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Once you have been couponing for awhile and working towards your stockpile, you might find yourself burning out or getting overwhelmed. It is perfectly ok to take a break from time to time. I take a break 3-4 times a year and when I get back to it, I'm more refreshed and get more excited over the deals.
It is very easy to get caught up in the craziness of online coupons so I recommend only printing those you will actually use. Here are a few websites I use for online coupons.
Cellfire - Online coupons that link directly to your Kroger card (Dillons for the local readers) - no printing necessary.
Shortcuts - Another online company that links directly to your Kroger card (Dillons for the local readers) - no printing necessary.
Grocery store website - check your local grocery store's website as many have online coupons to print or download to your rewards card.
Coupons.com 
- you can always print coupons from this site directly from the sidebar on this blog.
Website of your favorite products - many of your favorite products have coupons directly on their website.
There are plenty more places to find coupons online but remember, I'm trying to show you how to save money on groceries without making it overwhelming. As you get the hang of this, you can easily add more sites to your list.
Couponing can seem like a foreign language at first but with time it does get easier. To make this language easier on you, today I'm posting some of the more common abbreviations.
SS - Smart Source (coupon insert)
RP - Red Plum (coupon insert)
PG - Procter & Gamble
GM - General Mills
WYB - when you buy (ex. wyb 4 items, this is the price per item)
OYNO - on your next order
Blinkie - coupon boxes located throughout the store that dispense coupons
BOGO - buy one, get one
Catalina - coupon that prints out at the register
ECB - Extra Care Bucks from CVS
Register Rewards - coupons that print at the register at Walgreens and are to be treated like cash on your next visit
There are literally hundreds more but these are the most common ones. If there is an abbreviation you would like to know, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email.
Stay tuned as next week I will discuss online coupons.
By now you are probably wondering where you are going to store all of these groceries you are buying for your stockpile. Some of you have huge pantries and can store items there but not everyone has that luxury. If you get creative, you can easily find places to store your items though.
Garage. We do not have a pantry in our house and use just a few cabinets to store our items in, therefore my stockpile is stored in the garage. I happen to have a pantry cabinet in the garage as I already owned it from my days of apartment life. We recently added a set of storage shelves too where a few shelves are for stockpiling and the rest of the unit is for my gardening supplies.
Closet. Look in your closets and you can probably find some extra room either in the floor or on a top shelf. Bathroom closets are also great for your toiletry stockpile.
Under the bed. Buy some under the bed boxes and store your stockpile under your bed. If you need more room, get some risers (like the ones college students use) and lift your bed a bit off the ground.
Plastic bins. When all else fails, buy some plastic bins or boxes, fill them and store in random places around the house. In tight places you can even throw a sheet or tablecloth over the box and use it as a nightstand or side table.
Where do you store your stockpile? I would love to hear any creative ideas you have.
The way to save money with groceries is to buy ahead when items are on sale instead of waiting until you actually need them and paying full price. Sales tend to cycle every 12 weeks so the rule of thumb is to buy enough to last you 12 weeks. It takes trial and error over time to know how much to buy but do not let that stress you out.
When creating your stockpile, do not go overboard. Simply buy what you need each week and then as your budget allows, pick up a few of the items that are at rock bottom prices. Over time, you will be buying less and less needed items and more and more for your stockpile as your stockpile will be full of items you use often.
Stay tuned next week for when I discuss where to store your stockpile.
This is the second post in a series about the basics of couponing and saving money. I've decided to title the series Back to the Basics.
I hear from people often that they do not have time to shop for sales because they will have to go to way too many stores. Here is a little secret I have for you...I rarely shop at more than 1-2 stores a week.
The best grocery store for sales in my area is Dillons (part of the Kroger family). I've noticed that most of their sales run at least two weeks. In the past few months, I've been hitting that sale on the first week. The next week, I do a quick run to Price Cutter as it is just up the street. I get the basics and any great sales they have. I've cut my grocery budget by about 25% simply by switching to this method instead of shopping Dillons every single week.
As for other stores, I rarely look at the sales unless I know my stockpile is getting low. I usually wind up going to Walgreens or Target one to two times a month for great deals on toothpaste, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc but I do not hit every sale at every store each week. It would be exhausting to do this.
When you are just starting out, start with one store and get the hang of it before adding another.
My favorite blogs to read to get the great deal matchups are:
Money Saving Mom -
features matchups for most national stores
I Heart Coupon Deals - local blogger with Dillons matchups
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