My Adventures In Couponing

Today is a busy day of laundry and baking. Gee, if that’s not domestic I don’t know what is! So, no shopping for me, but I do have some more tips to share!
This is a long one so get comfy!

1.Look for unadvertised sales.
If you have time to browse the store, whatever type of store it may be, look for sales that aren’t in the weekly/monthly ad. Lots of stores have temporary price cuts (Target) or manager specials (Food Lion). These sales are not advertised and can really save you money!
*I should take my own advice on this, however I’m the world’s most impatient shopper. I have my list, I literally get what I need and get out as fast as possible. I rarely look at items that are not on my list. So I probably miss out on a good deal or 2 every now and then.

2. Shop the clearance racks!
For food, check your dates, but things like trashbags, ziplocks, paper towels and multi-surface cleaners have a pretty long shelf life. After any holiday is a great time to find this stuff. Companies make holiday print items and if they don’t sell, they go on clearance. The even better thing about this is there are always tons of coupons for these items year round! Match them up!

3. Sign up for newsletters, ad updates and store magazines. This is a great way to get coupons. If you use a product, sign up for their newsletter online. It’s usually an email that comes once a month. A lot of times they include a coupon you can print or they will send a link to a website to request a coupon. Sometimes the company offers a coupon as a promotion to get you to sign up for the newsletter. Pillsbury has one right now. New members receive a $10 booklet by mail. (I don’t qualify since I am an old member. Booo…but I have enjoyed the benefits of printing coupons from their website over the past year.) You may want to consider starting an email account specifically for these newsletters to keep them separate from your everyday emails.
Sign up for ad updates online with the store. When the weekly ad comes out you’ll be the 1st to know. It goes right to your inbox. You can use that same newsletter email address for these. Many stores offer these and when you sign up they typically email you coupons as well! CVS and Food Lion are just two examples. (*Hint - Don’t be afraid to sign up even if you don’t have a local store…some stores take competitor coupons. IE - Publix…use the q’s Food Lion emails you at Publix. I have also heard that some Publix will take CVS and Walgreens coupons. I guess since Publix has a pharmacy they consider those stores competitors…if you get your Rx filled there, why not shop there too…makes sense! So you can try it at your local store.) It also does not hurt to ask your store if they will accept a certain coupon. Some coupons are store specific however they are manufacturer coupons so it depends on your store policy. My BiLo will accept a Food Lion MFR coupons.
Sign up for store magazines. I’m not sure how many stores offer this, but Publix has about 3 magazines you can subscribe to (free) that you receive about every 3-4 months. Most of these magazines include coupons! Some really great ones at that! Check your stores website, service desk or ad holders at the front of the store for info on what’s available and how to sign up.

4. Don’t be afraid to buy other brands. Some people are very picky (trust me, I know from being one of them) and only use very specific brands. If you can stand it or if your health doesn’t depend on it, don’t stick to 1 particular brand.
For example: I use Ragu spaghetti sauce. This is the ONLY sauce I will use. No Prego, no store brand…just Ragu. This is one product I just don’t bend on. But luckily I have enough flexibility to be this way with this product. There are typically enough coupons out there to match with a sale so I can really stock up. If worst comes to worst and I have to purchase it at regular price (*gasp), well there’s always Sam’s. They sell a bulk size for much cheaper than purchasing the same amount in the store. (That is if I had no q’s.) And thank goodness sauce freezes!
However, I have learned to bend on other items. Such as: pasta, laundry detergent, body wash etc. So what’s on sale and what I have coupons for is the brand I’m going to buy. You’ll be pleasantly surprised that you can’t tell that big of a difference. Everybody can use a little variety. If you looked at my stock pile of HBA items you will see I have about 5 different brands of shampoo and 3 different brands of body wash. Why…because it was probably free or close to it. But like I said before, if your health doesn’t depend on it…we can’t use Suave anything…it simply makes us itch! I don’t care if I made $ off of it, I don’t even look at the stuff! (Don’t sacrifice comfort to save a buck!)

5. Don’t buy generic! Unless you absolutely have to or you just like that particular store brand. If you match up sales with coupons you can get name brand stuff for far less than generic! There are only a couple of products that I have purchased the generic within the past year. My house is stocked full of All, Ziplock, Reynolds, Pledge, Softsoap, Kraft, Ore Ida…the list goes on…all name brand! Don’t think because it’s generic you’re going to get a better deal. Search for the coupons, match with the sales and stockpile it!
There are exceptions: my favorite store once again, Publix. There are certain stores that offer coupons on their brand of products. Publix, Food Lion, BiLo and Target are a few. These stores typically put their items on sale as well. Lots of times the coupons available match the items on sale. So, find a brand you like! (I LOVE Publix brand items…it’s the closest I’ve ever come to tasting like name brand. I HATE BiLo (Southern Home) brand…personally it’s just gross.

6. Don’t go for the economy sized item. Let’s say product A costs $5 for a large(6 pack) and $2 for a small(2 pack). You’re thinking, “I have a $2 off coupon so if I buy the big one I’ll get 6 packs for $3 after coupon.” What you should be thinking is, “I have a $2 off coupon, so if I buy the small one I’ll get 2 packs for free!” Free is better than cheap!
Why? You’ll go home and come across another $2 coupon so that’s more for free. If you bought the large, you just spend $3 when you could have gotten more for free.
This is something I’ve had to overcome. I have always thought I’ve gotten more for my $ when I buy the bigger one, but that’s just not the case anymore. Typically smaller is better when you have a coupon.

7. More places to get coupons. Finally, other coupon resources: Ebay, trading and sites that sell coupons. I know you’re thinking, “BUY COUPONS??” It really can be a great investment. I have purchased several coupons on Ebay in the past. In fact I purchased some today. Most people that sell on Ebay group the coupons into packs of 10 or 20 of the same q. Let’s say the coupon is worth $1 and it’s in a pack of 10. You can “Buy it Now” for $1.00 and the seller may offer free shipping. Guess what you just got $10 in coupons for $1!
There are also forums you can join to trade with other fellow couponers. Check my links for a couple of those sites. I have come across many coupons that aren’t available in my area this way. There’s always somebody that needs what you have and you probably need what they have!
There are websites that clip the coupons and mail them to you. TheCouponClippers is one of many. You have to read the rules, and I’ve never done this myself but it sounds like a pretty good deal. Especially if you are only in need of a few types of coupons but don’t want to buy an entire newspaper.

Hope you’ve enjoyed these tips and they will help you with your couponing adventures! Tomorrow will be a short post on “How to shop Walgreens”.

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