A Week In The Life of a Not-So-Extreme Couponer - Friday

Couponing is in my blood. Some of my favorite memories from childhood are of sitting at my grandmother's kitchen table on Sunday afternoon clipping coupons and matching them up with the sale ads. (Obviously pre-internet) Even now, if she or I find a really good deal, we will call and give each other a heads-up. Hello free Crock-Pots!!!

Anyway, this week I have had several young wives from DM contact me in reference to a comment I made on someone's post on the DM Wives Facebook page about using coupons. They want to know how I do it, how much time it takes, how much I usually save, etc, etc, etc. In the interest of my New Year's Resolution to be a better blogger, I decided that rather than try and pass on all this info in a Facebook message, that I would do it here instead.

Friday is the first day of my couponing week. Most people would assume Sunday because that is when the ads and newspaper coupons, but no. Friday is the first day because Friday is usually the day that the coupon bloggers that I follow get their hands on Sunday's ads and start posting the best deals for the following week.

For instance - Totally Target is one of my favorite couponing sites. As you can see below, today she posted a sneak peek of the best deals coming out in the ad. She also includes coupon matchups if applicable.

So, on Friday, when the bloggers start posting their sneak peeks, I will start making notes of things that are on sale that I know I am low on and will need to buy soon and also any screaming deals. Besides Totally Target, I also use the following coupon blogs

Couponing to Disney - this was the first coupon blog I ever used. I ran across it while I was looking for good deals for our Disney trip a few years ago. It is still one of my favorite blogs and has, in my opinion, one of the best databases of both newspaper and printable coupons out there. If for no other reason, book this one for the Coupon Database.

Wild for CVS and Wild for Wags - these are both run by the same blogger and are laid out in a similar way. A lot of people don't think about drug stores when thinking about couponing, but I promise you, some of the best deals I have even found have been at drug stores. 

The Krazy Coupon Lady - I feel like this is the mother of all couponing blogs and can be a little overwhelming. She just reformatted the site, though, so now you can view the deals by store and I feel like it is a lot more user-friendly. She is a good one to follow on Facebook as well.

Grocery Smarts - This site is my new secret weapon. Every Wednesday, they post the best deals from the grocery store circulars. You search by state and then BAM! - deals galore with coupon matchups. This has made my menu planning SO much easier.

On a side note, Friday is also my grocery store day since my closest grocery store has $5 Friday deals of which I like to take advantage. On the last day of this series (next Friday) I will do a brag post showing all the good deals I got using coupons as a kind of sum-it-all-up example. I don't do much couponing on Saturdays except check the blogs for deals, so look for my next post in this series on Sunday when the newspaper coupons come out!