How to Lower your Grocery Shopping Bills with Coupons.
This is a guide to show you how I have effectively used coupons in just the last year I started this regimen; I had used coupons in the past, but not to this kind of extent. I had no idea the kind of deals I could really get before. I recommend sharing this information to anyone you know looking to save some money on shopping and having fun in the process. I feel that everyone should be able to use this information to help others save, rather than hoard the information for only a select few friends.I would like to begin by saying that my method of couponing is to purchase items you need or want with the lowest amount coming out of your own wallet. I am not the biggest fan of saying this is the final price, which would include any additional coupons you receive AFTER you have spent your money out of pocket, but there are times I will do it occasionally to show what kind of savings it really was. I like to take into account the sale, then coupons and how much you actually spend out of pocket before tax.
I don't have it quite down to a science, nor am I an expert, but it’s becoming easier with the help of others and seeing what they bought and then using couponmom.com's Grocery Deals by State and Coupon Database to plan out my mission of what to shop for that week.
What you are doing is stocking up for weeks and sometimes months on the name brand things that you're family uses. In the process, you are saving money buying when things are on sale and using coupons for even further savings. The next time you are at the store, take note of what the regular price of things you purchase for your family. This will allow you to compare what is a good price when you see an item advertised at the stores.
This site is mainly a reflection of how I shop and what deals we can get in Vegas. I always hear about places that double coupons and I have to admit, I do get envious. But there are still some amazing deals here to score even though Vegas doesn't have any stores that double coupons except on rare occasions and I will let you know when they do.
There are several principles I shop by and you may think it might be excessive, or you might think its smart shopping, but this is the best way for us to maximize our limited income to getting the most for our family:
1) The most important one: USE COUPONS ETHICALLY! Use them before they expire and for the items that they are listed for. It is coupon fraud if you use them for any items that are not listed on the coupon itself and the coupon must have a barcode and expiration date to be accepted.
2) I hardly ever pass up food or products we normally use that is FREE or better (money maker).
3) I like deals that I can make "money" and will do as many transactions as permitted. "Making money" being manufacturer or store coupons for the future. When this was written, I had accumulated $50 in Register Rewards from Walgreens on things they carry that we might need if we don't have the cash for it.
4) I use a clipping service to order coupons that we don't get here such as the monthly Unilever inserts or extras for things we need (dog food) when there is a good deal. I order on Tuesdays/Wednesdays and they arrive by Saturday so I can still get in on the deals. I also have 4 6-month subscriptions to the Las Vegas Review Journal, one for each family member (a standard) and an extra paper for an even #.
5) I don't spend more than $2 in a transaction before tax at the drug stores. It allows me to maximize my savings and watch my spending budget. I also don't spend more than $2 on an item AFTER coupons unless it's something we really need that I don't normally see coupons for. I live by this rule at most of the grocery stores.
6) I visit CVS and Walgreens a couple times a week (they are within 2 miles - sometimes I bike to Walgreens, its that close and a more earth friendly alternative) so that I can spread out the expiration dates on the Register Rewards and CVS ExtraCare coupons. It can be overwhelming to do all the deals on one day.
7) I do a grocery store challenge of $15-20 each week, based on sales at stores and will visit any of the 4 grocery stores I frequent (Vons, Smith's, Food4Less and Albertsons) to meet the challenge. I normally post them so you can see what I've purchased.
8) I have a stockpile of lots of health and beauty products, but stop purchasing when we have enough of an item and can't place them under our sink cabinets or pantry. But if its a money maker, I do get them and donate the items to US Vets about once every 2-3 months.
9) I don't clip every coupon and place them into my accordion style holder. I clip only what I need to. I store the inserts in a file folder portable tote and take it in the car. If I spot a good deal and don't have my coupon with me, I ask the cashier if they will hold my cart (I haven't had one cashier say no yet) and I can just go to my car to clip the coupon and continue shopping. This saves me both time and my SANITY. I used to cut every single coupon and that is a great method if you have a coupon binder and maintain it regularly. I stopped cutting each individually because I found myself spending more hours doing that opposed to storing the inserts and cutting only what I needed.
10) Purchase the smaller sizes if the coupon indicates that you can for the lowest amount coming out of your pocket.
11) Be considerate and don't clear the shelves! I purchase a few at each time at different locations throughout the week, to allow other customers the opportunity to get the same deal.
To begin, I recommend checking regularly for internet printables (I recommend once every Sunday at LEAST) I have linked Print Coupons on my website, redplum.com and smartsource.com. And if you want to really dive in and get as many coupons as possible, get a subscription or 5 (LVRJ limited to 5 per household) to the Sunday paper or purchase them from the .99 store at $1.99 each. I've written about how to go about getting extra coupons here, so if interested, please check it out.
Buying & Trading Coupons
Recruit friends and neighbors that do not use their weekly inserts to give them to you or trade coupons with them. This will make the use of coupons and savings more worthwhile. I usually have three inserts to our family, one we normally get, my mom’s after she picks which ones she wants and my sister who sets them aside and doesn't use them at all. There are four that will come in the mail or Sunday papers here in LV: Red Plum, Smart Source and Proctor & Gamble (P&G) and General Mills. We get a Playsaver about two times a year.
Other alternatives are buying them on eBay or trading with someone on some of these online coupon forums. I began trading with the ladies on HTSFF and they have normally sent me extras. One sent me 15, yes 15 of the same coupon. So it pays to trade with someone who wants coupons you don't use for something that you do use. When trading, ask if they prefer to be sent a SASE or just mail your coupons to them, while they mail theirs to you. Be careful on eBay however. I haven't tried to buy coupons from anyone selling them, just be sure that their coupons are legal (must have a barcode and expiration date).
Once your coupon stash begins to grow, you'll need to organize them effectively. Here is how I did mine before and how I have them organized now. Some prefer different methods like using a coupon binder (haven't gotten that far yet because doing so is quite time consuming), others like myself still use the accordion style holders. But whatever method you use, has to be effective and organized, or you'll get so flustered by where you have your coupons, you'll quickly lose interest. I also heavily use abbreviations and I will do my best to show you what they are (I didn’t create them but its part of the lingo, so I have conformed to make it easier for me to type out my scenarios):
Q or Qs/C or Cpns – Coupon(s)
OOP – Out of Pocket
ECB – CVS Extra Care Bucks
RR – Walgreens Register Rewards
WYB – When You Buy
BOGO/B1G1 – Buy One Get One
GC – Gift Card(s)
HTSFF – How to Shop for Free
CRT – Cash Register Tape
GBT – CVS Green Bag Tag
IP - Internet Printable
MFR – Manufacturer
P&G – Proctor & Gamble
PC - Price Cut (mainly for Target)
RP – Red Plum
SS – Smart Source
FAR – Free After Rebate
MIR – Mail-In Rebate
PSA – Prices Start At
TQ - Target coupon
YMMV - Your Mileage May Vary
I’ve noticed I stopped shopping at WalMart and Sam's Club. In prior months, I often frequented the big superstore discount giant and spent money almost full price, sometimes matching sale prices from other stores and sometimes using coupons. But, I had at the time committed myself to buying groceries once a month because I had a system I picked up from a book, America’s Cheapest Family of buying everything once a month saving me the trips in gas to the store. But studying the trends of when things go on sale and coupons, I found I would save so much more money, including gas trips if I just buy when it goes on sale and matching it with coupons. Now, the stores I frequent are Target, CVS, Walgreens and the grocery stores because they are realizing people in this unstable economy want to utilize the best of their dollars and see the savings.
One important thing to always remember when shopping is that sales cycle every 3 months. So if in December there was a deal for cereal, you should plan to buy cereal for 3 months worth and in March, there should be another sale for cereal. Here's a short list of what I've noticed the sales look like, which is still a work in progress:
January: Makeup, baby items, chips and salsa, hot dogs, crackers, chex mix, Splenda,
February: Chocolate & Candy! Cough & Cold medicine, peanut butter, tea, mayo, lotion, Land o Lakes butter, tissues,
March: Pet food, frozen foods, Allergy medicines, cereal, cleaning supplies, deli items
April: Easter candy, fish, chicken, Finish Dish Detergent, Ham
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:
Often times, you'll want to do a few transactions to get what you need and to avoid confusing you or the cashier. The cashiers and often the people behind will get frustrated using the coupons, do not let this discourage you and the power of savings. You will experience those that don't like to help you or see the savings you reap. Sometimes you and the cashier will get so frustrated that you may just end up walking away from the transaction and leaving empty handed from the store. Go back and try another time or another location. The way I see it, the manufacturer's release coupons for a reason, stores place the items on sale that have a coupon released and this is the whole purpose behind a coupon, to save YOU money. That being said, people who use coupons ethically should be respected as those who are paying full price.
Overages
In some cases, the amounts of a coupon will cover more than you’re actual purchase (you’ll see example for Walmart later in this guide). Make certain you take along a calculator to ensure your totals. If there is an overage, I suggest buying something else with the use of another coupon to make sure you utilize that free money making the purchase almost free. As an example:
Walmart has liquid Similac Sensitive for $3.84 each
Use (1) $5 off Any Similac product in 04/03 SS
Because the value of the coupon is more than the product being purchase, you get to use the difference on another item you are purchasing! This is overage. Not all stores permit overages, however some do. Check the store policies on this. I can tell you off the top of my head that both CVS and Walgreens do not permit overages.
On CouponMom, it provides you with the store ads each week (you have to search for the store chain based on your location). For example, they only list Smith's and Albertsons for Nevada, but I was able to find Vons ads under California. They aren't always 100% the same, so all you have to do is grab your weekly ads (mine in LV comes on Tuesdays as the sales start on Wednesdays -- also Wednesdays are THE BEST day to shop in grocery stores – you’ll notice that it is emptier in the store on that afternoon, than on Thursday through Tuesday).
CouponMom then lists what’s on the ad, the coupon associated with it, which weekly coupon insert it’s in, how much the coupon is, the total after coupon is applied and the percentage you'll save. It’s a timesaver!
With the coupons in the inserts, my favorite has been P&G and my favorite type of coupons are BOGOs (Buy One Get One – may either be free or half off). They are the products my family most often uses.
I also like to use We Use Coupons. We can read and learn from each other on what to buy, how to score some amazing deals and people are always willing to lend their support. They do a lot of stores around the country, but there are also a lot of Wal-mart shoppers providing tips and deals to find there if that's one of the only stores in town to shop at.Not to mention, the site was featured on Extreme Couponing on TLC, who the founder is Nathan Engels aka Mr. Coupon, the man you see in the show.
CVS
My strongest suggestion will be to sign up for at least 1 CVS card. Some of these ladies on the howtoshopforfree (HTSFF) forum including Kathy (who is the Queen Bee at coupons, in my book at least and watching the Inside Edition segment of her shopping at CVS and getting paid (in ECBs) for what she was buying) suggest signing up one for you and one for spouse and children over 18.
Here's my recommendation on how to begin:
1) Visit CVS.com to check their upcoming weekly ads on Thursdays.
2) Finding the coupons in the appropriate insert and cutting it or printing from the website.
3) Scanning in your CVS card for additional coupons (go every day that you get a chance to - these small kiosks print out coupons once a day).
4) Buy a Green Bag Tag (.99 - it pays for itself after first 4 scans) and use a reusable bag each time you go.
5) use a $3 off $15, $4 off $20 or $5 off $20 or something you get that prints out from the kiosk or via email and their Facebook page (if they ever send you any) and hand it to the cashier before you use any other coupon in your purchase - just make sure you meet the minimum amount.
6) Always have the CVS cashier scan in your CVS card at the beginning and don't forget to have them scan the green bag tag after.
Walgreens
I recently began rolling my Register Rewards (RR) which are printed as manufacturer coupons from their catalina machine at Walgreens. I will sometimes post on my scenarios on how to get the most bang for your buck. It will take a little investment of $10 out of pocket (OOP), but you will see how it can grow from that to paying just tax for things when you "roll" your RR from one transaction to the next. They do have strict limits on how you use coupons. The most important one to remember at Walgreens is that they only except one manufacturer coupon per item in the transaction. So if you have two manufacturer coupons from say P&G and one Register Reward to pay down your OOP balance, you need to have 3 items. Normally, I have to get a filler item which is a low priced item to cover the number of manufacturer coupons I plan to use. Luckily Walgreens advertises deals on the top right of their ads for cheap items like candy that you can use as fillers.
Target
In Target, shop the end caps of the aisles along the store walls. You’ll find name brand products on clearance and double your savings with coupons. Another trick at Target is that you CAN use a MFR coupon + a Target coupon for one product. Here's an example:
Target listed a sale for Colgate toothpaste at $1.99 each
They had a $1/1 Target printable on their website
In the 04/03 there was a .75/1 coupon
Total = .24 for Colgate toothpaste. This is how stacking works.
They also offer $5 gift cards if you purchase a quantity of a specific item in the store during the sales period. For example, in November the deal was if you purchase New Moon 3-disc Deluxe Edition DVD $19.99 + Twilight in Forks $9.99 or another two listed in ad, you’ll receive a $5 gift card. Well, RP was offering a $5 off coupon if you purchase two of those listed in the ad. So here’s my breakdown:
New Moon 3-disc Deluxe Edition DVD $19.99
+ Twilight in Forks $9.99
-$5 Q in RP for buying two dvds listed
-$5 Target GC
This means you only paid $19.99 + tax. The Twilight in Forks DVD is basically free.
Then I used the $5 Target GC towards my next purchase of BOGO Gillette Products.
Kohl’s
At Kohl’s, sign up for their newsletter either in store or online at www.kohls.com and you will get a $5 off coupon on anything in their store and you can also couple that with other coupons they offer like $10 off $20 (so long as the directions on the coupons allow you to do so). This is how my family shopped for an updated wardrobe this spring for next Fall’s clothes at more than 50% off (we shopped the 60-80% clearance section, and also used the coupons prior to expiration in multiple transactions only getting $20 worth of clothing, then making it $10). Shop and think ahead in the clearance sections (Spring/Summer for next Fall/Winter and Fall/Winter for next Spring/Summer).
Donations
With the excess of food and toiletries, I am able to get what my family needs and anything we don't I donate them to charity (I selected US Vets because my husband is in the Air Force Reserves and it means a lot to us to help our military community for their service). With the clothes that we purchased, we rotated out clothes and toiletries (new extras) that we no longer used and donated them as well. It helps us clear the clutter as well.
I highly suggest paying it forward to your community that is in need. If you find someone that is listed <-- charity on couponmom.com and you don't use it in your home and is virtually free after coupons, get it and donate it. It will make you feel better donating it and you're definitely helping others in need. I urge you to do the same as there are many families in need much less fortunate than you may be.
If you have any questions, please feel free to comment. I hope this guide is helpful in cutting your budget down as you learn the in's and out's of using coupons.
