Getting Started

Feb

Five Common Couponing Pitfalls and how to avoid them

There’s a saying that goes something like this: “mistakes are our greatest teachers.”

As I was reflecting on my couponing journey a few days ago, it occurred to me that so much of what I do now that’s RIGHT was the direct result of getting it WRONG somewhere earlier along the way. It can be so easy to get caught up in the excitement of couponing that you miss the bigger picture – and the subtle pitfalls that’ll get you if you’re not paying attention. In an effort to ~~amuse you~~ spare you some of the same mistakes, I thought I’d share a few pitfalls I’ve encountered.

Pitfall #1: Overspending.

Sure those coupons save you money on this transaction or that shopping trip, but guess what happens if you don’t mind your overall grocery budget? Yes, you can overspend! This may seem counter intuitive, but it is entirely possible to spend more than you were before coupons if you don’t pay attention. You are particularly susceptible to this when just starting out, getting gung-ho about snatching up every deal and building your stockpile.

How to avoid this pitfall: Make sure you set and stick to your grocery budget! Consider using my free Savings Tracker to see exactly how much you spend and save in a given month. Try to focus most (if not all) of your shopping on one day a week, and limit the number of small deal gathering trips you do each week. Those $5 and $7 trips can really add up if you don’t pay attention.

Pitfall #2: Letting coupons tell you what to buy.

One of the advantages of using coupons is that you may get to try products you wouldn’t have otherwise – for free and sometimes, better than free. But be careful thinking that you must use every coupon. It’s not a deal if it’s going to sit in your pantry and no one in your family will touch it.

How to avoid this pitfall: Plan your meals weekly and look for stock-up deals that truly matter to you and your family. Don’t feel bad letting coupons expire – even high value coupons. You can share them with friends or send them to overseas military who can use them up to 6 months past expiration dates.

click here to read three more pitfalls…

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Jan

“I can’t do it like Extreme Couponing.”

Feeling overwhelmed by couponing?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been seeing an uptick of emails from people frustrated, confused, or curious about how couponing can work. These people are watching shows on TV about couponing and left with far more questions than answers. I felt it was time to address this today.

Unrealistic Portrayals of Couponing

The other night I was watching a PBS special on couponing. I thought, “finally! A show NOT on TLC. Maybe this PBS special will show people how to actually do this.” I was quickly disappointed. The couponer featured on the special announced her food budget was…. $4 a week. FOUR DOLLARS. On the special, she worked to help a young family learn how to use coupons, and then hopefully teach the viewers out there the same thing. The poor couple had this deer in the headlights look about them.

Last week, my mother-in-law texted me saying she someone on TV pay $6 for $600 worth of food.

Someone else recently emailed me wishing they could be as good as the extreme couponing folks on TV.

Another person emailed discouraged because they don’t double coupons in her area, like the people on TV.

See the problem yet?

People are being fed the idea that unless you save hundreds of dollars you’re somehow not “doing it right.” And then these frustrated or confused folks end up emailing people like me, looking for real answers.

To me it’s no different than a pretty, average sized woman looking at the photoshopped body of a 5’11″ supermodel in a magazine. It’s just not realistic for most people, most of the time.

Couponing is not a competition

One of the things that bothers me most about the couponing shows is they have turned a smart method of grocery shopping into a game. (Extreme Couponing All-Stars, anyone? Sigh.)

I don’t know about you, but when I’m shopping, I’m not thinking “wow, I better save more money than that coupon blogger, or that friend who had a crazy shopping trip at Rite Aid last week.” When it comes down to it here’s why I use coupons:

To save money on things my family actually uses.
To avoid paying full price by keeping a stocked up pantry.
To help manage my household better.

When I see the couponing shows, it seems that the exact opposite is at play. Here’s what the shows like to depict:

A high number of dollars saved without any regard to the items purchased.
Obnoxious behavior such as shelf clearing and hoarding.
Unclear couponing tactics (i.e., HOW they did that transaction).
A focus on “winning” (people applauding, showing off long receipts, etc).

If you are thinking about starting to use coupons, ask yourself why you want to use coupons. Is it to really help your family save money, or are you more interested in being like the people on a TV show?

Couponing you can Sustain

My goal here at The Coupon Project is to help you learn to do this in a sustainable way. That means taking the time to share how store sales cycles work, talking about a wide variety of stores, and giving you other ideas for frugal living besides just coupons. It also means ENOUGH ALREADY about “my area doesn’t double coupons so I can’t save.” (Seriously, can we please be done with that one? Please?)

What are the tactics of couponing for the long haul?

Stockpiling for the things your family actually uses.
Getting your coupons (ethically!) each week.
Leveraging coupons on top of sales for reduced out of pocket expense.
Working to minimize your time and effort involved as your skills and stockpile increase.

So if you’ve emailed me and wondered about couponing, now you know how I like to do things around here. I believe you can have success even if you spend more than $4 per week on your groceries. (Right now my budget is $325/month.) I believe you can have success even if you don’t save $600 at Walmart. (By buying things you don’t need in large quantities just so you can get the overage.) I believe you can have success even if you don’t do it exactly how Jane Doe Couponer does it down the street.

If I’ve piqued your curiosity and you’d like to learn how to do this in a realistic and sustainable way, I have some resources for you here at the blog:

Four Secrets of Couponing Success. This would be a great post to start with.
Coupons 101 Page. This page has coupon lessons and posts on ALL things related to getting started with couponing. I’ve had folks work through these posts and go on to hit the stores with great success.
Recorded Webcasts. So often people want to go to a class and hear someone speak. Guess what. I have over 20 recorded coupon lessons that you can watch for FREE. I put the same amount of gusto and effort into these as I do a coupon class. Topics including where to find coupons, how to organize coupons, how to make the leap into coupons, coupon ethics, stockpiling, and much more. Each webcast runs about 30 minutes. A good place to start too.
YouTube Channel. If you don’t have a lot of time, consider watching some of my YouTube shorts. I’ve tackled many of the same topics as the webcasts, but in 3-4 minute form.
Easier Couponing. This is my ebook where the emphasis is on time saved, over money. Good for the busy person that would like to save about 30-40% on their grocery bill.

My goal around here is to not just make this “another coupon site.” My goal is for you to find the tools and resources you need to learn to do this for yourself in a realistic, long term way.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve been watching these shows and wondering what you’ve been doing wrong, I hope I’ve put your mind at ease a bit.

I hope you’ll continue to coupon and stop thinking that you’re failing if you’re spending more than $4 a week. If couponing could shave $20 a week off your family’s grocery bill, that’d be $1,040 in a year’s time. And that’s nothing to sneeze at, my friends.

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May

How to stack coupons (and how not to)

When done correctly, stacking coupons can drive the cost of your grocery and household items down! Sometimes, you can even get items for free by stacking coupons. I’ve gotten a lot of questions lately about how exactly this all works and seen some misinformation, so I wanted to take the time to explain further.

What “Stacking Coupons” means

As the term suggests, “stacking coupons” means using more than one coupon towards the purchase of the same item or items. Manufacturers coupons limit you to one coupon per item purchased. Therefore, the only “stacking” you can correctly do is using a manufacturer coupon with a store coupon, and NOT another manufacturer coupon.

Understanding the Difference between Store & Manufacturer coupons

In order to understand how to stack coupons, you will first need to know the difference between store coupons and manufacturer coupons.

Store coupons:

Are issued by the store – they are providing the discount.
Can generally only be redeemed at that particular store.*
Often let you buy more than one item with the coupon (the coupon will state a limit).
Can be found in weekly ads, mailers, in store, and occasionally, Sunday inserts or online (e.g., Target).

*Unless a store in your area accepts competitor coupons.

Manufacturer coupons:

Are issued by the manufacturer and read “manufacturer” at the top.
Can be used at ANY store that accepts manufacturer’s coupons.
Prohibit you to ONE coupon per item purchased.
Can be found in Sunday inserts, online, “blinkie” machines, tearpads, booklets, etc.

For more information on understanding the difference, please see these posts on identifying store coupons and identifying manufacturer coupons.

How to Stack Coupons

Let me illustrate with an example.

On the left you have a Walgreens coupon. This is a store coupon; Walgreens is providing this discount. It has the “W” logo on the top and reads “limit 3″ on it. You could buy up to 3 bags of Ricola for $0.99. Please note this doesn’t mean you have to buy 3 to get the $0.99 price. You could buy 1 or 2, if you’d prefer.

On the right you have a manufacturer’s coupon clipped from a Sunday paper insert. It clearly reads “manufacturer” up at the top and the fine print reads that Ricola USA will reimburse the retailer the face value of the coupon. The retailer in this case would be Walgreens. The coupon will specifically save you $1 when you buy 2 bags of Ricola cough drops. You must buy 2 to use this coupon.

To stack these coupons for the best discount, here is what I would do:

Buy (2) bags of Ricola Cough Drops
Use the store coupon to get $0.99 each
Use the $1 off 2 manufacturer coupon
You’ll pay: $0.49 per bag ($0.99 total)

Now technically you could buy 3 bags, since the store coupon allows you to. However, remember the manufacturer coupon will only save you $1 on 2 bags.

Buy (3) bags of Ricola Cough Drops
Use the store coupon to get $0.99 each
Use the $1 off 2 manufacturer coupon
You’ll pay: $0.66 per bag ($1.97 total)

As you can see, the second example (while completely within coupon policies) is just not as good of a deal as the first example.

A word about Albertsons Double Coupons

If you live in the Northwest and shop at Albertsons, you now should have an idea how Albertsons Twice the Value coupons work. It’s nothing more than stacking. You are stacking a store coupon (the Twice the Value coupon) with a manufacturer coupon of your choice.

For more on this topic, please read my post how Albertsons double coupons work.

Please don’t try this at home…or anywhere else!

Now that you know the correct way to do this, let me give you an example of what NOT to do.

Buy (1) Box of Pampers Diapers for $19.99
Use (1) $1/1 manufacturer’s coupon from the Sunday paper
Use (2) $2/1 manufacturer’s coupons from a coupon booklet
Use (3) $2/1 manufacturer’s coupons a friend gave you
And hope to pay: $8.99

You may not stack manufacturers coupons together towards the purchase of one item. It’s wrong, and please don’t try to explain to your cashier that the couponers on TV told you you could. The couponers on TV are using one manufacturer’s coupon per item (at least the ones doing it correctly).

While it’s not a great deal, you could however, do this:

Buy (6) Boxes of Pampers Diapers for $19.99 each
Use (1) $1/1 manufacturer’s coupon from the Sunday paper
Use (2) $2/1 manufacturer’s coupons from a coupon booklet
Use (3) $2/1 manufacturer’s coupons a friend gave you
And you’ll pay: way too much for diapers!

Some people think if they gather the manufacturer’s coupons from different sources that it’s OK. No it’s not. If you have two coupons that read “manufacturer” on them, you may not use them together. The only instance I can think of that might blur the lines is Rite Aid where, according to their corporate coupon policy, you are allowed to stack an in-ad “manufacturer” coupon with another manufacturer coupon.

Final Thoughts

My goal is to help you save money using coupons the correct way. I want you feeling confident at checkout, knowing your trips have been planned according to store coupon policies and manufacturer’s intentions.

If you are new to couponing, please check out my Coupons 101 and webcast pages.

Do you have any questions about coupon stacking that I can clear up for you?

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May

Welcome Moms Nite Out attendees!

Did you get the chance to meet me last week at the Tacoma Mall’s Moms Nite Out?

Here I am at my table, displaying some of the shopping trips that me and my awesome readers have done!

And maybe you took the time to hear my speech, 5 Secrets of Couponing Success?

I had such a blast at this event and I need to tell ya, if you didn’t come…next year, you must go! They had FREE catering, FREE food, FREE gifts, FREE seated massage, FREE makeovers, and more. I was truly blown away!

If you did attend and heard about my site for the first time that night, I want to give you an official welcome!

Here’s what you can expect to find here:

Comprehensive getting started posts. Check out these Coupon 101 posts and these recorded webcasts. They’ll take you from never-clipped-a-coupon to coupon queen.
Local deals. Each week, I post deals for Fred Meyer, Rite Aid, Walgreens, and Albertsons.
Great cross-section of deals and coupons. While I can’t guarantee I’ll find every deal, I do promise to do my best to find and post deals that I think will make the biggest difference to you! This includes online deals, freebies, rebate offers, Amazon finds, and much more.
Commitment to ethical, common sense couponing. I want you to feel good about the deals you find here and confident at checkout. I work hard to ensure that the deals I post are true and correct and within stated store coupon policies. I also believe that being frugal is balancing your time and resources as well as your money.
Frugal living. I sometimes share about the progress of my garden, freezer cooking ideas, cooking from scratch, and other topics related to living a frugal lifestyle. I believe in living well, not living cheaply.
Webcasts. I offer free, live webcasts where I teach from my blog. I offer these once a month currently. You can watch previously recorded webcasts, and you might want to tune in tonight – I have one at 8pm PST!

Finally, if you’re new, I encourage you to connect with me and 5,000+ other like-minded frugal buds over at Facebook! It’s a great place to stay updated on deals I find, plus ask your burning coupon related questions.

I’m so glad to have you aboard and am here to help you make sense of how to do this! Welcome!

PS…a huge thanks to my pal Sarah for snapping and sharing these photos for me!

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Apr

Four secrets of couponing success

I’ve gotten quite a few new folks finding my site lately, and many questions about how exactly all this couponing stuff “works.”

Tonight, I thought I’d attempt to break down the basic principles of what’s happening when you hear of someone saving 70% or more on their grocery bill.

:: Combine coupons with sales. The secret to yielding the biggest savings is simply this: use your coupons on the best sale prices you can find. Suppose you have a $1 off rice manufacturer’s coupon. Because the savings is being issued by the manufacturer, you can redeem it at ANY store in your area that accepts manufacturer’s coupons. Let’s further suppose four stores in my area carried this item:

Store A. Rice Box $3
Store B. Rice Box $4.50
Store C. Rice Box $2
Store D. Rice Box $3

In this simple example, Store C would be your best bet. You’d pay just $1 after coupon vs $2 at Stores A & D or $3.50 at Store B.

Would you be surprised to learn that 60% of my savings comes from JUST paying attention to what’s on sale at the stores? The coupons are the icing on the cake, driving down my out of pocket cost. But just using coupons may not actually yield you significant savings!

:: Pay attention to store sales cycles. Did you know December is a good time to batteries? Or that January is National Oatmeal month and a good time to find deals on oatmeal? How about frozen food in March? Stores offer certain items at low prices at certain times of the year. Some of them will cycle around frequently (for instance cereal comes on sale every few weeks it would seem), where other items may cycle only once or twice a year. Pay attention to these cycles and you’ll have better success in determining when the items you want to have on hand will be their cheapest. The manufacturers generally oblige with matching coupons and you’ve got a win-win! You can download a FREE pdf I assembled of store cycles. Some of these are specific to the PNW. I update this list every year.

:: Stock up when you find a deal. When you’ve identified a great deal on items your family needs or uses, stock up. Please note that stockpiling is not synonymous with hoarding. Here’s the difference:

Stockpiling is aquiring items your family needs in quantities you can reasonably store and use before they expire. Hoarding is acquiring items regardless of whether or not your family will use them and in quantities you won’t reasonably be able to use before they go bad. (Quote: Angela Russell – that’s me).

Please note this may look different family to family. If you have a family of eight and go through 4 boxes of cereal per week, 32 boxes would be stockpiling. If you have a family of 2 and only rarely eat cereal, 32 boxes would verge on hoarding.

:: Gather multiple Sunday paper inserts. If you’re new, your first question is likely “where do I get coupons?” My primary source of coupons is the Sunday newspaper. I get four copies of the Tacoma News Tribune delivered to my door (I’ve got a great deal if you’re looking for one!). Four copies means I’m able to do the deal quadrupled over.

Let’s consider the example of the rice above. Suppose instead of just one $1 off coupon, I had four $1 off coupons. With rare exception, the coupon’s fine print indicate there is one coupon per purchase. Please note this is not the same as a transaction. Each item is considered to be a purchase. Therefore, I could do this:

Buy (4) boxes of Rice for $2 each
Present the cashier with (4) $1 off 1 Rice coupons
Pay: $4 total

I now will have four boxes of rice to take back home and put in my pantry. Grow your stockpile slowly over time like this, and you’ll find not only you’ve saved money, you’ve saved time because you won’t have to go shopping nearly as often.

Exhibit A: Walgreens

Right in the middle of the ad, Walgreens invites you to bring your Sunday insert coupons and use them on their items!

This should solve the ‘ol “you can’t use a coupon on a Register Reward deal” dilemma, shouldn’t it? Yes you can! In this scenario, you’d pay $1.74 out of pocket, and then receive a $1.50 Register Reward. Sort of like getting it for $0.24. Now one thing to note, you should not solely rely on the ads to tell you where the best coupons are for their sales (that’s why you read this blog, right?). While it’s true there was a $0.75/1 coupon in this Sunday’s paper, there was a $1/1 coupon a couple weekends before.

And should you have any problems stacking a store coupon with a manufacturer’s coupon, you could simply point out to the cashier “your ad made me do it!” (I jest, you’d use more tact than that, of course!)

Exhibit B: Rite Aid

“But…but…using a coupon to get something for free? That’s STEALING.” I disagree. And so, apparently, does Rite Aid.

Here’s a simple example of how you can use a coupon and still get an UP Reward at Rite Aid. Rite Aid’s ad is littered with examples such as these. As with Walgreens, don’t simply use the ad – there are additional savings you’ll likely miss (another reason to read my blog). I’ve also sometimes seen their ads notate “additional savings in Sunday paper!” only for there to be NO savings for that particular item, or savings from a previous week.

What Have We Learned

Taking the time to thumb through the ads can help build your confidence in shopping at these stores. I also recommend bringing your ad with you to checkout, along with these coupon policies:

Walgreens Corporate Coupon Policy
Rite Aid Corporate Coupon Policy

I hope this has proven to be a helpful exercise! Ready to get shopping? Check out the Walgreens and Rite Aid deals for the week.

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Reader question: how to find frugal blogs near me?

July 23, 2010

A reader emailed me this question yesterday: I love your site. I live in Milwaukee area though, do you know if there is something like this here? Because I get this kind of question a LOT, I thought I’d make sure everyone here is aware of my very favorite sites for locating deals & deal [...]

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How do YOU organize coupons (bloggers, link up!)

July 20, 2010

In last night’s LIVE webcast I mentioned I’d create a post today for bloggers to link any posts they have related to the topic of coupon organization! I think it would be great to swap ideas. In honor of the occasion, I set up a Mr. Linky! The other point I mentioned during the webcast was [...]

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Reader question: how to maximize Pampers coupons

July 12, 2010

I got a pretty interesting reader question a few days ago. After some consideration, I thought it would be a great question to address as a post. Lauren writes: I recently got a total of 6 coupons for Pampers Cruisers. 4 of them are regular manufactures coupons, 1 is for Right Aid, and one is [...]

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Giving our cashiers and stores more credit

June 28, 2010

The general thinking is that many cashiers are just not “in the know” about how coupons work and it’s “our job” to explain it to them. And if that doesn’t get anywhere, we’re supposed to call over a manager and get it resolved, right? After mulling this topic over for some time now, I have [...]

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