Freebie: E-Couponing Class

So, I haven't taken this one myself so I can't give you any kind of review on it but there's an offer for a FREE E-Couponing Class HERE. It sounds like you get couponing info. delivered right into your email inbox.

Freebie: Coupon e-Course

To Save A Penny has all the details HERE on a FREE coupon e-Course. I haven't looked at this one yet but it might be something for those of you that are new to couponing to consider.

Couponizer: The New Version Arrived!

Like I mentioned last week, the Couponizer was coming out with a new edition. Well, it arrived! So those of you looking for a different method of organizing your coupons, check out the Couponizer here

Couponing Basics: Understanding BOGO Coupons and BOGO Sales

BOGO (Buy-One-Get-One) coupons and sales are the still the hardest thing for me to wrap my head around as a couponer. And that's mostly because they are almost too good to be true sometimes! :) Now keep in mind, it's always up to the stores on what their policies are on handling coupons. But here is how they generally work:

BOGO Coupon By Itself (or a BOGO sale item by itself) - If you use a BOGO coupon by itself, you'll pay full price for one item and get the other one for FREE.

Coupons on BOGO Sale Items - If your store is running a BOGO sale on an item, you can use TWO coupons, one for each item, even though one item was technically free. The reason for this is because the sale is offered by the store and the coupons are re-imbursed by the Manufacturers.

BOGO Coupons w/ BOGO Sale Items - This is like winning the lotto. You get BOTH items for FREE. Why? The store will give you one for FREE with the sale and the manufacturer will re-imburse them for the value of the coupon. (Check your store for policy on this.)

The best way to use BOGOs? Shop with a friend and split the bill! (unless you personally need two of one item.) This is especially helpful if you only have one set of coupons to use.

Always keep in mind that you have to pay tax on the free item. Like they always say, nothing in life is free. :)

Hope this helps!

Welcome, My New Couponing Friends!

Last night started off terrible and ended up beautiful!! I was multi-tasking to the extreme getting my kids settled, while printing coupons and getting supper finished. I finally headed out for my last trip of the week. (I broke my rule of a one-trip week...do you blame me?!) Immediately, my game-plan was foiled. I tried to take the back way into town and there were several police cars blocking the road. A semi-truck had hit a huge tree smashing it like an accordion. Let me tell you, a sight like that makes you realize how mortal we all are! I was a little shaken up and had to do a U-turn and head the opposite direction. I was now reduced from the mall and 6 Walgreens to 3 Walgreens.

And what do you know...the first two were out of Huggies! Part of me was wishing I had picked up more earlier in the week but I was trying to be nice and let everyone get some. So now I have to change my shopping game-plan again. So I'm standing by the Glade and my coupons are a mess. And I'm a mess. I'm in some grunge clothes, no make-up, I've done nothing with my hair and, to my discovery later, have chocolate on me from Nathan's supper cookie! (So basically, I look like a Mom of a 4mo. old and a 2 year old!) :) And then my night gets beautiful...three wonderful women, Sherry, Diane and Nancy, walk up also looking for Glade.

I'm shaking in my inner core from my night and Sherry asks where I got my Glade coupon. I told her my website and start digging for my card. Of course I can't find it! I'm a MESS!! I finally find them and wish them well and move on only to discover another deal isn't in stock. (Ever have one of these nights?) I bumped into Sherry and Diane again and we start coupon-chatting. It was so much fun. I love meeting other couponers. And I love especially meeting new couponers that I can help. I'd love to help everyone learn how to save lots of $$$!

So in the end, my horrible night turned into a beautiful one because I met three new wonderful people. So here's a little shout out to them ---Welcome ladies!

And by a miracle...the last Walgreens had packs of diapers for me! A true blessing since having 2 in diapers can really break the bank if you don't stock up!

No matter how busy or horrible your day is, I hope all of you stop to help your fellow couponers. Who knows...you might just make both of your days! :) And lessons learned for me...NEVER, EVER go shopping without being organized first. The extra 10 minutes of organizing coupons and attaching them to a list will save you double that time at the store. I'm usually so organized when I go out, so it was a weird experience for me.

What is Vocal Point?

After my last posting, I thought I should do another call-out on Vocal Point for any new readers.

If you haven't already, you'll definitely want to go here to sign-up for Vocal Point. They are really good about sending you GREAT coupons! You can read all about them here.

Basically they'll send you a bunch of coupons for an item. One/Two for you and a few others to pass out to your family/friends so they can try the product, too. You can then log on and give your opinion about the product. (Don't worry if you forget to do this!)

Trust me...when you get your first set of coupons, you'll be thanking me for telling you about it! :) And no, there's no "referrals" connected with this company. Just a happy participant here.

Help For New Couponers & Bloggers

I've been receiving some emails and comments lately from readers asking for various "helps" with couponing and blogging.

Over the next few weeks, you'll be seeing some postings going up with information on how to coupon and how to create a blog. As I post these, I'll add them on my right sidebar under "Info and How Tos."

Veterans: I will still do my best to bring you the best deals/freebies etc during this time. But please be patient with me as I try to help out our soon-to-be new friends. The goal of "Coupon Geek" has always been to help others. I feel that it is important that I take this time to help out those that are just beginning to coupon and blog.

Newbies: Please also be patient with me. I'll do my best to get these postings up as fast as I can. But it is more important to me that the postings have the most useful info. possible, which takes time to write up. I'm also doing this while taking care of my 2 year old, Nathan and my 3 month old, Kaydi. As you'll soon learn, my family always comes first. :)

ASK THE READERS
To provide you with the best series possible, I'd like to know what areas you are currently either struggling with or would like to learn more on. Please remember, I don't claim to be an expert in either field, but I can teach you what I do know. I also have great friends that have offered to help when I get stuck. :)

So drop me a comment/email letting me know what you'd like to learn! (Click on Comments under this posting. Either log-in under your Google ID or choose Anonymous and just add your name on the comment.)

And thank you to all for stopping by Coupon Geek. I'm excited to meet you all! If you have any friends/family that have been wanting to learn how to coupon/blog, make sure you tell them to stop by and we'll try and help them out, too!