An intro to couponing!

Hi! Welcome to my new blog. I had been including some of this information on my other blog, but I really thought it deserved a page of it's very own. I will be posting information about 2 topics: Coupon shopping and BzzAgent Campaigns.

We are going to start today with the intro to coupon shopping: the how, when, and most importantly, why.

How:

Well, the first thing you need to do is get yourself some coupons. Where do you find them? I get 90% of mine from the inserts in my Sunday newspaper. Here in Atlanta, the AJC costs $2 at the store, or 11.99/month for home delivery. But with that $2, I typically save at least $30 per week...and you don't use all of the coupons in one week. There are normally 2 or 3 inserts each week: Red Plum (RP), Smart Source (SS) and Proctor and Gamble (P&G). Some people recommend getting 2-3 or even more papers each week. Since my family is small (just me and the hubby), I really can't justify this for us in general. If you have a larger family, it might make sense.

Other coupon sources you can keep an eye out for:
-Home Mailers--some stores will send coupons to card holder, or people that have registered on their website.
-"Blinkies"--These are found in the grocery store, typically right in front of the product it's used on in a small black plastic thing that spits them out at you. It's called a blinkie because there is normally a small flashing red light on the side to draw your attention as you are walking down the aisle
-Tearpads--Also found in the store, normally near the product, but on a little pad (like a small notepad). Sometimes, these are "Get xx product when you buy xx product". For example, there was recently a "Get Snyders pretzels when you buy coke products".
-Inside packages--Before you throw out that box, take a quick look inside...you may just find a coupon for next time! Or sometimes there is an insert in the box with the coupon.
-"Peelies"--Found on the outside of packages. Usually says something like "Save now!"
-Internet coupons--coupons.com is a good source, but MyPoints uses the same site, with the same coupons, AND you get 10 points for each coupon used...which can be saved toward a gift card later. Why not get the bonus? Hot Coupon World also has printable coupons (more on them in a few minutes). Sometimes products will have coupons listed on their websites as well, or will send them in an email. If it's something you use often, sign up on their site. You could even set up a special email just for things like this (yahoo or gmail are free and easy to use).
-No-clip Coupons--These are linked to your store loyalty card and come off automatically when you purchase an item. They can be used WITH a regular coupon AND a store coupon (if available your store allows using both together--most do, some don't). They are not doubled and can only be used once on ONE item, but they still help! Sites to check out: Cellfire, e-P&G, and Shortcuts.

There are other sources--just keep your eyes open!

Now that you have some coupons, there are lots of methods to organize them, but you have to find what works for you. You can:
-keep your inserts whole and just write the date on the front, clip as needed.
-clip all coupons, then store by date and insert type
-Sort by type of coupon (canned goods, household, cleaning, heath and beauty, etc)
-or anything else that makes sense to you!

I started out using the "clip and store by date" and envelopes. Unfortunately, I was in a transition from one house to another and ran out of envelopes after the first week, so I switched to baggies. I also haven't had much time to clip lately with moving, so I've been keeping my inserts whole for the last couple weeks. This is working out alright, but I'm getting quite a few, so I just ordered some baseball card sheets for a 3 ring binder. I've seen these recommended many places...they give you 9 slots to use on each page. You can put each type of coupon in it's own slot. I may use a combination of methods once I get them: each page is for a specific date, and then each slot will be for a type of product. The nice thing is, you can change up how you do things if you find something isn't working for you. You know your own organizational style...and only you can say what is best. I will say, whatever you chose, find a dedicated spot where you can keep everything. This is another problem I'm running into. We haven't brought our office supplies to the new house, so I'm doing everything in the living room, but of course, have to put it SOMEWHERE when people come over--which means everything gets thrown in a pile and put somewhere else...and things are getting lost or jumbled. Set up an area where you can keep everything.

Info to find out from your stores:
-Do they double coupons? If so, what values?
-Do they take competitor's coupons? Who do they consider a competitor?
-What days do the sales run? Not all stores start on Sunday.
-Do they take coupons printed from the internet?
-Do you have a printed coupon policy I could keep? If you ever have issues, having it in writing is important.

"What next? I have all these coupons. Should I just go to the store and start using them?"
Absolutely NOT! The key to making the most of your savings is to match up you stores weekly sales with the coupons you have. You could sit there and scrutinize each ad every week and go through your coupons one by one and match things up...

Or, you could go to one (or more) of 3 websites that will do this for you. I use this method. I go to all 3 sites every week...sometimes more than once.

-The Grocery Game--This site is NOT free, but it is the clearest, easiest to understand site. There is a 4 week trial that costs $1, and when that is done, it's $10 for 8 weeks at one store, and $5 for 8 weeks at each additional store (so 2 is $15, 3 is $20, and so on). The list here is color coded to make it easy to see when items are free, or a good time to stock up, or a "only buy if you really need it" price. I have found, however, that this site doesn't use internet coupons in calculations, and it also doesn't use no-clip coupons, so sometimes, you can miss what would be a really good deal. I use this for my 2 primary grocery stores (for me, this is Publix and Kroger--use whatever stores you prefer here!).

-Coupon Mom--This one is similar to the Grocery Game, but is free and includes internet coupons (but not no-clips). You might ask why I still pay for the other when this is free...I mean, we are trying to save money, right? Simple: It doesn't tell me when to buy. I'm still pretty new here. If left to my own devices, I might refuse to buy anything I'm not saving at least 50% on...but some products will never see a 50% discount. When I started, I thought $1 for toothpaste was great. I've realized that toothpaste is something that you can get free way to often to ever spend that again! I also use this for my local drug store deals. I typically only get things there that are free or under $1, and this info is easy to find here.

-Hot Coupon World--A fantastic resource for so many things! This site has it all: deals, coupons, random chit-chat! Ok, enough raving. Here's the meat of it: This site is primarily a forum for people who use coupons. People post deals that they either figure out on their own, or hear somewhere else. Sometimes these are included in the above sites (many times, in fact), but this site can help you figure out how to make the most of it, by working multiple deals together for the best benefit with the least amount of money out of pocket. So, it's not just about the deals here. They also have coupons. Lots and lots of coupons. There is a spot to print out coupons, and they have a trading forum, where you can get rid of the ones you will never use. In my case, anything for babies and dogs is useless most of the time, because I have neither...but I do have cats! So I can trade my dog coupons with someone who needs them but doesn't have a cat...and we both get what we want! Still not enough to think I'm right about the site? There is a coupon database, where you can search and see if there are coupons available for a particular item, when they were last published (it it was in the paper), AND you can even set up "Have", "Wish" and "Keep" lists to track what coupons you have...making it easier to keep up with expiration dates. And, finally, if you are bored, or want to vent about anything, there are forum areas for that too.

You now have your coupons, and have scoped out your deals for the week...now what?

Your goal is "STOCKPILING!" What's this? You buy enough when an item is on sale and at it's best price to get you through until the next time that sale will roll around (most say they are on about a 12 week cycle). You don't want to buy something at full price ever again. You want to be able to pull it from your shelf where you bought it for 50 cents 3 weeks ago. You will need to make room in your pantry for this. And you won't just do it with food. You would be surprised at the number of times toothpaste and shampoo are free with coupons!

Ok--you've made room for your stockpile, now head to the store. Choose the items on your list. Remember that the key to coupons shopping is stockpiling--not by buying a HUGE package of something, but by buying many small packages. "HUH?" I can hear you saying. "The big package is less than 2 of the small packages!" But...the big package, you can only use 1 coupon. 2 small packages, you can use 2 of them. So, for example, your store doubles coupons up to 50 cents. Each small package is on sale for 1.29. The big package is 2.19. You could buy 1 big package for 1.19 with a 50 cent coupon, or 2 small ones with 2 50 cent coupons for .29 each, a total of .58. Which one makes more sense (or cents, in this case--get it? Cents? Yeah. I know. Horrible.)?

If your store is out of something that is on sale, don't be shy...ask the customer service person or manager for a rain check. These give you the sale price later, even after the sale is over (usually for 30 days, though some have no expiration) when the store DOES have stock again.

At the register, if problems arise with a coupon, be as polite as possible...but don't let the cashier walk all over you either. Make sure when choosing your products, you look at coupon restrictions (size, flavor, etc). If something comes up at the register, ask what the issue is. I had a few issues yesterday purchasing wheat thins. I had 3 coupons: 2 that said "$1.00 off 2 boxes" and one that was "$1.00 off Nabisco crackers and Kraft cheese". I purchased 5 boxes of crackers (assorted varieties), and one package of cheese. The last coupon beeped at the cashier, and she said I could only use one or the other. I asked "Even though I got 5 boxes of crackers?" She realized I was correct--I had one package of crackers for each coupon (or 2 for the ones that needed 2), and she overrode it with no problem. If the cashier won't budge, ask for a manager to clarify the policy with you and explain the issue. This is why you got that printed policy before you started. ;) Hopefully, you never need it and have great experiences like I have so far.

For the question of "Why be a couponer?", I like numbers to back up my data. Mine aren't great compared to some, but I'm pretty happy. We used to eat out almost every night and spend an average of $25/day. I started couponing on March 3rd, 2009 (I actually began getting coupons on February 22nd, but March 3rd was my first shopping trip). Since then, I have spent approximately $400 on groceries and toiletries. I have saved almost exactly as much...so we have $800 worth of goods, only paying $400. My trips my first few weeks were in the $50-80 range. This week, I only spent $30 at each store, because there was nothing we really needed, and no good sales for us. I keep a spreadsheet to track my receipts and savings. I'm hoping to see my savings percentage inch up over time. I was proud of my trip to Kroger yesterday: I saved 59% off my order. I spent $27, and I saved $37 between sales and coupons.