The Coupon Convert

Ever since D and I got married, my mother-in-law has clipped coupons for items she thought we would use. Just between you and me, til now those tickets to savings often sat quietly on the television as I headed out the door to the store. Only to later be tossed in the trash after they had expired.

Those days are over. It’s no surprise with the economic woes we all face, the time has come to take the couponing plunge and join the ranks of savers everywhere. Now, if I just could figure out the secrets to coupon success. It can take forever to find coupons that actually benefit you – it’s not much of a savings if you’re buying things you don’t even need just because you have a coupon. And how much have you really saved if you had to buy so much of an item that most of it expires before you can use it? What you need is a easy, worthwhile (and quick!) way to get to the savings.

A friend recently recommended checking out Kroger’s website for in-store deals and access to great coupons. She told me this months ago and I just got around to it. It saddens me when I think of all the savings I missed out on in the meantime. I’ve been a long time Kroger Plus Rewards Member, but I had no idea about the online benefits.

One of my favorite features is the direct link to P&G savings. From the Kroger’s home page you can click directly to the P&G offers currently available for laundry detergent and diapers and soap and…the P&G list of products goes on and on. Find coupons you’ll use and you can hit a button to have them directly added to your Rewards Card – no printing or clipping necessary. Even a rookie like me can handle this and it’s oh, so eco-friendly!

The links don’t stop there shoppers. You can go directly to Shortcuts.com to get savings on entire meals – so easy for the busy mom who needs inspiration for seven nights of supper.

There is another area on the website you can click and enter your zip-code to print out coupons specifically for your area Kroger store. I entered mine and more than fifty coupons popped up. After looking through them, over half were for items I use regularly – not just stuff no one really needs or uses.

It will take you days to check out all the great things on Kroger’s site: in-store ads, recipes, links to free samples…there’s a whole lot packed into that little web address.

The generous folks at Kroger’s have given me a $25.00 gift certificate for one lucky reader. To enter, simply visit their site and tell me what your favorite part of it is, provide me a link to it so I can check it out too. I’ll take entries until 11:59 pm EST, November 14th so the winner will have their gift certificate in time for Thanksgiving shopping. Winner will be chosen randomly from qualified entries. Good Luck!