Getting Started

There are a few MUST haves.

1. Get another email address. One you will use for coupons, signing up for freebies, coupons and inevitabley spam. I suggest getting a google( gmail ) account. I find it easiest and with the best spam blockers. Use it only for this purpose.

2. Subscribe to the Sunday paper. It seems a bit unfrugal to buy a paper but will save you hundreds in the long run. The Harold Dispatch charges $7.75 per month for Sunday only delivery. You can also buy the paper cheaper at Walmart for $0.99 on Sundays, saving $3.71 per month but I am not the get up early on Sunday and drive to Walmart type. So, I opted for delivery. Do what is best and/or most convenient for you. On a side note, if you have problems with undelivered or stolen papers, call them at your earliest convenience and they will credit your account.

3. a) Most of us have a Kroger card, if you are among the few who don't, this is a MUST. Also, go ahead and get out your Kroger card right now and register your card with
pgesaver.com. This is a new service from Proctor & Gamble products that will preload coupons on to your Krogers Shoppers card. These coupons are STACKABLE with manufacturers and printed coupons. The site says available from October to December. I am hoping this is a "beta" test and it proves popular and they keep the service. They are called ecoupons and I believe they change or add new ones once a month. You can add 25 to your card at one time. Also, you can register your card with shortcuts.com where you can also preload coupons to your card.
b) I know Krogers in Huntington gives a little less savings on gas than Ashland and I can only talk of Ashland Krogers fueling station. If you have any insight on the Huntington Kroger, please feel free to share. Anyways, Ashland Kroger gives 6 cents off per gallon with your card, anytime. BUT, if you spend $100 in a month on groceries, you get a whopping 10 cents off per gallon for the remainder of that month and you do not actually have to pay $100 for the groceries. The $100 goal is counted before discounts and/or coupons.

4. Again, most of us have a CVS card but if you don't, this is another MUST. Tons of freebies to be had there. CVS offers Extra Care Bucks with purchase. You get 2% back on everything you buy but they also offer bonus ECB's every week with purchase of certain items. For those of you who are not familiar with ECB's, I can give a short summary and you can read more indepth
HERE. ECB's print out every 3 months or immediately on special purchases. It is a print out at the bottom of your receipt that will say something like "Congratulations, you earned $4 in Extra Care Bucks". You can then rip that part off and use it just like a gift card on any purchase in the store excluding tobacco, alcohol, lottery and the like. You can also use your CVS card to put savings into a Upromise account.

5. This last is not a must but highly suggested. Get a K7 phone number. It will enable you to give that phone number for filling out freebies and such. It will be YOUR phone number that people can call and leave a message and that message is forwarded to your email. You can even receive faxes and personalize your message. Check it out. It is 100% free. Remember though, that if it is not utilized once a month it will delete your account and you will have to create a new one. So, make sure you log into it at least once a month.
http://www.k7.net/

6. Have fun and Save money!!! Remember, it takes time to save money. How much time and money is up to the individual. For me, 2 hours a week on average saves me $200 on groceries and staples every 2 weeks.