How I Became the Richest Woman in Idaho

Okay, maybe a bit of an exaggeration.... I may not be THE richest woman of the good ol' pan-shaped state, but I sure have saved a TON of money in the past few months. It's no secret. Even YOU can do it.

Unfortunately, I feel like this topic just totally goes in one ear and out the other for the single folks out there. Also men and lazy people seem not to pay much attention to this topic either. But let me tell you, follow my advice and you will be RICH. The Secret?


Coupons Coupons Coupons;


Sales Sales Sales.

So, it's really just two words repeated multiple times.

My proudest shopping moment was just a few weeks ago when I went to Albertsons because they did have the Sales Sales Sales that I needed. I spent 26 bucks and saved 76 DOLLAS! HOLLA! Okay, I never say that, but it seemed appropriate for the success story.

I have to admit, it does take quite a bit of time to search for these savings. I just bought three expensive things for baby preparation online, but it took me about 4 hours to research everything to make sure I was getting the best quality and price.

Worth it? Well, considering I am unemployed and don't supply any of my family's income, it was definitely worth the time. Heck, I'd call it my full time job. If I can't make money, I'm going to save money.

There are many methods to saving money, but here is a list that helps ME to save money and will most likely help you.

1. Join a few coupons sites. You will get manufacturers' coupons sent to you via e-mail. I only really use one. Here's the link:
http://www.couponmom.com/
I get these coupons e-mailed to me, then I can print off whichever ones I want.
Another coupon thing that I really like is this:
http://www.shopathome.com/ It is something that you have to download to your toolbar and it was a bit of a pain to do that, but it is so worth it. It has a place with a bunch of coupons, but my favorite part is whenever I google something, the toolbar comes up with coupons for whichever site I just googled. For example, I was just looking at amazon.com for baby stuff and in my toolbar there is a link to amazon coupons! It's great.

2. Here's my rule of thumb on coupons and saving money: if you don't already buy the product, don't print or even cut out the coupon.
Don't be tempted with buying things with coupons that you usually don't buy. First of all, you will end up spending more money because you will be buying things that you don't really need or just wanted to try, but weren't completely satisfied. It even saves you money on printing out the coupon or saves you in the long run from carpel tunnel from cutting all those coupons.

3. Go to WalMart. I thought it was white trash for so long, but WalMart is the best. They have everything at great prices in the first place, but they take ANY store's coupons. I got a Target ad with a lot of good deals for $2 or $3 off, but I used them at WalMart with WalMart prices plus the 2 or 3 bucks off. Then that saves you driving around to a bunch of different stores with a bunch of different sales.

4. Use coupons in conjunction with a sale. In all honesty, that's the only real way to make it worth it. If you ever had a bunch of coupons at a store, you might notice that the store brand is cheaper even with the name brand and it's coupon. When using it with a sale, you can even get things that you want for pennies or even for free.

The only exception to this rule is Cheez It. Let's face it, the store brand always tastes gross.

5. I hate junk mail in my e-mail box more than anyone. Fortunately I have a junk e-mail address that I use to sign up for stores to send me e-mails. They have so many promotions through e-mail that you can get tons of stuff for free with samples, free shipping, or wild internet discounts. I end up getting like 50 e-mails a day from a bunch of different stores. If I have no desire to get anything from the store at that time, I just delete the e-mail. Its not that hard, but it is worth the money that I've saved.

Oh, and get free samples while you're at it. It's better to try a sample size than buy something on sale that you've never tried before. Lots of websites mail out free samples. Just check.

6. Get as many ads mailed to you as you can. Then you can see all the sales the stores have. See: You can always look online, but having a paper add is good too. My favorite part about this is that I actually get stuff in the mail now. It makes me feel a little extra special.

7. This isn't for everyone, but if you have the discipline in saving money and set a budget for yourself, get a credit card that gives you points or cash back on your purchases. We got a new credit card with a new bank account 6ish months ago and have already made more than 300 bucks cash back and all because we swipe our credit card. This really doesn't work for everyone, but if you can use a credit card like you spend cash, go for it. If you need suggestions, drop me a line yo.

Oh yeah, and I just wanted to add that I get redbox movies ALL the time time. You know what? I haven't paid for a movie in over 6 months. You know why? I get free promotion codes all the time sent to my phone, or other free code that I find online. Never have to spend money at redbox again.

Wasn't that fun! Talking about coupons makes me so excited! I should total up how much money that I save each month with my smart shopping. I bet I save more money with research than I would if I didn't use coupons and had a part time job.
Maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but it always feels good to save money.