Coupon preview for 8/20/10

Click here for a preview of what inserts SHOULD be in the 8-29-10 edition of the Times Picayune. There should be 3 inserts, a RedPlum, a smartSource & a P&G so this week is a good week to buy extra papers to stckpile.

Happy couponing.

When to stock up

Thanks to The Krazy Coupon Lady for this comprehensive list of products. This is a great reference to use for when you want to know when to stock up or when something is going to go on sale. Now....some things vary by region. (Example we have Mardi Gras so there are usually sales that time for things like red beans, rice, zatarins mixes, etc) When these things are about to go on sale you MUST get your paper for your coupons. If its full of things your family uses regularly & you have room for it AND it won't go bad consider buying multiple papers & stockpiling. I have room for a few things but not everything so I pick what I can store. I will not be one of these people whose house looks like Wal-mart threw up in their home. Hope this list helps.

January: Oatmeal, diet foods, Superbowl Sunday items (chips, drinks, snacks), oranges, pears, carrots, spinach, Christmas items, cold medicine & vitamins

February: National Canned food month, national hot breakfast month, valentines candy, Chinese new year, potatoes, carrots, spinach.

March: Frozen food month, lemons, limes

April: Easter items, ham, eggs, some baking supplies, chocolate, Earth day, organic foods, energy saver items, beets, cabbages, mushrooms. Stock up after Easter on clearance items.

May: Memorial Day, BBQ Items, paper products, insect repellent, sunscreen, Cinco De Mayo, salsa

June: National Dairy Month, (sometime a free milk catalina wyb 3 or 4 cereals), end of June is gearing up for 4th of July, blackberries

July- 4th of July items, national ice cream month, blueberries, 4th of July clearance items

Aug. Back to school items, school lunch items, office supplies, apples, plums

September: Back to School sales, Labor Day items, BBQ & summer clearance, diabetes awareness, oranges, grapes

October: Halloween candy, start of baking supplies, adopt a shelter dog month, dog food, Halloween clearance

November: Baking items, canned foods, pears, end of the month Thanksgiving decorations

December: holiday dinner food, baking supplies, canned food.


This is just a guide....not a complete list. Good luck.

Coupons

For some of my friends who are new to coupons I thought I would write a post of coupon terms so you can get familiar with them.


Learning coupon lingo
Sunday inserts (in my region) usually have 1 or more of the following
P&G-Procter & Gamble (usually once a month or less)
RP- RedPlum
SS- Smart Source

Terms
WYB-When You Buy
IPQ- Internet Printable Coupon
$1/1, $1/2- $1 off one item, $1 off 2 items
2/$1, 3/$2, etc. Two items for a dollar, 3 items for $2
BOGO: Buy One Get One
B2GO: Buy 2 Get one
Blinkies: In store coupon dispensers with blinking lights
Cat: Catalinas (they print out at the register w/ your receipts)
FAR: free After Rebate
MFR: Manufacturer
MIR: Mail in Rebate
OYNO: On Your Next Order
OOP: Out of Pocket
PSA: Prices starting At
UPC: Bar code
Tear pad: A pad of coupons that you tear off
Peelie: A coupon stuck on your product that you peel off

Now....some great places to get coupons are not only smartsource.com or redplum.com but the manufacturer's website. So.....like a particular cereal.....check out the website. I know Bettycrocker.com has great coupons. Do you Twitter? Follow your favorite brands as they often tweet about upcoming deals & sales. Same goes for facebook.
Some great blogs are coupongeek.com, moneysavingmom.com, commonsensewithmoney.com. Google for more.

I hope this helps some of you new to couponing.

Must Read

So I just got finished reading on of the best laugh out loud books I have read in quite some time. It was to cute. The Tile of the book is "Bitter is the New Black" by Jen Lancaster. She also has a hilarious blog that I highly recommend.

I think that if you are over the age of 25 you will enjoy this book. If you read it let me know what you think. I am going straight to the library to check out her other 2 books.

Attack of the green snot

My poor baby woke up this morning with a bad case of the green snot. I think its allergies but it could be a little head cold. Either way its not fun when a child is sick.

So I told B she had to take medicine. Now, this is the child that cries to take medicine when her sister takes it. So I thought I had a brilliant idea to give her a little water in a medicine cup when I gave it to her sister. My thought behind this was she would not have an aversion to taking medicine & when it was time for actual medicine to be taken it would be a breeze. Well....it was a good theory.....in real life not so much. So I resorted to putting her medicine in her sippy cup with some juice.

Yes....I am a bad mother. With the first child I would force it. Now I am to old to wrestle a small child who is amazingly strong when it comes to not taking medicine so I resort to hiding it.

My name is Angel & I'm a bad mother.....now looking for a 12 step meeting to attend.

My love hate relationship with Menu planning

Ok....I menu plan. Now I've said it & most of my friends will either look at me as if I am some weird Martha wanna be or that my anal retentiveness has been kicked up another notch. Or maybe both. I hate to menu plan but I do it b/c it saves money, helps me grocery shop & saves money in the long run. Now...I am not a menu Nazi. Sometimes life gets in the way. Sometimes stores have coupons or sales which change my plans or sometimes I get sick & the hubs is gone & I let the kids eat cereal or raman noodles.



I like to have pretty much the same thing every week. (Stew on Sundays, spaghetti on Wed, etc) Its usually b/c of how my week goes. We have a church function on Wednesday nights so I can make the spaghetti sauce in the morning. I just make it fit my life.



Now the hate part. I really hate having my life dictated to me but....I really like only really having to think about dinner once a month. I love that I can look at my list in the morning & know that everything I need is right there. No last minute trips to the grocery.



I hate those trips. I go in for one or two things & walk out $100 poorer. So I menu plan & I coupon & you can think I am weird that's ok. I still like you...lol.

Privacy

My husband & I have been married almost 10 years. That is a lot by today's standards. We have been together 12 years & have 2 girls ages 11 & almost 3. Here's the deal....I have NO privacy.

My husband works offshore so he is only home half of the year so he isn't so bad. Its the little ones. Every time I go to the bathroom somebody walks in. I have to wait till the oldest is in school & its the little ones nap time before I can go potty alone. I also love the announcement from my youngest that it stinks. She comes in & says "Mommy stinky." When I tell her to get out her reply "No I sit here" & she perches on the step leading up to the tub. *Sigh* But when its her turn she tells me to get out. Which by the way I do.

The oldest too does not understand the concept of a closed door. And she want to have a conversation between the closed door. Oh for Pete's sake leave me alone. And I don't even want to talk about showers. I usually wait till 10:30 or 11pm to shower when the husband is gone so I can shower in peace.

And don't expect me to answer my cell in there either. That's my time. Leave a message & I'll get back to you. Nothing is that important. It bothers me when people get annoyed that I don;t answer it. Hello people....can't a girl do her thing in peace????