Couponing is not going to be just simply cutting out only a few coupons throughout the week. Most people think that a measly $0.75 off a product really isn't worth the time of cutting it out. And those that actually do cut out a few coupons each week simply take the 5 that they actually chose to cut and realized they only saved maybe $3 off a $100 shopping trip.
I'm not going to lie and say I was never one of those people. I used to go thru coupons that maybe a friend had aquired and if I saw something I bought on a regular basis and there was a coupon for it I would ask to take it. After I would get down the aisle and do a little price checking it just never seemed to be worth it in the end. Coupons only come out for name brand products. I would find myself standing in front of the item comparing that price of the name brand item to the store brand and even after all the calculating It just never seemed to be worth the savings because the store brand was going to be the cheapest no matter what. This is when most people tend to get very frustrated thinking it was just a waste of time and GIVE UP!
Thankfully now I have learned to use coupons the right way and paying full price for brand name products is a thing of the past. Now I am able to get almost everything really cheap or maybe even free. I hope after this small tutorial and answering of questions that you too can learn how to use coupons to the best of your ability.
2 Components to Couponing:
1. Combining coupons with sales
2. Stockpiling at rock bottom price
Combining Coupons with Sales
The way to get products at this rock bottom price you are looking for is to wait on using that coupon until the item goes on sale. This does mean that you will have to check your weekly sale ads to see if items that you have coupons for are actually going to be on sale. Or even check my blog and a few others that update sale information for you.
I have learned from other couponers that there is such thing are sale cycles. They tend to run even 3, 6, or 8 months. These do tend to vary a little. But a lot of sales will be based around holidays. For example Memorial day the sale on products will be condiments such as Mustard, BBQ sauce, and even paper plates and plastic silverware. This is of course not all that is going to happen in the month of May but you can almost guarantee that you will see the items that are commonly used around that holiday time go on sale at some point in that month. Also many times when a manufacturer releases a coupon for a specific product you will see that item will go on sale sometime before the coupon expires. This is not a guarantee but most of the time it does happen. When the item does go on sale that is when you want to pair the coupon with that sale to get the best deal possible. This is also when brand loyalty comes into play. Like I said at the start of my blog there are many reasons why some people are brand loyal and it's not just because they choose to be. But for those of you that have a choice you will notice that being able to use different brands of products will save you the most money in the end.
Stockpiling...
The reason we stockpile is because we are wanting to get enough of that product on hand so that we do not have to run to the store at 10pm for a tube of toothpaste. This is also when sale cycles come back into play because you want to make sure to get enough of the product on hand to last you until the next sale happens for this particular item. Using this method will help keep you from paying full retail price ever again.
Example of this method:
Going back to talk about toothpaste. Lets say that a tube of toothpaste at regular price is $3 a tube. You use a one tube a month and over a course of 3 months you would have spent $9 on 3 tubes of toothpaste. In the world of couponing say the toothpaste went on sale for $1.50 each and you also have $0.50 coupons for each of them. This is when you would go ahead and purchase enough for lets say the same 3 month time period and you would only pay OOP $3. Now you have stocked up on this sale and saved yourself a little over 65% of what you would have paid originally. Hopefully now you will have enough to last you until the sale happens again in which you have more coupons to combine with it.
Now lets talk about types of coupons and how to use them
Types of Coupons
There are really only 2 types of actual coupons:
1. Manufacturer Coupon
2. Store Coupon
Manufacturer coupons are coupons that are actually printed by the manufacturer of the product listed on that particular coupon. They will actually say Manufacturer Coupon somewhere on them and will also give an address where the store can send the coupon for reimbursement.
Store Coupons are coupons that are provided by a store. For example Target has printable web coupons on their website that are considered store coupons. Also many weekly ads that come out contain store coupons in them as well.
This is now where "Stacking" can come into play to maximize your savings. Most stores allow you to stack their store coupon with a Manufacturer coupon when purchasing a product. This will really help you get rock bottom prices when the store runs a sale on the item that you have both coupons for. But remember you can only use ONE Store Coupon & ONE manufacturer coupon combined for each product. So 2 coupons is the max per item if you are using both a manufacturer and store coupon together....but only 1 of type of coupon per item. So if you have 5 toothpastes and Target is offering a store coupon and there is also a manufacturer available you will have to have 5 store coupons as well as 5 manufacturer coupons. If you do not have any store coupons then it is 1 manufacturer coupon per item. If you have 10 items you need 10 separate manufacturer coupons.
You should always go by the wording on coupons. Never just assume the picture on the coupon is all the coupon is for. Many times we come across coupons that state ANY meaning no size restrictions and/or can mean any of that brand of product or type of product. For example, If a coupon says $1.00 off any Colgate toothpaste then you can buy any Colgate including travel sized items. It could also say $1.00 off any Colgate toothpaste 4oz and larger... meaning you would have to go by the size restriction. Another way is the coupon could say $1.00 off any Colgate Total 4oz and larger. Some coupons are very specific on what you can purchase with it but others leave a wider range of options.
Combining Coupon with a BOGO Sale: (read this slowly and more than once if that helps) :)
There are many people that still get confused about how BOGO sales really work with coupons. Many stores will allow you to use 2 coupons (1 for each of the items) against this sale. The store is actually the one choosing to run this promotion and whether you are actually paying for the 2nd item or not does not matter because technically you are still purchasing 2 items. The manufacturer will still reimburse the store for the value of the coupon. A case when a store will not take 2 coupons would be if you were trying to use a coupon that stated for example $1/2. This means that the one coupon is covering both items. Also you can usually use a BOGO free coupon on top of a BOGO free sale. Typically this will make both items free. The store is giving you one item free if you purchase the other item. The manufacturer is going to be the one to pay for the other item. When a BOGO sale is promoted the store is ready to eat the cost of the second items value but when they run the manufacturer coupon through the manufacturer will reimburse the company the value for the other item meaning that you will pay nothing OOP. The only way this does not work is if the stores computer system rings up item 1 for 1/2 the price and item 2 for 1/2 the price. This way in the end you are still only paying for the total of one item. But when you bring the BOGO manufacturer coupon into play since their computer rings up EACH ITEM at 1/2 price then the coupon will only cover the value the computer is ringing up. This will make you end up paying for the other item that rang up 1/2 price.
Store policy:
You should always know your stores policy before even stepping foot in the door with coupons.
There are some stores out there that only allow so many of the exact coupon in one transaction. So for this instance if you have 10 of the exact items and you have the 10 of the exact same coupons to go with it then you would have to separate transactions. You would only be able to to 2 of those items along with 2 of those matching coupons in the 1st transaction and then split the other transactions the same way.
Other stores may not accept printable coupons. So no matter what if you print a coupon off Coupons.com they will not take it whether it is legit or not. Too many people photo copy coupons which is a BIG NO NO! This will cause a store to not take printable coupons due to the loss of money.
Another good thing to know is if your store doubles or maybe even triples the value of coupons. If they do you may want to find out if this is offered everyday or maybe just limited to certain days of the week.
Okay so I hope the information so far has been informative but now some people ask where do you get all the coupons from....
Paper Sources
- Newspaper Inserts - The inserts come in the Sunday paper each week. There are usually two or three, most commonly a Smartsource, Redplum and about once a month a Proctor & Gamble insert. Occasionally, there will be even more. Inserts do vary by region, so you may not get the same coupons as someone in another town, or the coupons may even be for a different value. I recommend getting at least 2 papers each Sunday to begin your journey. This way you will always have at least two coupons when an item goes on sale, particularly a buy one get one sale.
- Magazines - Magazines can be a great way to add to your coupon collection. If you subscribe to any magazines, be sure to keep your eyes open for coupons as you flip through. However, the best magazine for coupons is All You Magazine. You can find it at Walmart up by the registers or you can subscribe to it.
- Store Booklets/Flyers - Store booklets and flyers can be found occasionally in many stores. They may include store coupons and/or manufacturer coupons. The best places to find them are close to the store ad when you walk through the door and on displays throughout the store. Really though, they could be anywhere, and some stores don’t seem to ever have them. If you don’t see any, try asking customer service because sometimes they keep them at the counter.
- Blinkies/Tearpads - Blinkies are the little boxes that stick out from the shelves in grocery stores and have a red light that blinks. They contain coupons and are usually hanging close to the product the coupon is for. Tearpads, like blinkies, are usually hanging next to the product, but these are small pads with a stack of coupons that you can just reach up and tear the coupon off.
- Peelies/Inside Product Packages - Both of these will be found with the actual product. Peelies are attached to the outside of the product box or package. You have probably picked up a package and saw a tag that said, “Save $1 Now.” You can pull these off and use them immediately or save them for later if you already have a coupon for the product that is either a better value than the peelie or expires sooner. You can also find coupons inside product packages. Sometimes they will be on a piece of paper inside the package, or they may be on the package or box itself. Be on the lookout for these coupons too.
- Samples/Home Mailers - A great way to get Higher Value coupons is signing up for samples for different products. Occasionally manufacturers will offer free samples on their websites and most of the time along with those samples come coupons. Walmart even has a section on its website where you can order samples. You can also get great coupons through home mailers. Example: Home Made Simple occasionally allows you to request coupons booklets to be mailed to you. I highly suggest creating a separate email account just for registering on these sites. This way any information you receive regarding coupons will not interfere with your personal email account. (By the way, once you find a few coupon match-up sites you like, they’ll alert you to these samples and mailers. You don’t have to find them all yourself.)
- Ebay/Coupon Clipper Services - If you find that you need additional coupons for certain items, but don’t want to buy lots of extra newspapers, there are ways to get more coupons for the things you really love. Ebay and The Coupon Clippers, I've also used Coupon Clipping by Gabby these are a few great places to look. You are paying them to cut and mail the coupons to you.
Online Printable Sources
- Coupons.com
- Smartsource.com
- Redplum.com
- Home Solutions News
- Pillsbury
- Betty Crocker
- Eat Better America
You will have to install a coupon printer onto your computer in order to print these. It will not hurt your computer, just follow the instructions for installing it. Generally, there is a limit of two prints per coupon per computer. If you have access to more than one computer, you will be able to print more coupons.
