How We Save Money Part 2 - Couponing

My sister-in-law, Diane, introduced me to couponing. Apparently she and Sarah (my other sister-in-law) will call each other to chat about a great shopping day and how much money they saved. Couponing is actually very strategic, and it takes a while to get the hang of it. You have to know what a good price is, how often you might see that price, where/how to get the coupons, etc. Here's some basic information that I learned about how to coupon.

Cycles
Everything in the grocery store has a cycle. It might go on sale, but not the best sale, then it'll go back to normal price, then it'll go on a better sale. The cycle continues on, and at least once every 6 weeks (give or take depending on the item) it will hit the lowest price. Here's a picture of what I'm talking about.

So you see that sometimes, there will be an advertized sale, but it may not be very good. If you know what the lowest price is, then you know you can wait. I sometimes get things for free, which is great! And once in a while I even get money back! That's right, the store will PAY ME to "buy" an item from them. How often does this happen? Not every week, but a few times a month. I will never again pay for toothpaste or toothbrushes, because I know I can get them for free. And I once was paid $10 to "buy" heart burn medicine, which I then gave away because I don't use/need it.

Stacking Coupons

Once you've waited for the right sale, it's not over! Oh no. You then stack coupons on top of that sale. There are different types of coupons. There are manufacturer coupons (the manufacturer pays the difference in value) and there are store coupons (the store pays the difference in value). You can "stack" one of each type of coupon. So let's say the shampoo you buy has a regular price of $6 per bottle, and you find them on sale for 50% off. You also have a $1 off store coupon AND a 50¢ off manufacturer coupon. Put them all together and you get your shampoo for only $1.50. That's a 75% savings! Now some stores will double your coupon. That would turn your 50¢ coupon into $1, and you would only pay a final price of $1!

Now not everything has coupons, like produce and meat. For those items, I just watch for sales, and make our family meals around what's on sale. I have a chart that I keep updated with what I am willing to pay for items I buy on a regular basis.

Stockpiling
Once you find deals like this, you stock up as much as you can. That's why most couponers have a stockpile. The stockpile will last you long enough to at least wait until the next big sale.

Where to get Coupons
There are plenty of online sources for coupons, but the best way is to subscribe to the Sunday paper. I can hear some of you saying "But I don't want to PAY for the paper just to try to save money!" Well, I guarantee, if you coupon, you will save much more than $1 a week, which is the cost of my Sunday papers. I even get two papers each Sunday, for extra coupons. Think of it as cash. Wouldn't you pay someone $1 for $20 or more in return?

Use the Internet
These days there are a ton of websites out there that will match up the weekly grocery circulars with the Sunday coupons and tell you what good deals there are. If you just google "coupon matchup" and your city, you're likely to find something. Here is a site that works in most places. Just sign up and enter your location. www.couponmom.com. I started with that site, and now I have a few sites that are specific to my area that I like a little better.
Usually the site will tell you what coupon to use, what newspaper date it was from and what the final price will be. They even have links to the electronic coupons. So you really don't even have to clip any coupons! Just log into the website and clip only the ones they tell you to use. It's that simple!

So how much can you save by couponing? Well it all depends on how much effort you put into it, and what choices you make when shopping. I probably cut my monthly grocery spend by about 1/3. Some couponers will say they cut their monthly spend in half or even more.

Here are some websites to help get you started.
Southern Savers
Couponing 101
Hot Coupon World

Beyond Groceries
I use the same strategies for clothes and other items as I do for groceries. Here are some examples.
1. I often get a $10 off Kohl's card in the mail. They just send them to the local public and everyone gets them, but you have to use them in a certain time window. I go to Kohl's during that time, and find an outfit for Gabriel that's as close to $10 as possible. I don't buy ANYTHING else. I leave with a new outfit for the baby and usually only spend 10¢ or less. I've done this multiple times.

2. Richard is having to buy an entirely new wardrobe for work, since he'll soon need to wear a tie to work every day. He is the perfect Banana Republic fit. I happen to know that if you go into the store, Banana Republic will usually hand you and set of coupons for the following month. There are four coupons, each for 40% off any one full-priced item. Each coupon is only good for one day out of the month. I go take Gabriel for a walk around the mall on those days, and grab Richard one item at a time. So far, we haven't paid full price for a single item, and we've gotten almost all of it for 40% off!

3. Find a coupon online by googling the store name and "coupon". I can't tell you how much we've saved here, but it's a lot. When we bought our expensive Christmas tree a couple years ago, we waited for an after-Christmas sale, and we found a coupon for 15% off (on top of the already reduced price) plus free shipping!

4. Set up a separate email account. I often hear that people would rather pay more for something than give out their email address. I understand completely. That is why I set up and email address that I use only for couponing.

5. Piggy-backing on the email thing, many places will send you a coupon just for signing up with your email account. Last week at Kohl's I wrote two different email addresses down (I have 3 total), and got a $5 gift card sent to each one. Gabriel's about to get another new outfit!

So there are my couponing tips in a nutshell. If you decide to get started, it does take practice and time to figure it all out. Feel free to call me and I'll talk your ear off about how it all works.