how to jump into couponing

i started "couponing" in may on this year and honestly the reason i waited til then was pride. i was embarrassed to hand coupons to the cashier because i felt like they would think i was poor and i have a real attitude about living hand to mouth. IE i refuse to do it because i'm a tither and a giver and all my needs are met (more on that later) i thought that couponing meant buying cheap food cheaper and that because we were blessed we didn't need to do that. we bought special treats at the grocery store and  if we wanted something bad enough we bought it regardless of whether we could really afford it. i thought i was to good to be one of "those people" that i saw haggling with cashiers and gripping dozens of papers in their hands. what weirdos. really.
 in april i was praying about being a better steward with what God has given us. i was frustrated because it seemed like as much as i budgeted and planned we spent a ridiculous amount every month on stuff. stuff we ate or pooped in or in some way consumed way to fast. so i was asking God what i was doing wrong and i started to be convicted about things.  junk food was the first to go. then heavenly food like ice cream. then fattening food like fried anything. but we were spending the same or more. God started to show me how much i was spending on things that didn't matter and how much i could save by learning how to buy smarter. by that i mean instead of buying a jumbo pack of paper towels every other week i could spend half that once and buy cheap washcloths to clean faces and surfaces. instead of feeling the need to have a 3 course meal prepared every night for dinner if i let us eat cereal even once a week for dinner then we could start saving big money. if we ate homemade muffins or scones and fruit for breakfast instead of cereal than that could save me $8 a week. wow... and if i started buying things with coupons... wouldn't that save money too? the first time i bought anything with coupons i was so embarrassed when i handed them over. then  i was so proud when i paid about $10 cheaper than normal for our groceries. since then i've been able to cut our grocery and household cost in HALF and REPLACE my income from last year. we buy name brand not generic and i've been able to feed my family healthier foods and treat them and myself all kinds of things we couldn't afford last year. i've made alot of mistakes and keep making them and learning. i've doubtlessly cost us some money learning the ins and outs of couponing but i'm going to tell you what i've learned and my successes. you can do this too. pinky swear.

1. save coupons - if you are only clipping or printing coupons for things you already buy and then using them the next time you buy it YOU ARE NOT WINNING in this money game. obviously if you don't have children or pets then you won't be using coupons for those items but if you're tossing coupons because they aren't the brand you currently use then you are missing out! be organized with your storage or even just label the weekly inserts with dates and store them unclipped. whatever your method horde coupons for the best rewards.
2. explore multiple sources for coupons - newspapers aren't the only place to get coupons. look on web sites and blogs :) some of my favorites

• coupons.com
• redplum.com
• smartsource.com
• cellfire.com
• shortcuts.com
• pgesaver.com  

          also look for coupons in stores. some products will have "peelies" which is a coupon stuck to the front of the package. and "blinkies" which are the tear pads and/or machines in the aisle that dispense them. "catalinas" are coupons printed at the register. magazines can have coupons in them as well. the most popular magazine that normally has over $100 of coupons per issue is All You. my subscription  for one year was more than paid for with the money i saved due to coupons in the first issue. just saying. works for me.
     4.  stockpile - when i first heard of this i was reminded of the year 2000 scare many people who were
 reasonable intelligent citezens became spooked and 'stockpiled' food. i'm NOT saying you need to
 have 3 years of food on hand at all times. stockpiling to SAVE is not that at all. you simply will be buying things on sale not at full price. all those coupons you're now saving will you save you some money when just used on full price items BUT if you pair it with a sale. wow. magic happens. instead of just saving $0.50 on something you can save 75% or more per item. :) for example: if you use a $1 coupon on a box of cereal priced at $3.89 then you could save a buck! and good job thats a great start! BUT if you get that cereal on SALE  for 2/$4 and use that $1 coupon than you could get cereal for $1 a box! if you learn to stack coupons which we'll talk about in a late post you could get it for less than a dollar. you favorite name brand cereal for less than a dollar a box tastes better i swear. soo when you can get it for so ridiculously cheap it makes sense to buy a couple months worth so you can last til the next time you can get it that cheap so you never have to pay almost $4 a box. and believe me once you find out how little you can pay for things you love it'll grate on you when you have to spend more for them. you'll also be saving money on your weekly trip when you don't buy those products you've already stockpiled. you won't you have to run to the store to get sundry ingredients as often because you'll have a few meals (at least) on hand at all times. i currently have 7 bags of cheese and 14 boxes of cream cheese (i love cheesecake) in my freezer. i have 12 boxes of cereal.  i have countless boxes of pasta and cans of soup. there's alot more safely stored and all that food has been bought at 80% or more off retail there's always something for dinner.i'm looking to do this for things like toilet paper and cleaners too.
       5. planning - finally check all your local stores sales each week. while that sounds like a time consuming task with the store deals i will be posting each week you'll save time and money. you'll find those deals that work best for you and you'll be saving mulah. last week i spent 3.5 hours couponing total (that includes working on deals for ya'll and blogging) and saved $84. i saved $24 an hour :) call me hooked.

you can do this i promise! if i've left anything out or if you have questions just ask. while i know i'm not an expert in any stretch of the imagination i am obsessed so if i don't know the answer i will try my hardest to find out!