$1 coupon doubler at Giant

Did you happen to see the Sunday circular?
Maybe I am super psyched because I haven't gotten the Sunday paper in some time and I miss my circulars and coupons (typical York County resident).
There are 4 coupon doublers for $1 and plenty of $1 coupons in the circular to use them with. I always use them on shampoos and soaps since those items are not likely to expire before I can use them. Saving $2 on four items ends up saving you $8. And, if you need to stock up on sodas for summer picnics, now is the time to do it. It's $10 for four 12 packs of Pepsi products at Giant. That's $2.50 a 12-pack. And I don't know if you've seen regular prices lately, but they are $5 or more for a 12-pack. CRAZY!
Cutting and matching coupons and sales is a great activity to do while watching TV.

Coupon codes

Don't buy anything online without googling the store name and "coupon code." Retailmenot is a decent Web site to help you with this. It was in an article in Reader's Digest. I did some Christmas shopping at Kohls.com and googled a code and got 20 percent and free shipping on my order without leaving my house.
The savings is worth the extra second it takes.

After-Christmas sales

It's hard to beat the after Christmas sales.

I rose early this morning (after a long night riding along with Nate in the police cruiser) to head to Bed Bath & Beyond. My sister picked her wedding reception centerpiece from there and I was hoping to find them all 50 percent off. It was with the Christmas stuff before Christmas, so my fingers were crossed.

When I got there, nada. So, I picked up 4 rolls of 100-sq.ft wrapping paper for $1.50 each. I stocked up for the next few years. I asked about the centerpieces. They moved them back to the home decor and they weren't on sale! Thank goodness for 20 percent coupons. I picked up two and paid separately for them so I could use both 20-percent-off coupons. The gal at the register said you can use one coupon per item, no need to ring it up separately (even though the coupon said 1 per visit). Sweet.

I headed to Michaels and stocked up on $25 worth of stuff I probably didn't need, but will probably be thankful that I bought come next Christmas. I stopped at A.C. Moore to try to find the blank red and green cards I use for my recycled cards, but no dice.

I stopped at the Bread Outlet (Fridays are BOGO in December) but they were closed. I have one more Friday to stock up.

My after-Christmas shopping is complete. Oh, until I head to Cracker Barrel tomorrow for cheap ornaments.
But I swear, then I am done.

Grocery shopping: my coupon policy

I know there is a big debate about coupons and if they are really worth the time. I shopped at Giant on Sunday and saved $16 using coupons. I would go ahead and say, yes! Right now, that is a full tank of gas in my Honda Civic.

Every Sunday I save the coupons from the newspaper. I keep them filed in a little accordion thing. I only cut out the coupons that I think I will use. I hardly ever cut out the ones that say "save 50 cents when you buy 6" because that's just silly. I also cut the ones I think I might use. I also use the special coupon doublers in the circular. Sign up for the bonus card, they send you extra coupons in the mail, too.

Here is my coupon advice:

• Don't buy it if you won't use it.
  
• Beware, sometimes it's cheaper to buy the store brand without a coupon than the name brand with a coupon.
  
• Watch the fine print, expiration date, etc. If you have a question, ask the service desk.
  
• Use the coupons with the closest expiration date first.
  
• Keep your coupons in your car or with your reusable grocery bags (and I hope you use those) so you don't forget them.
  
• Look in the grocery store circular for sale items. The best time to use a coupon is when the items are on sale. Stock up if you can, when you can.
• Don't cut out ALL the coupons. You'll never use them all. Pick what you use, what you might use or what you would like to try.