How Do I Coupon ?Save Money While Buying Healthy for You, Your Family, and the Planet!

This is the time of year to buy Christmas presents! What?! Yep, right now stores are marking down their toys that are left over from Christmas. This recession has hit stores hard and I do not think the sales are as good as in years’ past but there are still deals to be had.

If you head to Target, make sure to check out their toy section. Right now they should have their toys marked down in the clearance section anywhere from 75-90% off! That is a HUGE DEAL!! Last year I was able to get most of my Christmas shopping done in January at Target. What a great feeling!

Bath & Body Works will probably have their travel size toiletries on sale as well from $1 up.

Check out Walmart (I saw toys on clearance there although not as good of a deal as Target), Toys R Us, KMart, Family Dollar and Big Lots for deep discounts on left over toys.

I am not going shopping this year ::sigh:: as we do not have the cash to do it right now. I figure what is the point of buying toys at such a deep discount if I am going to pay with a credit card and carry a balance? Kind of defeats the deal, doesn’t it? If you go, it is smart to have a list of who you need to buy for, a price point so you do not go over, and ideas for each person on your list. That way you stay within your budget and do not buy excess. It is a great time of year to go and stock up on Birthday presents as well!

Happy Shopping!

One of the smartest ways to save money is to find great products super cheap and then use a coupon. One great way to do this is to keep an eye out for clearance sections in your local stores. Often the clearance sections are in the back of stores closer to the warehouse or on the end caps of the aisles. You can generally find products that have either been discontinued and drastically marked down or damaged packaging where items are again significantly marked down, etc. You should be able to purchase the already reduced items and combine them with manufacturer coupons making for an even better deal!

Today, at Target, I scoured the cleaning section for clearance products. I need more laundry detergent and air fresheners. Voila! I found 2 boxes of Seventh Generation laundry detergent marked 50% off. I then had a coupon for $1 off 2 Seventh Generation products. With the items reduced and my coupon, I paid $3.96 for 2 boxes of laundry detergent which would have been $10.00 ( if I paid full price). That is a 60% savings! Also, I found a Febreze Noticables Scented Oil Freshener on clearance for $3.12 because the packaging was ripped apart. That is a great deal considering they are normally $6+ at regular retail. I had a coupon for $1 off the Febreze Noticeables Scented Oil Freshener so I paid $2.18 for a product normally priced at $6.24! So for a total of $6.08, I was able to buy products worth $16.22!

A good rule that I keep in mind when finding great bargains is to only buy what I will use no matter how good the deal is. It is very tempting to buy something that is so inexpensive simply because it is such a good deal. However, what good does it do me if it sits in my closet? It ends up being a money waster and not a good deal after all.