Category: <span>Using Coupons</span>

Cashback Apps that Help Cut Down Your Grocery Bill!

by Karen Mendes | Frugal Ideas, Saving Money With Coupons, Tips, Using Coupons | 0 Comments

Groceries are out of control right now. Everything has gone up. A dozen eggs is over $5 here in New England right now! That's CRAZY. I think it may be time to get some chickens. 😉 My suggestion is to get back to using coupons and combine that with sale prices and cash back apps! Cashback Apps that Help Cut Down Your Grocery Bill Using cashback apps can help you save on food and health & beauty products in stores or online. I recommend using Ibotta, and Checkout 51. Both of these apps are super easy to use and all you need to do is open the app, select the product, scan the product and then scan in your receipt. That's pretty much it. And when you reach a certain about of...

7 Coupon Mistakes You Should Avoid At All Costs

by Karen Mendes | Using Coupons | 0 Comments

Saving money with coupons is a thrilling experience. Looking back, I remember how worked up I was in my early days of couponing. It was incredibly satisfying watching my hard work pay off as I made one saving after another. Similar to me, many early couponers believe they have everything figured out. But in many cases, their couponing goes awry and they end up wasting time, effort and worst of all, money that could’ve been saved. In order to make the best use of discount offers, you need to avoid common coupon mistakes mentioned below. Let’s begin. 7 Common Coupon Mistakes Putting Too Much Time in Deal Hunting After saving on a few items, couponers tend to go after every deal they can...

Use a Few Coupons Each Week and Watch the Savings Grow

by Karen Mendes | Using Coupons | 11 Comments

September is National Coupon Month and if you don't use coupons often, you can use just a few coupons each week and watch the savings grow. You don't have to be short on cash to use coupons. You may just want to free up some of your money for other things, like a vacation, a new car, or even that expensive purse you've been eying! Coupons are easy to use so wouldn't it be nice to stretch your paycheck by at least 25% every week? Coupons are like money, the more coupons you hand over to the cashier, the more money you keep in your pocket. Have you ever read a magazine and found a coupon for $1.00 off a product in the middle of the magazine? Imagine that was a $1.00 bill. Wouldn’t you put...

Reduce Debt and Save for Vacations with Coupons

by Karen Mendes | Frugal Ideas, Using Coupons | 0 Comments

How many times have you wished you had just a little bit more money each week to pay off your credit card or perhaps just pay cash so you don’t have to charge things? Wouldn’t it be great to be able to splurge and buy something you didn’t need, but wanted instead? When you have a limited income, it's very hard to do that. However, at some point or another everyone should treat themselves to make all their hard work worth it. But if your credit card bill is through the roof, you just end of feeling guilty about spending money on something you want, but don't necessarily need. How about a night out with your spouse or significant other that doesn't consist of only going somewhere for free?...

How Coupons can Keep Money In Your Wallet

by Karen Mendes | Using Coupons | 0 Comments

Whether you are strapped for cash or not, everyone should be using coupons. They are everywhere and easy to use so why not? Wouldn't it be nice to stretch your paycheck by at least 25% every week? Coupons are like money, the more coupons you hand over to the cashier, the more money you keep in your pocket. Have you ever read a magazine and found a coupon for a $1.00 off a product in the middle of the magazine? Imagine that was a $1.00 bill. Wouldn't you put it in your wallet? If you answered yes then it's the same thing as using that coupon and keeping that $1.00 bill in your wallet! You don't even have to use a lot of coupons to see a difference. You may have been following along in my...

How much can you really save with Coupons?

by Karen Mendes | Using Coupons | 3 Comments

How often do you use coupons? Every time you shop or once or twice a month? Either way it doesn't matter how often you do, as long as you use them because you will save money using them. Look at them as actual money because when you use coupons you reduce how much actual money you are handing over to the cashier. Many tell me that they can't find coupons for most items they purchase, so they don't even bother using them. My answer to this is that every penny counts and adds up over time. We live in a world where we want things INSTANTLY but life doesn't work like that all the time- at least for the good stuff. It takes time to accomplish goals, it takes time to learn something new...

Coupon Basics: Coupon Abbreviations Explained

by Karen Mendes | Coupon Abbreviations, Coupon Basics, Using Coupons | 0 Comments

There are lots of abbreviations that I use through out Koupon Karen. Here is a run down so you know what I'm talking about. You may want to bookmark this post for future reference. OOP - Out Of Pocket ECB - Extra Care Bucks ESR - Easy Saver Rebate RR - Register Rewars SS - Smart Source Coupon Insert RP - Red Plum Coupon Insert P&G- Proctor & Gamble Coupon Insert GM - General Mills Coupon Insert WAGS - Walgreens BOGO - Buy One Get One Free B2G1 - Buy Two Get One Free BOGO 50% off - Buy One Get One 50% off wyb - When You Buy DND - Do Not Double Cat - Catalina - A coupon that prints out at the register YMMV - Your Mileage May Vary Hope this helps! Looking to learn more about...

Contact Companies for Coupons: Campbell’s, Johnsonville & Sara Lee

by Karen Mendes | Finding Coupons, Using Coupons | 6 Comments

Last week I began writing companies to request coupons. I received an email back from one company saying they were going to send me coupons. As soon as I receive them I'll let you know what I got. Did you contact anyone last week? If so what did you get? If you want to follow along then be sure to read up on all the companies I've contacted so far and my results. You can jump in any time! This week I'm writing to the following companies: Campbell's Soups Johnsonville Sara Lee

Contact Companies to get FREE Coupons or High Value Coupons

by Karen Mendes | Finding Coupons, Using Coupons | 3 Comments

I've shared with you in the past my favorite way to get FREE item coupons and that is by getting them directly from the manufacturers. Just about every company has a website (and a lot of them have printable coupons right on their site). I email the company (or fill out their contact page) and request to be put on a mailing list for coupons or money saving offers. Most of them are very happy to do so and will even write back. When you receive coupons directly from the companies they are usually high value coupons and the expiration date is almost always much longer than those in the inserts. And then there are those companies that will send you a coupon for a free item. I love those!! I...

Save Money Shopping Online with Ebates

by Karen Mendes | HOT Deals, Save Online, Using Coupons | 0 Comments

I've mentioned Ebates many times but not everyone is familiar with what it actually is. Ebates is a website that lets you earn cash back on your purchases. If your already shopping online then why not earn money back? I refuse to buy anything online without going through a cash back shopping site. When you sign up with Ebates, you'll receive $5.00 just for joining. So you have nothing to lose and money to earn!

Finding Coupons: Contacting Manufacturers

by Karen Mendes | Finding Coupons, Using Coupons | 0 Comments

One of my favorite ways to get coupons is directly from the Manufacturers. Just about every company has a website and a lot of them have printable coupons right on their site. What I like to do is email (or fill out their contact page) and request to be put on a mailing list for coupons or money saving offers. Most of them are very happy to do so and will even write back. But most of them I have found will mail me coupons. When you receive coupons directly from the Manufacturer, they are usually a higher value than what you'd get in the inserts and the expiration date is a lot of times pretty far away. Thanks another bonus so you can wait for a sale. A lot of them will send you a...

Some Questions about Expiration Dates of Coupons

by Karen Mendes | Using Coupons | 1 Comment

I received a few questions about the Expiration Dates of coupons so I wanted to address them here. If a coupon says it expires on the 10th, can you still use it on the 10th? Answer - The expiration date is the last day that you can use that coupon so if it expires on the 10th, yes you can still use it until the end of the day on the 10th Can I use an expired coupon for even a few days after it expires? Answer - From my experiences, some stores will take coupons that have expired just a few days. But this is rare and will differ from store to store. Check with the store manager to find out. I've found a lot of stores will except Store Coupons that have expired but again each store is...