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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
goodtobethelarkster
member
XP: School me on coupon usage.
goodtobethelarkster
member
(Also on 6-12)
I just swung by the grocery store and the chick in front of me puts all this stuff that I buy all the time on the conveyor belt thing, hands the cashier a 4 inch thick wad of coupons like, "BAM! Take that, cashier dude!", and I swear she ended up paying like 3 cents for $100 worth of groceries. It was insane.
Then it dawned on me: I want to pay like 3 cents for $100 worth of groceries. That would be totally awesome. And I like stuff that's awesome.
Only I've never really "done" coupons before. I buy stuff on sale and if I happen to get a really kicka$$ coupon on the back of a receipt or in the mail for something I buy regularly anyway then I'll use them but that's about it.
How does one "do" coupons to the point where you can bust out with a 4 inch thick wad of coupons? (That sounded way dirtier than I meant it...) How do you keep them organized? Where do you find them? How do you make it so you don't spend eleventy billion hours a week obsessing about coupons? Is there a system you can adopt that makes the whole coupon thing easy?
Please to school a coupon newbie Nestie. TIA!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: XP: School me on coupon usage.
I'm also intrigued. Personally, we don't buy a lot of packaged foods, so it's harder to do a lot of coupon shopping. There aren't $1.00 off tomato coupons, you know?
The store brands where I shop are also less expensive than brand name products, even with coupons for the brand name ones, so I don't use coupons on staples like pasta sauce and cereal. I normally use coupons for toiletries and cleaning supplies. One thing I have learned is that when there's a deal, stock up. So, I just got two coupons for buy one, get one free razors. Instead of just using it one time, I bought 4 packs of razors, but got 2 free. I saved around $12 by doing that, even though now I have enough razors to last me for a long time.
I've heard couponmom.com is a good resource for coupons and mad couponing strategy.
DH is our coupon maven. We get the Sunday paper, which is where the best coupons are. From there he goes through them, clips things we use regularly and files them in his coupon organizer. Then before a trip, he pulls out the circulars, goes through his coupons and makes a list.
He also buys things before we're out of them if it's a good sale - like we always have tons of ketchup, salsa, aluminum foil and other things that we use a lot of. He restocks when it's cheap, so we don't have to buy it when it's expensive.
The secret is to only clip coupons for things you'll actually buy. And only buy things you'll actually use. It's no use clipping a $0.50 coupon for knockoff ketchup if it will just sit in your cupboard while you buy Heinz at full price.
I use the Grocery Game. The key to paying 3 cents for your groceries is to use your coupon when the item you're buying is at its rock bottom price. The Grocery Game tracks this for you and also tells you how to "play" your coupon. It's also preferable to shop at a store that doubles coupons. And of course, stock up! Which means having more than 1 coupon for the items you regularly buy. If you're buying 6 cans of spaghetti sauce, have 6 coupons to maximize savings.
Let me know if you're interested in a referral
One of the moms in our Playgroup is a coupon queen. I don't have the patience for it, but she sent me links to the sites she uses. Here's what she sent me:
https://sites.target.com/site/en/supertarget/page.jsp?title=coupons_specials&ref=sc_iw_r_2_1_spotlight (Target coupon site)
There are free blogs you can subscribe to that send you a daily email w/ coupon links and great sales going on at Target, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, etc. One I subscribe to is MoneySavingMom dot com. I can't remember the 2nd one right now.
I 2nd TheGroceryGame, at least give it a shot but I wouldn't rely on it by itself. I would still match your coupons to your circulars and subscribe to a couple blogs. After a while you'll start to just know what the rock bottom prices are. For instance if yogurt is on sale for $0.40 and you know that you've purchased it for $0.25 a few times plus you had coupons, you know not to buy it then.
I find that keeping the coupons in their booklet form as they come in the Sunday paper but dating the front cover makes it easer to keep track. Grocery Game and a lot of the blogs will tell you in which week and which booklet the coupon you need to clip is.
Definitely try to go to a store that doubles or triples coupons and maybe shop at a few stores - like Walmart, grocery store, and CVS. You will buy some stuff that you don't need now but you're getting it at the cheapest price possible so in the end it's worth it. Some people find that for the things that they use a lot of but there's never a coupon for (milk, meat, etc) that a warehouse store like Sam's or BJ's is the best way to go for those items but we don't have one near us.
It takes a while to get the hang of it but now it's become like a challenge and a game. I get so excited to slap down my store card and see the money fall off then hand the cashier my coupons and watch the price fall further. Good luck with it.
I get the Sunday paper and clip coupons from there. I ONLY cut coupons for things that we use. If you buy something just because you have a coupon for it, it's very easy to actually spend more. Also, I only buy store brand on things like sandwich bags, aluminum foil, sponges, etc. -- unless the name brand is on sale and I have a coupon. Between my store card and the coupons I use, I consistently save $40-60/week.
I also stock up if something we use is on sale for a really good price or buy one get one...as long as it's non-perishable.
I am giving you a glimpse into my super-dorkiness...
I can never keep track of what's a good price for things, especially between different sized packages. I created a little spreadsheet for myself with columns for stores and rows for items and keep it with my coupons. I price them out per unit. That way, if I have a coupon in my hand for something that's on sale at the grocery store, I can do the math (my phone has a calculator on it!) and see if it's cheaper to buy it that way or at Costco or Trader Joe's. I realize this is pretty dorky, but it's helped me figure out what the best prices are.
Ditto the pp - buy on sale with a coupon! Plan meals around the sale items. Stock up when things are on sale, but only if they are cheaper than the store brand/Costco/etc. Don't buy things you won't use just b/c you have a coupon.
Not sure about where you are, but around here, the store ads come in the mail on Tuesdays (that pile of crappy inserts that I used to just toss). Sometimes there are good coupons in there, or you can use it to plan your shopping trip.
It does take some effort to clip coupons, plan my trips to different stores, make lists, but I usually do it while watching TV in the evening and I actually like it!
SFL....
Will most stores let you use 1 coupon per ITEM or is it per transaction?
Most stores should let you use one coupon per item. If you have 6 $.50 off ketchup coupons, should be able to use them on 6 bottles of ketchup. Obviously, if the coupon is .50 off 2 bottles, then you'd have to buy 2 per coupon though. Otherwise, you just can't use 2 of the same coupons on the 1 item product (except, sometimes you can stack a store coupon and a manufacturerer's coupon; depends on the store).
Thanks!