The new season of Extreme Couponing has hit the airwaves! The stores and manufacturers are bracing themselves for another slew of insanity from the unwashed masses decending on the stores with stacks of coupons trying to score deals and in generel create all manner of chaos.
The couponing community, in general, is up at arms about the show and is making lots of noise about boycotting and all of the issues that this show has created for them in their personal endeavors to score the best deals. Stores and manufacturers have tightened up the rules for using coupons in defense against some of the practices that have been considered acceptable by the people featured on the show.
I love watching the show, it is entertaining to see what people will actually buy just to get it free. I had a friend in town when I watched the season premier and he nearly lost his mind when we watched someone walk out of the store with 132 jugs of iced tea and lemonade (we won't even get into reaction from the 1200 boxes of cereal). The important thing to realize about anything you see on TV is that ultimately it is for ENTERTAINMENT purposes. TLC has showcased something that all of us are interested in during these difficult economic times and taken it to extremes....hence the title of the show. There has been an incredibly positive reaction to the show from viewers and coupon use has jumped exponentially everywhere. It has provided a way for people to save money on one of the highest expenses in a household that they may not have ever considered before watching the show. Nothing wrong with that, I jumped on the bandwagon after catching a couple of episodes while I was sick and stuck on the couch for 3 days.
However, before I went out and bought 47 papers I did a little research on the subject (Yeah, yeah I know....but this is me after all). One of the first web links I found was all about "realistic couponing". Going into the store with a huge stack of coupons with the expectation that you are going to get thousands of dollars of product for less than $50 is unrealistic at best. The rules, guidelines and general etiquette (Yes, I know...an unfamiliar word in our society today) of shopping and using coupons should be enough to stop anyone from even attempting such a thing. It does happen and will wind up frustrating and annoying anyone who is either on the coupon using or coupon receiving end. This is what drives the stores and manufacturers to take steps to stop the madness!!
Stores have increased their awareness of proper coupon use and are starting to increase the training on their coupon policies for employees. Don't be frustrated or upset when the cashier at the store reads your coupons, asks questions or even call over a manager to confirm that it is acceptable for use on the items you are purchasing. We are there to save some money but their job may be on the line for taking a coupon improperly. Tolerance and acceptance when someone is not able to accept a coupon is required and you can just tell them that you don't want the item. They will remove it from your order and you can move forward. Getting frustrated or upset will not help, it will just make that cashier frustrated and less willing to want to learn proper coupon usage in the future. Manufacturer's have also made changes to the coupons that they issue. They have lowered dollar amounts, given a shorter expiration times, limited the number of coupons you can use during one transaction and issued fewer coupons in an attempt to offset the current craze. Some manufacturer's have considered cancelling their coupon program completely!
These changes have made couponing more challenging and many people are having to rethink their shopping strategy. Using coupons is still a great way to save yourself some money. It does take time and effort (some of the methods that I have outlined in previous posts can limit the amount of both) not to mention planning and common sense. Going in with a reasonable expectation and starting out slow will definitely help you to be more successful in finding something that can save you money and not only entertain you but provide a rush at the checkout lane.
I have said it before and will probably say it again. My average savings at the stores is upwards of 50% and I am usually getting a minimum of twice what I was before for less money. Walking into a Target and walking out for under $100 was a struggle for me.....and I would wind up with 2 half full bags. Now I spend around $40 and have 3 - 4 full bags....It really makes a difference. The feeling of accomplishment walking out of the store is incredible and I am now proud of what I have purchased (hence the photos posted on FB) and make sure that Joe gets to see everything before it gets put away. I don't actually think he cares.....but he tolerates being given a tour of the kitchen island when he comes home ;-)
The best defense against issues at the checkout lane is to be prepared. Read your coupons, understand how they work and what limits they may have. You should also read the coupon policy for the store that you are shopping at. Knowing what is acceptable and not acceptable will help you and the store with a smooth checkout. Above all, use common sense in what you are buying and how much you are buying. I can't think of anyone who needs 100 bottles of hand soap, even if it is free. Sales cycles run between 6 weeks and 3 months. The same item will be on sale again and there is a very good chance that the coupon will be reissued or still good. You will be shocked at how fast you wind up stockpiling things even when you only buy a few. Your stores will appreciate your moderation and so will the rest of us that also want to get a few of those inexpensive items.
Until next time.....Happy Couponing!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Putting It All Together - Part 4, Shopping!
Now you have the basics on coupon theory, have collected some coupons and organized them (Right?) it's time to shop!!
Your first step is going to be to build your list. Yes, a list....if you don't already work from one this is going to take a little getting used to. Here are a few links to sites that provide coupon match ups by store. This is your road map to savings! These sites will tell you what is on sale, provide the information on the coupons to use and also provide links to internet coupons you can print to get savings on some items.
http://www.couponing101.com/
http://www.couponmom.com/
http://www.howtoshopforfree.net/
http://thekrazycouponlady.com/
http://www.totallytarget.com/
Other sites are out there, these are just the ones that I have worked with at some point. If you don't like any of them take a look around the web and find one you really like. This is important, it will save you hours of effort and clue you in to things that other people have found in their stores that may not be in the ad! One other note, most of the pricing listed on these sites is regional. Some prices and coupons may vary, I always list price and coupon on my list so that I can evaluate what my stores are actually charging. Sometimes it makes a difference in what I will actually purchase.
I recommend starting with one store and giving it a test run. Get your list together, gather your coupons for just those items (I use an envelope to put my list and coupons I know I will be using in) and head to the store. I know that you will have other items to purchase when you are starting out so make sure they are on the list.
Eat something before you do your shopping!!! I know this sounds basic but it really makes a difference. The average amount of overspending done by people who shop while they are hungry is $40 (In my case this also happens when I go into the store with my Brother-In-Law)!
The first few weeks of coupons shopping will be training on how to shop from now on. Stick to your list, when you have a coupon for something that is on sale and the price is really good (A lot of the match up sites will give you a heads up when it is a "stock up" price) grab a few of the item if it is something that you know you like. Sales cycles rotate anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months. Until you get a handle for when the same item is going to be on sale again, get enough for 2 months, that should cover you to start with and you will start to get a feel for when it cycles. Don't panic if you miss a sale either, again, sales are on a cycle so it will come around again and again and again! Another thing to focus on the first few weeks is pricing, there are some things that the sites don't consider stock up prices but that still go on sale. Monitor these common items that you buy and start to decide what the max price you will pay for something is and also what price you will pay for it when you don't necessarily need it. For example, I will not pay over $0.99 for toothpaste (and that is the good stuff, I prefer Colgate Total and Joe likes the Crest 3D white) ever! However, when I find it for $0.25 it is an automatic purchase as long as I have space for it.
Another thing that couponing will train you for is letting go of brand loyalty. I have had the opportunity to try all different kinds of things that I wouldn't normally have bought. Some have been great and others have been gawdawful. There have been a few things that even my husband wouldn't eat and that man will eat ANYTHING. If you are trying something different make sure you only buy enough to try it first, if you buy 10 packages of something that even the dog won't eat, you are not saving money. I won't even donate that stuff! Same goes for personal items, cleaning products, paper products, etc. If you buy 4 bottles of a cleaning product that smell awful and don't clean anything you haven't saved yourself anything. If you buy 1 and decide you hate it, you are out a minimum amount of money and can just toss it without the guilt.
After a shopping trip I always set everything out on my kitchen island and do a "post shop" evaluation (those of you that are friends on FB have seen some of the pictures). I look at what I purchased and in addition to the overall total I evaluate what I spent per item to decide if I got a good deal or just got excited. I also evaluate how much of an item I already have to decide if I need to quit buying an item no matter how little I pay for it. As a good friend of mine, The Great Soa, says "Know Your Limits!"
"Know Your Limits!"
In addition to developing a sense of pricing limits you also have to develop a sense of how much to keep on hand. This ain't hoarders guys.....If I come to visit and you have dedicated 3 rooms of your house to storing items that you have been stockpiling we are going to have a serious talk! Start keeping and eye on what you are using from your coupon purchases and monitor your expiration dates. If there are things that you are buying that you have to throw away because you cannot use them in time, that needs to be evaluated. If you start seeing that things are going to expire within a month and you know you will not be able to use them, bag them up and take them to a local food bank. It doesn't matter if you paid $0.50 for something if you are only going to throw it away.....Paper products and household items generally have a really long or no expiration dates so definitely stock up on those, however, set yourself some limits on how much you will keep around. If you have a wall of toilet paper that will not be used for 5 years and you keep buying more, sooner than you think that toilet paper will start taking over the house. Same goes for smaller items, I don't care if you keep getting soap for free, at some point there is just too much to use.
A couple of things to keep in mind. It takes time to work up to big savings. Until you really build your coupon collection there will be sales that you cannot take advantage of. Don't get discouraged! Keep at it for a month or so. My minimum savings now is 50% and almost always more than that. When I first started it was more like 10% or 20%, my grocery spending did not change but I was always walking out with more than usual. Now I can take advantage of sales on higher priced items without blowing my budget because I know there is plenty at home that I don't need to worry about. Which leads me to the next thing. Stick to your budget! Starting out is is easy to get in the mode of wanting to take advantage of every sale, every time. Even with lower prices on items getting too much of them or too many different things can still break the budget. Pace yourself and remember that next week there will be more deal on different things.....the savings will not go away they will move on to something else and then work their way back around.
The most important thing is to have fun with this. Saving money is exciting!! Until next time, Happy Couponing!
Your first step is going to be to build your list. Yes, a list....if you don't already work from one this is going to take a little getting used to. Here are a few links to sites that provide coupon match ups by store. This is your road map to savings! These sites will tell you what is on sale, provide the information on the coupons to use and also provide links to internet coupons you can print to get savings on some items.
http://www.couponing101.com/
http://www.couponmom.com/
http://www.howtoshopforfree.net/
http://thekrazycouponlady.com/
http://www.totallytarget.com/
Other sites are out there, these are just the ones that I have worked with at some point. If you don't like any of them take a look around the web and find one you really like. This is important, it will save you hours of effort and clue you in to things that other people have found in their stores that may not be in the ad! One other note, most of the pricing listed on these sites is regional. Some prices and coupons may vary, I always list price and coupon on my list so that I can evaluate what my stores are actually charging. Sometimes it makes a difference in what I will actually purchase.
I recommend starting with one store and giving it a test run. Get your list together, gather your coupons for just those items (I use an envelope to put my list and coupons I know I will be using in) and head to the store. I know that you will have other items to purchase when you are starting out so make sure they are on the list.
Eat something before you do your shopping!!! I know this sounds basic but it really makes a difference. The average amount of overspending done by people who shop while they are hungry is $40 (In my case this also happens when I go into the store with my Brother-In-Law)!
The first few weeks of coupons shopping will be training on how to shop from now on. Stick to your list, when you have a coupon for something that is on sale and the price is really good (A lot of the match up sites will give you a heads up when it is a "stock up" price) grab a few of the item if it is something that you know you like. Sales cycles rotate anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months. Until you get a handle for when the same item is going to be on sale again, get enough for 2 months, that should cover you to start with and you will start to get a feel for when it cycles. Don't panic if you miss a sale either, again, sales are on a cycle so it will come around again and again and again! Another thing to focus on the first few weeks is pricing, there are some things that the sites don't consider stock up prices but that still go on sale. Monitor these common items that you buy and start to decide what the max price you will pay for something is and also what price you will pay for it when you don't necessarily need it. For example, I will not pay over $0.99 for toothpaste (and that is the good stuff, I prefer Colgate Total and Joe likes the Crest 3D white) ever! However, when I find it for $0.25 it is an automatic purchase as long as I have space for it.
Another thing that couponing will train you for is letting go of brand loyalty. I have had the opportunity to try all different kinds of things that I wouldn't normally have bought. Some have been great and others have been gawdawful. There have been a few things that even my husband wouldn't eat and that man will eat ANYTHING. If you are trying something different make sure you only buy enough to try it first, if you buy 10 packages of something that even the dog won't eat, you are not saving money. I won't even donate that stuff! Same goes for personal items, cleaning products, paper products, etc. If you buy 4 bottles of a cleaning product that smell awful and don't clean anything you haven't saved yourself anything. If you buy 1 and decide you hate it, you are out a minimum amount of money and can just toss it without the guilt.
After a shopping trip I always set everything out on my kitchen island and do a "post shop" evaluation (those of you that are friends on FB have seen some of the pictures). I look at what I purchased and in addition to the overall total I evaluate what I spent per item to decide if I got a good deal or just got excited. I also evaluate how much of an item I already have to decide if I need to quit buying an item no matter how little I pay for it. As a good friend of mine, The Great Soa, says "Know Your Limits!"
"Know Your Limits!"
In addition to developing a sense of pricing limits you also have to develop a sense of how much to keep on hand. This ain't hoarders guys.....If I come to visit and you have dedicated 3 rooms of your house to storing items that you have been stockpiling we are going to have a serious talk! Start keeping and eye on what you are using from your coupon purchases and monitor your expiration dates. If there are things that you are buying that you have to throw away because you cannot use them in time, that needs to be evaluated. If you start seeing that things are going to expire within a month and you know you will not be able to use them, bag them up and take them to a local food bank. It doesn't matter if you paid $0.50 for something if you are only going to throw it away.....Paper products and household items generally have a really long or no expiration dates so definitely stock up on those, however, set yourself some limits on how much you will keep around. If you have a wall of toilet paper that will not be used for 5 years and you keep buying more, sooner than you think that toilet paper will start taking over the house. Same goes for smaller items, I don't care if you keep getting soap for free, at some point there is just too much to use.
A couple of things to keep in mind. It takes time to work up to big savings. Until you really build your coupon collection there will be sales that you cannot take advantage of. Don't get discouraged! Keep at it for a month or so. My minimum savings now is 50% and almost always more than that. When I first started it was more like 10% or 20%, my grocery spending did not change but I was always walking out with more than usual. Now I can take advantage of sales on higher priced items without blowing my budget because I know there is plenty at home that I don't need to worry about. Which leads me to the next thing. Stick to your budget! Starting out is is easy to get in the mode of wanting to take advantage of every sale, every time. Even with lower prices on items getting too much of them or too many different things can still break the budget. Pace yourself and remember that next week there will be more deal on different things.....the savings will not go away they will move on to something else and then work their way back around.
The most important thing is to have fun with this. Saving money is exciting!! Until next time, Happy Couponing!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Putting It All Together - Part 3, Organizing
So now that you have started your collection and you have all these coupons, what to do with all of them??
There are so many different ways to organize coupons that I will go ahead and list several. It really depends on what kind of time investment you want to make and what works for you. None of these methods are required and you can change anything you like about them, these are suggestions. If you find something that doesn't work for you, don't do it! Giving up on couponing because it is taking too long to organize or you are getting frustrated trying to find what you are looking for is an awful thing. I will explain some different methods in order of the time investment needed. Take what you like and ignore the rest, I promise I will not be offended ;-)
The absolute least time commitment that can be made is keeping your coupon inserts intact. Get 12 hanging file folders or large envelopes and file them by month. If you get more than one insert put them together and paperclip, binder clip or just plain stick em in together. Almost every coupon matching site will give you the date of the insert that the coupon is in so you can just go and pull that insert and clip the coupon that you are looking for. The pros of this method are obvious, there is no real time investment and the only time you need to actually clip is when you need the coupon. The cons are that when you are in the store you have nothing but what you need so, if you run across a great deal that you have a coupon for you have to go home and find it then make another trip to the store (there are searchable databases for coupons that should tell you what insert they are in). Additionally, by keeping the inserts intact you will wind up having expired coupons taking up space. The ranges for coupons in a single insert can be several months. My last inserts had coupons that expired as early as the end of September and some that were good until December.
The next method is similar to the first but a little more time consuming and hard on the back! This method will require a very large binder (probably up to 5" eventually) and lots of sheet protectors (The larger ones that will hold lots of sheets) also one of those supply pouches that will go in a binder for a small pair of scissors. You will still write the date of the insert on the front but then file them in your binder by week in whichever direction works best for you (oldest first or newest first). You will still pull out the coupons that you know you are using but then you have all of the rest with you while you are shopping so you can take advantage of any sales you find. The pros of this method are that there is not a huge time investment associated with filing your coupons. Also, you can take them with you when you go to the store so that you can clip out what you need while you are in the store. The cons are.....well, to start with dragging around a huge binder with all of those inserts is really hard on your back. Trying to find a coupon for a specific item in the store can be trying when you have to flip through all of those (although with smart phones and coupon databases you can at least know which insert to look in) and then clip your coupon in the store. I am not a coordinated person, trying to pull out an insert and a pair of scissors in the store without making a mess and dropping all manner of things on the floor is just not something I can see me doing gracefully.
Now we move into the clipping methods. This will require that you go through your inserts and clip out all of the coupons in them. (Sidenote, I never throw away any coupons whether I think I will use them or not. You would be amazed at what they will actually pay you to take out of the store....Also, any expired coupons that I do not use get mailed off and are sent overseas to the military. They can use coupons for up to 6 months after they have expired.)
There are two major methods for filing clipped coupons both require a binder (Mine is 3") and some baseball card sleeves. These are available in Target and Walmart in the trading card sections. You can also buy them on ebay or from Amazon.com. I got most of mine from Amazon because the pricing was really competitive (I had a really difficult time finding them in the stores, they just couldn't keep them on the shelves). You will also need dividers, use whatever works for you if it is colored paper or actual tab dividers or well whatever you can come up with. Remember that the goal is to save money so don't invest huge $$$ on your filing supplies.
Your first step is going to be to match up all of your insert pages if you get multiples. I get 4 so I pull em apart and stack them, then staple the pages together so that I am clipping all 4 at the same time, be sure that you get them lined up correctly. Totally devastating to destroy them by hacking off important parts. I am scissor challenged so I use a paper cutter to hack up the inserts (with a large margin) then go over each one individually to trim them down with a pair of scissors while I am watching TV at night (Yeah, I know....it's that OCD again....I just can't help it!!!)
Store Aisle Filing:
Using this method you will file your coupons according to categories based on your grocery store aisles. I am linking a suggested breakdown from www.krazycouponlady.com. This can be modified to suit your preferences but this will give you a good idea and a place to start. http://thekrazycouponlady.com/kclcouponbinder.pdf
The pros to this method is that when you are in the store shopping you can look up items that are on sale on the fly based on where you are standing in the store. Since your coupons are already clipped you can just take them out and add them to what you have planned to use. The cons of this method are that trying to file them can take time, deciding where some things go in the breakdown of the store aisles can get obnoxious especially since different stores will keep items in different places. Also, some things just don't fit into a specific category and can cause frustration during filing.
Alphabetical Filing:
Oh be still my little couponing heart. I am a huge fan of filing by alphabet...anything in my house that can be sorted that way IS. Makes putting things away or finding them super easy for me. The pros of this method are that when I am in the store I can find a coupon for any product. They are filed alphabetically by product name so it is super easy to find what I am looking for and since they are already clipped I can just pull them out and add them to my "use" pile. I also only need 12 dividers because I can do several letters in one section, A-B, C-D, E-F...ok yeah you get the point. If a section gets too big I can just add inserts to it. The cons of this method start with the time investment. Every week I have to rearrange the coupons to keep everything in alphabetical order to make sure I can find what I need when I am looking for it. Also, for the alphabetically challenged this can be frustrating and annoying.
Ultimately, you need to find what works for you. I tried a few different methods before I settled on mine. I wanted to give a good overview of different methods that I have culled from different sources all at once so that you can make a more informed decision. You can always try one method on for size and see how it works, if it doesn't work for you personalize it or switch to a different method! Couponing is all about what works for YOU!
Until next time, have fun and HAPPY COUPONING!
There are so many different ways to organize coupons that I will go ahead and list several. It really depends on what kind of time investment you want to make and what works for you. None of these methods are required and you can change anything you like about them, these are suggestions. If you find something that doesn't work for you, don't do it! Giving up on couponing because it is taking too long to organize or you are getting frustrated trying to find what you are looking for is an awful thing. I will explain some different methods in order of the time investment needed. Take what you like and ignore the rest, I promise I will not be offended ;-)
The absolute least time commitment that can be made is keeping your coupon inserts intact. Get 12 hanging file folders or large envelopes and file them by month. If you get more than one insert put them together and paperclip, binder clip or just plain stick em in together. Almost every coupon matching site will give you the date of the insert that the coupon is in so you can just go and pull that insert and clip the coupon that you are looking for. The pros of this method are obvious, there is no real time investment and the only time you need to actually clip is when you need the coupon. The cons are that when you are in the store you have nothing but what you need so, if you run across a great deal that you have a coupon for you have to go home and find it then make another trip to the store (there are searchable databases for coupons that should tell you what insert they are in). Additionally, by keeping the inserts intact you will wind up having expired coupons taking up space. The ranges for coupons in a single insert can be several months. My last inserts had coupons that expired as early as the end of September and some that were good until December.
The next method is similar to the first but a little more time consuming and hard on the back! This method will require a very large binder (probably up to 5" eventually) and lots of sheet protectors (The larger ones that will hold lots of sheets) also one of those supply pouches that will go in a binder for a small pair of scissors. You will still write the date of the insert on the front but then file them in your binder by week in whichever direction works best for you (oldest first or newest first). You will still pull out the coupons that you know you are using but then you have all of the rest with you while you are shopping so you can take advantage of any sales you find. The pros of this method are that there is not a huge time investment associated with filing your coupons. Also, you can take them with you when you go to the store so that you can clip out what you need while you are in the store. The cons are.....well, to start with dragging around a huge binder with all of those inserts is really hard on your back. Trying to find a coupon for a specific item in the store can be trying when you have to flip through all of those (although with smart phones and coupon databases you can at least know which insert to look in) and then clip your coupon in the store. I am not a coordinated person, trying to pull out an insert and a pair of scissors in the store without making a mess and dropping all manner of things on the floor is just not something I can see me doing gracefully.
Now we move into the clipping methods. This will require that you go through your inserts and clip out all of the coupons in them. (Sidenote, I never throw away any coupons whether I think I will use them or not. You would be amazed at what they will actually pay you to take out of the store....Also, any expired coupons that I do not use get mailed off and are sent overseas to the military. They can use coupons for up to 6 months after they have expired.)
There are two major methods for filing clipped coupons both require a binder (Mine is 3") and some baseball card sleeves. These are available in Target and Walmart in the trading card sections. You can also buy them on ebay or from Amazon.com. I got most of mine from Amazon because the pricing was really competitive (I had a really difficult time finding them in the stores, they just couldn't keep them on the shelves). You will also need dividers, use whatever works for you if it is colored paper or actual tab dividers or well whatever you can come up with. Remember that the goal is to save money so don't invest huge $$$ on your filing supplies.
Your first step is going to be to match up all of your insert pages if you get multiples. I get 4 so I pull em apart and stack them, then staple the pages together so that I am clipping all 4 at the same time, be sure that you get them lined up correctly. Totally devastating to destroy them by hacking off important parts. I am scissor challenged so I use a paper cutter to hack up the inserts (with a large margin) then go over each one individually to trim them down with a pair of scissors while I am watching TV at night (Yeah, I know....it's that OCD again....I just can't help it!!!)
Store Aisle Filing:
Using this method you will file your coupons according to categories based on your grocery store aisles. I am linking a suggested breakdown from www.krazycouponlady.com. This can be modified to suit your preferences but this will give you a good idea and a place to start. http://thekrazycouponlady.com/kclcouponbinder.pdf
The pros to this method is that when you are in the store shopping you can look up items that are on sale on the fly based on where you are standing in the store. Since your coupons are already clipped you can just take them out and add them to what you have planned to use. The cons of this method are that trying to file them can take time, deciding where some things go in the breakdown of the store aisles can get obnoxious especially since different stores will keep items in different places. Also, some things just don't fit into a specific category and can cause frustration during filing.
Alphabetical Filing:
Oh be still my little couponing heart. I am a huge fan of filing by alphabet...anything in my house that can be sorted that way IS. Makes putting things away or finding them super easy for me. The pros of this method are that when I am in the store I can find a coupon for any product. They are filed alphabetically by product name so it is super easy to find what I am looking for and since they are already clipped I can just pull them out and add them to my "use" pile. I also only need 12 dividers because I can do several letters in one section, A-B, C-D, E-F...ok yeah you get the point. If a section gets too big I can just add inserts to it. The cons of this method start with the time investment. Every week I have to rearrange the coupons to keep everything in alphabetical order to make sure I can find what I need when I am looking for it. Also, for the alphabetically challenged this can be frustrating and annoying.
Ultimately, you need to find what works for you. I tried a few different methods before I settled on mine. I wanted to give a good overview of different methods that I have culled from different sources all at once so that you can make a more informed decision. You can always try one method on for size and see how it works, if it doesn't work for you personalize it or switch to a different method! Couponing is all about what works for YOU!
Until next time, have fun and HAPPY COUPONING!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Putting It All Together - Part 2, Collecting Coupons
I have been getting a lot of interest and questions about couponing so....I'm BAAAAACCKKKKK!
I want to do a quick overview of coupon theory since it has been months since I last posted. Ultimately the goal is to get to the point where you are only buying what is on sale and you have a coupon for. I am absolutely not recommending that you buy 600 of something when it is on sale.....trust me a stockpile will build faster than you can imagine when you are just purchasing a few of something. My personal limit is 4 of anything, EVER. When you are first starting your savings will not be an overnight thing, there will still be things that you absolutely have to have.....please for all of our sakes, if you run out of deodorant do not avoid buying it because you do not have a coupon and it is not on sale!
Your first step to getting started with coupons is to build your collection. Your best resource for coupons is your Sunday paper. I currently get 4 copies every week. Houston has an early Sunday edition and I get 2 of those. That gives me all of the coupon inserts and the sales ads that give me the pricing that starts on Sunday. (A quick note: Drugstores, Target, Walmart, etc. update their sales on Sundays. Grocery stores update their sales on Wednesdays.) This gives me a chance to review what is going on and find out if I need to rush out to take advantage of a sale on Sunday. I also have 2 delivered to the house on Sunday morning. We have considered setting up a 3rd delivery and only buying 1 on Saturday but at some point I may cut back on the number of papers I get so we have been stalling. Unfortunately the Chronicle does not deliver the Early Sunday edition so I do have to go out and pick it up.
Depending on the size of your household you will need to figure out how many papers are appropriate for you. Start small....give yourself a chance to try it out. If you call the newspaper and they start delivering 10 papers to your house and you discover that you HATE couponing and that you are not seeing any savings and it is not worth your time (If any of that happens you get in touch with me IMMEDIATELY, we need to have a lesson!) you could be stuck with a ton of newspapers and nothing to do with it. I recommend starting with 2 that you pick up on Sunday mornings (Or Saturdays if your paper does an early Sunday). That will give you a chance to start seeing what coupons are available and what sales happen also starting to develop your shopping routines.
In addition to your Sunday paper inserts, there are tons of printable online coupons. Coupons.com, smartsource.com, bettycrocker.com & pillsbury.com just to start with. There is a pitfall to avoid with the online coupons. When I first started I was printing like a maniac, had tons of the online coupons. What I have found is that a lot of the time these are duplicates to the ones that are in the paper and they have a shorter expiration time (Usually around 30 days from the time you print them). Now, I usually only print them when I have a specific purpose in mind. For example, when I go to krazycouponlady.com and they have a listing for a sale with a link to the coupon and it is one that I don't have a paper copy for I will go print it. Another thing to know about online coupons is that you are limited on the number you can print. It is 2 prints per COMPUTER in your house. I personally have 2 computers and have access to Joe's (at least when he is not looking) so I can print up to 6. This is also a good alternative if you don't want to deal with the Sunday papers. You can skip some of the hassle and see at least some savings with an extreme minimum of effort.
However, there are deals that you will absolutely miss out on because they do not provide all of the coupons in an online format. In addition, there were some serious problems with online coupon fraud a while back so a lot of the stores banned the use of them. The non acceptance of online coupons has been lifted in most places but it still has the potential to cause some problems.
Your next resource for building your coupon collection is your store card. There are several sites that cater specifically to this. Proctor and Gamble will load directly to your store loyalty card www.pgesaver.com, also the website for your specific store (mine is www.kroger.com) will often have store coupons you can load directly. A word on this.....a lot of times your paper coupons have a higher dollar value on these items and you can use multiples. With the store cards, they will process any coupons you have loaded FIRST and then not allow a paper coupon for the same thing. These are also only good on 1 item. I always run my store card AFTER they have processed my items and coupons. Another thing to watch for is that sometimes the digital coupons just don't work. If it happens to you, get ont he phone with the 800 number and usually they can work it out for you. In addition to store coupons, you will sometimes get little pieces of paper that print from the register called Catalinas. These are coupons issued based on what you have purchased. They can be for the same item or something similar and in some cases just a certain dollar off amount on your next purchase. Look at them before you throw them away!!!!
No coupon collection would be complete without some store specific coupons. Target is fantastic for couponers since they actually provide store coupons on their website. The coupon policy at Target allows for a store coupon AND a manufacturer coupon for the same item. This week I went in and got toothpaste for $0.24 a tube because Target had a $1 off and I had a manufacturer for $1.....it doesn't get any better than that! Target also issues coupons in your Sunday paper, there are usually a few scattered in there and on occasion you get a full Target insert. When you print coupons from the Target website they are usually valid for a much shorter period so I never print them unless I know I am going to use them. They have the same limitations as other coupons so only 2 prints per computer. In addition to Target, several of the local drugstores have a similar program. Walgreens issues a coupon book every month that you can pick up in the store, those can also be matched with manufacturer coupons for big savings. CVS issues coupons from a big red machine when you scan your card. Both Walgreens and CVS have a program where they issue store credit when you make certain purchases. Walgreens has Register Rewards with no card required, so lets say they issue store credit of $3 when you purchase $10 of a certain product. They do not limit the number of times you can do this in a week so if you find a really excellent deal you can go back more than once. CVS is a little different, since they require a loyalty card to take advantage of these deals they set limits on the number of times you can use them and it is tracked on your card.
Once you start using coupons you will find them everywhere.....on products that you are purchasing (called peelies), tear pads sitting next to a product on the shelves, little machines in the aisles of your grocery store (blinkies) and so on. Coupons are EVERYWHERE!
A final note: Your store does not lose money when you use coupons. The manufacturers that issue coupons reimburse your store for the full amount of the coupon plus a processing fee. When a store issues a coupon they do it for marketing purposes, they want to get you into the store because the chances are that you will buy additional items and a higher loyalty to that particular store. Never "feel bad" about taking advantage of the savings that they are offering you. The stores are winning and so are you!
I want to do a quick overview of coupon theory since it has been months since I last posted. Ultimately the goal is to get to the point where you are only buying what is on sale and you have a coupon for. I am absolutely not recommending that you buy 600 of something when it is on sale.....trust me a stockpile will build faster than you can imagine when you are just purchasing a few of something. My personal limit is 4 of anything, EVER. When you are first starting your savings will not be an overnight thing, there will still be things that you absolutely have to have.....please for all of our sakes, if you run out of deodorant do not avoid buying it because you do not have a coupon and it is not on sale!
Your first step to getting started with coupons is to build your collection. Your best resource for coupons is your Sunday paper. I currently get 4 copies every week. Houston has an early Sunday edition and I get 2 of those. That gives me all of the coupon inserts and the sales ads that give me the pricing that starts on Sunday. (A quick note: Drugstores, Target, Walmart, etc. update their sales on Sundays. Grocery stores update their sales on Wednesdays.) This gives me a chance to review what is going on and find out if I need to rush out to take advantage of a sale on Sunday. I also have 2 delivered to the house on Sunday morning. We have considered setting up a 3rd delivery and only buying 1 on Saturday but at some point I may cut back on the number of papers I get so we have been stalling. Unfortunately the Chronicle does not deliver the Early Sunday edition so I do have to go out and pick it up.
Depending on the size of your household you will need to figure out how many papers are appropriate for you. Start small....give yourself a chance to try it out. If you call the newspaper and they start delivering 10 papers to your house and you discover that you HATE couponing and that you are not seeing any savings and it is not worth your time (If any of that happens you get in touch with me IMMEDIATELY, we need to have a lesson!) you could be stuck with a ton of newspapers and nothing to do with it. I recommend starting with 2 that you pick up on Sunday mornings (Or Saturdays if your paper does an early Sunday). That will give you a chance to start seeing what coupons are available and what sales happen also starting to develop your shopping routines.
In addition to your Sunday paper inserts, there are tons of printable online coupons. Coupons.com, smartsource.com, bettycrocker.com & pillsbury.com just to start with. There is a pitfall to avoid with the online coupons. When I first started I was printing like a maniac, had tons of the online coupons. What I have found is that a lot of the time these are duplicates to the ones that are in the paper and they have a shorter expiration time (Usually around 30 days from the time you print them). Now, I usually only print them when I have a specific purpose in mind. For example, when I go to krazycouponlady.com and they have a listing for a sale with a link to the coupon and it is one that I don't have a paper copy for I will go print it. Another thing to know about online coupons is that you are limited on the number you can print. It is 2 prints per COMPUTER in your house. I personally have 2 computers and have access to Joe's (at least when he is not looking) so I can print up to 6. This is also a good alternative if you don't want to deal with the Sunday papers. You can skip some of the hassle and see at least some savings with an extreme minimum of effort.
However, there are deals that you will absolutely miss out on because they do not provide all of the coupons in an online format. In addition, there were some serious problems with online coupon fraud a while back so a lot of the stores banned the use of them. The non acceptance of online coupons has been lifted in most places but it still has the potential to cause some problems.
Your next resource for building your coupon collection is your store card. There are several sites that cater specifically to this. Proctor and Gamble will load directly to your store loyalty card www.pgesaver.com, also the website for your specific store (mine is www.kroger.com) will often have store coupons you can load directly. A word on this.....a lot of times your paper coupons have a higher dollar value on these items and you can use multiples. With the store cards, they will process any coupons you have loaded FIRST and then not allow a paper coupon for the same thing. These are also only good on 1 item. I always run my store card AFTER they have processed my items and coupons. Another thing to watch for is that sometimes the digital coupons just don't work. If it happens to you, get ont he phone with the 800 number and usually they can work it out for you. In addition to store coupons, you will sometimes get little pieces of paper that print from the register called Catalinas. These are coupons issued based on what you have purchased. They can be for the same item or something similar and in some cases just a certain dollar off amount on your next purchase. Look at them before you throw them away!!!!
No coupon collection would be complete without some store specific coupons. Target is fantastic for couponers since they actually provide store coupons on their website. The coupon policy at Target allows for a store coupon AND a manufacturer coupon for the same item. This week I went in and got toothpaste for $0.24 a tube because Target had a $1 off and I had a manufacturer for $1.....it doesn't get any better than that! Target also issues coupons in your Sunday paper, there are usually a few scattered in there and on occasion you get a full Target insert. When you print coupons from the Target website they are usually valid for a much shorter period so I never print them unless I know I am going to use them. They have the same limitations as other coupons so only 2 prints per computer. In addition to Target, several of the local drugstores have a similar program. Walgreens issues a coupon book every month that you can pick up in the store, those can also be matched with manufacturer coupons for big savings. CVS issues coupons from a big red machine when you scan your card. Both Walgreens and CVS have a program where they issue store credit when you make certain purchases. Walgreens has Register Rewards with no card required, so lets say they issue store credit of $3 when you purchase $10 of a certain product. They do not limit the number of times you can do this in a week so if you find a really excellent deal you can go back more than once. CVS is a little different, since they require a loyalty card to take advantage of these deals they set limits on the number of times you can use them and it is tracked on your card.
Once you start using coupons you will find them everywhere.....on products that you are purchasing (called peelies), tear pads sitting next to a product on the shelves, little machines in the aisles of your grocery store (blinkies) and so on. Coupons are EVERYWHERE!
A final note: Your store does not lose money when you use coupons. The manufacturers that issue coupons reimburse your store for the full amount of the coupon plus a processing fee. When a store issues a coupon they do it for marketing purposes, they want to get you into the store because the chances are that you will buy additional items and a higher loyalty to that particular store. Never "feel bad" about taking advantage of the savings that they are offering you. The stores are winning and so are you!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Putting it all Together - Part 1, Coupon Theory
I have spewed out all sorts of information in my previous blogs about this new habit of mine. I wanted to put it all together in some semblance of order to make things a little easier. I am one of those annoying people that likes to know the why for and the how to and understand the reasons things work. I made a previous attempt at using coupons and it turned into an Epic Fail....I wound up buying stuff I did not need and my grocery totals actually went up instead of down. After several weeks I gave it up and decided that it was just not for me. I was just not getting it and I failed to do my research.....however, I looked at it again and did my research this time and I gotta tell you...I am hooked now! This has become a game to me.....I am having a great time with this and seeing a savings of at least 50% or more on my receipts is a total high. Fair warning y'all....this can be addictive!
Alright, enough of my babbling....here it is. The entire goal of shopping this way is to buy the things that you regularly use when they are on sale and you have a coupon (or coupons) for them. At this point my total spending not gone down significantly but now I am bringing home 2 - 3 times more than I was before. There are still things that I *have* to buy because we are out but for the most part, I can now just buy the items that we use regularly when there is a sale and a coupon and just toss it in the cabinet until we actually need it.
Ultimately the goal is to get to the point where the only things we have to buy on a regular basis are produce and dairy. I have razors, toothpaste, toothbrushes, hair dye, feminine products, deodorant, laundry soap and assorted other stuff that I do not have to buy for at least a year. I got most of these for under $1 and in some cases they paid me to take them out of the store! Any given week my trip to Target, just getting the items that we needed was between $80 and $100. I have not walked out of that store for over $40 in at least a month and I am walking out the door with more than I have on my *big* shopping trips before.
I am using the extra money that I was spending there to stock up on other things from different stores and testing some theories to see how well they go. I scored big last week at Kroger on center cut pork chops.....18 for $10! I came home and used my Foodsaver to package em up and toss em in the freezer. I spent $12 at the bread outlet and have a ton of that stored in the freezer (I have yet to have to tap into that so I cannot tell you if it has worked out well or not.....we still have plenty of bread that didn't go into the freezer from that trip). Again, see where I am going with this? I know that in a lot of cases freezer space is limited, Joe and I are lucky enough to have a spare freezer in our garage so we have more room to work with but the deals are out there on a smaller scale.
It takes some time to get used to this way of shopping. I cannot tell you that next week when you go into the store you will walk out with a ton of stuff for practically nothing. My first couple of weeks were completely unimpressive. There was still lots of stuff that I needed to buy that was not on sale or that I did not have a coupon for. Also, my coupon stock was low and I did not have the array that I have now so I was working with limited resources. If you are not prepared for this it can be frustrating and feel like it is not worth the effort. Give it a little time to really kick in....also, do not hesitate to look for help! Find a website that does the match ups for you. The one that I use most frequently: http://thekrazycouponlady.com/krazy-this-week/
This is FREE and if you like them on facebook you will get updates on new deals that they discover throughout the week. Even if you have not started collecting coupons or aren't sure if it is for you, take a look at the site.....it may be enough to change your mind. You can look for your local stores and see what is available, some of it only requires printing an internet coupon and no newspaper required.
Set some realistic goals before you go into the store next time (after looking at the Krazy Coupon Lady, of course). My first one was to see a savings off my total at the store of 15% or more, some stores will actually print your percentage on the receipt and for some others you have to do the math yourself. It took me a week or two to hit that point and it has just gone from there. My standard savings now is 50% or more.....gotta tell you, I *LOVE* seeing that one!
Coming soon: Putting it all Together - Part 2, Coupon Basics. Until then, good luck and happy couponing!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Alternate Source for Coupons!
Ok, so you are collecting your inserts from your Sunday papers and organizing them. So now you ask "Ms. Ran, where can I get MORE!". I actually have an answer for you.....Yay!
There are several sources for more manufacturer coupons online. These coupons can be printed at home and they are all over the place. Do be aware of the expiration dates on your printable coupons. Sometimes even if you can print 10 you may not want to. I usually start with 2 unless I see a sale on the item. Using a coupon just because you have it does not save you as much as waiting until there is also a sale on the item. Of course, the manufacturers and the stores absolutely love it when you do it that way ;-)
Coupons.com: http://www.coupons.com
This site has manufacturer coupons that are updated monthly. The 1st business day of the month they all reset and add more. Check them out right around then because some of them only have a limited number of prints available for everyone so, grab the ones you *have* to have right away. You are allowed 2 prints of manufacturer coupons from EACH site per computer. Yes, I said per computer. I have 2 computers so I can get a total of 4......I have been banned from using Joe's computer because he is a weirdo but, still 4 is good for us.
http://www.bettycrocker.com/
More manufacturer coupons and regardless of whether you have printed the same coupon from another site you still get 2 more prints! This site does require a sign up to access the coupons but as I said before if you have an alternate email address this is no big thing. They will send you emails every once in a while and sometimes they have coupons in them!
http://www.pillsbury.com
Same thing as the Betty Crocker site here......2 more prints! This site also requires a sign up and they will send out occasional emails.
A ton of the grocery stores are jumping on the digital coupon bandwagon, which is a great thing for all of us! Our local Kroger and Randalls (Safeway) both offer this service. I will warn you to watch very carefully for these coupons on your register receipt. I have had a TON of issues using Kroger's service. The idea is sound and is great when it works. You log into the website and look at the coupons available then click and they load directly onto your store card. When you hit the checkout lane they automatically come off your total. These coupons count as STORE coupons so you can also use a manufacturer coupon on the same item!
There are a couple of websites that will also put MANUFACTURER coupons on your savings card, I have not had any issue with these working on my card so definitely make use of them:
PGE Saver: https://www.pgesaver.com/
Proctor and Gamble update this site on the first business day of the month and these coupons can be loaded directly to your savings card. These are manufacturer coupons and cannot be stacked with another but they can be stacked with a store coupon. This does require a sign up and you have to register your store card with the site.
Cellfire: http://www.cellfire.com/
This is the same as PGE Saver but it offers different manufacturer coupons that will load directly on your card. This has fewer coupons than PGE Saver but definitely worth looking at.
A note on these types of coupons. Be careful before you load these, look at what you have in your stash of coupons. Sometimes the paper coupons have a higher savings dollar on them and you cannot use both. The store will automatically use the ones loaded on your card first so if you attempt to use another coupon it will not be valid.
Store coupons are also fantastic and can really add to your savings. Target has taken this idea and just run with it like crazy. This is one of my favorite places to shop anyway but now with the savings I am getting.....well, lets just say they are starting to recognize me when I walk in the door. I keep waiting for someone to come after me with the handcuffs and arrest me for robbing the store!!!! These prices are fantastic guys.....stacking your manufacturer coupons with the store coupons can save you a TON!
A couple of examples that I have cashed in on in the past couple of weeks.
Zantac: Regular price $7.59, Target Coupon for $2 and Manufacturer Coupon for $5 = $0.59 for 30 ct
Beneful: On Sale for $13, Target Coupon for $1 and Manufacturer Coupon for $2 = $10 for 15.5lb
Sharpies: On sale for $1, Target Coupon for $1 = FREE for 2pk
Papermate Pens: On sale for $1.02, Target Coupon for $1 = $0.02 for 10pk
In addition Target does these great deals where you buy 2 items and get a $5 Gift Card for Target. Yesterday I found 2 of these in the razor section. They worked out like this:
Venus Breeze: On Sale for $5.39 each, manufacturer coupon for $3 off each = $2.39ea, received $5GC so I actually made $0.22
Schick Quattro: On sale for $7.29, Manufacturer Coupon Buy 1 Get One and (since I had 2 items) $3 off one = $4.29 for 2, received a $5GC so I made another $0.71.
You cannot use the gift cards for the transaction that you receive them for. So, I split my transaction yesterday and paid for my GC items and a couple of other things (Sometimes Target Coupons only allow 1 item per TRANSACTION) then I turned around and used the cards on my next and much larger transaction. I walked out of the store yesterday with $120 worth of items for under $40.......
Facebook has gotten to be so big that all of the manufacturers and store have their own sites and keep them updated with all sorts of stuff. You can cash in on coupons, freebies and all sorts of other things just by visiting the sites and hitting the "Like" button.
The Krazy Coupon Lady: http://thekrazycouponlady.com/krazy-this-week/
I cannot say enough about this site. Every week they post the information for each of the stores and give you links to manufacturer coupons or the dates for the inserts that coupons were available in from the newspaper. Also, if you "Like" them on FB you will get several updates a day on new deals that members have found in the store that may have been unadvertised or that they stumbled across accidentally. They will also update you on new Swagbucks offers, freebies that they have found and additional manufacturer coupons that have popped up. I have stopped looking at any other site and use this one exclusively. I do have to make my own lists and it takes a little more time than SavingsAngel but well, this one is free and with the updates to my Facebook I can just keep a running list until I make it into the stores. I have also noticed that this site is updated IMMEDIATELY and sometimes way ahead of time. I am already seeing the information on the sales that are starting on Sunday!
Both of the above can save you a ton, HOWEVER it does post a lot of stuff to your Facebook page. If you want to keep your stuff nice and clean you can set up an alternate Facebook account for all of this stuff. That way you can keep your regular Facebook nice and clean.
One more note and I am off to do my grocery shopping ;-) Drugstores (CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid) and Superstores (Target) have sales cycles that start on Sunday and end on Saturday. Your grocery store sales cycles run from Wednesday to the following Tuesday. The drugstore and supercenter sales tend to attract a ton of people and things can run out very quickly. On some items they will offer a rain check but that is kind of iffy. The sooner you can get in to take advantage of those sales, the better off you are.
Until next time......happy coupon hunting!
There are several sources for more manufacturer coupons online. These coupons can be printed at home and they are all over the place. Do be aware of the expiration dates on your printable coupons. Sometimes even if you can print 10 you may not want to. I usually start with 2 unless I see a sale on the item. Using a coupon just because you have it does not save you as much as waiting until there is also a sale on the item. Of course, the manufacturers and the stores absolutely love it when you do it that way ;-)
Coupons.com: http://www.coupons.com
This site has manufacturer coupons that are updated monthly. The 1st business day of the month they all reset and add more. Check them out right around then because some of them only have a limited number of prints available for everyone so, grab the ones you *have* to have right away. You are allowed 2 prints of manufacturer coupons from EACH site per computer. Yes, I said per computer. I have 2 computers so I can get a total of 4......I have been banned from using Joe's computer because he is a weirdo but, still 4 is good for us.
http://www.bettycrocker.com/
More manufacturer coupons and regardless of whether you have printed the same coupon from another site you still get 2 more prints! This site does require a sign up to access the coupons but as I said before if you have an alternate email address this is no big thing. They will send you emails every once in a while and sometimes they have coupons in them!
http://www.pillsbury.com
Same thing as the Betty Crocker site here......2 more prints! This site also requires a sign up and they will send out occasional emails.
A ton of the grocery stores are jumping on the digital coupon bandwagon, which is a great thing for all of us! Our local Kroger and Randalls (Safeway) both offer this service. I will warn you to watch very carefully for these coupons on your register receipt. I have had a TON of issues using Kroger's service. The idea is sound and is great when it works. You log into the website and look at the coupons available then click and they load directly onto your store card. When you hit the checkout lane they automatically come off your total. These coupons count as STORE coupons so you can also use a manufacturer coupon on the same item!
There are a couple of websites that will also put MANUFACTURER coupons on your savings card, I have not had any issue with these working on my card so definitely make use of them:
PGE Saver: https://www.pgesaver.com/
Proctor and Gamble update this site on the first business day of the month and these coupons can be loaded directly to your savings card. These are manufacturer coupons and cannot be stacked with another but they can be stacked with a store coupon. This does require a sign up and you have to register your store card with the site.
Cellfire: http://www.cellfire.com/
This is the same as PGE Saver but it offers different manufacturer coupons that will load directly on your card. This has fewer coupons than PGE Saver but definitely worth looking at.
A note on these types of coupons. Be careful before you load these, look at what you have in your stash of coupons. Sometimes the paper coupons have a higher savings dollar on them and you cannot use both. The store will automatically use the ones loaded on your card first so if you attempt to use another coupon it will not be valid.
Store coupons are also fantastic and can really add to your savings. Target has taken this idea and just run with it like crazy. This is one of my favorite places to shop anyway but now with the savings I am getting.....well, lets just say they are starting to recognize me when I walk in the door. I keep waiting for someone to come after me with the handcuffs and arrest me for robbing the store!!!! These prices are fantastic guys.....stacking your manufacturer coupons with the store coupons can save you a TON!
A couple of examples that I have cashed in on in the past couple of weeks.
Zantac: Regular price $7.59, Target Coupon for $2 and Manufacturer Coupon for $5 = $0.59 for 30 ct
Beneful: On Sale for $13, Target Coupon for $1 and Manufacturer Coupon for $2 = $10 for 15.5lb
Sharpies: On sale for $1, Target Coupon for $1 = FREE for 2pk
Papermate Pens: On sale for $1.02, Target Coupon for $1 = $0.02 for 10pk
In addition Target does these great deals where you buy 2 items and get a $5 Gift Card for Target. Yesterday I found 2 of these in the razor section. They worked out like this:
Venus Breeze: On Sale for $5.39 each, manufacturer coupon for $3 off each = $2.39ea, received $5GC so I actually made $0.22
Schick Quattro: On sale for $7.29, Manufacturer Coupon Buy 1 Get One and (since I had 2 items) $3 off one = $4.29 for 2, received a $5GC so I made another $0.71.
You cannot use the gift cards for the transaction that you receive them for. So, I split my transaction yesterday and paid for my GC items and a couple of other things (Sometimes Target Coupons only allow 1 item per TRANSACTION) then I turned around and used the cards on my next and much larger transaction. I walked out of the store yesterday with $120 worth of items for under $40.......
Facebook has gotten to be so big that all of the manufacturers and store have their own sites and keep them updated with all sorts of stuff. You can cash in on coupons, freebies and all sorts of other things just by visiting the sites and hitting the "Like" button.
The Krazy Coupon Lady: http://thekrazycouponlady.com/krazy-this-week/
I cannot say enough about this site. Every week they post the information for each of the stores and give you links to manufacturer coupons or the dates for the inserts that coupons were available in from the newspaper. Also, if you "Like" them on FB you will get several updates a day on new deals that members have found in the store that may have been unadvertised or that they stumbled across accidentally. They will also update you on new Swagbucks offers, freebies that they have found and additional manufacturer coupons that have popped up. I have stopped looking at any other site and use this one exclusively. I do have to make my own lists and it takes a little more time than SavingsAngel but well, this one is free and with the updates to my Facebook I can just keep a running list until I make it into the stores. I have also noticed that this site is updated IMMEDIATELY and sometimes way ahead of time. I am already seeing the information on the sales that are starting on Sunday!
Both of the above can save you a ton, HOWEVER it does post a lot of stuff to your Facebook page. If you want to keep your stuff nice and clean you can set up an alternate Facebook account for all of this stuff. That way you can keep your regular Facebook nice and clean.
One more note and I am off to do my grocery shopping ;-) Drugstores (CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid) and Superstores (Target) have sales cycles that start on Sunday and end on Saturday. Your grocery store sales cycles run from Wednesday to the following Tuesday. The drugstore and supercenter sales tend to attract a ton of people and things can run out very quickly. On some items they will offer a rain check but that is kind of iffy. The sooner you can get in to take advantage of those sales, the better off you are.
Until next time......happy coupon hunting!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Freebies for Fun!
In my hunt for deals and coupons online I have run across some new websites that reward you for all different kinds of stuff and thought I would pass them along! Some of these programs I have been part of for years and my participation has just renewed but others are brand new. All of these websites are ones that I currently use and have not had any issues with. HOWEVER, I will recommend that for any of these online sites or coupons or anything else that you set up an alternate email for just this kind of stuff it can get you signed up for some weird junk sites sometimes. 15 minutes a week digging through junk email and utilizing my "Mark as Junk" button is a fair price to pay for some of these freebies so I will continue. I do not know that any of these sites have increased my junk mail since this email address has been active for more than 10 years and I have a ton of junk but it is always a good idea to use an alternate for anything you sign up for online.
So, here we go!
Mycokerewards: http://www.mycokerewards.com
Joe and I are HUGE Coke drinkers....Utilizing this website to enter the codes from all of our 12 packs and 2 liters is worth it. You get 10 points per 12pk and 3 points for 20oz or 2 Liter bottles. At 240 points you get a coupon for a free 12pack. There are also tons of other things that you can get with your points and you can also use them to enter all sorts of sweepstakes. I usually use my 3 points from individual and 2 liter to enter these just for fun. So far I have not won anything but......some of them have not completed yet! Cross you fingers for me.....
Mypoints: (Referral link on FB main page)
I have been a member of this site forever. This is a program that gives you points for all kinds of stuff. They will send out several emails a day. You can either participate in the offer or just click the button to get 5 points for visiting the website. I have had very good luck with receiving my rewards from them in the past, lots of free gift cards for just reading my email and clicking on links. They also have programs where you can print coupons online and after they are redeemed you receive points for them (I have not yet had any hit redemption yet so no opinion on this particular program. I will start tracking this probably next month to see how it goes) also online purchases made through the site will give you points. Lots and lots of ways to earn points on this site. There is no referral link available on the site so I will post my referral link on my main Facebook page for y'all. If you miss it, send me a note and I will email you a referral link.
Swagbucks: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/MsRan
Ok, this is a brand new one for me but I like it! Ultimately it is similar to a lot of reward programs with a little twist. This one is a search engine. We all search the internet a few times a day and ALL of your search engines track your usage and such. Well, when you use the Swagbucks search engine you are awarded random points for doing your searches! So there....if I am gonna be tracked I might as well get points for it! They also issue random Swagbuck codes that you can enter into the site to add points to your account. There are about 2,000 different rewards that you can exchange points for. Also, if you are following The Krazy Coupon Lady on Facebook (You ARE, aren't you?) they will tell you about random Swagbuck codes available. There is also a Swagbucks widget for your web browser, however it is not yet available for Google Chrome so I had to install Firefox again to utilize this application.
Vocalpoint: http://www.vocalpoint.com/index.html
This is another new one for me. There are no reward points or anything for participating BUT this site is all about freebies and testing new products. The more you participate in the site, the more they are supposed to send you. Again, very new so I have not gotten a ton of free stuff. I did get hooked up with a free coupon for a Fresh Express salad pack. The deal is that once I get the coupon and purchase the product I have to go back and give a review. I can totally do that! Another of the samples they were giving out were new Glad garbage bags with Febreeze Odor Control. Those went really fast, I totally missed the bus on that one and was awfully sad about it.
There are other ways to get freebies and coupons aside from the web. The new smartphones have amazing apps that will reward you for scanning items and such. These apps are all for the Android system and are free. The ones I use on a regular basis:
The Coupon App:
This one will give you heads up on deals every day. It is a little funky and I have had some issues with it. You can email the coupon to yourself and print it from your computer. I have seen coupons for Dinners, Office Max, Justice for Girls...all kinds of stuff. Definitely worth taking a look at.
Gas Buddy:
This one tracks prices at all of your local gas stations to give you the best pricing. The best part is that it is updated by users who earn points for updating gas prices. This includes YOU! Earn points that you can trade in for free gas for updating prices when you fuel up. Also check for the cheapest gas near your location, no matter where you are! I *love* this one. We have a couple of gas stations here that compete for pricing so I can see which one is lower before I leave the house. Regardless of when it was updated I still get points for updating the current pricing.
Shopkick:
Scan items in your favorite stores and earn kickpoints that can be traded in for Gift Cards! There are a couple of different apps on the market that do this but this one has given me the least problems. You get points for opening the app when you walk into certain stores and also some stores have scans available inside. Target is a huge participant! Also, this app provides special offers for the stores that you are in. I have not used this function yet since I haven't had one for anything on my list for the day but I still check every time.
The amount of free stuff out there for the taking is incredible. Look around and see what you can find. Check websites for the brands and products that you use the most. Sometimes they have free stuff for members, so sign up and watch for offers coming in. If you find anything really great be sure to let me know!
Until next time.....may you find freebies!
So, here we go!
Mycokerewards: http://www.mycokerewards.com
Joe and I are HUGE Coke drinkers....Utilizing this website to enter the codes from all of our 12 packs and 2 liters is worth it. You get 10 points per 12pk and 3 points for 20oz or 2 Liter bottles. At 240 points you get a coupon for a free 12pack. There are also tons of other things that you can get with your points and you can also use them to enter all sorts of sweepstakes. I usually use my 3 points from individual and 2 liter to enter these just for fun. So far I have not won anything but......some of them have not completed yet! Cross you fingers for me.....
Mypoints: (Referral link on FB main page)
I have been a member of this site forever. This is a program that gives you points for all kinds of stuff. They will send out several emails a day. You can either participate in the offer or just click the button to get 5 points for visiting the website. I have had very good luck with receiving my rewards from them in the past, lots of free gift cards for just reading my email and clicking on links. They also have programs where you can print coupons online and after they are redeemed you receive points for them (I have not yet had any hit redemption yet so no opinion on this particular program. I will start tracking this probably next month to see how it goes) also online purchases made through the site will give you points. Lots and lots of ways to earn points on this site. There is no referral link available on the site so I will post my referral link on my main Facebook page for y'all. If you miss it, send me a note and I will email you a referral link.
Swagbucks: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/MsRan
Ok, this is a brand new one for me but I like it! Ultimately it is similar to a lot of reward programs with a little twist. This one is a search engine. We all search the internet a few times a day and ALL of your search engines track your usage and such. Well, when you use the Swagbucks search engine you are awarded random points for doing your searches! So there....if I am gonna be tracked I might as well get points for it! They also issue random Swagbuck codes that you can enter into the site to add points to your account. There are about 2,000 different rewards that you can exchange points for. Also, if you are following The Krazy Coupon Lady on Facebook (You ARE, aren't you?) they will tell you about random Swagbuck codes available. There is also a Swagbucks widget for your web browser, however it is not yet available for Google Chrome so I had to install Firefox again to utilize this application.
Vocalpoint: http://www.vocalpoint.com/index.html
This is another new one for me. There are no reward points or anything for participating BUT this site is all about freebies and testing new products. The more you participate in the site, the more they are supposed to send you. Again, very new so I have not gotten a ton of free stuff. I did get hooked up with a free coupon for a Fresh Express salad pack. The deal is that once I get the coupon and purchase the product I have to go back and give a review. I can totally do that! Another of the samples they were giving out were new Glad garbage bags with Febreeze Odor Control. Those went really fast, I totally missed the bus on that one and was awfully sad about it.
There are other ways to get freebies and coupons aside from the web. The new smartphones have amazing apps that will reward you for scanning items and such. These apps are all for the Android system and are free. The ones I use on a regular basis:
The Coupon App:
This one will give you heads up on deals every day. It is a little funky and I have had some issues with it. You can email the coupon to yourself and print it from your computer. I have seen coupons for Dinners, Office Max, Justice for Girls...all kinds of stuff. Definitely worth taking a look at.
Gas Buddy:
This one tracks prices at all of your local gas stations to give you the best pricing. The best part is that it is updated by users who earn points for updating gas prices. This includes YOU! Earn points that you can trade in for free gas for updating prices when you fuel up. Also check for the cheapest gas near your location, no matter where you are! I *love* this one. We have a couple of gas stations here that compete for pricing so I can see which one is lower before I leave the house. Regardless of when it was updated I still get points for updating the current pricing.
Shopkick:
Scan items in your favorite stores and earn kickpoints that can be traded in for Gift Cards! There are a couple of different apps on the market that do this but this one has given me the least problems. You get points for opening the app when you walk into certain stores and also some stores have scans available inside. Target is a huge participant! Also, this app provides special offers for the stores that you are in. I have not used this function yet since I haven't had one for anything on my list for the day but I still check every time.
The amount of free stuff out there for the taking is incredible. Look around and see what you can find. Check websites for the brands and products that you use the most. Sometimes they have free stuff for members, so sign up and watch for offers coming in. If you find anything really great be sure to let me know!
Until next time.....may you find freebies!
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