It's a Sn@p to Save with Extreme Couponing and Simple Stories

Have you ever watched the show Extreme Couponing and thought, “There is NO way you can save that much or get things for free…”  I’m hoping my post might just change your mind and inspire you to not only save a little money, but to use your Simple Stories Sn@p products in fun and practical ways.  That receipt is a legitimate purchase I made with coupons at my local Safeway and I'm hoping to not only share a cute storage idea for coupons, but to give you some savvy tips for saving.

The Simple Stories 6x8 album is not just for pictures and memorabilia, I have found that it is the perfect size for storing my coupons.  The clear 4x6 and 3x4 pockets keep me organized and make it so easy to see my coupons.  And, the size of the album easily fits in my purse, so I don’t have to worry about the bulk of a big binder – plus it is so lightweight.

These little binders make it so easy to stay organized.  I’ve actually gotten comments at the grocery store about how nice my system is for holding my coupons, not to mention the custom design with the Sn@p collection.

Tip  - the clear plastic pockets make it much easier to see all of your coupons so that you can easily use them by the expiration date or discard them when they have expired.

I recommend using some packing tape or contact paper to seal the design of the cover so that the paper and embellishments stay in their pristine condition with all of the use your album will get.  I had a great time combining the Sn@p alphabets with this 3 x 4 Sn@p card to make my sassy title.

This little book will hold a LOT of coupons and I find that I can just keep adding the clear inserts when I clip more coupons.  Not to mention that since the inserts are clear I can use both side of the pockets and put my coupons back to back.

Tip: You can clip coupons from inserts in the Sunday newspaper, or you can print coupons online.  My favorite coupon site is couponsuzy.com.

Every coupon worth 50 cents or more will double up to a $1 at my grocery store, which means that this little book is worth a lot of money.  I added my name and contact information in case I lose it somewhere, which would be devastating.  It was easy to run the 3x4 Sn@p cards through my typewriter.

Tip: Walmart and Target do not double coupons, but if your coupon is for $1 or more, it is worth checking the price of items at those stores.  Many times the price of Personal Care items are cheaper at Walmart than the grocery store and if the coupon is worth $1 or more, you maximize your savings.

These Sn@p pockets are fantastic for holding larger items like this map of my grocery store.   I always know what is in each aisle, which saves me a lot of time in plotting my savings bonanza.

Tip: It's really important to keep track of the days when the savings are best. Wednesday is when my local grocery stores print their newest sale flyers.  This is important information, so that I can cross check items with my coupons to get the best savings.

I divide my book into three parts, Food, Home and Personal Care and the mini Sn@p alphabets were perfect for labeling the three dividers that come with the Sn@p albums.

These monthly Sn@p 4x6 journal cards are perfect for keeping me organized.  As you can see I still have some candy to buy for Halloween, so I put the coupons in this special pocket so that I will remember to use them as soon as the candy goes on sale.

As I said earlier, the clear inserts are the perfect size for holding coupons I clip from the newspaper, and contrary to what a lot of people believe there are plenty of coupons out there for healthy foods.  I hate to pay retail for my favorite eggs and yogurt.

10 Ideas for Saving Big

1. Set up an email account that is just for coupons and join the online communities of the manufacturers you love.  They will send you newsletters that may include coupons or promotions.
2. Like the Facebook page of your favorite manufacturers and sometimes you will get an immediate coupon download.  (I got a great Popsicle coupon for liking them and saved big at my grocery store).
3. Find some online coupon sites that allow you to print coupons for free.  (I love www.couponsuzy.com.  It is easy and reliable and I have never had the coupons not work at my grocery store.  SmartSource is also a good site).
4. Subscribe to your Sunday paper for the coupon inserts.  If there are coupons that you use regularly, consider buying extra copies of the paper and/or ask family and friends if you can have their inserts.  
5. Take advantage of digital coupons at your grocery store and be sure to join their "club" program.  (I could not believe that I got $1.00 off a gallon at my store sponsored gas station just for shopping with my member card - that was big savings for filling up my SUV - about $20 in savings).  However be careful not to load digital coupons for items that you have paper manufacturer coupons, the paper coupons will double, but the digital ones won't and some stores do not let you stack coupons.
6. Look for catalina promotions on items you regularly buy and or NEW items.  (I bought a brand new type of Kraft macaroni and got a $2.00 Thank You Catalina for my next shopping trip to the grocery store).
7. Subscribe to magazines like "All You" which can be found at Walmart.  The magazine regularly has over a $100 worth of coupons in each issue.  Find cheap subscriptions to other magazines that carry coupons or talk about saving money (Better Homes and Gardens, Women's Day)
8. Match ads in the weekly sale flyers from your grocery stores to the coupons in your book.  The best way to save is to buy items on sale.  Cross check promotions between stores.  (We are lucky to have a Safeway and City Market right next to each other, so it is not a big deal for me to shop at both for items on my list and save big).
9.  Be flexible with brand names and experiment with new food items.  Manufacturers release the highest dollar coupons for brand new items, so if they look good - try them.  (I recently bought a new frozen fish that was on sale "buy 1 get 1 free" and I had a $1 off coupon, so I ended up with some yummy meals that we had never tried before for cheap).
10. Try to hold onto your coupons close to the expiration date, stores will inevitably put the items on sale and that is when you can maximize your savings and even get things for free...

Just a few items I have literally gotten for free -

• Colgate and Crest Toothpaste
• Carefree Feminine Products
• Muir Glen Tomato Paste
• Pringles
• Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner
• Fructis Shampoo and Conditioner
• Pilot Pens
• Betty Crocker Fruit Roll Ups and Snacks
• Nature Valley Granola Bars
• Yakisoba Noodles

My goal is to save about 40-50% each time I go to the grocery store.  I try to clip the healthiest coupons I can find and pair them with store deals, so that we are still eating healthy and saving big.  Hope this post gives you some inspiration and feel free to email with questions.


Thank you so much for stopping by -