I was given the e-book version of Couponing Made Simple from Christi the Coupon Coach to read and review for the past month. Christi is a homeschooling mama to 4 children (Like me!) and has a desire to help families save their hard-earned money on groceries and household purchases by teaching them how to maximize use of coupons. The physical book can be purchased for the sale price of $18 from Amazon (it’s normally $20), or the Kindle version can be purchased for $4.99, and is 133 pages.
The book covers where and how to get your coupons, different ways to organize them, how to stack them following store rules, and even coupon ethics. There are 10 chapters. They are:
- Chapter One: Success Stories
- Chapter Two: A New Way to Shop
- Chapter Three: The Language of Couponing
- Chapter Four: Organization System
- Chapter Five: Step by Step Process
- Chapter Six: Tips and Tools
- Chapter Seven: Couponing Ethics
- Chapter Eight: Networking and Communicating
- Chapter Nine: Bonus Section
- Chapter Ten: Beyond Couponing
Her website also has a page, called Christi’s Favorite Websites, where you can search coupon matches, and there are also instructions for searching according to any special needs your family may have. This information is NOT in the book, however, since information can become outdated so quickly.
As I said earlier, and have mentioned in the past, we have 4 children, ranging in ages from 12-4. These kids eat. A LOT. Our grocery bill can be ridiculous, in my opinion, although it may be closer to the norm for our family size, even with me making most foods from scratch. I tried using coupons in the past, but I usually buy generic when I can, and even with a coupon, things can be expensive. This book is not about extreme couponing, which I definitely wouldn’t have time to mess around with. Christi is very thorough in how to use coupons to maximize saving on your purchases. One thing mentioned in the book is stacking your coupons to match sales, which is something I knew about already and was already utilizing in my shopping as needed. Most of the things I use coupons for are things like K-Cups, an occasional candy treat for the family, and Zyrtec (I can only take the liquid gels because the pills have lactose and just don’t work that well for me, so I buy OTC). I also do a lot of shopping at Sam’s, and they do not accept coupons, although if you’re a Plus member they offer extra savings from time to time, so I always use those when I can.
What I Think
Couponing Made Simple is a quick and easy read, and her system is not complicated at all, but it’s also not for everyone. It really depends on the products that you use for your family. I tend to gravitate more towards bulk shopping to save our family money, so buying extra newspapers and actually organizing my coupons in a binder does not work for me. If you are a more mainstream product shopper who has never really used coupons or doesn’t use them because you don’t think they’re worth it, then check out this book. I do think it’s well-written, and I appreciate Christi’s heart to help families save money on groceries and household items. I know that I would not pay $18 for the paperback version. I would, however, likely pay $4.99 for the Kindle version if I did not already have access to information like this. Click below to see what other Crew Members had to say about Couponing Made Simple.
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