I received an advanced copy of the new book from “The Coupon Mom” back in December. It’s taken me this long to digest the book and write this post because there is so much great information in it. I was excited when I had the opportunity to read the book because I’ve seen Stephanie Nelson on television and she makes it look easy.

In her new book, “The Coupon Mom’s Guide To Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half,” Nelson shares her secrets on getting the most for your dollar. She starts by talking about what type of shopper you are: busy, rookie or varsity and has advice throughout the book based on each shopping type.

What I like about the book is that Nelson is not only a mother and savvy shopper, but she’s well spoken and clearly uses her business background to help shoppers learn techniques that can help save their families a lot of money. Here’s some of what I’m taking away from the book:

• Even though I’m a busy working mother, I can save money with coupons. Nelson’s personal strategy is not to spend hours every week cutting coupons; instead, she saves the circulars each week and puts a date on the front. No clipping coupons yet. When she’s ready to shop, she consults her Web site’s Grocery Deals database to find the best deals for the week. The database will tell her which circular to find the coupons and then she simply clips the coupons she’s using for that shopping trip.
• Knowledge is power, or in Nelson’s case, store and pricing knowledge is money. She says to learn what is on sale, when at your local grocery and drug stores (as well as other stores) so that you know when to buy what. An example she gives is that her local grocery store puts chicken on sale once a month. She knows when this happens and buys four weeks worth of chicken when it’s on sale.
• Combine store coupons with manufacturer coupons to receive maximum benefits. Before reading this book I didn’t even realize there was a difference between a manufacturer coupon and store coupon, let alone that you can use them both on an item and save big! I think this is the secret to how Nelson can go into a store and get $100 worth of groceries for pennies (see video below).
• Sign up for and use couponmom.com. Nelson’s Web site is a goldmine. This is where the time saving techniques really come into play. Every week her site is updated with local discounts. The magic is that you can find discounts in  your local area simply by clicking a few pages of her site and you be rewarded with a grid that tells you what items are on sale, which coupons to use, where to find the coupons and it will show you a final price you’ll pay for that item. It also shows you when you can get things for free using sales and coupons. You don’t have to do the legwork, just use the database to find the deals.

The book also has chapters on wholesale clubs, the breakout of drugstores and their rewards programs, how to use couponmom.com and chapters about how to save buying meat, vegetables, dairy and sweets. She even throws in some recipes that she uses with her family. This book is like an encyclopedia for saving money. Well worth the read because even if you implement only one of her strategies, you’ll surely save money.

If you don’t believe it or haven’t seen Nelson in action, watch this short clip where she gets $100 worth of groceries for 25 cents!

Photo credit: Stephanie Nelson

Related:

• CouponMom.com
• Stephanie Nelson’s Coupon Mom show airs on You Tube every Thursday. “In her new series, Nelson teaches real families how to save BIG by sharing her infamous tips and tricks on how to get the biggest bang for your buck without sacrificing quality.”
• “The Coupon Mom’s Guide To Cutting Your Grocery Bills In Half” Amazon link and reviews
• Time.com’s Q&A with Stephanie Nelson, “Coupon Mom: How To Cut Grocery Bills In Half“

It’s a new year, let’s start it out right by learning how to manage our holiday spending money. I know the memories of Christmas 2008 are still only a week old, and who wants to start thinking about what presents you are going to buy for the next Christmas, but it’s exactly what we need to do now.

Start Saving for Christmas 2009

Years ago I joined a Christmas club at my local bank. It’s proven to be one of the best things I do each year. Here’s how it works:

You open a separate account, often called a Christmas Club account, at your bank. This account allows you to deposit money, but does not allow you to take any out. Determine an amount to be taken from your paycheck every pay period. Even if it’s only $5 or $10 — it adds up. Every time you get paid, that amount will automatically be deposited into your Christmas Club account.

In November (or whenever you bank determines) the bank will release the total funds to you.

So, let’s say you did $5 each paycheck, starting with your next check.
Let’s assume you get a check every two weeks.
That’s $10 a month.
12 months.
At the end of the year you’ll have $120 to spend at Christmas.
Cash.

Even if it’s only $120, that’s a present, two, three or more. Even if it’s not your entire Christmas budget, it’s a start.

I started my club when I didn’t really think I had the money to save for holiday shopping. I was using credit cards to pay for presents and suffering those consequences later in the year. It was hard to put away money that I didn’t think I had, but in the end I never noticed it was missing. Over the years, as I saw the benefit each Christmas, I upped the amount I was saving from each check. When Christmas came I had enough money to spend on presents, buy a tree and enjoy the holiday knowing that I wouldn’t be swimming in debt afterward. It’s a feeling of relief that every family should have.

Set a Budget

Another benefit is that it helps you set a budget for shopping. If you pre-determine how much you will spend, and have the cash to do it, you’re less likely to overspend. If you never take out that credit card, you never have to. Using cash will be your new modus operandi.

I came across a new Web site that is taking the bank’s Christmas Club idea to the next level. SmartyPig.com helps you set up an FDIC insured bank account online. And, there are more benefits than just saving money:

Kiplinger’s magazine says, “SmartyPig’s stroke of genius: You can make your account public so family and friends can chip in toward your goal …

The company has partnered with more than 25 retailers, such as Amazon and Macy’s where you can redeem our savings for a gift card with a bonus of up to 5%.”

Of course, this kind of savings account isn’t just so you can spend money on other people. You could set up an account for your next vacation too – now, that’s a Christmas present I like!

Photos courtesy Darren Hester and Andreas Rueda.

You saw last week that I was going through all of my son’s old clothes trying to determine if girls can wear blue. The clothes can hardly be called old though — they get worn for 3-6 months at a time then they are too small.

I began packing the clothes in boxes to give away, but couldn’t bring myself to put a few items in the box. They are three of my favorite items from his second year and I want to make sure that some other child will be wearing them.

To eBay I went.

I’ve eBayed before, but not in awhile. It’s time consuming. I did it anyway, but have no bids so far. If you have a boy, size 2T take a look

Cars Lightening McQueen jeans

Thomas the Tank Engine jacket.

Super sweet turtle neck top with beige pants and matching socks.

I don’t really know why they call the Friday after Thanksgiving Black Friday — hold on a sec while I Google it …

The term “Black Friday” originated in Philadelphia in reference to the heavy traffic on that day. More recently, merchants and the media have used it instead to refer to the beginning of the period in which retailers are in the black (i.e., turning a profit).”

- Wikipedia

I usually go shopping on Black Friday. Not for the deals, just for the socialization aspect of it. I’ve had to work on the Friday after Thanksgiving some years, which puts a major crimp in getting into the spirit of the season, but am lucky to have the day off this year. I know some of you are die hards on this day, waking up before the sun to get to the stores for the special deals. This year there are surely deals to be had. Take a peak at some of the Black Friday Web sites to get a sneak peak of the sales:

• http://www.blackfriday.info/
• http://bfads.net/ — this one claims to be the official site
• http://www.theblackfriday.com/ — this one also claims to be the official site
• http://www.black-friday.net/
• http://www.blackfridayads.com/ — “the site retailers don’t want you to see”

“Good Morning America” did a great piece this morning on how to ask for a discount at major retailers. Tory Johnson went to Macy’s, JCPenny’s and even Home Depot and got anywhere from 10 - 30% off her purchases — just by asking for a discount. To be fair, she had to often ask for a manager. She also had to be pretty persistent, but she didn’t get in anyone’s face or seem unruly in order to get the savings.

It’s worth a watch. As we all try to save money, it’s tips like these that can make the difference the next time we are shopping.

• Unfortunately, ABC no longer allow video embed links (shame) but I’ll provide the link here.
• Read the article, “Haggling, Not  Just For Flea Markets” here.