I have gotten several FREE item coupons this week and I thought I would share some ideas on how you can maximize these great coupons.  I know it is so easy to want to run to the store and pick up your free item right away but check out the ideas below on how you can stretch that one free item into more.

• Use your FREE item coupon along with a BOGO FREE sale at the store or store coupon.  This gets you 2 items for free instead of one.
• Use your FREE item coupon along with a BOGO 50% off sale to get one free and the second at half price.
• Use your FREE item coupon along with a store promotion that requires you to spend a certain amount or buy a certain amount of items in order to get a reward or discount.  The price of the item should count toward the spending limit and still get you your reward. 
  *Make sure to note if the requirements for the promotion are before or after coupons to be sure this will work.
• If the store coupon policy allows, use your FREE item coupon with a BOGO FREE manufacturer coupon to get 2 for free.

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I want to share with you guys some tips to help you save and make using coupons as easy as possible.  One super easy trick is to have a spam email account.  Many of the online coupons require registration.  You may or may not want to hear from that company again.  If you don’t, set up a free email account from www.hotmail.com, www.yahoo.com or www.gmail.com.  This way, you can use this account when you register and you don’t fill up your personal email account with offers you are not interested in.

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Here is a great new resource you will want to check out.  I get questions all the time about how long to keep coupons and now there is a resource to answer just that!  Originally started as an excel spreadsheet, Coupon Cleanout lets you search by state to see what inserts are safe to discard. There is even information on what to do with your expired coupons.  Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments section below!

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Check out the guest post that I did over on BakersfieldMom.com yesterday.  I sold the site to the Bakersfield.com network but I will be working with them as a guest blogger.  They are really working to get the site off the ground and make it an awesome place for moms in Bakersfield.  Check out my article and let me know what you think!

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OK, so for some time now, I have been going bonkers each week doing the Vons and Albertsons lists and trying to get them formatted into a printable list for you to be able to use.  I think having the function is great but wait till you take a look at the new one!  It is soooooo much easier on my end for sure and you will love all the features for you.  There are still a few little changes to be made but overall, I love it.  Here is how to best use this option:

1. Scroll through the Vons or Albertsons list, clicking any items that you want to add to your shopping list.  As you do, you will see them added to the list in the small box in the bottom right of your screen.  The ones you have chosen will also go grey. 
2. At any time, you can click the “My List” tab to see what you have added.
3. Consider adding items to your list in the order they are in your store.  This will save you even more time in the store.
4. After you have selected all of the items on the list that you want to purchase, click the Print button.  It will bring up a new screen just like the one pictured below.
5. You will then be able to add your own items to the list!  I think this is an awesome feature.  This way, you can have everything all on one list.  There is even a section to put notes to yourself like “watch for coupon booklet near dairy section”.
6. Make sure to print your list before moving on to another store or page so you don’t lose everything!

So what do you think?  Have you tried it yet?

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With all the changes on Facebook lately, you may have noticed that you are no longer seeing all the posts from the Save At Home Mommy Facebook page or many others.  There is a way to change your settings and make sure that you are getting all the updates and not missing out on deals.

1. Log in to your Facebook account
2. Look up at the top to the right of the words “News Feed” and click on “Most Recent”
3. After you click on it, there will be an arrow next to it to reveal a drop down menu.  Click on the arrow and then click on “Edit Options” on the bottom.
    
4. Click on the arrow to reveal the drop down next to “Show posts from:” and then click on “All of your friends and pages”.  Then click “Save”
   

Now you will see updates from everyone that is your friend and all the pages you follow.  You can return to this same page to block any pages or people that you don’t want to see updates from:)  I hope this helps you receive all the latest deals and thanks to the ladies at my seminar last night for letting me know this needed to be fixed!!

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As our SAHM Budget Challenge marches on into week 2, I wanted to talk a little bit about stockpiling and how that is the basis for really saving money and keeping your out of pocket spending low.  Watch the video below for the basics and then read the answers to some FAQ’s further down!

1.  Where do you keep your stockpile?

I am very blessed to have a house with tons of huge closets!  The designer must have been a woman!  Before we moved into this house though, I used the space under my bed, extra cabinets in the laundry room and made some shelves in our garage.  Walk through your house and check the closets and everywhere you can think of for empty space.  Use boxes or milk crates to expand extra high or deep shelves to get more out of them, or use them to make shelving in the garage.  You can also find inexpensive shelving options online or in stores to add shelving to empty areas.

2.  How do you keep up with what is in your stockpile?

Because I have plenty of space, my stockpile is very visible.  This allows me to see everything and not have to keep a list.  Some people keep an excel spreadsheet or just a paper log to keep up with what is in theirs.  Whatever works for you to not let anything go to waste and know when you are getting low on an item.  

3.  What items do you stockpile?

I answered this a little in the video above but besides pantry items, you can freeze cheese and tortillas, premade pie crusts, lunch meat, meats and others.  Coffee creamer has a very long refrigerator life as well.

4.  How do you get all the coupons to be able to buy multiple of each deal and stock up?

I personally get one of our local papers delivered at a great rate monthly.  I then subscribe to MadCoupons.net and split it with a friend.  This gives me up to 6 copies of each newspaper coupon each week.  Other ideas include asking friends and family to save you their coupons if they don’t use them or purchase them from ebay or other coupon clipping services.  You could also go dumpster diving if you are so inclined:)

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Hopefully this will get you started and give you the tools you need to get a budget started for your family.  Stay tuned for more helpful videos and all the details of the Save At Home Mommy Budget Challenge to come. 

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I get a lot of comments, questions and emails about coupons missing, not printing or prices being different.  I wanted to make sure that you all knew a few things that are common in my responses. 

#1- Save At Home Mommy is a blog.  This differs in one major way as far as you are concerned.  On a website, old information is removed when new information is put up so all content should always be valid.  On a blog, new posts are put out every single day.  On my site, at least 9 or 10 each day.  The older posts just keep getting pushed back further in the archive.  If you took the time, you could scroll down through the whole page and then click on older entries.  You could do this over and over again scrolling through posts from the past year and a half.  All the posts are still there. 

How does this impact you?  Well, if you click on an old post, the coupons and deals referenced in that post may no longer be available.  This is not because I posted a false coupon or bad deal.  The print limit may have been reached or the deal taken down.  There is no way that I could go back through every single post and check every link to see if it still works or not and take them down.  That in itself would be a full time job.  I work very hard to only bring you valid information at the time the deal is posted but I am just not in control of all the sources that bring the deals and coupons.

#2- Printable coupons have printing limits.  Most printable coupons have limits as to how many prints the manufacturer wanted to put out there.  Most of the time, you can print each coupon two times per computer.  The limits for each coupon are different and I never know what the limits are or when they will be met.  I can post a coupon one minute and the next minute, the last print is reached.  I check every coupon myself before I post about it and try to get them to you as soon as I can.  I want to at least give you the possibility of getting your copies when I can.

#3- You can get a coupon to print.  I wish I had a lot more computer knowledge than I do!  I don’t however, but I can give you a few tips I have picked up along the way.  Check out the posts under HELP and then FAQ’s in the menu bar or HERE.  There are several posts about problems with printing coupons that may answer your questions.

#4- Prices and Coupons available vary from store to store, city to city and state to state.  While the lists that I post for Albertsons and Vons are specifically from my Bakersfield, CA ad and deals, I also post deals from other bloggers for all across the country.  This includes Target, Walmart, CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens and other national stores.  While the prices and deals are often the same, there can also be variances in the prices and availability.  I know even here in Bakersfield, there is a price difference from Target on one side of town and the other.  When I post a deal, I do my best to be accurate but the prices may be a little different at your store.  You will just have to decide when you get there if the price difference is enough to keep you from buying it.

Also, I may post a coupon location that you may not see in that source.  If it is printable, try switching zip codes and see if it shows up.  If it is a newspaper insert coupon, it may not have been published in your paper.  I have readers from all across the country so I try and post every coupon location I can find to help everyone.  If you can’t find a coupon, you may just have to let that deal go.  Next time, you may have the coupon and another area won’t balancing it all out.  You can also check out the Save At Home Mommy coupon database to see if there is a coupon location that I missed!

I hope that this answers some of your questions and helps you understand that, while I do make mistakes, and plenty of them, I do try my hardest to only post relevant deals and coupons to help you save $$$$!

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I posted a question on the Save At Home Mommy Facebook page about the Extreme Couponing show on TLC and got some awesome comments.  I wanted to respond a little with my opinion on stockpiling, why I do it, what I stockpile, whether we eat junk food and when I think it is too much. 

What is stockpiling?

Stockpiling is buying several of the same item at a super low or FREE price so that you do not have to pay full price for it when you need it and it is not on sale.  By buying multiple of that item, enough to last you around 3 months, you are able to wait until it goes on sale again and restock your supply.

Do I stockpile and why?

I do have a stockpile but it is no where near the ones pictured on the Extreme Couponing show.  I have a closet with shelves for the extra items that my family will use over a few months.

What do I stockpile?

I only stock up on items that will either never go bad or have a very long shelf life.  I also only stock up on items that I KNOW my family will use.  If something has been in my pantry for a while unused, I will donate it.

Do I eat junk food or buy a lot of food that we won’t really eat?

Absolutely not.  We do buy the occasional pack of cookies and every once in a while the treat of fruit snacks but on the whole, we eat pretty healthy foods.  We eat mostly whole grain pasta and brown rice, organic milk and dairy when we can, natural chicken, organic produce on the dirty dozen list, organic coffee and as many other organic products that are recommended to be the most important.  Sure we eat some prepackaged foods but mostly potatoes, rice and pasta and the occasional frozen skillet meal and I will always love my sweets but I do my best to buy healthy foods.  As far as buying food that we won’t or don’t eat, I would never be able to spend between $200-$250 a month on all my groceries, household supplies and toiletries, and waste money on items we don’t need.

Why do I stockpile?

I stockpile for 2 reasons. 

1) It allows me to pay very little for items that our family uses.  If I buy 4 packages of toilet paper when it is on sale, I don’t have to be constantly on the lookout for toilet paper deals, spend way too much just because I wasn’t prepared or sacrifice and use a brand I hate just because it is less expensive.  Look at it this way, you using up that bottle of shampoo in your shower is nothing that should surprise you.  We all know that we will use things up and need them again.  Being prepared for that is simply wise planning.  If you can get your favorite shampoo for FREE, buy several bottles and then hang on for the next sale to restock your supply.

2) It keeps me from running to the store several times a week.  Here is an example:

We went on vacation on December 13th.  The week before, I bought milk and a few other staples to get us through the week and we emptied out our fridge of all perishable food before we left.  We came home on Sunday night, December 26th and I am currently writing this post on Thursday, December 30th.  I have still not gone to the grocery store since coming home!  Why, I really haven’t had the time but also because we have plenty of food in our stockpile so I don’t have to.  It has been so nice to not have to have the pressure to run out and spend a bunch of money just because I didn’t have the time to plan.  Tonight or tomorrow, I can sit down and go over this week’s sales and then plan out a trip.  I made homemade bread for breakfast and sandwiches, pancakes, oatmeal and cereal for breakfasts, quesadillas, canned fruits and leftovers for lunches and pasta, chicken and lasagna from the freezer for dinners.

When do I think stockpiling has gone to far?

My personal opinion is that it has gone too far when it becomes an obsession or lack of faith.  I think it is wise to plan ahead and save money but I think it becomes obsession when growing your stockpile and shopping are all you think about.  We should shop because we need things, not just to shop.  While I think it is wise to plan ahead for things that we know will happen, I don’t think it is wise to be afraid of the future and therefore buy up and store as much as we possibly can.  I do not think that having 150 deodorants is at all necessary or wise.  There are tons of people who would love to have just one deodorant so keep what you will use in a few months and then donate the rest if you can get them for FREE or cheap.

Please note that these are my personal opinions.  Yours may differ and that is fine.  I respect your opinion as yours and ask that you respect mine as mine.

So what do you think?  I would love to hear your opinions on this issue!

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