Tuesday Tip: On Couponing…

I’ve been thinking about and mulling over many of the response that I’ve received from the blog.  This has become a fascinating project to embark on.  Many questions have come up about why and how I do this, so I wanted to share some general “couponing” advice.  Here goes:

• Take it slow. This is not an all-or-nothing deal.  Shopping sales, meal planning, coupon clipping, and freebie collecting can all make a difference to the bottom line individually.  As a group, big savings result.  However, they cannot be added to your routine in one fell swoop.  It’s a process and if you’re anything like me, you need to slow down.  Your system will become more efficient and sufficient for your needs.
• Pennies add up. The small savings of one or two coupons does add up.  The more the merrier!  On that same note…
• Don’t lose it over a coupon. I often find myself frustrated over not being able to locate a specific coupon or my fritzy computer not letting me print one coupon.  I shouldn’t feel this way and you shouldn’t either.  A few pennies either way, in the grand scheme of things, don’t matter in comparison to your sanity.
• Do what you can, when you can. Some weeks I’m too busy and/or exhausted to go through my normal routine.  Sometimes you just need a break.  Buy what you need and wait for the next week or next month to begin again.  Money saved now is still money in the bank later.
• Make it a game. I’ve treated couponing as a game since the beginning.  Each week I challenge myself to spend less and get more.  I come out of the store feeling like a champion (and no one else has to know!)
• Share your success. Comment on this site, call your mom (she’d be proud), or write it in your journal.  Feel success over any amount saved!

You have got to find a system that works for you.  It won’t be my system, but I hope that this site helps you figure out your own.  Leave a comment with your progress, your successes, or your lingering questions.  I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Tuesday Tip: Sale-ing Away!

This week’s tip is something supremely simple to add to your weekly routine. We’ve talked about meal planning and it’s importance. But to rehash – weekly meal planning helps you stick to a grocery list and eat better meals each week! It also makes dinnertime not so stressful as you know exactly what to make.

But onward and upward – planning your meals around the sale-coupon matchups (or even just the sales if you haven’t braved the coupons yet). This kind of forward planning is quick and money-saving in a big way! First, you’ll need to locate the weekly ad for your favorite grocery store or check out the online match-ups. Then follow these steps:

If you have the sale ad in front of you (and shy away from the coupons):

• My first stop is always the meat section. It’s my greatest expense, so I want to pick the best deals. Circle them.
• My second stop is the produce section. It’s my other “big” expense, so I want to pick the best deals here too. More circling!
• Now think of meals that incorporate the sale meat and the sale produce. Or enter the ingredients into a search engine or my favorite, All Recipes.
• Try to incorporate as many sale items into your search as possible. The more ingredients you get on sale, the cheaper your meal. (Go figure!)
• Pick your favorite meals for the week.
• Transfer your circled items onto a grocery list. Add any other items you’ll need to complete the meals on your meal plan.
• Now you have a full meal plan, a grocery list, and big money your pocket!

If you have the online match-ups up on your computer (and you’re becoming coupon crazy!):

• Highlight the match-up and copy into a document.
• Delete the coupons you don’t have.
• Delete the items you don’t like/want. Unless they’re free – then get them and give them away!
  
• To plan my meals, I next look at the meats and produce. They are my biggest expenses, so I want the best deals.
• Try to think of, use a recipe book, or look online for a recipe that incorporates the sale items.
• Pick your favorites and plug them into your meal plan.
• Add any other items you’ll need to complete the meals on your meal plan.
• Print the document, collect the coupons, and away to the store you go!

This was my starting point for couponing and a practice I continue. When 75% of the items in your cart are on sale, you’ll save a lot more than you think! You’re keeping money in your pocket – where it belongs.

Make sense? Got questions? Leave a comment.

Tuesday Tip: My momma always said…

BE NICE!  I cannot tell you how much more effective the couponing game is when you are nice!  I tend to think of myself as a nice and courteous person.  My parents raised me with all the please’s and thank you’s necessary to be considered as such.  But couponing requires an extra dose of “niceness” – perhaps more than what’s considered normal.

I do most of my shopping at Publix – and they certainly deserve all the customer service awards they win, because it’s true.  Publix employees are some of the nicest people I have ever met.  But I think it’s true for anyone – if you are nice and gracious towards them, they will return the favor.  Here’s where niceness wins big time in saving money:

Asking where an item is located: When couponing, you often need a specific brand in a specific size.  Sometimes these are just so darn hard to locate!  Additionally, I’m slightly “vertically challenged” and can’t reach many of the items that are on the top shelf.  When you ask an employee nicely to help you locate or retrieve an item, they are more than willing to help and are pleasant about it.  I have had employees search several aisles and the back warehouse for particular items.  Yesterday, a Publix employee ran to the cash register twice to check prices for me.  How nice!

Checking out with the cashier: The check-out line is where my niceness has paid off BIG time!  When I approach the cash register, I usually have all my items on the belt.  As the cashier and bagger go through their normal routines, I always strike up conversations with them.  About the weather, about it being Sunday or Monday, about things I remember about them from last time.  I think customers rarely engage them in such conversation, and they are so gracious for something other than groceries and prices to think about.  Not only do I enjoy the conversation, but as they scan my coupons, they are a lot less nit-picky about matching every coupon to every item.  This isn’t to say I try to sneak anything by them – but that it doesn’t take near as much time as having a grumbling cashier who thinks you’re trying to pull one over on them.  How nice!

Checking out with people behind you: As I talk to the cashier, the people behind often join in the conversation.  They also become really interested in how much I’m saving, cheering me on in the coupon challenge!  I’ve also experienced some very grumpy people behind me, but comments like “I have them organized so this won’t take long” or “I have a lot of coupons, so this might take a little longer” give them the opportunity to wait or find another check-out line.  How nice!

Reporting an error: When I unload my groceries and get into my car, the first thing I do is check my receipt.  If I see an error, I’ll take it back into the store.  This is a key point for turning on the ultimate-nice!  Though customer service wants to help, they certainly can be as stingy or grumpy about it as they want.  I try to be extra gracious when presenting the issue – and thus far, haven’t had a problem in resolving one.  How nice!

Asking for a raincheck: When you live in a city where there are a lot of couponers, a lot of items are out before you even get to the store.  You can ask for a raincheck at customer service for any of the out-of-stock sale items.  Being nice to the customer service employees has often gotten me higher quantities and attached coupons that will expire before I can redeem the raincheck.  How nice!

Underground coupon-trade: Finally, I can’t tell you how many coupons I’ve gotten just for being nice!  Many times, people in front of me in the check-out line pass back coupons they weren’t able to use.  More coupons, more savings.  How nice!

A little extra niceness goes a long way!

Tuesday Tip: Slowly Decreasing Your Budget

If you’ve been following along with the “coupon journey,” maybe you are now wondering why you aren’t seeing a decrease in your grocery money.  I recall being so frustrated with couponing initially because I was spending MORE than my pre-couponing days!  Here are my ideas on the issue:

• You have to keep in mind this is a gradual process. You are now buying more food (to add to your stockpile).  BUT you are buying items at their lowest price, a much better deal than you were getting before.  So try to be patient – it’s a process.
• Plan your weekly menu around your stockpile (all the best deals). Add your “needs” to complete your meal plan.  As your stockpile grows, your needs for the week decrease.  That means less items you have to buy at their full price.
• Less items at full price means more room for good deals. You’re leftover budgeted money should go to the best deals to build your stockpile.  More stockpile, less needs.  It’s a wonderful cycle!
• Stick with your pre-couponing buget for at least one month. This will give you time to build your stockpile with sales and coupons and experiment.
• Lower your budget about 10% after one month. At this point, buy your needs first.  Then the best deals without going over your set amount.
• Continue decreasing by 5-10% each month or couple of months. After about 4-6 months, it becomes a game of how low you can go.

This can be frustrating and somewhat disheartening initially.  But it works!  My pre-couponing days saw weekly grocery bills of $60-80.  I’m now at $15, six months later.  I tell you my numbers just to give you an idea, but don’t fret.  Get to a place you’re comfortable with and enjoy the weekly challenge.

Tuesday Tip: Multiple Coupons

Having several of the same coupon can help you stock up on items at their lowest price.  We’ll come back to stockpiling in the future, but have you have wondered how to get multiple of the same coupons?  Here are my tips…

– Buy multiple newspapers each week. I always buy 2 copies of the paper to make great on the Publix BOGO deals.  In general, I find that 2 papers for 2 people is plenty.  Rule of thumb, one paper for each person you are buying for.

– Print 2 IPs… from each computer. Most printable coupons have a print limit of 2.  Once you print one (and the printer stops), hit the back button (and refresh if in IE).  It should print again.  Between Wade and I, we have two computers with the coupon printer loaded.  That means I can print four coupons total.

– Check for rogue coupons! Sometimes the print limits on coupons are set at higher than 2, either by manufacturer’s choice or a mistake.  These pop up every once in awhile and can be a great way to be lots of multiples.  Also, check multiple browsers.  Sometimes there are 2 coupons allowed per browser.

– Take one or two booklets each time you go. If I see a new Publix booklet or a tearpad, I’ll take one or two each time I go into the store and it’s still there.  (Anymore than one or two can be considered rude to other customers.  I personally hate cleared shelves and would hate to leave them for anyone else.)

Have other ideas?  Leave a comment with your tips or other things you’d like to know!

Tuesday Tip: Stack ‘um up!

This week’s tip all about stacking – one of the most useful ways to save the big money! Stacking is when you use more than one coupon per item as your store allows. Here is how this works…

There are three kinds of coupons:

Manufacturer’s Coupons (MF): These are produced by the manufacturer’s of the item and will almost always be labeled “Manufacturer’s Coupon.” The store will get reimbursed by the manufacturer when you use one of these. These are the most common kinds of coupons!

Store Coupons: These are produced by the store (i.e. Publix, Kroger, CVS, Walgreens, etc.). These are most often mailed to you or found in the store. Sometimes they do not have a barcode – that’s a sign it’s a store coupon.

Competitor’s Coupons: These are coupons produced by stores other than the one you are shopping at. Every store has a different policy on whether they accept these coupons or not. They will look just like a store coupon. Read these carefully as they often state only one can be used per transaction.

Stacking allows you to use different types of coupons on one item. Rules for stacking:

• You cannot use more than one manufacturer’s coupon on one item. Same for store and competitor coupons.
• Most stores will only allow 2-coupon stacking (MF + store or MF + competitor)
• You cannot use two different competitor coupons (i.e. Target and Food Lion Q’s on bacon at Publix)
• Both coupons used must be for the item purchased.

Here’s an example of how stacking works:

• Crispix was on sale at Publix last week for $1.99 ea
• I had a -$1 coupon from SS 11/8
• I also printed -$1 Target coupon from the Target website
• I got a box of Crispix for free stacking 1 MF and 1 Competitor Q

Check with your store about their coupon policies – they will vary greatly on the issue. Here are some that I know of…

Publix: Most stores will allow 2-coupon stacking. It is up to the store what competitor coupons they will accept. Mine happens to accept Target and drug store coupons – however, most do not.

Kroger: My store does not allow stacking, but others do. Most do not accept competitor’s coupons.

Harris Teeter: The storewide policy is that they accept only a MF per item. There is a rarely a HT store coupon anyway.

Target: All Target stores allow the use of 1 MF and 1 Target coupon per item purchased.

CVS: These stores allow stacking of MF and CVS coupons. Plus, you can stack a $/$$ coupon (i.e. $3 off $15 CVS purchase) as long as you don’t go into the negative. On top of that, use ECBs to pay the difference. Check out the CVS scenarios for more ways to do this each week.

Do you know of other stores that allow stacking? Leave a comment to share.

Have you heard of Woot?

Woot, similar to Groupon, is a “One Day, One Deal” business.  They offer some great electronics for super cheap prices!  There are also other kinds of “woots” available on the site, like Wine.Woot, Kids.Woot, Sellout.Woot, and Shirt.Woot.

According to Woot.com…

Woot.com is an online store and community that focuses on selling cool stuff cheap. It started as an employee-store slash market-testing type of place for an electronics distributor, but it’s taken on a life of its own. We anticipate profitability by 2043 – by then we should be retired; someone smarter might take over and jack up the prices. Until then, we’re still the lovable scamps we’ve always been. But don’t take our word for it: see what the online community has to say at this Wikipedia article.

Christmas presents, anyone??

Have you heard of Groupon?

Sarah introduced me to Groupons and there hasn’t been a day when I haven’t checked the daily Nashville deal.  Groupon organizes community members to get great deals with local businesses.  I love the restaurant deals – a great date night on the cheap!

According to Groupon…

Each day, Groupon features an unbeatable deal on the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in your city. By promising businesses a minimum number of customers, we get discounts you won’t find anywhere else. We call it “collective buying power!”

Sounds like a deal to me!

Tuesday Tips: Using Q’s without Abusing Them

Coupons are wonderful and valuable pieces of paper! When matched with store sales, they are the key to major savings. However, manufacturers and stores do not issue coupons to be abused.

On that note, here are things to think about when you use your Q’s…

• The Expiration Date: Most stores do not accept coupons past their expiration date. However, you can send them off to help military families save some money!

• Size Restrictions: Many coupons specify the size of the item to be purchased with the coupon. Make sure the item you put in your cart matches the coupon you give the cashier.

• Quantity: All coupons specify the number of items the coupon should be used for. Make sure you follow these quantity specifications. For example:
  
  • -$1/1: you can use one of these coupons for every specified item you buy
    
  • -$1/2: you can use one of these coupons for every 2 of the specified item you buy
    
  • -$3/5: you can use one of these coupons for every 5 of the specified item you buy
    
  • B1G1: you can use this coupon to buy 2 items for the price of 1 (you can also add one $X/1 to sweeten the deal)

• # of Qs and # of items: At most stores, you must purchase at least as many items as you have coupons. Keep a tally of the items you put in your basket and which you have coupons for.
  

Making sure that your “couponing” follows these rules, you are a legal couponer. Never feel ashamed to use them – they are saving you big bucks legally! Stay tuned next week for a lesson in Stacking Coupons.

Tuesday Tip: Coupon Lingo

Ever wonder what some of the abbreviations on the blog or on a coupon mean? Well, here’s some help for you! All the money-saving lingo you ever wanted to know…

B1G1, BOGO – “Buy 1, Get 1 Free”

$/$$ – Dollars off when you buy XX dollars

.50/1 – Fifty cents off one item

.75/3 – Seventy-five cents off 3 items

Blinkies – Coupon dispensed from a “blinking” red box in store

Catalina – Coupon dispensed at register at the time of purchase

Peelie – Coupon that you peel off the package

Tearpad – Pad of coupons found hanging from a store shelf or display

IP – Internet Printable (a coupon you print off the internet)

IE – Internet Explorer Web Browser

FF – Firefox Web Browser

MFR, MQ – Manufacturer

OOP – Out Of Pocket

PG – Proctor & Gamble Sunday insert coupons

RP – Red Plum Sunday insert coupons

SS – Smartsource Sunday insert coupons

FLIP – Food Lion Internet Printable

Regional – Coupon value only distributed to a certain area

WYB – When You Buy

WSL – While Supply Lasts

MIR– Mail in Rebate

EXP– Expires or expiration date

ECB – Extra Care Buck (CVS)

RR – Register Rewards (Walgreens)

SCR– Single Check Rebate (rebate system at Rite Aid)

YMMV– Your Mileage May Vary (you may find the item priced differently or it may not work for you the same)

…

Have another stumper? Let me know and I’ll find out!