Coupon Crazy - Breaking it down

For those of you who are slowly coming to the cheap side, let me break a few things down for you.

First of all..check out my previous post regarding CVS and how their deals work.  :)  

Second...listen/read up...

To the right of this message, you will see a spot called "The coolest people you should know"...these are many of our blogging friends.  Below that you will see a spot called "blog-o-sphere"  these are a few of mine and my mothers favorite sites for couponing plus a few other goodies that don't fit under the other category or aren't blogs.  YEA for my fellow couponers.  

I am now going to break down those sites for each of you so you know what they offer and how to best use them.  :)

Baby Cheapskate - This site offers some great tips for parents with or expecting a baby.  They give advice on where some of the best deals are on the web and how to get them!  

Bowen Genealogy - This is a site my father started.  It's of my Bowen ancestors.  (my maiden name is Bowen).  He's done a great job to post everything he can find in a simple easy to use/understand format for us genealogy idiots.  :)  I love to surf around on that site to read about my ancestors lives and how they once were.  

Budget Help$ - I love this blog!  This blog is all about where you can get FREE SAMPLES of products!  Be the first to know about what samples are available on the web through this site!  

Cherry Picker - My mom first pointed out this site to me.  This is where I first read about the August All You Magazine deal and then made my husband go out and buy me 10 copies!  She has great tips that some of the other websites miss.  Some stores she follows that apply to us in Jacksonville are Target, Walgreens and CVS!  So check out her blog frequently for the best tips and deals that are available.  

Coupon Addicts - This blog is actually called Scavenger Hung on Crack - but that's too long...so coupon addicts works for me! The main blog-master is Rebecca.  And Rebecca taught me everything I know and is very quick at responding to emails and EXTREMELY helpful to new comers!  

To the right of the page are different links to various stores that they update on a regular basis. If you visit one of these pages, you wont only see what great deals that particular store has to offer but you will also see links to future ads - great way to start next weeks shopping list.   

To the left of the page at the top will be a place titled: "Visit our Coupon Skills Blog"  This is a place to post your "brags" about what deals you snagged over the past week.  It's here that I get some great ideas of how to best save money, as I'm often too busy to create my own scenarios, I'll often just steal someone else's.  

Coupons and things by Dede - This is the website you have all been searching for but had no idea where to find it!  It's on this website you can buy whole newspaper inserts (not the entire newspaper but just the coupon inserts).  For example, each copy of this past Sunday's P&G insert is sold for $1.05 per copy but is currently sold out.  They also sell individual coupons too!  So if you miss a week - order as many copies as you want through dede.  She is easy to work with and ships quickly.  

Free After Rebates - This website is exactly what it says.  It's dedicated to sharing will all viewers everything you can get free AFTER REBATE.   It seems that most things are computer related but swing on by and check it out.  If you need it anyway, why not get it for free?!

I Heart CVS - This site is dedicated to all things CVS!  Find out about all the hidden deals, current deals, coupons and future inserts on this page!   Another great website by the same people is www.iheartriteaid.com - we don't have rite aid here so if you do, check that one out too!

Keeping the Kingdom First - This website has a weekly CVS $5 challenge.  It begins every Sunday (the first day of the sale week) and challenges readers to create a shopping list that will require you to spend NO MORE than $5 cash out of pocket to shop there!  I love to read others lists and then create mine based on each of theirs!  This website also has LOTS of other great information that is worthy of checking out!

Money Saving Mom - This website has all kinds of money saving tips.  She passes onto her readers great insight and encouragement about saving money along with informing readers about giveaways, deals, and information about some of our favorite stores and the deals they currently have going on.  

My Points - I love this site!  I've been a My Points member since 2001 and have received hundreds of dollars of gift cards in that time.  This is a site that that you earn points from reading emails and shopping online.  It's simple, easy and FREE!  If you are interested let me know as I get 250 points for each person I refer.  Who isn't interested in FREE MONEY?! Actually they pay you in gift cards and have what seems like 100 to choose from!  :)

Pinching Your Pennies - This is a website that my mom told me about.  It's mainly for the Utah/Idaho crowd but I find it helpful for me too!  At the top of this website is a link called "Coupon List" - Click on this and then choose your state...(Florida isn't listed).  I switch between Utah and Idaho.  It then lists what what coupons were in the paper for past weeks.  So for example, if your going to buy Bounty Paper Towels and want to see if there is coupon out there for it, scroll down to see if Bounty is listed.  If it's a current coupon it will list it, tell you what week the coupon came out and in what insert.  Sometimes if I can't find the coupon on the Utah list, I'll check the Idaho list.  Like I said Florida isn't listed but most coupons are the same nationwide with a few differences.

Publix Deals - The actual name of this website is Fiddle dee dee blog and she is all about the grocery store chain Publix.  I love Publix but find them to be a bit expensive at times.  But through her website I've come to love Publix and find that they have some of the greatest deals in all of Florida!  So if you like Publix check this website out!

Rather Be Shopping - This website is a money saving site by a GUY.  Pretty cool.  This is not dedicated to coupons and deals but more of a thought provoking and often funny site about how to think smartly about shopping and saving money.  

Richard Heath - This is a site Ben's father keeps up to date.  Richard is a photographer and a very good one at that.  Photography is one of his passions and is always doing new things with photographs and has a eye that many of us desire.  Check out his site sometime and think of it as candy for your eyes.  Plus you'll have a chance to get to know some of my husbands family.  

Sisterly Savings - This was one of the first sites I began to use when I started couponing.  They do a great job at keeping me informed about upcoming deals along with current deals.  They also have a great beginners guide to the left of their page called coupons 101, 102 and 103 and cvs and Walgreen's for beginners.  This a great spot to start if your new to the world of coupons.  

Spoofee deals - This is a constantly updated website that keeps the world in the know of some of the best deals on the web.   I constantly check this site in hopes that something I'm looking for will be on here directing me to where the best deal is.  My friend John Poor tipped me to this site months before I began my coupon addiction. 

The "Cent"sible Sawyer - This is one of my favorite sites.  I always find great money saving tips on her site and she also has a CVS challenge that gives me great ideas for my weekly shopping trips.  A great site for any person who has money saving on their mind.

The Thrifty Mama - This is a GREAT website.  One of my newest finds.  Our Thrifty Mama, teaches us about Publix penny items, and CVS deals and steals.  

Wild Squirrel - A friend of mine updates this site and does a great job.   Each Monday she posts her weekly meal schedule and if there was ever a person I would trust when it came to baking/cooking, it would be wild squirrel.  This girl knows her way around a kitchen and always has a yummy meal planned for her family.  She also has great tips, insight and websites that she's stumbled upon.  She also has great stories about her children sometimes.  

Now that you know what all these side websites are - I hope you check them out and enjoy saving money.  One of my favorite sayings is "Being poor is a choice" - we can all eat and live well if we live within our means, shop wisely and USE COUPONS!  It's easier than it sounds and fun too!  If you have any questions or need help getting started let me know and I'll walk you through it.