Have you seen any of the Extreme Couponing shows? I don’t know about you, but I already have a full time job! There is no way I can compete with those Couponers. However, I do want to save as much money as I can. Who doesn’t, right? Well, I started couponing about 4 years ago and here is what I have learned so far…some of it the hard way!
The very first thing I learned is don’t bother with the 12 compartment coupon organizers that are on the market. They simply aren’t large enough for someone who actually cooks at home. I tried a 3×5 index card file and still found that to be a little small. I discovered that the 4×6 file box works the best for me. It’s large enough for some of the longer coupons and actually holds more than the 3×5 size. Also, if you have a baby, there is still room for a carrier and your coupon box to fit in the seat of the bas-carts. The second thing I learned, make sure it has a good latch. One of my most memorable coupon incidents was at Kroger on a particularly windy day and when I was crossing the lane right in front of the store my coupon box became unlatched. Coupons went flying across the parking lot into oncoming traffic. Oh, My Coupons!!! I found out that day, that there are good Samaritans willing to help a poor girl get as much back as possible. I didn’t get all the coupons back, but I did get the index dividers. That was truly a blessing.
The next thing I discovered about the commercial coupon organizers, they do not have enough compartments. I personally don’t have the patience to stand in the aisles of the store and pull out the “canned goods” coupons and try to sort them out into fruits, vegetables, beans, juice, meats… Ahhhh! I’ve run out of fingers!!!! As a result, I have 78 divisions in my box. I know, I know, that’s a lot, but trust me when I say, standing in front of the canned fruits and not having to sort out the other canned items is less overwhelming in the store on a busy Saturday morning with a baby that is starting to get fussy. Once you start filing the coupons in your box, you get to know where the slots are and, truly, it’s not bad at all. If you want my divisions, e-mail me at angela.scott@parkcommunity.com and I will be happy to get that list to you. I also recommend putting some contact information in your coupon box. I have left my coupons in the bas-cart before and have been ever so grateful that someone has turned them in to the office. If I can’t remember to get my coupon box, I don’t want to rely on my memory for the 78 divisions that I have created.
Another problem I see with people who start out is that they try and get ALL the coupons. Don’t bother. They will just take up space in your box until they expire and you eventually throw them out. Look thru the coupons and clip those that have a greater than 50% chance of being used. For example, I happen to have a husband who works in a food factory and his clothes get home full of grease, hydraulic fluid and other unmentionable matter. We have tried several detergents to clean his clothes and we like the results from Tide and Resolve spray. So at this point, I don’t even try other laundry detergents, and I don’t bother clipping coupons for them. Now, if something new does come on the market, I may clip those coupons. Usually, something new on the market will be at a lower cost and there are coupons (some free coupons) to try and entice you to try their product. Sometime it does take a little while to hit the shelves, though. Lets face it, that space is at a premium and retailers are not going to give it up on something that may not sell.
As far as actually getting coupons, I usually do buy the Sunday paper and get them out of there. However, I also get them from my Mother-in-law who doesn’t use her Sunday coupons. Some of my co-workers are also coupon clippers and we share what we don’t clip. (Remember the Tide scenario?). There are also several websites to get coupons from. They include www.SmartSource.com, www.coupons.com, among others. Several brand names also have their own resources for coupons such as Kraft, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker and Proctor & Gamble, not to mention other sites like Eat Better America. (Several of these sites will also give you a free calendar each year with recipes on them just for signing up on their newsletter). If you are pregnant, or are close to someone who is, sign up on the baby sites. These include Gerber, Enfamil, Similac, Pampers, Huggies, Fisher-Price just to name a few. Not only will you get coupons for their products, but free samples. Trust me, the price of formula will break the bank! A great reference site for all things baby is www.Babycenter.com. Even though you may be overwhelmed, there are several options that don’t take too much of your time and resources.
Lastly, don’t discount your loyalty card for your favorite grocery store. Mine happens to be Kroger so I can only tell you about my experiences there. I have received many coupons from them for things that they know I buy on a regular basis including coupons for $5 off your next purchase for anything in the store! Plus, if you register your card on their websites, there are electronic coupons that can be loaded to your card so you don’t even have to remember to bring them in! This feature is FAN-TAB-U-LOUS for people like my husband who I sent to the store for 2 items that I had coupons for that would have lowered his bill by $2 and he came back home with the two coupons in his jeans pocket. What was he thinking?!? That’s 2 whole dollars! (Electronic coupons can be found on Kroger’s website and Proctor and Gamble’s site.) Another thing that I like about Kroger is that they double coupons up to 50 cents. That means that your 50 cent turns into a $1 without even trying!
When using the coupons, be sure to check out all the sizes. I’m going back to Tide on this example. The 150 ounce bottle was on sale for $19.99, but the 50 ounce sizes were on sale for $5.99. I had 4-50 cent off manufacturer’s coupons. By buying the 50 ounce bottles, I was able to get 50 more ounces for $1 more than I would by buying the 150 ounce bottle using the one manufacturer’s coupon. However, the best thing about couponing is being able to use multiple coupons, but this can get a little tricky. I’m going to use my baby’s formula coupons for this example. I had a store coupon for $8 off of ONE canister of formula, another manufacturer’s coupon for $2 off ONE canister of formula, a 3rd store coupon for $13.85 off of TWO canisters of formula PLUS 2 – $5 checks for formula (Thank you Enfamil!). I was able to use them all on 2 canisters of formula. That totaled $33.85 off of 2 canisters of formula, so I got one for free! I love FREE! The trick here was using a combination of store coupons and manufacturer’s coupons for the amounts purchased. But using manufacturer’s coupons can also pay. Last night I had 4 – 50 cent manufacturer’s coupons for Fischer’s Hot Dogs. This week, Kroger has them in their 10 for $10 mix or match sale, plus they gave me a store coupon for 75 cents off ANY Hot Dogs. I was able to get 4 packages of Hot Dogs and THEY PAID ME TO TAKE THEM. Hunters may bag their deer, but I bag the groceries!
