From the category archives:

October Coupon Lessons

Nov

Coupon Lessons: it’s test time!

Now that you’ve had some time to digest the 16 lessons I prepared for you in October, it’s time to put your knowledge to the test. Don’t worry; I’m going easy on you. And, remember you can always refer to the October Coupon Lessons posts for some help.

1. What is your primary goal in using coupons and buying items on sale?

a) to try new and exciting products
b) to buy items your family needs at low cost
c) to fill a void in your life

2. True or false: you should be able to buy every item on your list every week with a coupon.

a) True
b) False
c) I don’t know

3. What is the main difference between a store coupon and a manufacturer’s coupon?

a) store coupons are issued by the stores; manufacturers’ coupons are issued by manufacturers
b) both are issued by the stores – the stores take losses on all coupons you use
c) manufacturer’s coupons are found in store ads and store coupons are found in Sunday inserts

4. How can couponing save you time?

a) stockpiling items you use can cut down on future grocery trips
b) you can plan your meals while you plan your deals
c) both a & b

5. You have a high value coupon for an item you never use about to expire. What should you do?

a) get the keys to the car – it’s shopping time, baby!
b) consider leaving it on the shelf for someone who actually could benefit
c) cry and bemoan your pitiful situation

6. You need flour, but can’t seem to find a sale or a coupon. What should you do?

a) go to a low-cost store and attempt to find a generic brand
b) consider buying it in bulk
c) ask your neighbor
d) any are possibilities

7. Why should you bother organizing your coupons?

a) to give your brain something to do
b) to show off your collection to your coupon wannabe friends
c) so you can retrieve them quickly

8. What does “YMMV” stand for?

a) your mom’s minivan
b) you mad, mad vermin
c) your mileage may vary

9. You find a great printable coupon good for a free package of diapers with no expiration date. You hear some talk that it might not be legit, but you don’t want to believe it’s not real. What do you do?

a) take it and try to use it anyway – if the store takes it, they’ll get reimbursed…hopefully
b) don’t use it until you confirm it’s valid from the manufacturer
c) photo copy it and share it with all your friends, of course!

10. How are some ways you might spread the couponing love with others?

a) show others how to coupon, leave coupons for others, donate extra items to your food pantry
b) tell others how they’re doing it wrong, tell them how you’re saving more
c) take all the tearpad, blinkie, and peelie coupons and sell them on eBay

Ready to see how you did? Here are your answers!

1-b. You want to buy items when they are at a low cost and stock up.
2-b. False. This is why you want to stock up when you DO find a good deal.
3-a. Store coupons come from stores; manufacturers issue coupons as well.
4-c. You save time both short- and long-term when you coupon and shop well.
5-b. Don’t feel pressured to use a coupon just because it’s high value.
6-d. Any of these methods may be options for you.
7-c. You will lose money if you can’t find your coupons when you need them.
8-c. “Your mileage may vary;” in other words – your individual results may vary.
9-b. Just because a store takes a coupon does not mean they’ll be reimbursed. Make sure it’s for real.
10-c. Be kind, be polite, and help others while avoid snobbish behavior.

How did you do? I hope well!

I want to thank my readers for your input, questions, and comments throughout this series. You challenge and stretch me every day and make this a better blog to read. Keep the feedback coming.

Photo credit David Hartman

{ 0 comments }

Nov

Coupon Lesson Sixteen: Putting it all together

(Photo courtesy stock.xchng)

We did it!

I hope you've had as much fun reading these posts as I have writing them! While tonight ends this series on getting started with couponing, I want you to know that my commitment to helping you understand how to use coupons, find deals, and make sense of store sales is always the driving force of The Coupon Project.

Tonight, I want to keep things simple. I want to accomplish two things in this final post: 1) do a summary of what I've shared and then 2) give you an action plan of what to do next.

The Riveting Recap

1. Buy low. Your new goal is to stock up on items your family uses when you can find them at a good, low price. You can accomplish this with store sales, coupons, rebates, and other methods.

2. Stockpile. You will start to build a stockpile. Your stockpile should include a wide-range of items your family uses and you should only store the amount you can reasonable contain and use before it goes bad. Anything beyond this is hoarding.

3. Get your Newspaper. Your Sunday newspaper is a great, staple source of coupons. Buy it. Learn the different components and how to sort through it with minimal time.

4. Collect Store Coupons. These are coupons issued by a particular store. Think of them as the store offering a sale. Learn all the possible places you can find store coupons such as ads, booklets, and mailers. Collect Manufacturer Coupons. These are coupons put out by the manufacturer that can be redeemed at any number of retailers. Besides the Sunday paper, you can find manufacturer's coupons in a variety of sources including in and on products, in "blinkie" machines, Internet, Facebook, and more.

5. Organize your Coupons. There are several ways you might organize your coupons. Find the one that makes sense for you. The important thing is YOU should be able to quickly and easily retrieve coupons when you need them.

6. Find the deals. Begin to identify sources that help you find deals, such as this blog, store circulars, other blogs, coupon forums, etc.

7. Learn when to say "yes" and when to say "no." A deal is a deal is not necessarily a deal. A good deal is one that provides your family with a positive benefit. It should save you time and money. No Deal: a "freebie" for something you've never used and have no purpose for that requires you to drive 30 minutes across town. Deal: canned beans at $0.30 a can because your family loves chili during winter months and you usually shell out $1 a can.

8. Plan meals while you plan deals. You should always work to consolidate the time you spend finding deals with planning your meals. Why? It's important to see the bigger picture of what you're trying to achieve. This will help you select better stockpile deals and avoid frivolous trips to the store later.

9. Know your stores. Learn whatever you can about your stores to maximize your savings and minimize your time in them.

10. You don't have to use coupons for everything. Naturally, you will need items you don't have coupons for. Learn to buy in season, buy in bulk, buy generic, and other tactics to drive down your food budget. My biggest savings come from this principle alone. Coupons just sweeten the deals even more!

11. Rebates are good. Many times, rebates can help you get items you need (or just want) for free. Rebates go beyond electronics – there are rebates for food and household goods, too. Use them in conjunction with sales and coupons for deeper savings potential.

12. Couponese. Couponers have their own language. Learn the terms so you'll be in the know too.

13. Know your policies. There are do's and don't with coupon usage. In addition, stores have their own coupon policies. Learn them and follow them.

14. Be Polite. Just because you have a wad of coupons at checkout doesn't mean you have to be obnoxious. Discover ways of being polite and courteous and give couponers a good name everywhere.

15. Be Generous. Share with others out of your plenty. Give your time, knowledge, resources. You'll be surprised how using a few coupons can turn you into a better person in general.

Your Action Plan

As hard as I've worked sharing this information with you, learning how to coupon, stockpile, and transform your family's grocery budget must be learned by doing. You've learned the foreign language; now are you ready to go to that country and put it to use? Knowing what I know now, here is what I would suggest for starting out.

1. Clean your space. Throw out expired pantry items, clean out bathroom shelves, make space in your laundry cupboards, and for gosh sakes, toss whatever's growing hair and a mustache in your fridge. This way you'll be able to accurately assess what you have and what you're lacking.

2. Make a list of items you use. You might start by coming up with a list of family-favorite recipes for inspiration. Consider the receipts of your last few grocery trips: which items do you find yourself buying again and again? Write them down. These are the items you will work to stockpile as best as possible.

3. Get your Sunday paper. Locate your coupons and clip or file them. Find a way to organize them. Using envelopes with categories is a good way to start.

4. Find one or two deals to try. I cover Rite Aid, Walgreens, and Fred Meyer each Saturday and Albertsons each Wednesday. Look through the list of deals I find and see if one strikes you as a good stock-up deal. For instance, you might find a good deal on soup or broth. Try to carve $10-15 out of your budget for stockpiling. For the rest of the items on your list, work to find the best deal possible – generic, bulk, or switch stores altogether.

5. Find a coupon buddy or decide to host an informal coupon party. If you're just starting, find someone else that's learning or wants to learn too. Swap information, and help one another out. Sharing your experience can be a hugely inspiring and motivating endeavor.

Well that does it! Are you ready to jump in and do this? I certainly hope so! It's been my pleasure sharing what I've learned with you. If you feel there is any glaring topic I've not covered, or if you have a question you'd like me to more fully develop into a post, please let me know.

Your final will be in a couple days, so study up!

{ 4 comments }

Nov

Coupon Lesson Fifteen: Ideas for Generosity

(Photo credit Jello Fishy)

So in Lesson Fourteen I suggested that it's possible for couponing to make one greedy and snobby. Sometimes. The positive flip side to that is more often than not, learning how to coupon will turn you into a more generous, giving person.

Today I'm going to share a few ideas of how you might harness that "good feeling" you get from couponing into practical ways you can be generous with others.

1. Teach someone else to coupon. As cheesy as it sounds, I get excited hearing about someone else's good deal as much as enjoying my own. I love it when a reader emails me and thanks me for sharing how to use coupons and find sales. Whether you're an old pro or someone just starting out, I hope you will take the time to share what you're learning with other people. Trust me, for every one person I tell that doesn't care, about 10 more do. And don't feel you must run out and start a blog to do that either (trust me, that's a whole 'nother ball of yarn…). Telling your neighbor, coworker, or friend will do (if you can limit yourself to that).

2. Donate to homeless shelters, church pantries, and others in need. This would be a perfect time of year to put this into practice. I know my own church is hoping to ramp up the food pantry in order to provide local families with Thanksgiving meals. A lot of the items they need are the same items we're seeing on sale right now – canned broth, vegetables, baking supplies. Consider sharing from your stash or doing the deal to help out a family in need.

3. Do a deal for the not-so-coupon inclined. Got folks in your life that are awed by your coupon deals but you know it's unlikely they'll make the time to do it for themselves? Why not ask them to write a list of 3-4 items they use regularly and see if you can't help them out. Who knows, they might be so wow-ed by the deal you scored them on canned tomatoes they'll be willing to give it a try!

4. Be a coupon fairy. If you have coupons (particularly good ones) you are not planning on using, why not leave them on store shelves for other customers? There are other ways you can be a coupon fairy too. I recently decided to ask my friends on Facebook who would like my cat and dog coupons as we don't have pets. In less than an hour, I got a response. Some of this will depend on your comfort level and the situation, but try to gage if you can ever help other customers at the store. For instance, if you see a lady grabbing for a $4 bottle of orange juice and you know the $2 bottle is a better deal with the peelie coupon, see if you can politely assist. Be nice; and again, remember not everyone will necessarily be excited about finding the best deal. But the ones that do will be grateful!

5. Donate expired coupons. Did you know overseas military bases will allow expired coupons to be redeemed up to 6 months past their expiration dates? It's completely easy to sign up. Go here to learn more and get started. I participate with this and think it's a simple way we can thank families overseas for their sacrifice.

6. Give other resources as you are now able. I think you'll find the ideas for giving will grow as you learn to save money and stockpile. You might find the deal on the pretty lotions and bath gels make lovely gifts for women at the local nursing home. You might be inspired to cook a few extra freezer meals from your stockpile and deliver them to a family with a new baby. You might realize you have money left over at the end of the month and can now help a friend that's struggling with the bills.

The more you learn to save, the greater your ability will be to give. While it might seem counterintuitive, it's true. And I'm not the first one to make this connection either. It is a theme you will find over and over with couponers. So while there are a few bad eggs, I think you'll find there are many more courteous and giving folks out there.

Tomorrow, I will wrap up this series by summing up the key points I've shared with you over the last month and giving you an "action plan" for how to carry everything you've learned into practical steps. Shortly thereafter, there will be a final, so if you've not been paying much attention, you might want to go back and review the other October Coupon Lessons! See you then!

{ 1 comment }

Nov

Coupon Lesson Fourteen: Be Nice, Not Obnoxious

(Photo credit Jade Gordon)

Yesterday I shared with you basic rules and policies about coupons you must follow. Today I'm going to talk about those gray areas. This is where we get into the meaty stuff. Coupon etiquette and behavior.

Before we dive in I feel the need to preface this post. See, I've become fairly conservative in my opinions about couponing/stockpiling/and deal-getting. For instance, here's how I'd handle the following situations (though I am NOT suggesting you would need to follow suit…this is only for your understanding of my personal shopping style):

There is an awesome sale on diapers at Rite Aid, and I'm out. When I get to the store, there are four left. I'd be likely to take two. I might check another Rite Aid if I have the time and interest, or I might ask a cashier if they plan on getting more stock or ask for a rain check. If I don't end up with 10 packs of diapers, I shrug it off, figuring there will be another diaper deal worth doing before the two packs I bought run out. This sort of thing rarely frustrates me anymore. (Yes, it used to.)

I learn Walgreens is having an awesome money-maker deal on razors. Honestly? I'd do the deal once. While it's a good deal, I can earn more money sitting at home working than "making" $5 driving to the store and "buying" razors. Once I account for time involved preparing the deal, gas spent driving to the store, etc., doing more than one trip usually doesn't make sense for me. I'm not a fan of asking cashiers to do back-to-back transactions for me, so I only will do this if it's a deal that matters a great deal to me.

Oh, and by the way, I redeemed all my Register Rewards today on baby wipes. No, they weren't on particularly good sale. I just needed them, didn't want to pay out of pocket, and sort of want a break from the burden of managing Register Rewards for awhile. Are you shocked??

Bottom line? I've slowly evolved into a no-frills couponer. I'll do the deals that make sense for me, and leave the glucose monitors for the customers with diabetes. All that being said, I competely recognize not everyone reading this will agree with my opinion, and that's fine. However, I'm not gonna sit here and dilute what I really want to say, so I'm just gonna say what I feel on this topic.

Now that we've cleared up that lil' matter, let me share my rules of good coupon etiquette. Most of these *should* just be good manners and common sense, but I feel it's important for me to spell them out so I can do my part in sending polite folks out into the stores who give couponers (and this blog) a good name!

1. Do not be a shelf clearer. First come, first served? The early bird gets the worm? Yeah, maybe. But buying all of Walgreens 12 Vaseline Infusion lotions and leaving none for others (and still asking for more?) is rude. Of course the store has the perogative to limit quantities, but I have to ask – why would you put the store in that awkward situation in the first place? Now, if there are two of an item, OK, I could see that. But if there are 27 and you take 27, and you know full well it's a deal others are likely looking forward to, you are being rude. Please also consider that stores such as Walgreens and Rite Aid do not maintain the same stock of larger stores (think Target).

2. Be polite to your cashiers. Now I've been frustrated a time or two before, I'm not gonna lie. But is a doubler coupon worth having security escort you out? Remember the bigger picture of what you are trying to achieve and it will help you when you're having a bad day checking out. (Incidentally, I'd say for every 1 trip that doesn't go as planned at checkout, I have 10 or more that do!). Being polite also means be organized with your coupons and items before you head to the register. Don't be deciding then and there what you want and what you don't. Sure, I undertstand unexpected things might pop up, but control what you can control.

3. Be polite to other customers. For goodness sakes, if there is a person standing behind you with a Coke, let them go in front of you.

4. Don't hog or steal coupons. This one might make me unpopular, but I do NOT think it is acceptable to take "peelies" off products for later use. What am I talking about? Peelies are little coupons affixed directly on a product. The intention is to have you use the coupon on THAT item. Many folks will snatch them off and save them for a better deal elsewhere. While I do think this practice is OK for blinkies and tearpads (so long as you aren't taking the whole blinkie machine), I do not think it's OK when the coupon is stuck directly on a product. Now, if YOU buy that product and decide to redeem it later, fine. You purchased that product; you also purchased that coupon. Furthermore – and I can't believe I even have to say this – it is NOT ok to rummage through unopened packages you have no intention of buying for coupons! I recall an oatmeal deal late winter (you can tell I'm into the oatmeal deals, no?) and noticed someone had tampered through several of the boxes, presumably looking for coupons. Damaging products you don't intend to buy is called stealing in my book. The retailer will have a HARD time selling half-ripped boxes of oatmeal.

5. Don't be a coupon snob. I'll admit, I can get like this if I don't watch it! What is a coupon snob? It's that sort of air that no matter what deal you just did, I could've done it better. So you bought a box of Kashi cereal for $1? Well I bought the same box for a profit of 14 cents! You bought one bottle of hairspray for 50-cents? That's nothing. I scored 27 bottles for that same amount. And it goes on and on. You know what I've decided? If you start saving money – ANY money on your groceries, you deserve to be congratulated, not frustrated by the fact you could've done better. I secretly believe the deal can ALWAYS be better. There is NO perfect deal. (Your 27 bottles of hairspray will be on sale next week for 15 cents.) Especially those that are old pros at this, please be mindful of newbies! Encourage them. It's so easy to feel overwhelmed starting out. Cheer on every $1-off coupon! And newbies, pat yourself on the back everytime you save a buck or two. Don't worry about how it could've been better – think about how it could've been worse!

Now if you feel like you've been sternly lectured, I'm sorry. It's not my intention. I just see a lot of craziness out there, and I don't want you to be a part of it. For more on this topic, you might be interested to read the coupon ethics stance I've taken for posting deals on this blog.

I really want to hear from my readers on this one. Have you observed obnoxious behavior? Or perhaps you work as a cashier and could offer your perspective? Think there's some etiquette I'm missing? Are you a blogger that has posted on this topic in some form and want to share a link? Please speak up. Whether we agree on all the points or not, I do think we can agree this is an important topic and one worth discussing.

{ 11 comments }

Nov

Coupon Lesson Thirteen: The Rules of the Coupon Road

(Photo credit Ariel da Silva Parreira)

OK took a detour (AKA “life happens”) and now we’re back on track to finish off my October Coupon Lessons series in early November. (Don’t worry; there are only three more after tonight!)

Today I want to talk about how to be a good couponer. Specifically, to make sure you are aware of the basic rules of how coupons work and give you some food for thought when it comes to those gray areas.

Basic Rules of Couponing
Let’s start with the clearest list of things you should and shouldn’t do when it comes to using coupons.

Don’t use coupons past their expiration date.While it seems like a no-brainer, I’ve noticed more cashiers scrutinizing coupons lately for their dates so obviously people are still doing it – unknowingly or not.

Buy the item(s) specified and the quantity specified. Many coupons want you to buy a certain size or variety – so pay attention. If the coupon says 32 oz or larger detergent, don’t head to the counter with the 20 oz bottle. Now I’m not suggesting you would do this intentionally – I truly believe most mishaps like this are an oversight. I just want to spare you and your cashier the hassle at checkout.

Use one manufacturer coupon per purchase. If you are buying a jar of pasta sauce, you may use that $0.35-off-1 coupon you have, but please don’t attempt to use two $0.35-off-1 coupons for that same jar. Can’t do it. If you are buying two jars of pasta sauce, you may use both $0.35-off-1 coupons.

Honor the manufacturer’s fine print and/or intentions wherever possible. Most coupons will state “limit one coupon per purchase.” This could also be stated as: “limit one coupon per item purchased.” Please note that each item is considered a purchase (hence, two items – two coupons). However, occasionally you will find coupons that read “limit one coupon per transaction” or “limit one coupon per household.” Some of the newer coupons for the diabetic glucose monitors state that they are intended for those living with diabetes ONLY. Always be sure to take a moment to read your coupons to ensure you are following the coupon’s instructions.

Do not use a coupon you know or suspect to be fraudulent. Unfortunately, fraud does exist in the coupon world. Most of the time, the coupons to be wary about you’d be able to identify with a little common sense. For instance, be skeptical of ANY FREE coupon you could simply print from the Internet. True FREE coupons usually require registration and arrive to you via snail mail. Many times they will have holographic images or something special to help prevent duplication. Other printable coupons to be leary about: any that have no/sparse “fine print,” no expiration dates, or other high value coupons (such as $7 off toilet paper, etc.).

Store Coupon Policies

Now, besides the above rules which are just plain given for coupons you’d choose to use anywhere. But most stores you shop at will have additional guidelines you must follow. Think it just sounds like a lot of boring rules? Think again!! Knowing a store’s coupon policy can do the following two things for you: 1) show you new coupon and savings potential for that store, and 2) give you confidence when presenting stores with coupons. (Bottom line: policies are good for you!)

Some of the things you will want to know about your stores:

- Can you use a store coupon with a manufacturer’s coupon for the same item (called “Stacking”)?
- Can you use Internet coupons?
- Does the store accept competitor coupons?
- Can you use two coupons for a “buy one, get one” sale?
- Can you use coupons on rebate items? Clearance items?

It’s important to find out as much as possible about coupons you can use at the stores you shop at regularly to ensure you are saving as much as possible.

Where can you find coupon policies? Here are a couple of my thoughts.

First, pay attention to those store ads! Rite Aid is great for this. On page 4 of this week’s ad, they tell you to use the $3 coupon from the Sunday paper on the toothbrush there’s also a $2 rebate for so you can get it for free. Walgreens ads also often make remarks such as “see Sunday paper for additional coupon savings” – even just above Register Reward deals. The stores understand savvy shoppers will combine coupons with sales.

Second, I was able to dig up a few helpful resources for you tonight. I’m just focusing on stores that I assemble scenarios for. If you are wondering about a store you don’t see listed, check with their website. If that doesn’t get you anywhere (quite possible), consider emailing the store and asking outright.

Walgreens Coupon Policy FAQ(thanks, Hot Coupon World)
Rite Aid Corporate Coupon Policy(thanks, Deal Seeking Mom)
Target Coupon Policy(thanks, Deal Seeking Mom & Krazy Coupon Lady)
Albertsons Coupon Policy(thanks Krazy Coupon Lady)
Fred Meyer Coupon Policy(thanks Krazy Coupon Lady)

I encourage each of you to print and carry these policies with you when you shop. That way if there is a dispute, you can (in your most polite & respectful way, of course) produce it for the store manager or cashier in an attempt to resolve the issue. In most cases, it should clear the matter right up.

Now that we’ve talked about the hard and fast rules of couponing, tomorrow I’m going to touch on soft skills. You guessed it, etiquette. And unfortunately, there are a LOT of rude and obnoxious couponers out there and I want my readers to be the exact opposite. And if you are a rude and obnoxious couponer, please do me a favor and do not ever not never tell anyone you follow my blog.

On that fun note, have a great night!

{ 0 comments }

Oct

Coupon Lesson Twelve: the ABC’s of Couponese

Guess what? I'm behind on my Coupon Lessons, so like it or not, you're getting a double-dose of coupon love tonight to ensure we finish this series on time.

Couponers have a lingo that I like to call Couponese. As much as I try oh-so-carefully to avoid these terms (lest I scare away my newbies), I get emails like this every so often: "What's Red Plum?" And then I realize I haven't done a good enough job of providing Basic Coupon Training.

So today, after 8 months of blogging about coupons, I'm FINALLY gonna clue you all in to what I've been talking about.

A is for Ad. What's usually meant is the store's weekly ad (AKA circular). Grocery store ads generally run from Wed – Tues (Safeway, Albertsons), while drug store and national store ads run Sun – Sat (Walgreens, Fred Meyer, Target).

B is for BOGO, or "buy one, get one." The classic BOGO is "buy one, get one free," however there are fun variations of this such as "buy seven, get four free" and "buy one, get one 15% off." Sometimes abbreviated as B1G1 (or B2G2, etc.)

C is for Catalina. These are the handy little coupons you get for buying promotional items. You can generally use them to buy any merchandise in the store (with few exclusions – read your fine print).

D is for Double Coupon. This occurs when a store decides to double the value of your manufacturer's coupons. They may have a limit (say, 20 per transaction), or they may simply issue "double coupons" in their store ads.

E is for Extra Savings Booklet. The Fred Meyer coupon booklet just inside stores.

F is for FAR. This is short for "Free After Rebate."

G is for GDA. Stands for "Good Deal Alert."

H is for Hot Coupon World.My favorite coupon resource site out there!

I is for Inserts. The Sunday paper inserts are a staple source of coupons for most coupon-clippers. The three major coupon inserts are put out by SmartSource, Red Plum, and Procter & Gamble.

J is for JMHO. Stands for "just my humble opinion." While this acronym is widely used by texters, you'll find it frequently in coupon forums where opinions may differ about how to do a deal.

K is for Kmart. Known for their famous "double coupon events," Kmart is a favorite store among die-hard couponers. During these events, participating Kmart stores will usually double up to $2 manufacturer coupons, resulting in many cheap and free items, much to couponers' delight.

L is for LOND. Stands for "Land of no doubles." Guess what? If you're in my neck of the woods, you're living in the LOND. While we occasionally see stores here and there doubling coupons, other parts of the country can routinely expect their stores to double coupons.

M is for Money Maker. Commonly used term to describe a deal when you end up with a net profit after coupons, sales, and/or rebates. Sometimes abbreviated as MM. Some couponers will use the term overage instead.

N is for NED. "No Expiration Date." This coupons are few and far between. As mentioned above, I actually did receive one this week – they exist!

O is for OOP. Stands for "Out Of Pocket." You'll see this one a lot. To use it in a sentence: "To keep your OOP down, be sure to use this coupon over here."

P is for Printable Coupon. Printable coupons are ones you'd print from any number of Internet sources, including SmartSource.com, Coupons.com, manufacturers' websites, or special Facebook offers.

Q is for Coupon. The letter "Q" is sometimes used to indicate a coupon. For instance: $1/1 Q or Manu Q (which would be short for Manufacturer's coupon).

R is for Register Rewards. The fun little Catalina coupons you get from Walgreens. (See Catalina above.)

S is for SCR. Short for "Single Check Rebate." Refers to Rite Aid's rebate program.

T is for Tearpad Coupon. These coupons are often found in the stores, on a little booklet by the product they are for.

U is for Unadvertised Sale/Special. Sometimes the best deals are the ones that don't appear in the ad! Nice folks that stumble across these will email bloggers or post their finds on coupon forums to let others share the excitement.

V is for Valassis. Another name for Red Plum.

W is for WYB. Stands for "When You Buy" and is often used in blogger deal scenarios. For instance, you might see something like this: Free Gatorade WYB Cheetos.

X is for Times (multiplication). Couponers use math, so get used to it!

Y is for YMMV, or "Your mileage may vary." Couponers use this to indicate when a sale may be very subjective to your store's policy or the particular cashier you may be dealing with that day.

Z is for zzzzzz's. Something that's important to get while you're learning all about coupons. And seeing how it's 11 pm on a Sunday night, I reckon it's time for some shut eye.

Coupon Dad, Bargain Briana, and Hot Coupon World also have great references for coupon lingo.

I have four fun-filled lessons planned this week for you to finish off this series. So pay attention! You'll want to pass that final exam.

{ 1 comment }

Oct

Coupon Lesson Eleven: Rebate me this, rebate me that…

If you think rebates are a waste of time, think again!

Many items are free after rebate – or even turn you a small profit when combined with sales and coupons. Today I’m gonna spend a little time on this topic with you. I talk a fair amount about rebates on this site, so it’s something worth learning.

First off, confession time. I’m NOT the best at tracking my rebates. (Yeah, yeah, I’ll get with the program soon.) That being said, I sat and quickly tallied up all the rebates I’ve done in the last 6 months or so that I could recall or dig up online. The result? I’ve received nearly $250 in rebates back! All things being equal, I’d wager that at least $200 of that amount was completely free. And if I were to guess, I’d say I’ve easily received $350+ in rebates since the start of the year.

What sort of stuff did I buy on rebate?

Computer software
Shampoo & conditioner
Diapers – Huggies, Pampers & wipes
Razors
Cheese
Cereal
Toothpaste
Copy paper

Does my list surprise you? I hope so. I want you to know that you can buy many, many things on rebate – not just computers or electronics. And, they are often VERY straight-forward to fill out! Let’s talk about a few various kinds of rebates, shall we?

Store Rebates
These are rebates offered by the store. My favorite example would be Rite Aid. I just came from their handy rebate site and guess what? Since June alone, I’ve racked up $104.65 in Rite Aid rebates and gift cards! Sweet! Getting started is easy and free. Just create an online account. They offer new rebates each month (although some are only good for certain weeks during the month – so watch the dates!). After you make your purchases, go back online and enter the data from your receipt. When you are all done making your purchases for the month, request your check (but do NOT do this until you are sure you are DONE for the month)!

In the case of Rite Aid, you will receive a check that looks like a postcard – generally 2-3 weeks later. The process is very simple. And no mailing receipts, postage, forms, etc. required! Sometimes, they will have special rebate gift cards ON TOP of their monthly rebate. Here is a gift card I got for purchasing Kimberly-Clark products (I bought Huggies, specifically).

And here is a $20 I received for buying other stuff on rebate. I seriously spent pennies earning this.

Other stores that have rebate programs include office stores – such as Staples (which I also recently did and it was easy too). In general, I like store rebates. They are usually well advertised, and if you run into an issue, you can always contact the store directly as opposed to trying to hunt down a wayward manufacturer.

Try-me-free rebates
Have you ever seen those “try me free” tags that hang on products? Or maybe they’re printed on the box? Usually these rebate forms will require you submit your UPC and receipt. Some stores may be able to print a second rebate receipt. If not, I like to just photo copy the original receipt for my records and filing later.

You’ll also find these rebates in the Sunday inserts. Many times they are right next to a coupon. If you were paying attention today, you might have noticed there was one for Finesse Shampoo in this weekend’s SmartSource. Use the $1/1 coupon to help offset the cost of your purchase, and send in the rebate form with your receipt to save an additional $2 (incidentally, this item is $2.99 at Rite Aid this week – so after rebate and coupon, it’d be yours for free!).

Instant Rebates (AKA Catalina coupons)
Sometimes, you might receive store credit as soon as your transaction is complete at the store! These are called Catalina coupons (AKA off-your-next-order coupons or Register Rewards at Walgreens). I consider these to be a form of rebate because you must first purchase something to get the credit. (Unlike a coupon or sale where the discount is taken before you pay anything.)

How do these work? Buy the promotional items as specified. Sometimes it’s a quantity of a certain product you have to buy, other times it’s a dollar amount. For instance, you might have to buy 4 boxes of Post cereal at Albertsons in a single transaction. Then you will earn an “off-your-next-order” coupon once your transaction is complete. You can then turn around and use this coupon on virtually any item in the store you wish (there are a few exclusions – so always read the fine print). Here’s a pic to jog your memory. I bet you’ve received coupons that look strikingly similar to this with your receipt at checkout. Some are cents-off coupons, and others (like these) are good for merchandise in the store.

(Note: most do NOT have the red stripes. I think my cashier was almost out of receipt tape!)

I’m not going to delve into deep explanations of these now, but if you’re interested specifically how Walgreen’s Register Rewards read posts I’ve already written on the topic here, here, and here.

Get money/get items
Other rebates may be seasonal promotions. For instance, we recently saw a $10 Kelloggs rebate for back-to-school when you bought 10 select Kellogg’s products in a single transaction. There are also items to get items with purchase. For instance, right now you can score a free baby frog bath toy from Johnson’s with purchase of their baby bubble wash. Other times, you might not have to buy a thing! I scored this chic Gardenburger tote just by filling out a form I found in a Gardenburger flyer with coupons I found at Fred Meyer a few months back. Be on the lookout – rebates can be anywhere.

Online Rebates
You can also score cash back for buying online! One of the more popular rebate sites online is Ebates. Setting up your account takes all of a minute. Then you select the store you had intended on shopping at – JC Penney, Target, Famous Footwear, etc. and you’re off! When you sign up you can earn a bonus $5 cash in your account or a selection of $10 gift cards. Go here to sign up with Ebates.

Rebate Tips
Here are some of my best tips for having success with rebates:

1. Track them. (Or not.) I think it’s generally wise to track your rebates (particularly the larger ones) to make sure you’ve received them. Make sure to follow-up with Customer Service if you’ve not received your rebate in the specified timeframe. Or, you can be rather willy-nilly as I have apparently been this year. The upside to not tracking them is that you never know what may appear in your mailbox. It’s sort of like Christmas every day for me because I never know what I might find in there.

2. Fill them out correctly. For Pete’s sake, read the instructions! If they say submit original receipt, do that. If they need all 40 UPC codes, cut them out. Make sure your name and address are printed legibly. Common sense stuff, folks.

3. Combine with sales & coupons. If there is a $10 rebate out on some fancy new candle, you could buy it at Store A where it’s on sale for $15. Or you could buy it at Store B where it’s $23. Or you could wait until Store C puts it on sale for $10 with a buy one, get one free and snag two for free. Think about it.

Favorite Rebates right now!
Now that we’ve talked about rebates, I want to share some pretty terrific rebates you could take advantage of right now. Wherever possible, try to combine sales and coupons with rebates to drive down your out-of-pocket!

The Caregivers Marketplace- ongoing – get $0.75 per jumbo pack Huggies plus many other baby and elder care items

Johnson’s Baby Frog Bath Toy- as mentioned above, here’s the full scoop!

Real Simple- going on right now! Earn $5 with the purchase of $15 or more select products

SC Johnson- LOVE this one – earn $5 with the purchase of ANY three SC Johnsonproducts

Nabisco - get $10 back when you buy 10 select Nabisco products

Rite Aid rebates- look for these peppered throughout my Rite Aid deals this week. Several items are FREE after rebate. Why not buy one, set up a Rite Aid rebate account, and get started?

{ 1 comment }

Oct

Coupon Lesson Ten: Getting items you need for cheap

Remember I said there are two types of shopping? Quick: what are they?

If you answered stockpiling and need-based, you’re correct! Ding, ding, ding!

The crazy deals you frequently see couponers write about on their blogs are usually stockpiling deals. Here’s an example. This means they’ve found some crazy good deal and are going to buy as much as they reasonably can afford, store, and/or have coupons for.

The other type of shopping is need-based. These are items that you must have to complete for the week, but you might not have found on sale in the store ads. So what do you do about this? Here are a few of my best thoughts for you.

1. Shop at stores that are low in prices in general. In my area, Fred Meyer and Winco are sure bets for most items. I also have taken the time to learn which stores offer lower prices on canned goods, household items, baking staples, and the like. Get to know the stores in your area and pay attention to their general cost of items you buy frequently.

2. Buy in bulk. I’m not talking about Costco, either. (However, if you’re interested, read my thoughts on Costco here.) I’m talking about those bins where you can scoop out minced onion, long grain rice, oatmeal, and other great basics. You know, like this:

(Photo credit L. Emerson)

3. Bring coupons, just in case. If I know I need dish detergent, but couldn’t locate a sale, I’ll bring my coupons just in case the price less the coupon is cheaper than generic. Sometimes it is. And sometimes…

4. Buy generic. I’m always flabbergasted when folks make the blanket statement that generic is cheaper than name brands after coupons. It’s just not true ALL THE TIME. Manufacturers want you to buy THEIR product after all. And stores are only too happy to feature a deal on a manufacturer’s item if it means that there will be more foot traffic to their store. However, in the absence of sales, generic is often a smart, savvy way to go. Do your math. (And if you’re interested to learn more about this topic, read my post over here.) Just pay attention though to how much you really need to buy. For instance, toilet paper comes on sale every so often. If you need it now, maybe only buy a couple week’s supply. There is a fair chance a good “stock-up deal” will come around in that time period, and you’ll be glad you didn’t spend more than you need to.

5. Drive down costs of other items with coupons. Here’s the beauty of using coupons and buying items on sale: it frees up money for you. With this new-found money in your budget, you can now more easily afford the ingredients that really matter to you – organic produce, quality meat cuts, gourmet oils and chutneys, imported cheeses – what have you. For items that you could give a fig’s tooth about use coupons and buy on sale! Make sense?

6. Use rebates and store credit. We’ll be talking more about rebates tomorrow, but bottom line, I love ‘em. While a lot of time folks will tell you to use rebates to buy more items on rebate in order to keep an endless cycle going (which can be fun, no doubt), sometimes I think it’s an equally worthy idea to simply spend those rebates or store credit to help pay for items you need or just plain want. For instance, I earned a $20 Rite Aid card for the Fall Savings rebate offer last month. It really didn’t cost me much of anything to earn – and it’s a nice bonus. I may well end up using that to just buy a big box of diapers – whether or not it’s on “sale.” Sure I’ll do my best to use coupons as I can, but it’ll be nice knowing I won’t have to pay out of pocket for them.

7. Learn all you can about your stores. For instance, when does the butcher mark down meat? Who is the produce manager – could you negotiate a deal on that box of apples about to go bad? Who’s responsible for marking down clearance items? And can they text you when they’ve done so? OK, maybe the last one is a stretch, but you get the idea. Make friends with the store employees. See what they can do to help you find those deals!

(Photo credit John Moore)

8. Rethink your meal plan. I’m learning to plan my meals with season trends. For instance, around Superbowl there was a ton of Mexican-themed ingredients on sale. Right now, I’ve been finding potatoes, sausages, and soup. And apples. I am not about to buy raspberries or mangoes right now. Think about the produce and meat that comes on sale during the various times of the year, and work with it, not against it. You’ll probably save a lot of money using this one basic idea alone.

If you have other strategies that have helped you in the past, speak up. See you in a couple days when we talk more about rebates, how they work, and if they are worth it!

{ 5 comments }

Oct

Coupon Lesson Nine: Simple grocery shopping strategies

I hope you all had a great weekend. Did you get your coupons? Did you have a chance to scan the ads? I sincerely hope that little by little this will start to make sense. If it's not, please leave a comment or email me. I want to know what more I can do to help this "click" with you.

Today I'm going to talk about simple strategies for shopping in the store. Some are common sense, some have been passed on to me by friends and family, and some I've just come to discover for myself.

In no particular order…here we go.

1. First, always make sure you are NOT hungry before going shopping! This should be common sense. Hungry shoppers = impulse shoppers. And usually the foods you'll end up with are convenient foods, too. Not always the healthiest of choices! Reach for a healthy treat to snack on before you leave, such as this scrumptious pear.

(Photo credit Petr Kovar)

2. Try to shop alone, if possible. This isn't always possible, and I know. In fact, I almost never get to shop alone myself. But when I do, I can tell you I feel way less rushed and can pay attention to my list and coupons. If I must bring my kiddos, usually our first stop is the bakery for free cookies. That occupies them for a bit.

3. Always shop with a list! If you read Lesson #8 over the weekend, you know that I generally have two categories on my list: items I need to make meals for that week, and items I'm planning on stockpiling. I will then determine what items to get where (I usually shop at two stores, depending on the sales). Next, I organize the coupons I plan on using in my little coupon organizer. Remember this guy?

4. Become acquainted with the stores you frequent. I try to make my grocery lists organized by the store aisles to avoid backtracking. One question I get A LOT is, "don't you spend a lot of time at the stores, Angela?" Actually, no. I don't. I've already essentially done the shopping at home - I know what items to get, the quantities, where they're located, and which coupons to use. Even a "big" shopping trip generally doesn't take me more than 20 minutes in the store. (If it takes more, it's usually because I'm waiting in line…although I try to go when the stores aren't as busy.)

5. Calculator & "Thinking Cap" required. Consider this example. You are out of sour cream and need some. The store has the bigger size (let's say 16 oz) on sale for $2. The smaller sizes are $1.50. Being a smart shopper, you'd naturally take the bigger size, right? After all, that's a better deal when looking at unit prices. Now if you didn't have any coupons, I'd agree with you. But since this is MY hypothetical situation I'm gonna say you also have a coupon that reads "Save $1 off ANY sour cream." In this case, you'd be foolhardy to grab the bigger one. A smarter move would be to buy two smaller ones and use two coupons. Here's the math:

One 16 oz. @ $2
VS
Two 8 oz. @ $1.50 each = $3
Less (2) $1/1 coupons = $1

In the final analysis, you'd end up paying $1 less by buying two smaller ones with coupons! This phenomena occurs FREQUENTLY in the couponing world, so pay attention!

(Photo credit Flavio Takemoto)

6. Have a "Plan B" - especially for complicated transactions.What happens if you get to the store and they are out of the boxes of pasta you'd hoped to buy? Simple answer is get a raincheck. But what do you do if you'd counted on those boxes of pasta for a $20 mix n' match promotion? Or worse, an elaborate Register Reward transaction you'd constructed the previous evening? This is why I ALWAYS recommend you have a Plan B. My Plan B is usually I just don't proceed. Period. I leave the store. Too many times when I've tried to "wing it" I end up spending more money than I wanted and leave grouchy. Don't do this. Either think of something else to purchase to make your deal work, or hang onto your coupons for next time. And if it's possible, always ask Customer Service for a raincheck. It's usually not a problem at all.

7. Find ways to limit outings.I'm all about keeping it simple, and I hope that's come across. While I love great deals with coupons, I also love staying at home with my family, reading, going for a run (although it's been awhile…), and the like. In other words, I'd prefer to NOT be going back and forth to stores all bloomin' week long. I've gotten better about doing one grocery trip and one drugstore a week (or thereabouts). Sure I miss all sorts of deals every day, but I also know it's more important to stick with my grocery budget AND my gas budget each month. I also know more deals will be comin' around the corner.

I'd love to hear from my readers. How do you simplify your grocery trips and avoid wasting time or money in the stores? Please speak up! Let's share our ideas with one another.

Tomorrow I'm going to be talking a little more about shopping. This time, I'll be concentrating on how to find great deals on items you need, but may not be on sale.

{ 8 comments }

Oct

Coupon Lesson Eight: Planning your meals and trips

Finally I’ve found a few minutes to assemble another installment in my October Coupon Lessons series!

Today I want to address a question I get from time-to-time: how do you combine sale shopping with planning your meals for the week?

In answering this question, you’ll find today’s post is more of my own personal system than “lesson” per se. But I hope I can give you a few ideas of what I do to help you get started. See, I’m always trying to consider the bigger picture. If I just focus on the sales (which is easy to do), I will most likely be at the store three days later for milk, bread, and cheese. This is silly.

So here is what I do. Let’s start with my recipe book. This is a book I assembled a few years ago (and badly need to update, by the way!). It’s my go-to book of favorite family recipes and meals. I also took the time to simply write out a list of about 20-30 of my family’s favorite meals. This way when I need to plan the week’s dinner list, I don’t have to sit there and waste time trying to think.

As you might be able to tell from the picture, I’ve put all my recipes in page protectors to keep them safe from food spills. My recipe book includes recipes taken from magazines, written out by friends, printed off the Internet, and a few were even given to me at my wedding shower! It’s a great resource.

After I’ve looked at the ads that week and seen what’s on sale, I begin to strategize looking at sale items, our family recipes, and what ingredients I have on stock in my pantry. There have been some great stock-up sales recently for beans, rice, and pasta sauce, so I might let some of those staples help inspire my grocery list for the week.

Once I’ve gotten my meal list together, I’ll write out what ingredients I need to purchase that week to complete the meals. If those additional ingredients are NOT on sale, I will do my best to look for generic items or hope to find sales in the store. It’s generally best to shop at stores that offer lower prices in the first place! Another great source of ingredients has been Winco for me. They have lots of great items in bulk – pasta, rice, spice mixes, even dried fruit, nuts. It can be a great way to purchase items for cheap – and just what you need! Here are a few items I’ve gotten recently at Winco (instant oatmeal for cobbler, dried bread crumbs for meatballs, and dried fruit for healthy kid snacking). More on needs-based shopping later. Moving along…

Finally, after I’ve assembled what I need and estimated the cost, I’ll determine how much money I can carve out of my weekly grocery budget for stockpiling. Unlike stockpiling Costco-style where you spend $100-200, your weekly stockpile shopping need not total more than $10-20 at first. Just do what you can afford! Simply pick a few items that you use regularly that are on good deals for the week. As you begin to do this week in and week out, your stockpile will start to grow. And over time, the items that you “need” from the grocery store to complete your meal list will diminish.

A final point before I sign off…I’ve recently started getting into freezer meals! This can be a great way to make use of meat, produce, and other fresh ingredients you find on great sales. It can also be a way to save yourself time. For instance, last week, I found $1.59/lb chicken breast at Summit Trading. Instead of just buying 10 lbs and chucking it in the freezer, I hand trimmed it and prepped 3 Cashew Chicken Dinners and 2 Mariachi Chicken Roll dinners from one of my favorite freezer books, Fix Freeze and Feast. Not only have I saved myself money, I’ve saved myself time in the process too. It also meant that next week, I’ll have one or two less meals to worry about.

Wanna copy of this great book? You can snatch one up on Amazon . And if you’re interested to read more about how the freezer meals work, read my post over here.

Incidentally, I do not have a storage freezer (hopefully soon!), but I’ve still found that by keeping things neat and organized, I can store quite a few dinners in there!

Over the next few days I’ll be spending some more time talking about grocery store shopping strategies as well as how to find good deals on items you need when they are not on sale. Stay tuned!

{ 3 comments }

← Previous Entries