[MothyrGrimm]

Member name: MothyrGrimm

Name: Stephanie

Location: Florida

Stores I Shop at: Walmart, Publix, CVS, Target, Albertsons, K-Mart, and sometimes Walgreens.

Weekly grocery budget: ~$50

Number of people in my family: 3

Number of pets: 2-ish... cat and a fish tank

Years Couponing/Refunding: 0

Favorite Coupon of all time: $2/1 Maybelline Lip product Manu Q 9/11 RP or the $8/2 Cover Girl coupon... even though I actually never had either in my possession.

What I hope to get from AFC: A new way of life, and a way to help support my young (I'm 21) growing family.

Hobbies/Interests: Being a new mommy! Couponing, scrapbooking, fish keeping, college - elementary education, cloth diapering, self sustaining, hobby farming, "green" & DIY living.

I've been looking through everything on the 101 forum's and they've been a huge help! I can't wait to get started and have already been recruiting neighbors for their papers, any tips on other ways to get my coupon numbers up? I know you can buy extras online, but I literally have like $2 in the bank... Also how long does it usually take to get your coupons "established" where you can plan actual trips? I'm so anxious and my sad lonely newspaper is screaming at me. Thanks everyone!

[iluvadoption]

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iluvadoption

[elvis fan]

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[Z and G's Mom]

<a href="http://cooltext.com"><img src="http://images.cooltext.com/2204005.jpg" width="777" height="90" alt="WELCOME TO AFC!" /></a><br />

Hi and welcome to AFC! THE best, and most informative, forum on the internet!
Here’s some advice for your couponing journey…

** READ READ READ READ READ READ READ!! And then READ some more! Learn your local store’s coupon policies - GROCERY STORE FORUMS. Print those policies out and keep them with you at all time! You’ll be surprised at how often cashiers and even store managers are unfamiliar with all the intricacies of their own policies!

** Don’t be afraid to ask questions - COUPONING 101!

** START SLOWLY! If you jump in too fast, you’ll get frustrated. PLEASE don’t think that if you don’t build a massive stockpile overnight, that you are a rotten couponer! It takes time and effort! BUT, if you'd like to peek at what your stockpile COULD look like one day, check THESE out!

** Not sure how to begin? Do a David Letterman… Make two TOP TEN LISTS! One for food and one for non-food items that you and your family use on a daily or weekly basis. If your family is a HUGE pasta eater, then noodles and sauce should be on your list. If you have 4 teenage boys, then body wash/soap is a MUST! Walk through your house as you are making your lists. Then, go to the grocery/drug stores WITHOUT BUYING ANYTHING! Take along a pad of paper (or 6) and make notes on current prices for those items on your Top Ten lists. Do this once a week for a few months. Start learning the sales cycles. Start learning the fluctuations in prices and soon you will be able to figure out what your stock-up prices should be. Start your stockpile with items your family will use regularly. Nothing worse than staring at a stockpile with a whole bunch of stuff (gotten for free or really cheap) that no one will EVER use!

** Start clipping your coupons! Sign up for a newspaper delivery – this is THE only way to guarantee that you will receive coupons in the papers you buy. Not all newsstand or drug store papers receive inserts as the inserts will always be placed in subscriber papers first. CALL the newspaper first and make sure of which coupon inserts they carry! Ask about special subscriptions – Sunday or weekend only, discounts for multiple Sunday papers, etc. Start asking your friends and family members for their coupons. You’ll be surprised at how many people just toss them in the garbage – YIKES! **Need complete sets of inserts? No problem! Click COMPLETE INSERTS for LOTS of choices!

MOST OF ALL – HAVE FUN! If you ever have any questions you’d rather not ask in the open forums, click JESSIE to ask me directly! Glad you’re here in the AFC family!

[Z and G's Mom]

There are a couple of ways to procure more q's.

#1. Ask EVERYONE you know to save them out of their Sunday papers for you. Call them on Sunday afternoon to remind them to do so. You would be amazed at how many people don't even glance at them!

#2. Find out if it is legal to dumpster dive in your state. If it is, call up your local recycling center and ask if you can come down and dig thru the recycling bins. It's cleaner than you would think since it's only paper. Take gloves, a step ladder, a box or bag to put them in, and one of those grabber arms if you have one.

#3. Check out the ROAK forum here on AFC - http://www.afullcup.com/forums/raoks/ - this is a GREAT place to get q's that people have decided they just won't use and want to give away for NOTHING!

#4. Jump on a Coupon Train - http://www.afullcup.com/forums/coupon-trains/ - this is also a VERY easy way to get q's. Trains vary greatly. Some are just for newbies, some are for vets, some are a mix. The conductor will send out an address list and the first envie of q's to the next person on the train, and so on. (Some trains have different rules and regs. Make sure you have the time to commit to a train before joining.)

#5. Go to your local drug stores, gas stations, etc and ask the manager if you can take all of his extra Sunday papers off their hands if they haven't sold them. Many will have some papers left over and will give them to you for nothing. Tell him you will recycle the parts of the papers you do not use.

#6. Check the Coupon Database - Grocery Coupons- A Full Cup - Coupons - for where the q's you are looking for were located in the first place. This way you can be specific in your requests. Also check the database for IP's that you can print directly from manufacturer websites, Facebook or one of the online coupon sites.

There are more ways to get q's but these are good ways to get started.

[MothyrGrimm]

Thanks so much everyone! The tips are great, I never even thought about some of those.

[Weatie]

Welcome to AFC...
We are happy you have found the best Frugal living and couponing site on the web.

To help you get started in understanding a bit about couponing please take a look at these links.

This one is written by an AFC member. Its a great Where to begin post. http://www.afullcup.com/forums/coupo...couponing.html

Couponing 101 - Grocery Coupons & Deal Forums - A Full Cup
Grocery Coupons & Deal Forums - A Full Cup - FAQ
AFC 101 - Grocery Coupons & Deal Forums - A Full Cup

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