Extreme Couponing Education: Focus on Personal Care Products

 

Because they don’t tell you everything on reality television we are here to reveal the secrets of Extreme Couponing. TLC’s Extreme Couponing is really not about education it is more about entertainment. Our goal is to educate you and empower you to save money for your family.

We have been talking about how one of the myths of couponing is that coupons are only for processed foods, junk food or food my family does not eat. I also told you we were featured in the New York Times Magazine and many of the people writing in the comments accused us of only eating  junk foods. All of this brought me to the conclusion that some people just need to be educated in the way we save money and still eat healthy. This week I am going to talk about another way you can coupon and still eat healthy, don’t focus on food.

Maybe couponing for food is overwhelming to you? Maybe you like to only eat organic foods? (We have a coupon for that!) Organic food coupons. Maybe you are on a gluten free diet? (We have a post coming for Gluten Free Coupons). Maybe you have food allergies and don’t have many food options? DO NOT FOCUS ON FOOD!

Focus on Personal Care Products

Price Point - You can get many personal care products to free! Yes FREE! See that picture above? Those are all products that I got for free using coupons. I did not get them all in one shopping trip. I did it one week at a time. You are not going to be able to get all your personal care products for free so it is important to know the right price points. Knowing the price points helps you know when you should wait for a product to be free and keeps you from paying too much for a product that you can typically get for less.

Shop the Drug stores – The main place to focus if you are after personal care products are the drug stores. So check the site for  CVS coupon deals, Walgreens coupon deals, and Rite Aid coupon deals.

Build a Stockpile – When you can get a good price on a personal care product buy a few of them. No need to clear the shelves. Just get enough to last for 3-6 months, which probably won’t be much. Personal care products tend to last for a long time. Much longer than food does.

Take a Break - The nice thing about personal care products is that once you have 10 tubes of toothpaste you really do not need anymore. So you can STOP stockpiling toothpaste for more than a year! Once you have built up a little stockpile of personal care products feel free to take a break and just use the products you already have.

Maintenance Mode – When I first started couponing I hit the drug stores once a week or once every two weeks slowly building up my stockpile. I did this for less than a year before I found that I had a well rounded stockpile of products and I did not need to buy any more. So I went into maintenance mode. Now I just buy a few things here and there when my stockpile gets low. For example when my toothpaste gets down to 3 tubes I keep an eye out for a free toothpaste deal.

 

Learn more about eating healthy and still saving money!

Look for the following topics…

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Extreme Couponing Education: Don’t Be Brand Specific

Because they don’t tell you everything on reality television we are here to reveal the secrets of Extreme Couponing. TLC’s Extreme Couponing is really not about education it is more about entertainment. Our goal is to educate you and empower you to save money for your family.


We have been talking about how one of the myths of couponing is that coupons are only for processed foods, junk food or food my family does not eat. I also told you we were featured in the New York Times Magazine and many of the people writing in the comments accused us of only eating junk foods. All of this brought me to the conclusion that some people just need to be educated in the way we save money on food and still eat healthy. This week I am going to talk about how part of the secret to eating healthy and using coupons is to be willing to try new brands.

Don’t Be Brand Specific

Say good-bye to loyalties: Before I learned how to really use coupons effectively I bought mostly generic products. I did not care if my green beans were green giant or store brand. To me green beans are green beans it does not matter what the label says. So it was easy for my to forget brand loyalty when I started to coupon because I did not really have many brand loyalties.

Don’t pass up stock-up prices: If you want to get the bottom line lowest prices on food you have to be willing to try new brands. Your favorite brands are not always going to be what is on sale.

You might find a new favorite: When you are willing to try new brands you not only save more money but sometimes you find a new favorite. One time I bought some Pillsbury Mini Brownies for $0.25 a box because they were on a good sale. The brownies did not call for eggs or oil only water, so I was not sure they would be good. It turns out they were good and because they did not call for anything extra they did not cost me any more money to make them. They also came with disposable trays to bake in so I did not have to wash any pans. So in this case trying something new turned out to be something  we liked.

Learn more about our discussion on eating healthy and still saving money! Look forward to the following. Here are the other topics…

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Buying Meat for Less { Extreme Couponing Education }

Because they don’t tell you everything on reality television we are here to reveal the secrets of Extreme Couponing. TLC’s Extreme Couponing is really not about education it is more about entertainment. Our goal is to educate you and empower you to save money for your family.

We have been talking about how one of the myths of couponing is that coupons are only for processed foods, junk food or food my family does not eat. I also told you we were featured in the New York Times Magazine and many of the people writing in the comments accused us of only eating junk foods. All of this brought me to the conclusion that some people just need to be educated in the way we save money on food and still eat healthy. This week I am going to talk about how we buy our meat for less.

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Buying Meat for Less

There are 4 key ingredients to saving money on meat. First you have to know your price points, second you have to find a sale, third you must stock-up and fourth you must preserve your meat.

Price Points

You have to know your price points if you are going to save money on meat. Refuse to pay more than a certain set good price. For example I will not pay more than $1.99 for boneless skinless chicken breast, and I do not stock up on it until it is $1.88 or less.

Find a Sale

I know that my grocery store will have a sale on chicken at least once every 6 weeks. So I wait for that sale. I also buy from Zaycon because they generally can bring chicken in for a lower price than my grocery store. The other nice thing about Zaycon is there meat is fabulous. Zaycon chicken is never frozen and comes fresh from the farm. HOT READER TIP: Find out when you local store marks down their meat, then buy it when it is marked down.

Stock-up

At my grocery store I will buy enough chicken to last until the next sale so that I do not ever have to pay full price again. Sale cycles on meat run at least every 6 weeks. (Learn more about Sale Cycles).  When Zaycon comes to town I buy at least a 40 lb box, sometimes I buy 3 boxes and split them in half with a friend so I will have 60 lbs of chicken. I have found that 60 lbs of chicken can last my family of four 6 months.

Preserving Meat

Freeze Your Meat - If you buy enough meat to last 6 weeks or 6 months it will certainly spoil in your fridge. So we recommend freezing it. Freezing meat will keep it fresh for a long time. Check out the recommendation for Safe Freezing Time.

Preparing for Freezing – When I buy meat from my grocery store meat counter I typically have the butcher package my meat in dinner portions. For my family of four I typically cook with about 1 lb of meat. So I ask for 1 lb packages of meat. When I buy from Zaycon I package my meat myself. Check out my video that shows you how to prepare meat for freezing.

Tools for Freezing Meat – When I freeze meat I use ziploc freezer bags or my Foodsaver. The more air you can get out when freezing your meat the more you are protected from freezer burn. I love my Foodsaver because it gets all of the air out, and my meat stays fresher longer.

Canning Meat – Canning meat is also an option. I have never tried it myself, but I have heard that this is a fantastic book here if you want to learn to can meat. The nice thing about canning is that you do not have to worry about losing your meat if the power goes out and the freezer thaws.

Dehydrating Meat – I love my  food dehydrator. Dehydrating meat is a great way to make jerky. Check out our video tutorial on how to make homemade jerky.

More Tips for Freezing

 Bonus Coupon Tip

When couponing if you are earning catalinas it is a great idea to use your catalinas to help you buy meat. Be sure you are still getting a good price though.

Learn more about eating healthy and still saving money!

Look for the following topics…

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Preserving Produce { Extreme Couponing Education }

Because they don’t tell you everything on reality television we are here to reveal the secrets of Extreme Couponing. TLC’s Extreme Couponing is really not about education it is more about entertainment. Our goal is to educate you and empower you to save money for your family.

We have been talking about how one of the myths of couponing is that coupons are only for processed foods, junk food or food my family does not eat. I also told you we were featured in the New York Times Magazine and many of the people writing in the comments accused us of only eating junk foods. All of this brought me to the conclusion that some people just need to be educated in the way we save money on food and still eat healthy. Last week we talked about 5 Easy Ways To Prepare or Preserve Produce. This week I am going to talk some more about how we prepare and preserve the produce that we buy.

 More Ideas for Preserving Produce

Canning Produce – When you can foods they can last for years on your shelf and you do not have to worry about the power going out and your freezer thawing. I have done some canning in my life, but I do not consider myself and expert. Some of the other fabfrugals are expert canners and will be sharing their canning secrets with you later in the summer. I am going to share my apricot canning with you. It is so easy. Learn more from the  Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving book.

Make Freezer Jam – Freezer jam is so easy to make. No cooking or hot stove involved. Jam is a wonderful way to preserve your produce. Your family will thank you for it. Plus it tastes so much better that the store bought jam!

Make Bottled Jam – Canning Jam takes more time and patience, but it can last much longer than freezer jam and does not take up freezer space.

Freezing Produce –  Freezing produce is so easy. I have been doing it forever. In the last few years I discovered that with a foodsaver your food lasts much longer and avoids freezer burn.

Learn more about eating healthy and still saving money!

Look for the following topics…

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Easy Ways to Preserve and Prepare Produce {Extreme Couponing Education}

Because they don’t tell you everything on reality television we are here to reveal the secrets of Extreme Couponing. TLC’s Extreme Couponing is really not about education it is more about entertainment. Our goal is to educate you and empower you to save money for your family.

We have been talking about how one of the myths of couponing is that coupons are only for processed foods, junk food or food my family does not eat. I also told you we were featured in the New York Times Magazine and many of the people writing in the comments accused us of only eating junk foods. All of this brought me to the conclusion that some people just need to be educated in the way we save money on food and still eat healthy. This week I am going to talk about how we prepare and preserve the produce that we buy.

Preserving and Preparing Produce

I do not want you to be overwhelmed with the task of preserving or using your fruit when you get it on a good sale, or when it takes over your garden. I used to feel like I was not domestic enough to can and make jam so I did not have many options besides my freezer for preserving my produce. I have listed 5 easy ways to use your produce that do not take much time at all!

5 Easy Ways to Preserve Produce

1. Eat it fresh -

We love to eat produce fresh for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. If you can not eat all of your produce that way we have some more easy options.

 

2. Make Fruit Leather -

I am in love with my food dehydrator. My kids and husband love it when I make fruit rolls. My fruit roll recipe is so easy to follow and does not take very much time at all. My kids and I used to love to eat store bought Fruit Roll ups. I have been able to get them free with coupons in the past. I started to notice that the artificial colors were turning my kids poop green. That just does not seem right to me. I was also discovering that red dyes can contribute to children having a hard time focusing in school. For myself I found that I would get a headache from the sugar and additives any time I ate a store bought Fruit Roll Up.  When I make homemade fruit rolls I control the amount of sugar they have. In fact I do not even use sugar I use Xylitol or pineapple juice or honey. All the ingredients are simple and natural and the fruit rolls taste soooo good!

3. Dehydrating Food -

Did I say, I am in love with my food dehydrator? Dehydrating food is so easy. You can dehydrate only one tray if you are short on time or limited on food. Or you can dehydrate 10 trays at one time if you are really stocked up on produce. I find that when I have some fruit that is getting a little old on the counter and no one wants to eat it. I can dehydrate it and it will be gobbled up.

4. Fruit Smoothies -

My family loves fruit smoothies. All you need is a little juice, some fruit, a sweetener and ice! Three easy fruit smoothie recipes:

I never made smoothies until I got my Vitamix super blender! Now making smoothies is so easy.  Cathy loves the Blendtec super blender.

5. Homemade Fruit Popsicles -

I love feed my children real fruit popsicles.  I can control the sugar and I know they are getting real fruit. I usually just make fruit popsicles with left over smoothies. You can get popsicle molds online. We have also had success making popsicles in old yogurt cups. We simply put the lid back over the top and pop a popsicle stick through the center.

Learn more about eating healthy and still saving money!

Look for the following topics…

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Eating Healthy and Saving Money { Extreme Couponing Education }

Because they don’t tell you everything on reality television we are here to reveal the secrets of Extreme Couponing. TLC’s Extreme Couponing is really not about education it is more about entertainment. Our goal is to educate you and empower you to save money for your family.

We have been talking about how one of the myths of couponing is that coupons are only for processed foods, junk food or food my family does not eat. I also told you we were featured in the New York Times Magazine and many of the people writing in the comments accused us of only eating junk foods. All of this brought me to the conclusion that some people just need to be educated in the way we save money on food and still eat healthy. This week I am going to talk about how you can eat healthy and still save money! You do not have to spend a lot of money to enjoy fresh produce.

Eating Healthy and Saving Money

Money may not grow on trees, but healthy food does!

Plant a Tree: When we moved into our first home we planted 3 fruit trees in the back yard. Two varieties of cherry trees so that they could cross pollinate with each other and a peach tree. We only paid about $10 each for them at Costco. We no longer live in that house, we rent it out. Lucky for us we can go back and pick cherries from it still. The second house we bought had two existing apricot trees. So we have fresh free apricots we can eat each summer.

Grow a Garden: We have been talking a lot about gardening on Fabulessly Frugal. Gardens are a wonderful way to get produce for less. Here are just a few of the gardening tips we have to offer…

Produce Sales: When we can get a good price on something we stock up on it. If we find a good price for diapers we buy 3-4 boxes instead of one. When we can get a good price on Deodorant we buy more than one. We buy our produce when it is in season. When you can get good prices on produce it is time to stock up! See our price point guide it has guidelines for good prices for produce. Typically the produce I buy each week is the produce that is on sale. I check my stores add and buy the produce that is on sale.

Local Growers: Some of you may have access to orchards or gardens where you can pick or glean your own produce for hugely discounted prices and sometimes even for free.

Bonus Coupon Tip

When couponing if you are earning catalinas it is a great idea to use your catalina’s to help you buy produce. Be sure you are still getting a good price though.

Learn more about eating healthy and still saving money!

Look forward to the following topics…

Next week we are going to talk about what you do with your produce when you find a stock up price. Great tips for using produce and preserving produce.
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Extreme Coupon Education: Eating Organic with Coupons

Because they don’t tell you everything on reality television we are here to reveal the secrets of Extreme Couponing. TLC’s Extreme Couponing is really not about education it is more about entertainment. Our goal is to educate you and empower you to save money for your family.

Last time I told you about how one of the myths of couponing is that coupons are only for processed foods, junk food or food my family does not eat. I also told you we were featured in the New York Times Magazine and many of the people writing in the comments accused us of only eating junk foods. All of this brought me to the conclusion that some people just need to be educated in the way we save money on food and still eat healthy. This week I am going to talk about how you can eat organic foods and still save money with coupons!

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Eating Organic Foods with Coupons

Coupons.com - Our favorite site to print coupons is Coupons.com . They often have coupons for organic brands like Muir Glen, Newman’s Own,  Seed’s of Change, Cascadian Farms, Snikiddy, and more.  They also offer coupons for milk. yogurt, cheese, organic agave nectar, organic sweeteners and Dole Salad blends. One secret I like to share in our coupon classes is that if you use zipcode 90210 on Coupons.com you can often find more coupons for organic brands.

Coupon Database – Our coupon database is a great resource for coupons. If you search the word organic you can find a huge list of organic coupons.

Facebook – Organic food manufacturers want people to buy their organic products just as much as other manufacturers. Think of your five favorite organic food companies and  go like them on facebook. Then see if they are offering any coupons.

Manufacturers - Organic manufacturers are a great source for organic coupons. Organic manufacturers will often offer organic coupons on their websites. You can also write to organic manufacturers and ask for coupons! This is also a good way to get high value coupons.

Vitacost – We absolutly love Vitacost.com! Vitacost has lots of organic and gluten free products. My favorite thing about vitacost is that when you sign up here, you get a $10 credit to use on anything on the site. If you tell your friends about them you can earn more $10 credits! See what I bought at Vitacost. Try vitacost for your organic food needs!

Amazon – You can find lots of organic products on amazon.com, including organic foods. Amazon carries organic foods from brands like Annie’s Homegrown, Raw Revolution, Pacific Natural Foods, HAPPY BABY, Bob’s Red Mill, Plum Organics and many more!  See a full list of organic products carried on >>>> Amazon.com. To save on organic products on amazon simply subscribe & save when you order. You will get a discount for subscribing. You can easily cancel your subscription at no charge, if you change your mind. You will still save money even if you cancel!

Gluten Free – If you are on a gluten free diet you can save money too. All of the idea I shared about organic products in the article can apply to Gluten Free. I even saw a coupon for Glutino on Coupons.com!

So this is just the beginning of our discussion about eating healthy and still saving money! Look forward to the following topics in the weeks to come…

More Coupon Education Resources:

 

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Extreme Coupon Education: Are Coupons Only for Junk Foods?

Because they don’t tell you everything on reality television we are here to reveal the secrets of Extreme Couponing. TLC’s Extreme Couponing is really not about education it is more about entertainment. Our goal is to educate you and empower you to save money for your family.

One of the myths of couponing is that coupons are only for processed foods, junk food or food my family does not eat. Even though some coupons are for processed foods that does not mean I buy them all. Just becasue I have a coupon for cookies does not mean I buy them.

When we were featured in the New York Times Magazine many of the people writing in the comments accused us of only eating junk foods. This was baffling to me because in the article it talks about how we bought milk, yogurt, tuna and pasta.  At first it really bothered me that people would say that we only eat junk food. They have not looked in my fridge, toured my pantry, or joined us for dinner. How can they accuse me and my friend of feeding our families poorly? But I quickly got over the hurt and bewilderment and realized that some people just need to be educated in the way we save money on food and still eat healthy.

I wrote a series of posts addressing the following topics to help you get the full picture of how we use coupons and sales to save money and eat healthy!

All of the posts in this series….

If you have any specific topics on the subject of Eating Healthy and Couponing, that you would like me to discuss, please leave a comment. We can discuss in the comments or I will write another article to answer the question. 

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Extreme Coupon Education: Don’t Miss Out Get A Rain Check

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Because they don’t tell you everything on reality television we are here to reveal the secrets of Extreme Couponing. TLC’s Extreme Couponing is really not about education it is more about entertainment. Our goal is to educate you and empower you to save money for your family.

One of the most disapponiting things when couponing is to find a cleared shelf, or just that your store has not ordered enough to sustain the sale. Don’t forget that most stores offer a rain check! With a rain check you can come back later the next week and get the sale price on the item when it is back in stock.  So do not feel like you missed out because you can still get the deal. Sometimes the deal can even get better with a rain check if a better coupon comes out or a new catalina is available.

Rain check policies for some of your favorite stores:

  • Abertsons rain checks are good for 30 days, and they won’t give you one on “Coupon required” sales (like get $.39 Tillamook yogurt with in store coupon)
  • Walgreens rain checks expire in 30 days, but they will not give you a rain check that includes the RR part of it.  Most limit it to 4 items.
  • Rite Aid does include the Ups+ on their rain checks (they write them right on the rain check)
  • Target rain checks are good for 30 days, but they won’t do them on most advertised prices, they’ll usually offer an immediate “other option” instead.
  • CVS offers rain checks on non-seasonal/non regularly stocked items.  There is no expiration date on the rain check (but you must buy the entire quantity you requested when you got the rain check if they are in stock), you can’t split it up into multiple transactions.
  • Walmart Does not offer rain checks because they do not have many advertised sales.
  • Fred Meyer rain checks are even good on store coupons.
What information do you have about your local stores rain checks. We can add it to the list! 

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Extreme Couponing Education: Two Free with BOGO!

Because they don’t tell you everything on reality television we are here to reveal the secrets of Extreme Couponing. TLC’s Extreme Couponing is really not about education it is more about entertainment. Our goal is to educate you and empower you to save money for your family.

Did you know that you can get two items for free if you combine a BOGO sale with BOGO coupon for the same two items? Keep in mind, not all stores honor this coupon method, but both Albertsons and Walgreens have it as part of their coupons policies. So you may need to check your stores policies before you do it.

If your head is spinning trying to figure out how this two items free with a BOGO works watch this short video to learn more about Buy One Get One Free Coupons.

You can learn all the secrets of successful couponing in our coupon class!  And lucky you… we have it on DVD!

Use coupon code: MONICA

and get the DVD for only $17.00 plus shipping.  We guarantee you’ll save that much money your first week of shopping after you’ve implemented the tools we teach on our DVD!

–>Click here to buy the DVD now!<–

Now you can go get free razors at Albertsons, with this BOGO promo that lasts through the end of the month!!!

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