I got paid for, etc.

Check out my other blog, Money-Making Mommy, to get started taking surveys!

Free Sample -- Milk-Bone Trail Mix

"Like" the Milk-Bone page and pledge to take your doggy on a walk on June 2nd, and they'll send you a FREE sample of their new Trail Mix dog snacks... which I personally think should have been called Tail Mix, lol. :)

Remember that if you don't have a pet, this is another one to throw in your bag of items to donate to your local shelter!

Target Summer Beauty Bag w/ FREE Samples

This is a great freebie! Their last beauty bag was full of cute little samples -- including Nivea, Neutrogena, and Pantene -- and coupons in a pretty & orange pink makeup bag... I was super pleased. Click here to "like" Target and get their summer beauty bag full of samples!

Or, if you're on a cell phone, click the link here for the mobile version.

$10 Credit at Vitacost.com + FREE SHIPPING

I do a lot of my shopping online, particularly for household items like laundry soap and baby food, because they have a huge selection of items you might not find locally, with customer reviews to help you decide between brands. Combine coupon codes, sales, free shipping deals, etc. and watch the price go down, down, down!

Right now if you join Vitacost.com, you will get a FREE $10 CREDIT, which will get you far on this site! And today only (May 10th), there is FREE SHIPPING on orders of $25 or more. You will also get two FREE SAMPLES with your order, which you can choose from a long list of things from vitamins to eye cream.

Some of my favorite products on sale right now:

• Tom's of Maine Fluoride-Free Children's Natural Toothpaste, Silly Strawberry flavor - $3.16/tube
• Calbee Snack Salad Baked Snapea Crisps (yummy snack!) - $1.41/bag
• Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid Lavender Floral and Mint - $2.42/bottle
• Seventh Generation Toilet Bowl Cleaner Emerald Cypress and Fir - $3.15/bottle

Have fun building a box of great deals delivered right to your door!

Free Samples - Finish Quantum & Quaker Oatmeal Squares

"Like" the Finish Facebook page and they'll send you a free sample of Finish Quantum! This is hands-down the best dishwasher detergent I've ever used... my husband even mentioned how well it works. I prefer to use non-toxic products like Seventh Generation when I can, but I keep some of these on hand for the really tough loads.

And don't let me forget my new favorite cereal -- "like" the Quaker Oatmeal Squares Facebook page and they send you a cute little sample box! This is how I got hooked on the honey nut flavor... well, that and the $1 coupons on the inside of every box. (But it's okay because there's tons of whole grain, right?) My 2-1/2 year old daughter even likes to eat them as a snack, and she's not a big cereal fan.

$7 Coupon for Tena Pads

Tena is trying to promote their new Tena Twist pads, so right now you can enter your info at the Tena website and they'll send you a $7 coupon in the mail! That's an awesome coupon and should make for a free package of pads. 

Remember that Wal-Mart pays overage, so it's okay if the price of the product is less than $7 -- they'll actually apply the difference to the rest of the stuff in your cart.