Frugal 101: Meal Planning

This is another installment in my new series, Frugal 101. You can catch up on previous topics here.

{Given to me by my Aunt Nita. Isn't it adorable?}

When you think of meal planning, what does that term mean to you? Does it make you cringe or light up with joy? For me, meal planning is a part of my weekly routine where I sit down and plan out my family dinners based around what's on sale this week. Here are a few reasons why I love meal planning.

1. It is a simple way to reduce my grocery budget. The most expensive part of a meal starts with the meat. If I randomly select what meals we would like to eat it is almost guaranteed that particular meat is going to be on sale. Instead, I start by opening up the sales flyer and making a list of meals I would like to cook that correspond with the meats on sale this week. I then plan complementary side dishes based on the produce sale items.

2. It saves us from eating out. My trusty list helps me to plan ahead and know exactly how much prep time is needed and if I need to thaw out any ingredients in advance. If I waited until dinner time to pick what we are having, I'm more likely to decide it's too much of a hassle. On busy days, I try to plan crockpot meals so that dinner is waiting on me when I get home rather than the other way around.

3. It helps reduce chaos. This kind of goes with #2 but I love anything to do with planning. I like to consider myself a proactive person. I've learned that it takes twice as long and three times as much $$ to react to any given situation so I like to stay ahead of the game. If I have a list pinned up neatly on my refrigerator then I know exactly what lies ahead of me. It honestly makes our weeks so much easier.

4. It's quick and easy. Seriously, meal planning doesn't take long at all. I sit down with my calendar, a pen/notepad, and the sales ads. Most of the time, I end up doing this standing at my kitchen counter. My typical meal planning session takes less than 10 minutes (sometimes less than 5) and goes a little something like this.

• I consult my calendar and mark off any days that we have other plans at dinner time (i.e. School Pasta Dinner Fundraiser, Church Social, ect.)
• I look for days that we have a lot going on and consider crockpot meals or previously cooked freezer meals for those nights.
• I quickly glance over the sales ads and look for good deals on meat and produce. I put those on my shopping list.
  
• I fill in the remaining days with meals that include those sale items as the main ingredients.

For example, let's say that chicken breasts, pot roast, broccoli, potatoes and celery are on sale this week. My meal plans might look like this:

Monday: Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice

Tuesday: Pot Roast with Carrots and Potatoes (CrockPot)

Wednesday: Buffalo Chicken Soup (includes Celery)

Thursday: Beef BBQ sandwiches (left over Pot Roast)

Friday: Loaded Potato Soup

Saturday: Dinner with In-Laws

Sunday: Chicken Tortillas

See? There is plenty of variety there, it didn't take long and I am ready to go for the week. Come back tomorrow and I will share one of my favorite sources for recipes. Soon, I will be sharing some of my own favorite recipes (like the ones above) with you.

Meal planning can help you to reduce your grocery budget without ever clipping a coupon. This technique alone can save you 30% or more.

Bottom line is this, if pork chops aren't on sale this week... don't eat pork chops! Got it?

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Frugal 101: What's On Sale?

This is my first post in my brand new series called Frugal 101. We are starting at the beginning and working our way up. If you have friends who are just getting started in couponing (or want to get started), be sure to send them this way. For my long-time readers, this will serve as a refresher course.

It always helps to know what's on sale BEFORE you get to the store. If you wait until you get there, you're way behind. Here are a few places you can view the sales advertisements.

Sales ads come in the newspaper. I hope that you are already getting a Sunday paper each week for the coupons. The Sunday paper is also full of weekly advertisements for various stores.

Sales ads come in the mailbox. In my area, Publix & Food Lion start their new sales in the middle of the week. These ads are conveniently delivered to my mailbox. If you have stores who change sales in the middle of the week, you may also find their new ad in the daily newspaper.

Sales ads are online. Almost every retailer has their weekly advertisement available for viewing on their website. You simply need to give your zip code to display the ad for your area. Some companies even offer an email notification to alert you as soon as it is available. Here are some links for the online ads for my favorite stores.

Sneak peeks are available. Some bloggers have the capability to view an ad before it starts. They are kind enough to type up the info and share it online. It's always great when you get to see what's on sale before the ad goes into affect. It gives me extra time to get my coupons together. Here are some of my favorite sneak peek sites.

I Heart CVS

Wild For Wags

I Heart Publix

Hot Coupon World

Sales ads are in the store. If all else fails, you can find the weekly sales flyer at the store. They are usual found up front by the door. Again, I highly recommend taking a look before you go shopping so you can prepare to sweeten the deals with coupons.

So, what's your favorite way to see the sales ad before you shop?

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Casual vs. Professional Couponing

I'll admit, I was a casual couponer for a long time. I would clip a few coupons here and there and use them on whim. I would clip the coupons for the *new* products that the manufacturers were trying to advertise and promote and try them right away. I tried to get the Sunday paper every week but if I missed a week it was no big deal. When I did buy the paper, I only bought one. If I happened to use a coupon when an item was already on sale it was completely random. My goal was to save at least 10% off my grocery bill which was the equivalent of tax. I thought I was saving my family money by using coupons.

Oh, I had no idea.

I now consider myself a professional couponer; A coupon queen, if you will. I am intentional about using coupons and always go to the store with a plan. Each week, it is a necessity rather than a convenience that I purchase the Sunday paper and I purchase more than one.

Here's how you can maximize the value of coupons to get the deepest discounts:

• Use coupons when an item is already on sale. This is going to require some advanced planning on your part by looking over the weekly sales ads.
• Shop stores that double your coupons. In my area, Publix and Kroger double coupons $0.50 and under on a daily basis.
• Stack coupons if your store allows it. At Kroger, for example, I can use 1 manufacturer coupon + 1 ecoupon on the same item. At Publix and Walgreens I can use 1 manufacturer coupon + 1 store coupon on the same item.
• Build a coupon stockpile buy purchasing multiple newspapers or even ordering coupons. Why? The more coupons you have, the more times you can work a deal.
• Build your grocery stockpile. By using the above recommendations, you may find that you can now purchase 3 of an item for what you would have previously paid full price for.

While using coupons can save you money, I wasn't using my coupons to their full potential. I've seen my savings go from a measly 10% to a consistent 75% each week! I want to encourage you to be intentional about your coupon usage as well. It's very rewarding to see a drastic drop in your grocery budget.

Be honest, are you a casual or a professional couponer? In what ways do you maximize your coupons to get the most value?

Grocery Budget

Let's take a moment to talk about budgets. One of the very first concepts I talk about in my classes and workshops is establishing a budget.If you don't know how money you are spending at the grocery store, then you won't ever be able to determine how much you are really saving. Sure, you can see savings at the bottom of your receipt but I'm talking about reducing your costs overall.

If you don't know what you are spending each month, I suggest taking a tally of the last month or last 2 months and go from there. It is important to have a starting point.

In order to set an appropriate budget you need to consider the specifics of your family. Here are a few things to ponder:

• What is your household size?
• What percentage of meals eaten at home?
• Do you pack lunches for school/work?
• Are organics a must?
• Do you like to cook gourmet meals with exotic ingredients?
• Is there a baby in the house?

Your budget may be completely different from mine depending on our preferences and needs. The point is to figure out what you are spending and being able to decrease that amount by using concepts like meal planning, coupon matchups and stockpiling. If you are new to stockpiling, I would recommend leaving your budget amount exactly the way it is for about 2 months. Once you have a good stockpile in place, you will see that number drastically drop.

I know there are some of you out there who are looking for a magic number that you should be spending. Here is a *recommendation*. A suggested budget for a family who is practicing stockpiling concepts is $25 per week per person in the household. Please note that the key to this budget recommendation is stockpiling. Based on this *recommendation* a monthly grocery budget *could* look like this.

$100 for a family of 1

$200 for a family of 2

$300 for a family of 3

$400 for a family of 4
and so on and so forth...

Again, I use the *recommendation* term lightly because every family is unique with different needs. YOU have to decide on an appropriate budget based on YOUR situation.

Here's a bit of background on me. I use a weekly budget since that is how our payroll falls and it includes all groceries, paper products, cleaners, OTC medicines and pet food. Before my daughter was born we were spending around $150 a week on groceries for the 2 of us (I know, SHOCKER!). After she was born I started using coupons (and started buying diapers) but that number decreased to $125 per week. Shortly after that, I discovered the concept of coupon matchups and our budget dropped again to $100 per week. Not long after, I started practicing stockpiling techniques and our budget decreased again to $60 per week. I have challenged myself in 2010 to decrease that number for a final time to $50 per week ($200 per month). So, I assure you that it can be done. However, you have to have a starting point and that's where a budget comes into play.

What are you thoughts on grocery budgets? Do you have one and stick to it? Has stockpiling has helped you decrease yours?

Calculating Your Savings

Some of you may be wondering how I calculate my savings each week. This is kind of an in-depth math lesson, so if math isn't your thing that's a-ok with me. I give you permission to skip over this post (just this once). However, you might find the Savings Tracker links at the bottom very helpful.

First, lets define our variables.

OOP (Out of Pocket)

Retail Cost

Earned

Actual Cost

Savings

• The OOP amount is basically what I paid for the transaction after all sales and mfg coupons. My total here also includes Register Rewards, Extra Bucks & Catalinas since I consider these items cash in paper form.
• You calculate the Retail Amount by adding the savings shown at the bottom of your receipt (this will automatically include RRs, ECBs & Catalinas spent) to your Cash spent. This is what those items would have cost if you had not utilized sales and coupons.
• Earlier, I stated I that consider RRs, ECBs & Catalinas to be cash in paper form, so in order to determine what I Earned I add up what I received back after a transaction. I also add mail-in rebates into what I Earned but I don't count them until I physically have them in hand. I have never had a rebate get lost or be rejected (knock on wood) but I don't like to count my chickens until they hatch.
• To determine your Actual Cost, you would subtract what you Earned from what your OOP expense was.
• To calculate your Savings, simply subtract your Actual Cost from the Retail Cost.

The formula looks like this:

OOP: Cash + RRs + ECBs + Catalinas spent.

Retail Cost: Savings on receipt + Cash

Earned: RRs + ECBs + Catalinas received

Actual Cost: OOP - Earned

Savings: Retail Cost - Actual Cost

To calculate the percentage saved, use this formula:

(Savings/Retail Cost) * 100

The main reason I count RRs, ECBs and Catalinas as cash is because that is the way I advertise it in my matchups. If I tell you that the cost of your Colgate toothpaste is $0.25 after ECBs, then I want to make sure I calculate my savings under that same premise. No matter how you calculate your savings, you need to make sure you do it the same way each time, every week. If you want to count RRs and ECBs as coupons rather than cash, that is fine. However, don't count them as coupons and then try to subtract out what you earned as well. That's double dipping and your counts will be off.

I also use a savings tracker to keep my costs tallied up for the year. Here are some that you might find helpful.

Grocery Savings (I use a modified version of this one)

Grocery Savings Chart

Grocery Savings Spreadsheet

2010 Savings Tracker

I also like to track my savings by store, so I created this spreadsheet: Weekly Savings By Store

So, is all that clear as mud? I hope not. Do you keep track of your savings each week/month/year? What formula do you use?

Ecoupons Explained

Coupons are everywhere. There are coupons in the Sunday paper, coupons you can print online, coupons that come in your mailbox. Coupons. Coupons. Coupons. There is also a variety of coupons called electronic coupons or just ecoupons for short.

What are ecoupons?

Electronic coupons are loaded directly on to your store's loyalty card (i.e. Kroger Plus card) and will automatically deduct once you purchase the specific product. It's so easy and there is no "clipping" required. You may have even seen me refer to some of these ecoupon sites in my coupon matchups each week. Some of the popular sites are Cellfire, Shortcuts & Kroger.

Top 7 facts about electronic coupons:

1. You can load up to 50 ecoupons on your loyalty card at any given time. Coupons cannot be removed once they are loaded. You would either need to redeem it or let it expire.

2. Ecoupons are frequently updated either twice a month (Cellfire & Shortcuts) or monthly (Kroger & Upromise).

3. You can stack an ecoupon and a manufactuer's coupon for the same item.

4. Only 1 ecoupon can be redeemed per item purchased. You cannot stack a Cellfire ecoupon with a Shortcuts ecoupon.

5. Ecoupons for the same item but with different expiration dates must be used in separate transcations. i.e. You can not use 2 Cellfire coupons for 2 identical items in the same transaction.

6. Quantity, variety and size restrictions do apply. If the ecoupon states $1.00 off when you buy 2, you will need to purchase 2 like items in order to see that savings. Same thing goes for a specific size or flavor.

7. Ecoupons do not double.

How are Upromise ecoupons different?

Upromise also offers ecoupons but they work a little differently than the companies mentioned above. Coupons redeemed via Upromise go directly into a college savings account that you set up. You can read more about Upromise and their program here. I am using Upromise to help me pay back my student loans and then I will begin using it to save for Skylar's college fund.

Troubleshooting:

If your ecoupons do not come off at checkout, please verify that you bought the correct item/size/quantity/variety and that your ecoupon has not expired. If everything is correct simply contact the company via their website "Contact Us" form. They may require some information from your receipt and your shopper's card # to help you obtain your refund.

How do I sign up?

Simply visit each ecoupon site and follow the step-by-step instructions. You will need the # from your store's loyalty card to register. All of them are easy and free.

Cellfire

Shortcuts

Kroger

Upromise

Happy clipping! Oh wait. I mean, clicking!

What is a Catalina?

What is a Catalina?

It is a dollar(s)-off coupon that you receive at checkout from certain stores. In the Nashville area, the main grocer which participates in Catalina promos is Kroger. A Catalina gets its name because of the machine it prints from. It is usually located right next to the machine that prints your receipt. They should be at all registers including customer service and self-checkout.

Do I have to sign up for anything?

Nope. The coupon will automatically print when you meet the promo requirements.

How to you earn them?

Catalinas are earned much like Register Rewards (Walgreens) or Extra Care Bucks (CVS). You have to buy a specific quantity of a certain product in order to trigger the coupon to print. If the promo requires you to purchase more than 1 item, you must purchase all of the items in one transaction.

How/When/Where do you redeem them?

Catalinas are to be used on your next order (OYNO) and can be used, similar to cash, to bring down your final balance. Typically, you would use a Catalina at the same store where you earned it, but it is clearly marked as a manufacturers coupon and essentially could be used anywhere (policy permitting). Personally, I have only tried using them at Kroger (where I earned them) or Publix since I know they take competitor coupons and it worked like a charm.

How do you know in advance about a Catalina deal?

I often check forums like Hot Coupon World or the Mommy Snacks blog to view current Catalina offers. Occasionally, the register will print an advertisement for an upcoming Catalina deal alerting you to the brand and quantity of items to purchase and what the promo dates are. Often you will find the Catalina promos advertised with a tag on the shelf near the participating product.

Catalina Example:

Buy any Pillsbury Refrigerated Baked Goods between 1/25/10 and 2/21/10

Buy 4 and get $2
Buy 5 and get $3
Buy 6 and get $4

Participating products: Crescents, Cookies, Sweet Rolls, Grands Biscuits, Grands Cinnamon Rolls, Pie Crusts, Dinner Rolls, Loaves, Breadsticks or Pizza Crust.

What if my Catalina doesn't print?

First, make sure you have purchased the specific quantity, size and variety of the participating item(s). You can check with the Customer Service desk but most likely you will need to contact Catalina at 1-888-8COUPON (1-888-826-8766). They will need some information off your receipt and if all checks out, they will mail you the coupon.

Price Book & Savings Tracker

How do you know how to spot a really good deal?

For example, you might see that Kroger is running a 10 for $10 sale on spaghetti noodles and want to know if $1.00 per box is a good price. Not for me. In the last year I have been able to purchase noodles anywhere from $0.00 - $0.66 per box.

The only way to truly spot a deal is to start keeping a log of prices. Over time you will start to notice pricing trends. I keep my prices listed in an Excel spreadsheet but you could easily do this in a notebook sorted into categories. For my price book, all I write down is the name of the item and the lowest price I paid for that item after sales & coupons. I keep my 3 lowest prices listed. I do this because some items are seasonal and prices will change based on what season it is.

I now have over 300 items listed in my price book. I can quickly check to see if a deal is worth stocking up on. Here is a quick list of my stock-up prices. If I see an item for this amount or lower, I will stockpile that item. You can also view the full version of my price book.

Bacon, $2.00

Canned Veggies, $0.40

Cereal Bars, $1.50

Shredded Cheese, $1.00

Chicken Breasts, $1.99 lb.

Toothpaste, $0.25

Cream Cheese, $0.75

Frozen Veggies, $0.75

Ground Beef, $1.99 lb.

Ice Cream, $1.50

Cereal, $1.25

Kleenex, $0.50

Lunch Meat, $2.00

Margarine, $0.50

Pork Chops, $1.99 lb.

Laundry Detergent, $1.75

Sour Cream, $1.00

Vegetable Oil, $1.99

I also find it helpful to track my grocery savings each week. This helps me know if I am staying within my budget and lets me know what % I saved. Here are a few helpful spreadsheets that you can use.

Grocery Savings (I use a modified version of this one)

Grocery Savings Chart

Grocery Savings Spreadsheet

2010 Savings Tracker

I also like to track my savings by store, so I created this spreadsheet: Weekly Savings By Store

Do you keep a price book? How is yours set up? Have you found it helpful?

7 Tips For Starting Out

If you are just starting out, you might be easily overwhelmed with information and have no idea where to go from here. I have a few quick tips to help you start on your own money-saving adventure.

1. Start getting the Sunday paper on a regular basis. It takes a while to build a good coupon stockpile so you need to get in the habit of buying the paper every week. The general rule is to get 1 paper for every person in your household. Why? The more coupons you have, the more times you can work a deal over and over again. Personally, I buy 1 per adult and kids count as a half.

2. Take advantage of printable coupons and electronic coupons. Printable coupons are available instantly with easy access from your home computer and printer. Likewise, you can load Ecoupons to your shoppers card and they are immediately available for use (no clipping required). Check out my favorite printable sites and Ecoupon sites.

3. Plan your meals around what's on sale this week. Planning your family meals around meats & produce which are on sale this week can automatically save you about 30% without ever clipping a coupon. You can also use sale items to supplement side dishes and desserts as well.

4. Look for blogs and forums for your favorite grocery store. This is a great way to learn about store policies, weekly matchups, specials & unadvertised deals. Some of my favorites are Hot Coupon World, A Full Cup, I Heart Publix.

5. Set a budget. You won't know where to go if you don't know where to start. Figure out what you have been currently spending on groceries and start there. This number should decrease over time as you become more efficient at using coupons, matching them with sales, meal planning & stockpiling. A goal grocery budget is $100 per month per person.

6. Find a couponing buddy. For most of us, grocery shopping is an unwelcome task on our to-do-list each week. Finding someone to share your triumphs and frustrations with can make the grocery game a lot more fun. You can share deals, tips, tricks and recipes. Not to mention, you now have someone to swap coupons with.

7. Stockpile 1-2 extra items at a time. You have to start somewhere, right? Remember, you are still trying to get everything you ran out of this week and trying to get ahead at the same time. Pick 1 or 2 items that you think are a really good deal and get a couple extra to start your stockpile. As your stockpile grows, your budget will decrease!

Did you find these tips helpful? Leave me a comment and let me know what helped you most when you 1st started couponing.

Coupon Organization

If you are going to get into couponing you need to find an organization method that works for you. I'm going to go over a few methods and then explain the method behind the madness of how I organize my coupons. In the end, you need to find a method that works for you!

Envelopes - If you have just a few coupons, a common mailing envelope might just work for you and its very inexpensive. However, I suspect that this method won't hold up very long. Envelopes are flimsy and can start to fall apart in a hurry. Also, as you collect more coupons you are going to need a way to separate them into categories.

Accordian File - This is a step of from the envelopes but you are limited in the amount of storage. However, this does give you a chance to start sorting coupons into sections (i.e. baking, canned goods, meats, ect). Here is a view of Freebies 4 Mom's accordian file. These can usually be found at office supply stores. They also have cardboard varieties at dollar stores.

Binder - This method consists of keeping all of your coupons in some type of binder. You can use baseball card holders or photo holders to separate your coupons. You can sort using either the A-Z method or by categories. Stephanie at Couponing 101 has a great video post of her binder. Here are some more binder examples that you could easily make on your own.

Coupon Magic Organizer

Save At Home Mommy Coupon Binder

The Coupon Binder

Inserts Only - With this method you simply save your coupon inserts each week. You can sort them with a large accordian file by date or just put them in a big stack like me (see below). Once you are ready to shop, you can use a matchup blog or coupon database to show you which coupons matchup to the weekly sales and where to find them (i.e. 1/3 SS would be a coupon in the SmartSource insert which was delivered in the January 3rd edition of the Sunday paper).

My Method - I use a combination of methods. I don't like clipping every coupon each week so I tend to stick more with the Insert Only method. It seems to be a big time saver for me. However, I like to have some coupons with me in case I run across an unadvertised deal or clearance item. Besides, I have to put all my printable coupons somewhere so I use the accordion file as well. There are several cute Hannah Hansen coupon organizers like mine on Ebay. Each Sunday I flip through the inserts and only clip the coupons for items or brands I KNOW we will use. The remainder of coupons stay intact and are filed away by insert date into my big stack. When I sit down to prepare my list, I match up sales with coupons and locate them via a Coupon Database. I pull those inserts and clip out only what I need and put them back.

**It should be noted that I recently switched to the binder method, you can read about how I made the switch**

Expired Coupons - No matter what method you use, you will have to deal with pulling expired coupons. I recommend getting into this habit at least once a month and know that the majority of coupons will expire on the last day of any given month. If you use the Insert Only Method you will want to check out this post which lists the inserts that still have valid coupons in them. After I pull the expired coupons, I prepare them for shipment to a military base overseas. Did you know that they can use coupons up to six months past the expiration date. I currently ship mine to a base in Germany. Check out the details on how to ship expired coupons.

What type of organization system do you use?

2010 Sunday Coupon Preview

I hope you remembered to pick up several newspapers today. It included 5 coupon inserts!!! I got 2 this morning and plan on getting more this week at Kroger if they have any left. Remember, Kroger sells the Sunday paper all week and reduces the price to $1 on Mondays.

The general rule for stockpiling purposes is to buy 1 newspaper for each member of your family. Why? Because the more coupons you have, the more times you can work a deal! I always buy 2 every week without fail.

If you are anxious to know which inserts to expect in your Sunday paper for the rest of 2010, check out this list from Sunday Coupon Preview. If everything goes as planned, the next BIG coupon weekend will be March 28th. However, Proctor & Gamble doesn't always follow the rules, so their insert schedule could be subject to change. Typically, there are NO coupon inserts on holiday weekends.

January
1/3: 2 Smart Source & 2 Red Plum & General Mill
1/10: Smart Source & Red Plum
1/17: Smart Source & Red Plum & Proctor & Gamble
1/24: Smart Source & Red Plum
1/31: Smart Source & Red Plum

February
2/7: Smart Source
2/14: No Inserts
2/21: Smart Source & General Mills & Procter and Gamble
2/28: Smart Source & Red Plum

March
3/7: Smart Source, Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
3/14: Smart Source& Red Plum
3/21: Smart Source& Red Plum
3/28: 2 Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble

April
4/4: No Inserts
4/11: Smart Source & Red Plum
4/18: Smart Source & Red Plum
4/25: Smart Source & Red Plum

May
5/2: Smart Source & Red Plum & P&G
5/9: Smart Source & Red Plum
5/16: 2 Smart Source & Red Plum
5/23: Smart Source & Red Plum
5/30: No Inserts

June
6/6: Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
6/13: Smart Source
6/20: Smart Source & Red Plum
6/27: Smart Source & Red Plum

July
7/4: No Inserts
7/11: Smart Source & Red Plum
7/18: Smart Source
7/25: Smart Source & Red Plum

August
8/1: Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
8/8: Smart Source & Red Plum
8/15: Smart Source & Red Plum
8/22: Smart Source & Red Plum
8/29: Smart Source & Red Plum & P&G Insert

September
9/5: No Inserts
9/12: Smart Source & 2 Red Plum
9/19: Smart Source & Red Plum
9/26: Smart Source & Red Plum

October
10/3: Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
10/10: Smart Source & Red Plum
10/17: Smart Source & Red Plum
10/24: Smart Source & Red Plum
10/31: Smart Source & Red Plum

November
11/7: Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
11/14: Smart Source & Red Plum
11/21: Smart Source & Red Plum
11/28: No Inserts

December
12/5: Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
12/12: Smart Source & Red Plum
12/19: No Inserts
12/26: No Inserts

Posting Schedule

I just wanted to share with you what my posting schedule is for Coupon Queen Diaries. There really IS a method to my madness, I suppose. I generally try to follow this posting schedule so that you get the matchups on the day that the new ad comes out.

Sunday - Grocery Store Matchups (Kroger)

Wednesday - Grocery Store Matchups (Publix, Food Lion, Aldi)

Thursday - Shopping Trip (See pics and totals of what I bought this week)

Friday - Freebies

Saturday - Drug Store Matchups (Walgreens, CVS)

I post about Popular Printables on an as needed basis and other special deals as they arise. I also post my Workshops as soon as the date and time has been finalized.

If you are an e-mail subscriber, my updates will be delivered to your email box between 3-5 pm each day if there is a new post available. RSS subscribers will receive my feed in their reader of choice anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour after I have posted. Finally, my Twitter followers and Facebook Fans receive notification within just a few minutes of me posting.