Lenten Sacrifices

The Lenten season is almost upon us!  This year I am giving up all snack foods and sweets...it's sort of like, "dieting for Jesus".  Hopefully I'll lose an extra pound or two as an added bonus :)

My kiddies are too young for them to give up something for Lent yet, but when they are ready, I've prepared a list of things for them to choose from as options:

- fighting
- whining
- making messes
- leaving crumbs everywhere
- squeezing toothpaste on the counter and leaving it
- crying
- staining clothes
- forgetting to bring their things in from the car
- waking up super early everyday
- not flushing the potty
- screaming
- being "full" after 3 bites of dinner
- requesting dessert after announcing they are "full"
- throwing temper tantrums
- losing things
- wanting to watch 300 episodes of Spider man a day
- coming out of their beds at night

40 days without any of these would be FANTASTIC!!  Take your pic Peas...the world is your oyster.

Top Ten Tuesday (a day late)

Yea, I get that it's Wednesday but this week and next are crazy busy for me.  I have taken up a second home at my kid's school, so I am a bit behind on my blog...don't worry, I'll catch up :)

Here's my Wednesday Edition of Top Ten Tuesday:

Ten things you would never hear my kids say:

1. I know it's bedtime, and you are tired and want to have a glass of wine so I am going to get in my bed and not get out until morning.

2. I am going to play with all my toys all day long because I love them so much and I'm not at all bored with them.

3. I just heard you say "please clean up your toys" so I did it the first time you asked.

4. You made a new supper tonight??  I can't wait to eat it all up!

5. Since it's Saturday, I am going to sleep until 8:00 am, ok?

6. No, I don't need any band-aids tonight, but thank you anyways.

7. I was finished with my blocks but wanted to play with my dolls so I put them away before I took my new toy out.

8. No thanks, I don't need those (cookies, crackers, toys, stickers, candies, popsicle...etc...) right now, you can save your money.

9. You want to do THREE errands in a row?!?!  I can't wait!!!

10. I am not concerned with how many days until Christmas there are...I know the true Christmas spirit is about more than presents...

Happy Wednesday all!

How to score free stuff with coupons!

I love free stuff.  It makes it much more exciting to shop when at least a few things are free, even it's just toothpaste and floss!  The way I figure it, there are things that are a necessity to my family that I can almost never get for free, like meats, milk or wine; so if I can get at least a few things for free, that saves me money to spend on these other items.
My stockpile (see above!) is looking full and I love it!  In this picture, I got all the condiments (ketchup, mustard, salad dressings, bbq sauce and marinades) and pastas for free.  I also have LOTS of other mini stockpiles hidden around my house :) The rest of the items were purchased for very cheap, usually under $1 (except for the TP and PT's, which were cheap, but not THAT cheap).
There are a few different ways to get things for free and certain items that you can almost ALWAYS find for free.  I find the most common types of items that are free are hygiene items, like toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, soaps, shampoo and conditioner.  Although you cannot EAT these items (as my husband likes to remind me) it's still an expense I now don't have to make :)
In order to score free stuff, you need to know you store's coupon policy.  If you are a food store, it's best to try and find a store that will double you coupons as straight doubling or up to $1.  Here in AZ, Fry's and Safeway will double up to $1.  Back in MA, Stop & Shop and Shaw's will straight double.  All stores say they will double only 4 like coupons in one transaction.  My Fry's doesn't enforce that, but some here do. 
The easiest and most straight forward way to get stuff for free is for items to go on sale 10/$10 and then you have a coupon that is $1 or that is under $1 and your store doubles up to $1.  BOOM, free!  If it's a non-food item though, you will still pay tax, so remember that.  That's how I get about 80% of my free stuff.  From my experiences, it seems that there is usually, at least, 1-2 items a week that will fit this. Watch your sales flyers and coupon blogs to monitor what items will be on sale each week.  If an item is free and it is something I will use eventually, I'll always get it.  Yes, I have about 20 mustards, toothpastes and 100 things of floss, so what?!?!  I know we'll use it!  If I ever have "too much" (is there even such a thing?) then I'll donate.
Other, less easy ways to get thing for free are with mail in rebates (after purchase) or by getting a catalina.  A catalina is a coupon that will print out after you've purchased a special combo or amount of items.  Catalinanetwork.com will list lots and you can also check your local coupon blog. 
A catalina works like this:
Buy 4 Kraft salad dressings, get a coupon for $2 OYNO (on your next order)
*if the salad dressing was on sale 10/10, say, and you used (2) $1/2 coupons, it would make each bottle 50 cents, and you'd pay $2 for all four bottles, then your coupon prints out at the end and voila!  free :)
At target, you can get things for free sometimes by stacking a target and manu coupon together to equal the total value, or you can use a $1/1 coupon on an item on sale for $1.
At Walgreens or CVS, you can buy items that will give you back a register reward (wags) or extra care bucks (CVS), which is sort of like how a catalina works.

These are some tips for getting items for free while shopping!  Remember that getting an item for extremely cheap is also great!  Stock up on these items when you can, this will defer your costs later on down the road.

Happy couponing!

Creating a stockpile...

Finally!  My last couponing post on the basics: creating a stockpile.  In order to really start seeing savings on your weekly grocery/target trips, you need to have a stockpile of cheaply purchased (or free) items that you use on a daily basis.  By purchasing these items in larger quantities you won't have to "quick" run to the store to buy toothpaste that will set you back $3.00 because you know you have x amount of them in your stock.  This will overall lower your weekly spending because these items won't need to be purchased. 
What's a stock up price??
Well that will depend on you.  For example, I won't buy cereal unless it's under $1 but a couponer just starting out that is used to spending almost $4.00 a box may think under $2.00 is a stock up price.  The better you get, the more you will notice what's a good price to get lots of an item of.  This is a good time to order coupons if you know of a snazzy deal coming up and you currently only have 4 coupons, for example.  Times I have done this were to get basically free items we use a lot of: toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap, hand soap, pasta, dry pasta sauce and certain other items.  I usually order in a lot of 10 or 20 so I can help build my stock.  We go through LOTS of these types of items with three kids, so 20 doesn't seem excessive to me!  The Krazy Coupon ladies once put up their stock up price list, if you are interested, you ca search and try to find that to get an idea.  I don't use theirs because I know whats a good deal and what to pass on. 
How much to stockpile??
Well, again, that depends on you and your family.  I was once told that you should order enough coupon inserts or papers for each member of your family.  I order 4 papers, but also print lots and occasionally order some if needed.  My kids are also small and don't eat too much so four works for us.  I have other ways of getting q's too, so normally I have more than four of each coupon.  If you had teenagers who ate tons, you may want to stock more!  Stores run their sale cycles in 12 week cycles.  So, normally, you'll see a sale now, and most likely it will be on sale again for a similar price in 12 weeks.  That doesn't necessarily mean you'll have the same coupons to score a great deal, but it's a good judge of how much you should have on hand.  One rule I also have if I really won't have more on hand of an item that I can store in its designated space.  So if my razor drawer is completely full, I won't grab anymore, unless its completely free, of course, because not all items come up free :)  I will, however, donate my excess at times.
How should I store my stockpile??
I don't have a super awesome walk-in pantry so I had to get creative in where I store my extra stuff. The bulk of my stock is in my laundry room on the shelf that is above my washer and dryer.  When I first started to get a stock, my mom and I went to target and bought two 3-ft wire shelves and installed them above the existing so my one shelf became two.  This is where my extra food, paper towels and toilet paper go.  I also have a free shelf in the garage that I've occasionally used to store extra paper goods as well.

As you can see, I don't have a humongous stock, but I have a fair amount.  I have about 15 boxes of cereal, 12 cans of green beans (the only veg david will eat), about 15 dry pastas, 8 sauces and lots of bbq sauce, mustard, salad dressings and canned tomatoes.  I also have some kids snacks and other odds and ends.  In addition, I have a fully stocked pantry in the kitchen. This is also not as much tp and pt's as I would like, but I'm hoping for a nice p & g sale coming up at frys to build my stock :).

In the laundry room, I also have a LARGE stock of cleaning supplies (three shelves worth) and that includes about 20 dish soaps and 10 laundry soaps.  I have enough cleaning supplies for at least a year.  I store some personal products as well in here in a shoe rack hanging behind the door.





Here I have about 20 body washes (and more in the bedroom), 20 bar soaps (also more in the bedroom), 10 shave creams and some face washes.  This storage takes up NO space and is very convenient :) In the bedroom on the floor under david's clothes, I have two three drawer plastic storage things full of more stuff.

These drawers are clearly labeled and are LOADED with stuff.  I have AT LEAST a years worth of toothpaste, floss, tooth brushes, deodorant, and razors.  I also have more bar soap and body washes on top.  But if you notice, it barely takes up any space and it is neatly tucked away.  I also have a stock of kids body products and some kids medicines in a basket under their sink in their bathroom, lots and lots of baby wipes and diapers in the girls closet on the top shelf, and some feminine products, adult medicines, cotton balls, q-tips and hair dye under our sink.  All is stored in a basket and is also very neat.  Just because you have a stock pile, doesn't mean you have to be messy!!!  The final place I have items are on a few shelves in the garage, which hold about 50 hand soaps, 20 bottles of vinegar and lots of baggies.  Don't forget to check expiration dates and the "first in, first out" rule. 
So know you are armed with all my knowledge about couponing!!  Remember, no one taught me, I got my crap together and got out there and practiced.  It doesn't come over night and don't expect to save 60% on your first order.  If you keep at it though, it will come.  New coupons come every Sunday (except on a holiday week) and new ones are always appearing online.  Every week, there are new chances to grab great deals, it's very exciting!!! I hope you all give it a try because, honestly, there are so many places in life that it's almost impossible to save, like your mortgage or those dang medical bills, so why would you want to spend more on food when with some planning, you don't have to??  You know I am right!! Good luck and happy couponing!!

Get your shop on

Today I attended my first coupon class.  You'll be glad to know that I didn't really learn anything "new", besides a few tricks, which means that you too can self-teach yourself how to coupon.  But, you don't actually have to "self-teach" because I am here to help you.  As I attended my class, I thought "I could have done this!" which makes me think that maybe I should have a class someday??  If you think this would interest you, facebook me! Anyways...let's get to it!  Ok, so this post will be about shopping with your coupons.
I ALWAYS bring my binder when I shop.  I just do.  Before my binder, I would always tend to see some deal where I'd wish I had my coupons with me!  I have three little kids and I DO NOT like making multiple shopping trips a week, so I like to do my best to get it all in one shot.  Occasionally I will have to run back for a new deal, but only for a quick run.  Speaking of new deals, once you find a site you like, check it regularly because new deals are always appearing!  This is why I love, love, love "the cents able shoppin".  Sheryl, who I had the pleasure of meeting today, is sooo great at updating new deals daily! There are also unadvertised deals you may score, if you have your binder with you.
When I shop, I like to grab the stuff that may be sold out of first, then begin my regular shopping.  I always check sales and coupon prices to make sure that the sale I planned to get it actually the best one, which is why having all your q's with you is helpful.  Now I will go over some basics of couponing:
* read the print on your q, if it says an amount off of 1, you have to buy ONE item and can use ONE coupon.  If it says an amount off of 2, then you have to buy TWO items, but can still only use ONE coupon.  Make sure you have the correct number of items per coupon or else the register will beep and you may have to adjust something which is a pain and may mess up if you are doing a sale like the "mega" sale, where you need to buy X amount of items to get a certain amount off.
* pay attention that you are grabbing the correct item to match the coupon, read the print, don't just look at the picture, because you may be able to get a different item than the coupon shows.
* pay attention to expiration dates, MOST stores will not take them after they have expired, the register will beep
* you can use ONE STORE coupon and ONE MANUFACTURE coupon per item.  Target is a great example of this.  Store coupons are put out by stores, manufacture coupons are put out by companies.  Go to target.com/coupons and print their coupons and you can stack that with a manu one. For example, say Gardiner shampoo is normally $2.99 for one but is one sale for $2.49.  Say target has a $1/1 and Gardiner has a $1/1 that you got in the paper, stack those and you are now getting shampoo or conditioner for $0.49!  That's a pretty good deal!!  Even if I have 5-6 of an item, this is the kind of deal I will always snag, because I KNOW I will need this at some point!
* to coupon well, you can't be a brand snob.  This was a bit harder for me when I first started.  I have my limits but I am ok with buying most brands of items, if I can score a good deal.  There are certain things I won't budge on though. like I have to buy "free and clear" laundry soap and I prefer to buy more "natural" cleaners.  It's easy to find deals if you are alright with not always using the same brand of deodorant.
* If the store is sold out of a particular deal you wanted to score, grab a rain check.  If it's an "unadvertised" deal, a store may not give you one, but it can't hurt to ask.
* Something I forget to mention in my first post about where to get q's is CATALINAS.  A catalina is a coupon that will print when you are checking out.  A catalina deal is when you have to buy a certain number of items and you get a coupon that will print out that you can use on your next order (OYNO) for anything.  These are great to score, if you can.  Here's example of a cat deal I grabbed this week at frys: fiber one bars (chewy granola and the mini brownies) were on sale at the mega at frys for $1.99 wyb 10 (normally $2.49 each).  I bought four and used a $0.50 cents/1 coupon for each that was matched up to $1/1 so I got each box for $0.99 BUT then when I bought 4, I got a cat coupon that printed off for $2.00 OYNO, so it's almost like getting each for 49 cents, which is pretty good since normally they are $2.49!  Look for cat deals to print at the end of your transaction and also listed on deal sites.
* Stores are paid 8 cents per coupon, so don't feel bad about using them! 
* Break apart your transactions if your store limits the number of coupons that will double.  If your store only lets you use three like coupons, but you want to buy 6 items, split your main transaction into smaller ones to maximize savings.  My fry's still isn't limiting, but many are, so just be prepared.  Get a copy of the store's coupon policy and carry it in your binder!  That way if some fool check out lady (yea, it's usually the ladies that give you the most trouble) questions what you are doing, you can whip out your policy and prove her wrong.
* Speaking of check out people....CHOOSE WISELY.  I have a list of people I will go to and won't.  Try to shop at the same times so you know they'll be there!  I love my fry's guys! The fry's ladies?? Not so much...Teenagers are ALWAYS a great choice, they could give a sh*t about you and your q's, they send them ALL through :) Im my experience, STAY AWAY FROM THE OLD LADIES.  Trust me.
* Varying stores are different to shop at: shopping at walgreens and cvs are totally unique, if you want to know how to shop there, let me know, it's a pretty major event. Walmart will price match, but I hate walmart so I don't care about them
Ok, I'm DONE typing for tonight...I hope to GOD someone is reading this and is being inspired, because this is a lot of work!! Ha! Tomorrow will be the last coupon post, which will be about stockpiling.  I need some more wine!  Good night all!

A little planning goes a long way

Ok,  now you have your coupons clipped, filed, and sorted into appropriate categories so now it's time to get ready to shop!  Before you step into the store, though, you need to make a plan.  I love plans, I plan everything.  I don't like to just wonder what's going to happen, I need to know know! Same goes with my shopping, especially for things like food and target trips.  It's much easier to stay on budget with a plan!  My planning begins at the beginning of the month with my supper meal plan.  I use a cute blank calendar from The Project Girl and I plan my suppers out for the month.  I take into account what's typically on sale and what I have in my stockpile when planning.  One of the benefits of having a husband who isn't home most nights for supper is that I don't have to cook meat, which is quite expensive, every night.  I only plan for about three "meat" meals a week, and typically stick with chicken or lean ground beef since it's cheaper.  I'll buy steak, my husband's fav, maybe once or twice a month...if he's lucky!!  The kids and I aren't big meat eaters, so it works for us.  We always do breakfast for dinner at least once a week, different pastas a few nights and usually a soup/sandwich combo as well.  This helps to keep weekly food costs down.  I like planning our suppers so when I make my list, I can look up each recipe and check on any ingredients I don't have on hand and add them to my list.
I shop every Wednesday for food and usually Monday for Target.  I don't go to target EVERY week, but come on, you know I WANT to ;) Why those days?  Because that's the first day of my store's sale cycles.  Fry's and Safeway's sales run Wednesday through Tues and Target begins its new sales on Monday.  Mass friends, you'll have to check for yourself because I'm not sure. Check your weekly sales flyer, it will be at the bottom.  The reason I like to shop at the first day of the sale is for more inventory!!  Us couponers know the deals and if you don't get on it, your store may be out of stock. Before I shop, I make my list at home.  I start by writing down the things we are out of, obviously, then I check my recipes for the week to see if there are any weird ingredients I don't have on hand.  I'm sure those of you know know me well know where I get my recipes from ;) Then I start looking for my deals....
This is the part where it's nice to know where to look.  I follow certain coupon blogs that list the deals and coupon match ups by store.  If you are in T-Town or Phx, I LOVE the centsable shoppin.  She is based in Phoenix and lists the local deals by store.  The krazy coupon ladies are pretty good too, but i find their prices vary some since they post them nationally.  I love to gossip is based out of Maine and I see her listing sales for Shaw's.  These sites will list the sales and tell you which coupons are available for match up with.  If you take anything away from this post its this: ALWAYS TRY TO MATCH A COUPON WITH A SALE.  My family knows that I will not buy junk, ie. chips, cookies, ice cream, fruit snacks unless they are on sale AND I have a coupon.  I just won't do it!! Here's where it comes in handy to have your coupons organized.  Find your deal, match it with your coupon and add it to your stack.  Simple, right??  Well, mostly :) I am sooooooo lucky to have my Fry's match all manufacture coupons to $1, it's amazing and awesome.  This way, all coupons that are less than $1, like "save 40 cents/$1" now becomes $1/1, whics is how you get free stuff :)  For example, that hand soap, hefty baggies and GUM tooth brushes were all 10/$10, making them $1 each. Since the coupons I had were $.35/1 for the soap, $.55/1 for the baggies and same for the tooth brushes, fry's rounded up my coupons to $1 each, making them all FREE!  Yippie!  It's ridiculously easy to get toothpaste, floss, toothbrushes, deodorant, and certain foods, like condiments, free.  I won't pay for these types of items. Why would I?  Because I know they will be free soon, and I have a nice stock of them, so I am not forced to spend money on them.  Yes, I realize that one cannot survive on floss and mustard, but not having to spend money on these and other items saves money monthly. The trick to saving money is building a stockpile of items.  I will go further into this in another post, but essentially having items on hand bought super cheap or free, helps to defer your costs.  I have a substantial stock of all health and beauty products, including shampoo and conditioner, cleaning products, tp and paper towels, baby wipes, vinegar (which I use for cleaning), and certain canned and boxed foods, like dry pastas, cereals, and certain snacks.  I have more than I listed but I will go into it further later. In order to build a good stock, you need more than 4 coupons.  If you pay attention, you can know when a good sale is going to happen and order some coupons for that item.  My couponing buddy, Kim, and I just fairly recently started doing this and it's great!  We both got 20+ vinegars and 20+ packages for toilet paper free recently since we ordered the coupons!!  This is a great way of getting a lot of a particular item you use a lot, like toilet paper!  We have 5 bums in this house...that's a lot of TP! Target will also match their coupons with a manufacture one, called a "stack".  I will go into this more tomorrow, but this is the best way to save at target.  So, find the sites you feel good about and "like" them on facebook so you can get a heads up on what's happening.  "Like" a few since some tend to figure out smoking deals before others.
Ok, I think that's good for today...tomorrow I have a free couponing class (yippie!) I am going to, hopefully I can learn a few new tricks to pass along to you all.  Tomorrow night, I will post about actually shopping with your glorious q's!!

Here's a recap of my favorite sites:
http://www.thecentsableshoppin.com/
http://thekrazycouponlady.com/
http://www.ilovetogossip.com/
http://www.totallytarget.com/
http://www.iheartkroger.com/

Organizing all your new-found coupons

See that loveliness above???  That's my version of "extreme couponing". 99% savings at one store and 100% at a second.  Total on all those items I spent $1.15.  Want to learn how??  Well then pay attention because I will teach you, but not today because first you need to organize your new found coupons that we talked about yesterday.  A place for everything and everything in it's place.  Its my motto in life as well as couponing.  You can't save big at the store without a plan and you can't make your plan if you have a bunch of coupons stuffed in an envelope.  Well, maybe you could, but you'd look like a fool and you don't want that, do you????  I didn't think so. So today, I will explain how I organize my coupons.  I used to use a small accordion file when I first started, but that was when I was small-time, now I am more awesome so my coupons needed an upgrade.
Step one: get a binder
My first binder was a 2-in, then I traded up for a 3 in.  It was just your traditional 3 ring binder, but I began to find it hard to carry that, the kids, my diaper bag, my chai and my reusable bags from the car to the store.  Can you picture me with all that stuff??  It was a fricken riot.  So I decided that I did not care if i looked like a nerd, I wanted a zippered binder with a strap.  YES A STRAP.  And it's awesome.  Dorky and ugly but awesome.  Now I can zipper up and keep my coupons safe and have one less thing to hold.

Hideous, right??  Now if only Kate Spade would design a coupon binder I'd be all set.  Until then I feel at peace knowing my coupons are safe and I got a smoking deal on this binder using a coupon stack at Target. Ok, so why the 3 ring binder??  Because you are going to fill it with baseball card holders at you can put your coupons in.  This way, they are all separate and none are being lost in a stack in an envelope.

Here's the inside of my binder.  It actually had two sets of rings so I have food and non-food items separate.  You can buy these binder sheets at Target fairly cheap.  They are in that weird section of baseball and pokemon cards.  You can also steal them from your kids, mine are two small for these cards though.
Step two: get your binder sheets and separate your binder into sections that make sense for YOU. As an example, I have fresh produce in one section, dairy in another, meat in a third, bread in a fourth.  I combine pasta, sauces and rice in one because they are all in the same aisle in the store.  I do the same with non-food items: soaps and body washes are together, cleaning products are on their own, laundry and dish washing to together.  So separate them in a way that makes sense to you, clip your coupons and put your small stacks of the same coupons in one little sleeve.  If you want me to tell you all my sections, as me on FB and I'll message them to you. Watch for expiration dates, sometimes similar coupons will have different ex. dates so make sure you separate those so you don't waste them! 
Step three: clip, sort and file your coupons.  Now that that is done you are almost ready to shop.  I have added some extra things to my binder to help me plan my trips.  In the front of my binder, I have a plastic sleeve for each store and some lined notebook paper.  This way, when I plan my trips, I can place my coupons that I am going to use in the sleeve and write my list on the paper.  This keeps all my stuff together so nothing gets lost in the craziness that is my life.  My awesome binder also has a cool smaller front zippered section that I keep a small pair of scissors, pens, paper clips and a calculator, just in case. If you have a regular binder, you could use a pencil case that can attach to the rings of the binder.
Ok, so that's about it.  Now you have your coupons and have organized them in their proper places.  Now when you plan your trip, they will all be easy to find and to grab.  Tomorrow I will teach you how to PLAN your shopping trip, because shopping like this does take some planning.  I'm a planner by nature, so I don't mind.  Plus saving money is part of my job description.  I also like getting crap for free. :)

Coupons are a girl's best friend!

Ok, fair warning: this post, and probably the next few, will be about couponing.  So if you are uninterested in saving money, then skip these ones! Now I didn't always coupon.  Before kids, I was a "shop only at Clinique" and a "new designer bag every season" type of gal...but oh, how times have changed.  When Abby was first born, I started using coupons to save $1 or $2 on diapers or whatever and I thought I was awesome when my receipt would say I saved $15!  Wow!  That was like 3 starbucks!  How exciting!  Then came Jacob and then came Hannah and then came the decision for me to stay home.  Now I never made an amazing salary teaching, but it was more than I make now which is basically zero, besides the little money I get from tutoring a few times a week.  When I was going to stay home, my full-time job became to take care of the kids, run the household and save money.  David makes the money and I try hard not to spend it all ;) I am not going to get into budgeting and stuff, I'm not always the best at that myself.  I will, however, give some serious tips on getting starting couponing and a few tricks I've learned.  People always ask me to teach them what I know, so I will do my best.
Please be aware that I consider myself a semi-pro when it comes to couponing.  I know a few people that are better than me but many more that I could kick their butts.  This is not like that show "Extreme Couponing".  I actually hate that show.  It's not very realistic when it comes to everyday shopping.  Essentially those people are getting 100 of four or five items, so it's easy to save that way!  I have done transactions where I've saved 100%, but not on my weekly shopping trips, where I am buying cheese, milk and produce.  I am going to do a series of posts on couponing, the first one being on finding your coupons!
**First tip:  you cannot save big money buy using 4-5 coupons.  It just doesn't happen.  Any savings is good, but you need more coupons to save more, obviously.  I save an average of 60% when I shop, sometimes more, sometimes less.  I start by getting some coupons!  I order four papers a week delivered.  I get 2 AZ daily Stars and 2 AZ republics.  Different papers can carry different coupons so check them out before you order them. The Republic is the Phoenix paper and usually has much better coupons, but I still get the daily star too because some coupons are regional so it's good to have a variety.  I ordered my paper's on a special of $1 a week, so I pay around $16 a month in papers.  You can always get more from the store, but be sure to check the paper because some people are thieves and steal the inserts!
**Other places to get coupons: facebook, redplum, smartsource, target.com, walmart.com, couponnetwork.com, and coupons.com all have printable coupons.  Usually you can print two of each per computer from the internet. Print in black and white to save money on ink, if you can. 
**Ordering coupons:  Know of a great deal coming up??  (I'll teach you to find a the great deals in another post) There are different coupon clipping services you can order from.  I like couponsbydede or Ebay.  Usually there is a small fee, like 8 cents a coupon, and you buy them in lots of 10-20, depending on the site.  This is a great way to build your stockpile (which we'll get into on another post). You can also order whole inserts and no papers from these sites.
**Other places to get q's: friends, family, neighbors that don't use their coupons.  My mom used to always print me coupons and mail them to me :) Miss that!!  Have a coupon buddy that you can trade with...maybe you need baby coupons and she needs dog ones??  Trade! You can email companies and comment on their products, usually you will get coupons in the mail.  Us pro's call this "coupons for compliments".  You could complain, but I don't like to be a jerk, so I only compliment.  Sign up for your stores loyalty cards, usually you will get coupons in the mail, if you shop enough.  There are also coupons on the products.  We call these "peelies", when they are actually ON the product, "blinkies" the little machines that are in the store or "hangies", the little hang tags. My kids are great at finding all these for me!!  I may be forgetting other ways, but you get the gist.
Ok, now you have all your coupons...next post: how to organize them!  I was going to put both on one, but I have been at the computer for longer than I am allowed and my house looks like a Thomas the Train factory exploded.  I must go tend to the little ones...stay tuned for pics of my binder!!!!!