How to Generate Income and Make Money For Your Family : Coupons

I am currently a stay at home mom (SAHM) but I am really a full time student and my area of study is nursing.  I will begin my clinical study in the fall of 2013.  I can't wait! But..until then I will be staying at home with our new little baby and it is a blessing.  I am able to exclusively breastfeed among other things.  One of the "other" things I am doing is trying to generate income for our family to allow me to finish school.  I have found that there are more ways to generate income then actually bringing cash in the door and I would love to share my secrets and journey with you all.

Let's talk coupons!

I LOVE coupons and trust me they are not just for groceries.  I use coupons for everything from clothes to make-up.  I have found that the key to getting coupons that you actually want to use is applying for frequent shopping cards at all the places you love to shop weather it be groceries, clothing or make-up.  Yes, when you sign up for the frequent shopping cards and programs they will ask for your email but don't worry about your inbox filling with junk.  All you need to do is unsubscribe from the email and they will stop but you will still receive your valuable money saving coupons in the mail.

Grocery Cards:
I have shoppers card for our local grocery store Kroger and along with saving money at the register on in store deals they also track my most frequent purchases and send me coupons in the mail about once a month for those items.  In addition to those in mail coupons I also downloaded the free coupon app they have to my phone.  I can load e-coupons to my card before I head to the store...TIP* be careful about this. You cannot combine e-coupons and paper coupons for a single item and most stores will double your paper coupon but not the e-coupon..So, if you have a paper one you will probably save more money!  

Frequent Shopping Cards for Retailers:
My favorite frequent shopping card by far is for Express! I love getting coupons in the mail for their store. I love their clothes and practically live in black legging from their store and my husband LOVES their pants and shorts.  Typically, about once every 6 weeks I get a coupon for x amount of dollars off a 30$, 75$, 200$ ect..purchase.  The last time we shopped their I had two of these coupons we spent 500$ but after the discounts it was only 210$ out of pocket!  I did have to split the purchases in to two but it was so worth it.  In addition to the great deal I received I was able to order some items that were not in the store in my size I received FREE shipping to my home!  I also received points for my purchases and once I accumulate a certain number of points I can get cash to spend at the store.

I also LOVE Sephora.  Their card works a bit differently.  I get a free gift on my birthday and I earn points for every dollar I spend and once I spend 'x' amount of money I get a gift.  I am currently saving enough points to get a collection of full size Bare Essentials lip glosses.  

I suggest signing up for these cards where ever you can.

General Coupons:
Personally, I don't like websites like coupons.com or others like that. I never find coupons for things I actually need in my home.  We don't eat a ton of processed foods, chips, or frozen products and usually that is all I run across. Also, I have been meaning to get a Sunday paper subscription for over a year now. I totally get that if I subscribe for a year that I will save .50 cents a paper on Sundays but I keep forgetting to do it.  I also know that not every Sunday paper has good coupons or some at all! Sunday papers that are distributed over holiday weekends like Easter and Christmas DO NOT have coupons so to me that paper would be useless.  The rule of thumb is that if the bank closes there will be no coupons.  Instead, I get a paper two times a month.  I save the coupons in a folder like this one (Jokari-US 55047 E-Z Coupon Holder - Taupe ) and I always take a few minutes to flip though them before I make my list.

Here is the BIG way I save money on groceries without extreme couponing.  I mean honestly what mom has the time to clip coupons for hours and troll the recycling centers for inserts. I have a screaming three year old and a newborn who eats every 2-3 hours. I keep a running list on my refrigerator and we do not deviate from the list.  This is great for two reasons. First, it makes the shopping quick and I usually can get in and out of the store before any major melt downs occur.  Second, It totally helps us stay on budget and I don't fill the house with crap that we don't need.  Right before we run out the door to do the shopping I thumb though my coupons and phone app and add the coupons I want to my card.

These are not ways that I am bringing money into my home in the traditional sense but every penny I save us on things we were going to buy anyways frees up money to be spent in other places.  These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my penny pinching ways..Much more to come later!