Coups, coups, and some more coups. Because coupons are still cool! But extreme couponing? We’re not sure. You’ll hear a lot of funny stories throughout this episode so stay tuned as we talk about the complete beginner’s guide to modern couponing and the best couponing apps out there.
Don't allow the coupon to tell you what to buy. You tell the coupon what you're gonna buy.
#FrugalFriendsNote
Sponsors:
- Our annual Debt Free Christmas Planner! This free 20-page planner will help you plan your holiday budget and gifts, track online orders, write out your favorite holiday recipes, and track your savings for next Christmas with a cute tree where you can color in all the ornaments! If you are already on our email list then check your inbox today you’ll see it in there. If not, head to frugalfriendspodcast.com/christmas to grab yours, and you’ll get on our email list which gets you all the freebies we send out at least once a month.
Check out some relevant episodes
Couponing 101: The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Couponing
There’s a lot that goes into using coupons. If you want to get started with couponing but aren’t sure about the steps to take, The Coupon Project shared a Couponing 101 where they talked about a solid overview of the basics.
What Jen + Jill have to say:
Even with couponing, Jill agrees that you need to figure out your why. Is it because you’re saving for something specific? Changes in income? Just don’t want to pay full price? Jill also likes the 2 rules in figuring out your why. First is you need to figure out what your family regularly needs and uses; and second is to find the sales and coupons on those items. Finding and organizing tangible and digital coupons are the next steps. Jill highlights that coupons are a marketing tool.
Jen adds the importance of understanding store sale cycles. Jen goes on to talk about how to use coupons by deciding your boundaries such as making a list & choosing one store. Jen also reminds us that some items never go on sale.
Best Couponing Apps of 2022
So where can we find these modern coupons if we don’t buy the Sunday paper? Investopedia listed the best coupon apps for 2022 while Jen and Jill talk about what they think about their top 4.
What Jen + Jill have to say:
Dosh is Jen and Jill’s best overall. It’s great for restaurants + you get a $1 bonus when you connect your card and make your first cash-back-eligible purchase here.
Ibotta is definitely Jen’s favorite. You can get a $10 bonus after you redeem your first brand name offer here.
Honey is great for automatic coupons and does well with Amazon. The article says you can only redeem gift cards but you can now get cash back (still can’t do that with Capital One Shopping). If you wanna try Honey, you can do so here. (No bonus, just a longer link LOL)
‘Tis the season for Rakuten. Rakuten is another favorite that Jen and Jill have been recommending since Day 1. Earn a $40 bonus after you make $40 in Qualifying Purchase(s) within 90 days of signing up here.
A time when couponing helped us in a way we didn’t expect
Jill was very quick with her answer. You all will probably recognize JoAnn fabrics, a place where you should never ever pay full price for anything. Jill found an inexpensive fabric that she got for 50% off with a coupon. Meanwhile, Jen was reminded of a time when she got a Bed Bath & Beyond 20% off coupon for everything she wanted.
Bill of The Week
Thank you Tamara for sharing your bill of the week about avoiding bills (because of fear they will be expensive). Then opening a store card bill where you learn you owe $1!!
Thanks so Much for Listening!
Thanks so much for listening! Many of you know we have a private community where we do monthly money challenges and offer accountability groups. We want to congratulate one of our members for a big win:
✰✰✰✰✰
Hey all! I wanted to share because I have been focused on paying down my student loans.
Hey all! I wanted to share because I have been focused on paying down my student loans. Originally when I started this process I took the higher of the 2 lower balanced loans and my goal was to pay it off in a year. I started focusing on that loan but when there were talks about rates increasing, I pivoted to my only loan that has a variable interest rate.
When I joined this group (June 29 2022) my rate was 2.62% and my balance was $4,788.28. as of today my balance is $2,176.36 and my rate is 5.30%. I am so glad I made the change to my plan because who knows how high that is going to climb. I should have it paid off by April 2023 the latest. I pay on average $520/month towards the loan (if there is an additional Thursday in the month it ends up being $620 for that month). Small efforts become big results.
Kori
Congrats! Thanks for listening and if you want to check out our monthly challenge community head to frugalfriendspodcast.com/club to see what challenge we have coming up next.
Keep leaving us reviews on iTunes or Stitcher, and sending the screenshot to reviews@frugalfriendspodcast.com. And don’t forget to share your favorite quote from the episode by using the hashtag #FrugalFriendsNote. 😉