For many years, we have been a one income home. Where I have always had some side hustles going on to make extra money, becoming a full-time blogger did not happen until well after the girls were all in school.
Making such a small budget work for a family of five, then to a family of six, took some real dedication and learning to coupon.
Couponing allowed our family to have a pantry and cabinet stocked full of name brand products, for a fraction of the cost of the dollar store!
Using coupons to save money
Learning to coupon does take some time, but man is it worth it! Luckily, I had an amazing friend show me the ropes of couponing.
Growing up, we did not use name brands at all. VO5 was the shampoo that we used, and generic was the way to go in our tiny Southern town. So you can imagine how shocked I was to find I could buy brands like Pantene, Tide, and Huggies from any where from fifty cents an item to even being paid to buy them!
How can I save money using coupons?
I’m sure by now you are wondering just how this works. The easiest way to get started is honestly by following a great deal site that breaks down store coupon policies and current deals. Laura over at MoJo Savings offers all of that and more.
I absolutely love how she not only shows you current deals but breaks down just how coupons work at stores like Walmart and Target. Each store has slightly different rules on how coupons can be applied, so it’s extremely important to know these before heading off with your coupons!
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Knowing the Store Coupon Policy
For example, Target’s coupon policy allows for a manufacture coupon to be used with a store coupon and use your red card savings on top of it! Yes, that means you can get extreme savings and sometimes name brand products for free! I’ve even had quite a few times where I have paid nothing but the tax on the items and then received a $5 or $10 gift card to use towards future target purchases. Now that’s way more savings than I could ever see at the dollar store lol!
Walmart’s coupon policy is quite different, but they have a unique policy that I have not seen anywhere else! Though Walmart does not have store coupons, they have some amazing prices on products. When you combine roll back and sale prices with some high dollar coupons, you’re talking free product but that’s not all. Say you have a coupon for $4 off a Maybelline Eye Shadow but the eye shadow costs $2.99. As long as the product is the same as the coupon, they will apply the full $4 off. That means the additional $1.01 is applied to other items in your cart. Crazy, right?!
Diapers for $3 a pack!
Another favorite place of mine to shop for some amazing deals is CVS. By time little man came along, I knew how to coupon at major retailers and pharmacies. I used that knowledge and following deals sites to get his diapers for next to nothing. By shopping at CVS with coupons and their store reward coupons, the most I ever paid for a pack of diapers was $3.
Using Coupons to Save Money
As you can see, the savings are worth the effort when it comes to couponing. Following a great deal site makes using coupons to save money a breeze! This is my personal secret for how to afford a large family on a very small budget and now it’s your secret too!
