Coupon 101

[newtodis]

Hey All -

Anyone care to share their coupon knowledge, tips and tricks with us?? I've seen it discussed throughout several different threads so I thought I'd see if we could get it all in one spot. I'm still learning myself and hoping to pick up some tips from the pros!

*I learned today that you can use a Walgreens coupon with a manufacturer coupon (got three free products this way thanks to the DISboards!!).
*I've also become interested in electronic coupons - my understanding is that you can use them with a paper coupon. I will be trying this for the first time this week at Kroger. There are three sites: proctor and gamble and cell fire are the ones I'm giving a shot this week. I learned about them from the site (linked below)
*Coupon site (again, thanks to a DISboarder!!) - this is the one for my "area" and it's great! http://www.southernsavers.com/2009/03/kroger-weekly-ad-38-314/#comment-7790

Thing I would like to learn are:
*rotation of ads - specifically I'm looking for a good sale on head and shoulders shampoo and kleenex before my coupons expire! I think once I learn the rotation I won't "overbuy" not knowing how long I'll have until the next time it's on sale.
*what stores match competitors and will take internet/competors coupons - that would help me a lot too as Target sends me coupons quite often but the prices don't make it worth it to use the coupon. If I could use that somewhere else it would certainly be helpful!

Alright...so post things you know or have worked for you in the coupon world and things you'd like to know and we can all learn together!

 

[LeeLeeLuvsDisney]

I wish I could help you, but it sounds like you know more than I do already! Hopefully people will respond, I need some help with couponing, too!

 

[newtodis]

I wish I could help you, but it sounds like you know more than I do already! Hopefully people will respond, I need some help with couponing, too!

You're already on a good track with collecting the coupons (I would guess judging by the number I get!) Hopefully more people will come by and post their tips and tricks and we'll all learn something!

 

[asoko]

shortcuts.com is another electronic coupon site. I use it with my Kroger card.

I also buy a lot of H&B at drug stores. They have rebates you can do over the computer and you can use coupons so often they are free or money makers.

 

[TxTiggergal]

Okay, I am definitely not a pro yet, as I just started seriously couponing last summer, but I will throw out a few things I have learned along the way. And I don't know that I have the answers to your specific questions. I am still learning too and welcome any and all tips that the real pros may care to share!

First of all, there are several couponing websites, my favorite being Hot Coupon World, where you can spend hours and hours reading and learning. This helped me immensely in getting started.

You will want to come up with a system of coupon organization that will work for you. After trial and error, I find a 3 ring binder with baseball card holders works best for me. I also use a system of envelopes for each store that I put the coupons into when I am ready to actually shop.

As far as where to shop with coupons, you might want to find out if any stores double or triple coupons. That can impact where you can get the most benefit out of the coupon. In my area here in Texas, for example, Kroger triples coupons up to and including .39 and doubles coupons up to and including .50. (With a Kroger plus card) So if I have a coupon for .50 off something, I can use it at Kroger and it will be worth 1.00 off, whereas if I use it anywhere else that doesn't double and triple, it would be just .50 off. Then I have to do the math to figure out where I want to buy a particular item. However, the electronic coupons that I have used don't double or triple; they are at face value, but you can combine them with paper ones.

Also, I have learned to try to hold on to my coupons until an item goes on sale. I used to run out and use the coupon as soon as I got it. Now I will wait for the item to go on sale, then combine it with the coupon to get a better deal. (Of course, if it is something you need right away or the coupon is going to expire soon, that can factor into your decision about when to use it.)

I enjoy couponing. Not only am do I feel good about saving money, but it is addicting and becomes a quest to score the good deals!!

 

[Imzadi]

Read this thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=30642606#post30642606

 

[Chicago526]

My biggest tip is: Don't buy things you won't use, just because it's a good price. I know many donate or give away to family and friends stuff they don't need or bought 50 of, but if you don't intend to donate/share, it's a false savings to buy stuff you really wouldn't have bought otherwise. I can pay 50 cents a box for cereal, but neither DH or I eat it, and we don't have kids. That would be a waste for us. But when frozen veggies go on sale and I've got a pocket full of coupons, I'm all over that like white on rice! We eat veggies by the boat load and I've got the freezer space to store them.

I agree with the previous poster, organization is key. Since I don't clip a ton of coupons, a expandable folder I have works fine, I just have it labled for a half dozen different catagories (pantry, freezer, refrigerator, health and beauty, cleaning supplies, baking supplies, candy & snacks, restaurant, and Costco). I'll go through my coupon stash and look to see what I have, and then look at the ads and see what's on sale. I make up my shoping list in Excel (why yes, I am a dork!), print it off, pull my coupons and paper clip them to my list, and off to the store I go. Between coupons cliping, ad reading, and list making, I think I spend maybe an hour a week, more or less depending on if there are a lot of coupons I like that week or if the stores are having big sales.

Why do I make my list in excel? Organization! The key to saving with coupons is stocking up, I don't just buy one box of granola bars, but six. I don't buy 2 boxes of mac & cheese, but 12. Often not only is an item on sale, not only do I have a coupon, but the stores may have a promotion of "spend X on the following items and get a coupon for $Y off your next order.

So, in excel I make a list for each store. The columns are labled "Item", "Quantity" "Price" "Coupon" "Bonus Offer". So, my list looks like this:

Jewel (my local store).......Qty.....Price.........Coupons...................Bonus Offer
Nature Valley Granola Bars..10...$2.00 each....ten .60 off one......spend $20 get $10 coupon

This way I know exactly what to buy, in what amount, what the price should ring up as I'm watching the cashier, how many coupons I have (and should show on the receipt, I've had cashiers under-ring coupons before) and what, if any, coupons should print with my receipt. Using the granola example above, I know I need ten boxes, I know that they should ring up $2.00 each, I know I should make sure the cashier rings all ten coupons, and that a $10 coupon should print.

 

[mrsboz]

subscribing. I would love to be able to do what you all do.

 

[newtodis]

Thank you all so much for your tips and information!! I'm certainly learning more things! This is the first week I'm actually going to write down the number of coupons as well and double check the receipt - I didn't think they wouldn't ring up all of the coupons! I like the Excel idea as well. I want to get proficient enough to be able to look back at the end of the year and figure out how much I saved in different areas (grocery, drug store/CVS type stores, ect).

Thanks for sharing the ideas and sites! Keep them coming!

 

[mickeygaga]

subbing

 

[newtodis]

Read this thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=30642606#post30642606

I'm loving all of your ideas from the linked thread! I can't wait to do more research on this and really make this start working for my family. My dream is (once we get a freezer for the garage) to ONLY have to shop to stock and for things like fresh fruit/veggies and milk/eggs....a girl can dream right?

 

[oldbay]

My biggest tip would be to always check your receipt. I go to lots of different stores - whichever has the best sale for what I need and almost every week there is some error on my receipt. Last week I got back $6 after the sale items rang up wrong, the week before $10. (Some stores will give you the item for free if it rings up incorrectly.) This checking can be done whether or not you use coupons. And I also have at least 2 of my kids with me, so I know check out can be a crazy time - but take a minute and check - it can save $100's over a year. Even a $5 error * 52 weeks = $260!

Also, Target lets you use one of their coupons with a manufacturer's coupon. They print from their website. Most expire 4 weeks after they are on there and there are new ones every 2 weeks. It seems the item sometimes goes on sale after it is available on the website but before it expires, hope this makes some sense.

 

[oldbay]

One more thing, when an item is buy one get one free, a lot of stores will let you use 2 coupons, one for each item.

 

[Mrs.Reese]

I keep my inserts whole and place them each week in a dated folder. Then all I have to do is pull out the folder and cut. Keeps it nice and neat. I have an accordian style folder for blinkies, peelies and such. I keep rebate copies stapled and in an envelope. My biggest rebates come from beer which DH happily enjoys. I seriously have 8 12 packs in the pantry that have worked out to be nearly free.

On the first sunday of the month, I go through my loose coupons and dump all the expired ones. This helps keep it clean and organized for me.

 

[jdes88]

I keep my inserts whole and place them each week in a dated folder. Then all I have to do is pull out the folder and cut. Keeps it nice and neat. I have an accordian style folder for blinkies, peelies and such. I keep rebate copies stapled and in an envelope. My biggest rebates come from beer which DH happily enjoys. I seriously have 8 12 packs in the pantry that have worked out to be nearly free.

On the first sunday of the month, I go through my loose coupons and dump all the expired ones. This helps keep it clean and organized for me.

Hold on, Beer rebates? I've never seen one of those before! My hubby would love that!

 

[Mrs.Reese]

Yes beer rebates have become a bit of an obsession for DH. While I'm shopping he is looking for coupons to add to the file. His favorite are the beer rebates. They're usually on a tearpad or taped to the actual packs. They're not at Walmart. I have gotten over $100 in beer rebates from Nov-Feb of this year. Budweiser usually has some.

 

[estherhead]

Other alcohol has rebates too, Bailey's had some good deals this year.

I have lots of tips but the biggest one is: START COUPONING! Just get your feet wet.

Read some blogs & message boards (this one, hotcouponworld, thecouponmom, jane4girls), get your local Sunday newspaper, peruse your regular grocery store for tearpads.

And then start. I hear fights on here all the time about how coupons aren't for healthy stuff, or they are just too much work, etc. To me, it sounds just like me two years ago & I felt like I was just making excuses.

I started last year and now one year later I realize I was just making excuses.

Even if you didn't get one bite of food with coupons because you only eat barley and celery (I have never once seen a coupon for barley and celery) you will still save 100's if not 1000's of dollars a year just on toiletries, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc. And don't play the organic card either as I have organic t.p. coupons in my holder right now!

Plus, if you get in the game and make it your lifestyle than you will be a lot more open to all the other suggestions that we say, "Never!" to. I said I would never make my own cleaning supplies and yet here I am making my own laundry detergent and totally loving it. And using vinegar & baking soda to clean my drains & microwave.

All because I started couponing last winter.

So start. Read. Print out coupons that interest you on-line. Subscribe to your Sunday paper. Pull out the coupons & the ads and pick out the deals (use the online blogs to help you) you want to do that week, and start.

I started by being thrilled at Kroger's (they print your percentage saved on the receipts) when I would save 30%. I went yesterday and saved 78%. Yippee!!! And at CVS I bought all my vitamins (I have to start a new diet/vitamin/precription thing for a new to me illness) for $12.00. $51.96 worth of vitamins for $12.00. Before couponing I would have had no idea you could have gotten deals on vitamins.

And I don't completely agree with not buying things you've never used. I do agree with it sort of. For example, I never buy dog food. I don't even check to see if it's free as I don't have a dog & don't have time to be shopping for a dog I don't have.

But prior to couponing I never bought face cleanser (I know, I'm a terrible person) as I don't have acne and just didn't care. Why couldn't I just use the hand soap next to the sink? Then I found CVS & got Garnier Face Wipes for free (they actually paid me $1.00 to buy them) and I couldn't resist. So I started using them and fell in LOVE! Now I use Olay wipes or Garnier, whatever I can get mostly free and even use a real face cleanser from time to time. And I use Loreal Revitalift (made $5.00 on that deal at Rite Aid). You should see my skin. If I do say so myself, it's GORGEOUS! I look 25 not 35. All for no money.

So, be open. Don't change your healthy diet to a bad one just because it's a deal, that's silly. But really, would anyone do that? But do switch brands at will. And do try things out that you wouldn't have. CVS had an amazing deal on KY Yours & Mine which I would NEVER have bought at $20.00. But for free? Dh & I aren't complaining one bit.

 

[acename]

Even if I didn't use coupons for anything else, I've saved hundreds of dollars on diapers since my daughter was born. Just today at Walgreens I got two jumbo packs of Huggies and a big bag of wipes. Their sale price was $10 for the diapers each and $6 for the wipes. I had a coupon for $3 off each of the diapers and $5 off the wipes, which brings it down to $14. Then I got $10 in Register Rewards to use in the next couple of weeks. That makes $4 for 70 diapers and 200 somthing wipes. You'd be crazy not to do a deal like that.

The biggest thing I've learned is stockpiling. Just using my diaper example, I already have 3 packs of diapers that would last me probably a month. But why should I wait until I need them and pay full price when I KNOW I'll need them later and can get them for almost nothing?

My number one suggestion for people just starting out is pick one store and get really good at saving money there. For me that was Kroger. Then once I was confident there I started at CVS and now Walgreens. Also prioritize. I'm not going to run all over town to every store to score every deal. I have an 18 month old and she'll only shop for so long. I made myself crazy at first trying to get every deal I heard about. Which brings me to my last point, if you don't get this deal, don't worry because another great one will come soon enough.

 

[estherhead]

I made myself crazy at first trying to get every deal I heard about. Which brings me to my last point, if you don't get this deal, don't worry because another great one will come soon enough.

I remember ordering coupons off ebay for my first time, I got 20 Betty Crocker cake coupons. I was baking a wedding cake for a friend and the coupons would make the cake basically free. Those coupons came in the mail on the last day of the sale & I was literally sick to my stomach as I drove over to the store thinking they wouldn't have any more cake mixes.

Looking back it was so silly. $20.00 is a lot, but not enough to be freaking out about! And the couple didn't have much money, but in the grand scheme of a wedding, $20.00 was a drop in the bucket.

 

[Minnie Lor]

great tip and advice. I'm trying to soak this all in. I want to master the coupon skill. I wish we had stores around that doubled their coupons.