Becoming an "Extreme Couponer"

I recently decided that I want to be an "extreme couponer". 

I’ve never watched the TLC show, but I had a long conversation with a friends mother yesterday about the rush she gets when she walks out of a store having gotten products for free. For free! I’ve decided since my budget is so tight... a.k.a. I still don’t have an income and I have a long list of bills that will be due soon so I cannot spend money. Ever. I need to learn how to get things for free.

She told me to check out these two websites:

http://thekrazycouponlady.com/

and http://www.couponcabin.com/

Haven’t had a chance to really explore the sites yet- hopefully I’ll be able to try them out and post some reviews.

Some other advice she had:

-Buy the Sunday paper each week. I asked if I should buy more than one but she said one should have all the coupons for the week.

-Check out JobLot. Never been there, and when I looked up locations there are only two in the near area. I’m wondering if I could get the same kinds of deals at a place like Sam’s Club, which is down the street from my apartment?

-Sign up for a card at the chains I shop at. I already have a CVS Extracare card which is fantastic because not only do 2% of all my purchases come back to me as Extrabucks, which is basically money to spend anywhere in the store, there are often deals in the store where if you are buying certain products or a certain amount you can get money back in Extrabucks. Also- a bit of advice for those with CVS Extracare cards- don’t forget to swipe your card at the coupon machine in the store for daily deals! I’ve gotten some free candy bars and little things like that just by swiping my card.  I also have a Stop and Shop card, but I’m not sure that it’s benefitting me as much as the CVS card, because while it provides me with the sale prices in the store the only thing coming back to me is money off on gas, which you have to go get at a specific gas station.

-Combine store and manufacturer coupons from online and the paper... that’s how savings really add up!

So I’m going to give this couponing thing a go... I can’t wait to see how much I can save!

xoxo,

T