My couponing answers

I've had some people ask me to share with them how I do my couponing. I'm not an expert in any way and am still learning the ropes. My mom could probably tell you more than I could!
But I'm more then happy to lead you to some of the sources where I've learned my way into couponing.

First:
I follow WAY TOO MANY blogs! That's the main thing. I follow WAY TO MANY Facebook fan pages! And I get WAY TOO MANY emails. But in order to find those deals that I could never do on my own, I subscribe, fan, like, what ever, to help save money. These ladies/websites/blogs do their job WONDERFULLY! and can help you save the hassle! Just scroll down and to the left you will find "Other places where I hang out." That is my blog roll and those blogs are some of the best blogs to follow for couponing and finding freebies. Some of my favorites are The Krazy Coupon Lady, Deal Finding Chik, and for the NE Wisconsin people, go to Spend Freely to find some local deals! :) There are just so many to name. Couponmom.com is a GREAT source. It's probably the most basic. She posts the deals of the week for the Super stores and pharmacys, and matches up the coupons for you to use that week. The layout is easy and simple for beginners. Coupons.com is the main source of my online coupons. You can even click on the link from my blog!

Second:
You do have to familiarize yourself with the coupon lingo. All the websites have a coupon 101 page for you to study. It's not hard! Plus if you have a question, they are open to comments.

Thirdly:
Another thing is that it does take some time and effort if you really want to save some $. But once you get into the groove of things, it comes pretty easily. It's so worth the time when you see that receipt with a savings of over 80% at the end of the transaction! You feel as if you could skip like a little school girl right out the store! (ahem) anyways...

My couponing is pretty basic, and yes I'm still learning. I haven't branched out to too many stores yet. I've been hitting up Meijer for the most part. And Target if it's cheap CHEAP!
What I do is buy the Sunday newspaper. You need to look around and see which one has the best coupon insterts. (You'd be suprised at how different the insterts are by region. My mother lives in NE WI and bought a Chicago Tribune and it was LOADED with coupons compaired to the Green Bay Press.) It took me a couple weeks to find the best one. The local paper here in Midland doesn't have the greatest inserts. So the neighbor lady saves those for me and I buy the Detroit paper every Sunday. Ask friends and family to save their inserts if they don't use them.I don't buy multiple papers. Some people buy 6 at a time so that when something goes on sale, with the coupon, it's a great stock up item! I just don't have the space. So 3-4 coupon inserts have been enough for my family.
Once I get a paper I pick up a store ad for that week. I don't really spend much time looking at it because I know my trusty bloggie friends have done their homework. So I click on my blog list or bookmarks on my web browser, or search for (ex.) "Meijer coupon matchups 5/16." I like to use google blog search at the beginning of the week to find some great resources.
These blogger friends will tell you the sales for the week, what coupons to use, and where to find them. I like simplicity and appreciate what these gals have done for us!
That's about it. Like I said, I'm not much of an expert. I just follow some blogs, buy Sunday papers, and TRY to shop once a week with coupons!
If you'd like a much simpler layout on saving with coupons, just read this: Coupon 101: Getting started I've babbled too much!

Feel free to share how you save money with coupons! Come back for more as I will try to post any freebies and deals that I come across! Thanks!