A Beginner’s Guide to Couponing
The first time you go out you’ll probably get all confused by all of these crazy coupons that you’ve printed out online, clipped from the newspaper and saved from your email. I did the same thing the first time but now I’m a little more organized and saving a BUNCH more money!
The goal of successful couponing is to be constantly stocking up on brand name good for your family WHEN THEY ARE ON SALE AND YOU HAVE GREAT COUPONS. If you get started now, in six months you will have so much toothpaste, toothbrushes, mayo, mustard, BBQ sauce and so much more that you’ll actually think about giving some of your ‘stockpile’ to friends because most of it was FREE!
The key is to get groceries, toiletries, games, books, toys and whatever else your family uses for FREE or as close to FREE as possible. For instance, yesterday I went to Target to buy Shout laundry spray which was $1.97/each. I used a $1 Target coupon and a $0.55 printable manufacturer’s coupon. This is called “stacking coupons” and the final cost was $0.42 for the bottle. I did this 4 times (on different transactions) so I got 4 bottles for $1.68! As far as I am concerned that’s almost FREE! So now, let’s get you started…
WHERE TO FIND YOUR COUPONS?
The Sunday newspaper is a great source of coupons. Buy the newspaper with the largest circulation in order to get the best coupons. It is usually a good idea to get at least 2 papers on a good coupon Sunday.
Ask your friends and family for coupons. If they get a newspaper but usually throw out the coupons then they’ll probably be happy to give them to you.
Peruse the Internet. There are many great online printable coupons to be found! Some of the more popular websites are: coupons.com, redplum.com, smartsource.com and cellfire.com. If you see a printable coupon for something that you normally buy but do not see it on sale that week, print it anyways. Chances are that when it goes on sale and you go back to print it, it will be gone and you’ll miss out on a great deal!
Check the store. Look for the ”Blinkies” in the store aisles.
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH YOUR COUPONS!
Envelope Method - You can start by clipping and putting them all in an envelope or check file. It won’t take long before you will need something bigger.
No-Clip Method - With this method you staple the corner of the newspaper coupon insert, mark the date on the front and file according to the date it was inserted in the newspaper. You can check here for the expiration dates so you know when you can recycle it. The down side is that you miss out on some deals by not having all of your coupons with you at the store.
Coupon Folder. With this you use an accordion style folder (preferably 8″x10″) and clip all of your coupons and file them in baseball card holders in a three-ring binder. With this method you can carry your binder to the store and have all your coupons with you while you shop. Loyalty Cards.
If your store offers a loyalty card then make sure to get one. Some stores (Kroger & CVS for example) only give the sale prices to card-holders. Loyalty cards are Free!
KNOW YOUR STORE’S COUPON POLICY!
Coupon policies are easily found on the store’s website, on the newspaper circulars or at the store’s customer service counter.
Double/Triple coupons – Double/triple coupons is when the store will take your 50¢ coupon and double it making it $1. This is done automatically at the register.
“Stacking coupons” – Some stores will allow you to use one store coupon and one manufacturer coupon. This is called “stacking” and it’s how you can get the REALLY great deals.
Internet coupons – Find out if your store accepts Internet coupons. I haven’t found one that doesn’t but it doesn’t hurt to ask beforehand.
Competitor coupons – Some stores will accept competitor’s coupons. (Joanne’s Fabrics & Michael’s Crafts)
Expired coupons – Some stores will accept expired coupons! (Bed, Bath & Beyond)
GET ORGANIZED AND MAKE A PLAN!
Weekly Ads – Read the weekly store ads to see what is on sale and which stores have the best prices on the items you need. If you don’t get the weekly ads they are always posted on the store’s website.
Coupon Matchups – See if you can match coupons to the sale items to get an even better deal! Some websites do this for you. Check out thefamilysaver.com for weekly coupon matchups for CVS, Kroger, Target and Meijer.
Pricematch – Some stores will pricematch. This means that if bananas are on sale for $0.29/lb at Kroger, you can take the ad to Meijer and at checkout tell the cashier that you would like to pricematch the bananas. Show them the ad and they will sell you the bananas for $0.29/lb versus their higher price.
Make a List! – Don’t go to the store without a list. Lists remind you what you came for and keep you from buying items you don’t need.
Rainchecks – If your store is out of the sale item, get a raincheck! Go to customer service and ask for a raincheck for the item you wanted. They will fill out a piece of paper with the item details and price. Then you can come back another day (usually no more than 30 days) and buy that item at the sale price by giving the cashier the raincheck. You can still use a coupon if you are using a raincheck.
Always try to do you Coupon Shopping on a separate trip – If you do your coupon shopping while you are out doing your regular grocery shopping it will seem like a HUGE chore. If you get all of your coupons organized, while you watch TV or something like that, and then make a separate trip to the store for only these items it will be quick & painless! The bonus is that you are only purchasing items that you are getting for very little or FREE. You will be so proud of your great deals on “the good stuff” for you & your family! No more store brand for you!
DON’T BE FOOLED!
10/$10 promotions – You do not have to buy 10 items to get the $1 price! The only exception to this rule is if the ad states that you must!
‘Rock-bottom Prices’ – Don’t go out and use your coupon immediately! You want to be using your coupons to get these items for your family for as close to FREE as possible. If you need the toilet paper right now then go ahead but if not, then wait until it goes on sale for $1 then use the coupon. If your store triples coupons then you could get the toilet paper for only 25¢! Matching sales with coupons gets you a great price but combining sales + coupons + another promotion (rebates, double coupons, store coupons) is getting the BEST PRICE!
“One per Purchase” – Most coupons say “one coupon per purchase” somewhere in the fine print. Cashiers will try to tell you that that means you can only use one coupon per transaction/day. This is NOT true! One per purchase means that you can only use one coupon per item purchased! So if you are buying 10 items and have 10 coupons then you can use them all!
GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR COUPON SHOPPING!
Leave the kids at home! - Again, you can do your coupon shopping in 75% less time than if you take your kids. It will also make it possible to only get the things on your list!
Be aware of prices – If canned vegetables are $1 at the store’s regular price, then 10/$10 is not that great of a deal at all.
Limits – Stores will sometimes put limits on the item to make you think it’s a great price! Always read the fine print on the store shelves, especially at pharmacies.
Shop early – You never know who else is out there trying to get your deal!
“Bigger isn’t always better” – The cost per unit of the bigger box of cereal may be less than the smaller one but with coupons and sales the smaller box is likely a better deal.
Watch the cashier – I you go to the trouble of organizing all of these coupons then you should get credit on your bill. I hand the cashier my coupons 1-by-1 and making sure that they ring up on the register. This way if the cashier missed a coupon and you notice right away it’s easy to see the mistake. But, if you come back later after several other coupons have been added to the cashier’s stack or the stack is gone then there is no way to prove that they missed a coupon.
Check your receipt – BEFORE leaving the store look over your receipt to make sure everything rang up correctly and all of your coupons were scanned. If there is a problem take it to customer service immediately so they can fix it.
Stockpiling – You need to start slowly. Don’t buy a ton of everything or you’ll blow your budget! A stockpile takes time. Set aside a part of your weekly grocery money for stockpiling and do what you can with what you have. $20-$25/week is a good start and you will be amazed at what you can get for that!
Buy for the future – If an item goes on sale for a great price (or free!) then buy more than you need for just the week. Typically sales go in 6 week to 3 month cycles so you only need to buy enough to make it through that time frame.
Donate it – If you have more than you need because you went CRAZY with a great deal then consider donating it to a charity or food bank.
