Crafty Couponing

Many of us are familiar with couponing to lower our grocery bills but how many are familiar with couponing to lower your crafting bill?  We LOVE to craft, clearly, but what we love even more is to get a great deal!  I hate to pay full price for anything because I know I can usually find a better deal somewhere else.  So today I would love to give some tips and tricks we use to save on our crafting budget.

Know Your Stores
First, it's important to know your crafting stores.  Depending on where you live will depend on what stores are available to you.  If you are fortunate enough to live near at least 2 craft stores, than get to know them.  Don't be shy about walking around, knowing what product they carry, the prices, etc.  We are super fortunate that we have Hobby Lobby, Joanns, Hancocks and Michaels within a 30 mile radius of each other.  Each store may carry many similar items but they each have their unique products that they focus on.  If I am primarily looking for fabric I will head to Joanns, but if I need wood products my focus would be Hobby Lobby or Michaels for Scrapbooking.  And Hancocks would be for more specialty fabric.

Coupons
Next, make sure you are on their mailing list, if they have one.  Joanns will mail you their flyer every week which is usually loaded with at least 3 coupons.  They also run Coupon Commotion a few times  a year where their flyer is loaded with 2 full pages of coupons!!  Let's say you make it all the way to the store and you forget your coupons...not to worry!  Download their app and they will all be available at the touch of a finger.  Joanns and Michaels will not only accept their own coupons but those from other companies, like Hobby Lobby.  Last but not least, you can also have coupons texted to you, usually weekly or bi-monthly.  Sometimes you can even stack coupons.  Let's say you have 40% off one regular priced item coupon, everything else you are buying is already on sale AND you have a 15% off your total purchase coupon!  SHUT UP!  Most stores will not allow you to do that with sale or other coupons but Joanns and Michaels will let you do that.  Hobby Lobby will not honor other stores coupons but you can also find their coupon on online.

Pay Attention to Sales
Thanks to technology we can find out in an instant if what we are looking for is on sale.  Before taking that trek to the store look at the sale ad first.  Most of the time I plan my visits around what's on sale and when my coupons can be used.  If what I am looking for is not on sale this week, chances are it will be next week.  If my coupons will be better utilized next week, like I have a percent off of my total purchase, I will most likely wait and purchase my items the following week.

Internet
Last but not least, the internet can be your most valuable tool.  If you need to buy in bulk, search online for your item first before going out and buying 10 little bags of the item you need.  Make sure that your price will be cheaper than that of buying from the box stores.  Also, never hesitate to search for a coupon to that website before checking out.  Retailmenot.com is a great resource for looking for any coupon to any online store.

Remember, NEVER pay full price unless you absolutely have to!  There's nothing better than seeing that you saved way more than you spent.
Happy shopping!
~Shellie