COUPONING 101

          

My last column on the Couponing Craze was printed June 22, when I had been actively striving to become a Coupon Goddess (like on TLC’s show “Extreme Couponing”) for about a month.  I am now four months into the project and I’ve reached one of my goals: to cut my grocery bill by 20%.  Along the way, I’ve learned a few things about effective couponing.

1)   The kind of couponing shown on the show—where people get $1,000 worth of product for $3—just won’t happen around here.  We don’t have many stores that double coupon OR have reward programs. Still you can save substantial money if you have the TIME and SPACE to actively coupon.

2)   By TIME I mean time to locate the coupons (you find them online, as well as in the newspaper), compare the coupons to the ads, and then SHOP AROUND.  It often takes trips to several different stores to reach Coupon Nirvana.  With gas at $4/gallon, it is important to plan your trips to town so you aren’t actually losing money trying to save money.  I work in Fort Dodge on Monday and Thursdays, so those are my bargain hunting days.

3)   By SPACE I mean a place to stockpile.  Mine is full now, so I am asking for more shelving for Christmas. Stocking up is one of the huge secrets of being a successful Coupon Goddess.  

4)   One thing it took me awhile to learn was that I needed to have a decent knowledge of how much stuff costs at a discount store—like Walmart. Some stores offer what appears to be good deal—a product for 50% off, for instance—but the product is already priced much higher than it should be so the deal isn’t all the great.  Walgreens and Kmart both tend to have higher prices than other big box stores—so their sales need to be watched closely.   For example, a good price for dishwashing soap is less than 90 cents and a good price for laundry soap is less than $2.50 for 50 ounces.  These are my baselines that guide me in my bargain hunting.

5)   Walgreens, however, does offer some of the best savings if you watch closely and use their coupons.  Also, they offer something called “Register Rewards” that gives money off your next order as well.  The Walgreens in Fort Dodge, however, has never once had everything in their ad in stock when I have gone there.  The Walgreens in Ames is much better at stocking their shelves.   Walgreens (as well as most retailers) allow you to “stack” coupons—which means you can use a Walgreens coupon and a manufacturer coupon both on a product for even greater savings.  Be sure to watch their register closely. If you catch the machine not accepting a coupon, just point it out to the clerk and she’ll fix it.   Walgreens is very accommodating towards couponers.  They also have a monthly coupon book available in aisles—be sure to grab it.

6)   Kmart has the best rewards program.  I was recently able to get $50 worth of merchandise for free using this.  Their Sunday ad is also very good and has extra coupons if you belong to the rewards program, which is free to join.   Kmart is also the only place I’ve found that double coupons—and they don’t do it very often. About four times a year they offer double coupons (only for coupons under $1) for a week.  I have participated in this twice and saved a TON both times.

7)   Speaking of Sunday ads, the Des Moines Register has much better coupon inserts than the Fort Dodge Messenger. If you are like me and prefer the Messenger to the Register, just enlist your non-couponing neighbors to give you their coupons.  My neighbor and my mom both give me coupons. In order to build up your stockpile, you need multiple copies of each coupon. That way, when you get a good deal, you can buy more than one. 

8)   You want to look for coupons that don’t have size requirements. For instance, I recently had coupons that said “50 cents of ANY Tide detergent” and another that said “$1.50 off any 2 Tide products.”  At Target, they had travel-sized Tide for .97.  So, using all my coupons I was able to get a TON of travel-sized Tides to take camping for next-to-nothing.  Tide doesn’t really like couponers, apparently, because they have a whole bunch of restrictions on their coupons that other coupons don’t have.  My advice: just read the fine print and you’ll be fine—and once again, watch the register closely.

9)   In addition to print coupons, there are TONS of Internet coupons available. I found the best way to find these are through facebook. I subscribe to several facebook sites devoted to couponing and they send me daily updates.  My favorites are Couponista Queen, Budget Savvy Diva, and Coupon Mom.    These sites also give you links to FREE STUFF—which is even better than coupons sometimes.  Sundays afternoons and the first day of each month are the best days to Internet coupon.  Most sites allow only two printings of each coupon—so if you have access to more than one computer you can get around this rule.

10)         Grocery ads come out in the Fort Dodge Messenger on Wednesdays.  Fareway managers must get up very early in the mornings and then go around their store replicating HyVee’s ads.    SO—if HyVee is having a great sale—like Campbell’s tomato or chicken noodle soup for 39 cents—you can count on Fareway having it on sale as well.  I always hit both stores.  A lot of these awesome deals have limits on them.  The soup deal had a limit of two.  Fareway, however, let me get two tomatoes and two chicken noodles.  HyVee only let me get two total.  With a manufacturer’s coupon I had from Campbell’s, I was able to get 6 cans of soup for less than $2 by going to two grocery stores.  Once again, it is important to have a place to stockpile all your newfound “wealth.”

11)         Dollar General is the last store where I’ve had a lot of luck couponing.  For some reason, both Dollar Generals I’ve patronized (Webster City and Eagle Grove) could not take my Mastercard, which was just odd.

12)         BOGO (Buy one; get one free) are a couponer’s DREAM—especially if you have a manufacturer’s coupon for the “buy one.”  This phenomenon explains why I have 26 bottles of Gillette Body Wash.

13)         In my experience, buying from Sam’s Club doesn’t really save money.  You have to watch their unit prices very closely and they generally aren’t that great of a deal.  Add that to the yearly fee, and I think I’ll let my Sam’s membership expire.  Sam’s also doesn’t take coupons, which is just wrong if you ask me.

14) PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANTLY:  I am a HUGE fan of my local grocery store and try to buy all my non-stockpile stuff—like dairy, bread, and pop—from the DCG.   Actually, if you watch their weekly ad in the pages of the Review, the DCG sometimes has better deals than the big box stores—and you don’t have to drive.   In addition, the DCG supports our local sports teams and community projects; big box stores—not so much.  I pay attention to the stores that support local activities and try to shop there frequently.

This has turned out to be my longest column ever (even longer than ones when George Bush was president!), but I’ve just learned so much and had so much fun I had to share.  Hope I saved someone out there a buck or two. Until next time—see you shopping and saving!