Rhode Island Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Extreme Couponers Out There...
I am trying to get into couponing and I am looking for a willing mentor in the Rhode Island area!! PLEASE PLEASE HELP! My fiance gets out of the Marine Corps the end of August and does not have a job lined up, so I REALLY need to find a way to save money!
Thank you for your time!
Re: Extreme Couponers Out There...
I am no extreme couponer, but here is what I know:
Stop & Shop doubles manufacturers coupons of any value less than $1.
I print coupons from these places
Coupons.com
SmartSource
RedPlum
Stop & shop also has coupon dispensers in the stores for some products, too, so if you're open to buying something based on a good deal, those could help. I only use coupons on things I'm already buying, as I go in with a list for the week and just buy that, so it doesn't usually help me.
I also signed up for emails on some brands websites. For example, when we eat french fries, we always end up buying some type of Ore-Ida fries. So I signed up with their website to get coupons (but are unfortunately usually for new products like mashed potatoes that I won't buy, so it's not a great example...).
I believe that Target used to let you double up a manufacturer's coupon with a Target-only coupon. But, I think in response to the Extreme Couponing show they stopped doing that... so just be careful. Rules might have changed because a lot of people were cheating the system (actually illegally using coupons in some instances, which they can be charged with fraud) on that show.
Good luck!
I am far from an extreme couponer, but here are my tips!
1. Meat Stock Up - I stock up on good deals on meat when they happen and at my Costco.
2. Meal Planning - Based on what I have from my meat stock up, I go in search of recipes and make sure to plan my meals for the entire week, sometimes even 2 weeks. There are SO many ways to meal plan - weekly, monthly, you can do freezer meals and spend one day cooking to have a ton of stuff ready for the month... These are 2 books I love: Don't Panic I and Don't Panic II. Both have great tips and yummy recipes. So you go shopping on a Sunday, cook and split everything up, then even weeknight meals are easy1
3. Store brands. I know. Everyone turns their noses up at store brands. But you know what, those Today Show segments showing taste tests aren't kidding - 95% of the time you cannot tell the difference. We switched to the store brand of almost anything where it is available. I personally find that, even with coupons, often I save more money buying store brand. I've made everyone's fav meals w/ store brands and no one knows the difference.
4. Know your stores. Spend a day price comparing. Surprisingly enough, my local Stop & Shop is my best deal. Everything else is either 5+ miles away, costing me gas, or costs even more (I live in NY). And with buying store brand at S&S I save a lot of money. Seriously - milk was 15 cents cheaper per gallon than the "discount" store 8 miles away.
5. If you can, get a second freezer. Pick up a cheap, used chest freezer on Craigslist or a brand new one. Stock up on meat when it's on sale this way, freeze leftover sauces and meals b/c you have room - that saves us so much money and time every month. Friday I threw 2 containers of leftovers into the extra freezer - one sausage & peppers, one american chop suey -- both mean instant, easy pasta meals in the weeks to come at no additional cost beyond 99 cents for a box of pasta. And easy and quick. Even if we move to, say, Brooklyn, I may very well put an extra fridge/freezer in my living room, I'm that attached to the extra food space.
"It's not a sprint, it's a marathon." - Alex & Ani bracelet
My blog: Dodging Acorns
Thank you to everyone for the advice!! I really appreciate it! Hopefully these tips will help our family save money! Have a great day and again thanks for helping!
I am not an extreme couponer either but I do try to use them whenever possible. Not very often for me though because I do not buy a lot of processed foods and the foods I do buy usually don't have coupons.
But yesterday Stop and Shop had some of the general mills cereals on sale 3 for 5.00 and I had three .75 cent off coupons I printed from the internet. So, if the had it in stock (they didn't so I didn't get any) I would have gotten each box for .16 cents. I am hoping to get back there before the sale is over but I did get a raincheck too.
Yeah I am with Nicole on this one. Every I see coupons out there they are usually for processed foods which I don't buy or just brands I don't buy/companies I will not support. Have you ladies found natural or organic coupons out there?
I do not use coupons at all really. But I do make a lot of my own food so I buy less prepackaged foods. I find that I spend less money at the grocery store for my family than all my friends and I buy as much organic as I can.