I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying time with your family!

The new year will bring many resolutions, and one of mine will be to save even more money and also to keep track of my savings!  If I had to guess, in 2011 I probably saved over $4500… just a rough estimate.

What are your savings resolutions for the new year?

If anyone needs help jump-starting their couponing, please let me know as I’ll be happy to help you get started saving to fulfill your savings resolutions!

Thanks to all of my visitors!

Make sure to check out Saved By The Sale on Facebook and Twitter!

Well, it’s the 1st of November, which means Black Friday is quickly approaching!  I am so excited I can barely stand it! (as usual)

Every year, I make a game plan consisting of the following:  (start making yours now!)

• Which stores I will go to
• What time each store opens
• What items I will buy at each store
• Map or written directions on where each item is in the store

I’m also “crazy” and don’t go to sleep Thanksgiving night so that I can get to a store and stand in line!

I’ll be updating you on all of the store’s Black Friday ads, opening times, and best deals as I find them!

Click here for more Black Friday deals!

Make sure to check out Saved By The Sale on Facebook and Twitter!

I noticed a clearance cart up by the register, which had the Ritz single sleeve packs marked down to $.50, so I grabbed one of those and looked around the store to see if there were any good deals I was missing.  (They also had Oreo single sleeve packages for $.50, and CVS brand frosted flakes for $.25, so check your store’s clearance section!)

I’m glad I wandered the store because this is what I found…

Click to enlarge

Check for these in your store…

• Prevacid 28ct. Rebate Form (makes it FREE) – Found mine near the newspapers and magazines in the front of the store.
• $1 off Almay Cosmetic – Found mine in the cosmetic section on a small cardboard display, on a shelf, with featured Almay products.

• $2 off Revlon Age Defying Makeup
• $1 off Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara
• $1 off Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel (This should make for super cheap nail polish on clearance at Target!)
  (I found all of the Revlon coupons on a cardboard display that was about 5 feet tall and in the middle of my store… you won’t be able to miss it if your store has one.  It had 3 tearpads on it, with the 3 coupons I listed.)

Remember your coupon etiquette with tearpads, and leave some for the next person! 

Make sure to check out Saved By The Sale on Facebook and Twitter!

Tonight is the premier of the new season of Extreme Couponing on TLC!  The show will air on Wednesday nights at 9:00pm Central Time.

Show Description

In case you haven’t caught Extreme Couponing in the past, here is the show description from TLC’s website:

Extreme Couponing follows savvy shoppers as they plan and plot their way to unbelievable savings.

Witness amazing shopping skills and shocking stockpiles of merchandise, as everyday people go to extremes in pursuit of extraordinary deals.

Controversy & My Opinion

There has been a lot of controversy from veteran couponers about the show being a little too “extreme.”  My opinion is that is shows how much can truly be saved by the use of shopping strategies and coupons.  It shows the “non-couponers” how much money can truly be saved through the use of sale research and coupons. (True, no one NEEDS 2,715 boxes of cereal, BUT you might need to stock up on 10, 20, or 50 if your family goes through a box a day and it’s at an incredible price with coupons.)

Welcome

To anyone that has just started couponing or is just starting because of the show Extreme Couponing, WELCOME!  I would recommend that you check out my How to Coupon page, and also browse through the Couponing Tips that I have blogged about.  Let me know if you have any questions; I’ll be happy to guide anyone through beginning (or advanced) couponing!

Extreme Couponing Games & Quizzes

Here are a few fun things you can do on the Extreme Couponing Web Page!  (Great for lunch-break boredom! )

• Coupon Challenge Game – See how fast you can match your coupons to the products at the checkout!
• Grocery Prices Quiz – Do you know the prices of basic grocery items? (I failed at this… so used to knowing only what I will pay after a sale and coupon, not the retail price!!)
• Casting Call – Think you’re an extreme couponer?  Apply to be on the show!

Organizing Coupons

There are many different ways that people organize their coupons; you have to choose what works best for you.  Here are my suggestions…

• Option 1:  Clip every coupon from the weekly inserts.  Then, you can file them alphabetically or by category in a small coupon accordion for your purse or a binder with baseball card clear inserts.
• Option 2:  Do not clip any coupons, but instead keep entire coupon inserts each week.  (This works best for me.)  Then, when you are looking for the best deals of the week you can check my blog or other deal sites you go to and see which coupon inserts the coupons you need to pull are located.  You can keep your inserts in a binder or an accordion file.
• What I Do:  I have a large zip binder where I keep my coupons.  In one section I have the coupons that I have printed out, and coupons I have received in the mail, organized alphabetically in baseball insert sleeves.  In the next section, I have clear sheet protector sleeves where I put each weeks coupon inserts by date and insert type.

How do you organize your coupons?  Head over to the Saved By The Sale Facebook Page to take the poll!

If a store is out of the sale item that you wanted, ask for a rain check!!

• A rain check is simply a voucher for the particular item you wanted at the SALE PRICE!!!
• It happens to all of us that we get to the store with a great shopping list, and they are out of 3 products we NEEDED!!!  This is why you should always request a rain check for the items you missed out on that week.
• At drug stores, the cashier can issue a rain check.  At grocery stores, you’ll need to go to customer service to request your rain check.
• These are the stores that I have personally received and redeemed rain checks for: CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Publix, Kroger.
• CVS and Walgreens rain checks NEVER expire.
• Publix, Rite Aid, and Kroger rain checks expire 30 days after they are written.
• I always paper clip my rain check to a clipped picture from the ad and my coupon I plan to use.  This is not necessary, but it helps me stay organized and remember which sale item I missed.
• Make sure that you try to redeem your rain check before it expires, AND before your coupon expires!!

Visit my How to Coupon page for my crash course in how to coupon!

Learn to organize coupons, stack coupons, and optimize your savings!

Let me know if you have any questions; I’ll be happy to help!

Welcome to Saved by the Sale!

Here are some of the things you can expect on my site:

• How to Coupon
• Where to Find Coupons
• Downloadable Files – To help organize your shopping lists and your savings
• Grocery Store Deals and Sale Strategies
• Drug Store Deals and Coupon Strategies
• Deal Alerts – For freebies, samples, and new printable coupons

If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to help!  Contact Me

* Christine *