Jan 07 2009
Tips for Savings
I don’t have any deals to post today so I thought I’d share some tips on how to start saving.
1. You do have to spend a little to save a lot. In the beginning you may have to spend a little cash in order to start your savings. I.E.- if you’ve never shopped at CVS now is the time to start! People underestimate what drug stores carry and how over priced they are. This is true, but they carry so many items that we use everyday! See “How to Get Started at CVS” post for tomorrow. The same goes for Walgreens, except you don’t need a card.
2. Match up coupons to sales. Don’t buy something just because you have a coupon for it unless you really need it and the coupon is about to expire. Hang onto your Q’s! Don’t use them as soon as you get them. Wait for that product to go on sale to ensure that you will get the cheapest deal. I have a routine: every Wednesday I check Publix, BiLo, and now Food Lion for their weekly sales. I match what coupons I have to the products on sale. I also check printable coupon sites everyday since these change almost on a daily basis. (Sometimes certain coupons are only available for 1-2 days or the company allows only X amount to be printed. Once that is met the coupon is no longer available. A lot of good coupons are missed if you aren’t checking daily. (That is if you have the time.)
Tips for matching coupons to sales:
- Use 2 coupons on B1G1F items (If you purchase 2 items). (Most stores allow this. Harris Teeter does not. Check your stores coupon policy. )
- Match MFR coupons with Store coupons. Stores like Walgreens, CVS, Publix, and Food Lion will accept a MFR coupon on top of their store coupon. The store coupon is seen as a discount and for the MFR coupon they get reimbursed. This can rack up major savings! Sign up for Food Lion’s shoppers companion newsletter. It is emailed to you with store coupons. Walgreens has a monthly booklet with coupons and coupons in their weekly ads. Publix comes out with several booklets through the year and they also have a Family magazine that comes out 4 times a year with q’s. For those of you with little ones, Publix also has a baby club. These q’s are typically mailed about about 3-4 times a year and are for baby items. Most CVS stores carry some booklets with q’s and a lot of stores have put in a scanner. It’s a price checker, but you can scan your ExtraCare card and q’s print off for you.
- Check the weekly newspaper coupon inserts to see if a coupon for an item is going to come out. If so wait a couple of days to purchase that product. Several sites list the coupons for that upcoming Sunday, typically by Wednesday. See my list of links for one of these sites. (These are for coupons in their area so not all of them may exactly match.)
- Find websites that post early ads. There are several websites (see links) that give “sneak peeks” to upcoming weeks. If you know something is going on sale in a week and you’re running low, just wait if you can. Also you can compare a sale price this week to one next week and it may be lower so again, wait if you can.
3. Find coupon sources where you least expect it. Online, Sunday paper, Magazines, home mailers, and write the company! I can’t stress this enough. If you like a product, write the company. Tell them you had a coupon and tried their product, you enjoyed it and you want to be added to a mailing list for coupons/promotions. All they can say is no. I can’t tell you how many Free product coupons I have been mailed from companies just for a simple compliment. Some companies will add you to a list and mail you coupons about every 3 months. If they don’t this is typically the time line to write a company again. Now depending on their current marketing they may send you q’s once and not the next time, but don’t give up! All it takes is an email! ALWAYS include your address after your name. This will give them the info they need and are more likely to mail you q’s!
4. Don’t be afraid to stock up (stockpile). Let’s say there’s a cleaning product on sale. I’ll use my own personal example: All laundry detergent 3x concentrated bottle normally costs b/t $6-8. It is 7.49 at my store. It goes on sale B1G1F and I have 4 coupons. If I buy 4 that’s $29.96 - $14.98 (B1G1F) - $4 (4 $1 q’s) = $10.98! Remember those store coupons…let’s say I buy this at CVS and they have a $2/10 purchase. If I use that as well it brings my total to $8.98!! For 4 bottles of detergent. That’s about $2.25 for a bottle that normally costs $7.49…not too shabby! I will write a post on tips for stockpiling at a later date.
5. Don’t be afraid to do more than 1 transaction. If your store only allows 1 type of coupon per transaction well stand there and do 4 transactions if that’s what it takes! (Be courteous of those in line behind you.) I have done 8 transactions in 1 day but this has saved me hundreds!
6. Be patient. Couponing does take time. A LOT of time. But time is money as they say and it’s worth saving!!
I’m by no means a professional and I’m still learning quite a bit. All of this I have just learned on my own by experimenting. I’ve made mistakes and spent more than I’ve intended before but the more you try the better you get! 
I’m also sorry I have not started posting pictures. It’s so much nicer to see the products rather than just read about it. Things are still in a whirlwind from the holidays but I promise to get in a better routine soon!
Please feel free to leave a comment or ask questions. I’d love to help you get started saving money! Let me know if I can help!!
I have also added my YTD (year to date) savings and spending near the bottom of the page. I will continue to add with each shopping trip. This spending/savings includes: grocery, pet food, drug stores and department stores. This does not include large purchases from department stores (clothing, etc). It will include sale items, groceries, etc.
