Couponing

Guest post by Lacey Wilcox

I can still remember the first time I went to try and play the drugstore game. I was excited, a little nervous, and expectant of being able to show my husband my money-saving triumph.

I walked into Walgreens  with my coupons and detailed list in hand. I’d used MoneySavingMom®’s helpful tools to come up with transactions that would help me get what I needed, and get a great deal.

Let’s just say, I was pumped as I walked in the door towards my first item.

It was gone.

I was crushed, for a moment. But, I could do without the baby lotion–for now anyway. I shook it off, deciding to just move on to the next item, only to find that it was gone, too.

I worked my way through the rest of my list, only to find that almost all of the items I had planned on purchasing, had already been bought. Talk about a feeling of money-saving defeat.

Anyone else ever been there? My guess is I’m not alone.

So, what do you do when all your deals are gone? Cry? Scream? Gripe about all those selfish people out there? Yell at the store manager for not ordering enough baby lotion or laundry detergent? Sit in your car and pout? Buy ice cream?

Well, no (although that last one is pretty tempting…!). But, here are some things you can do when all your deals are gone that can help save your sanity, and maybe even help you save a buck.

1. Have a back-up plan.

Write out the transactions that are your goal, and then have some others planned out just in case you can’t make them. (Note: I would only recommend putting items on your back-up plan that you either really need, or can get for free. If there are not items like this, I would not suggest spending money just so you can say you used your coupons.)

2. Try another store.

Try another location of the same store, or maybe you decide to go try a completely different one altogether. Create some transactions for alternate drug stores and grocery stores in case your first choice doesn’t work out.

3. Politely and cordially talk to the store manager.

First, ask the store manager when their merchandise is delivered, and when would be the best time to make your purchase. Then, you can also talk with him/her about the possibility of addressing people who take all of the good deals. They might not realize that this can actually hurt their store’s business.

4. Partner with a friend.

If you have small children or a busy schedule, having a back-up plan can be a little tricky. If this is the case, try partnering with a friend to help purchase deals for yourselves and each other. This way, you both don’t have to go every week. I’ve also found that planning transactions with someone else helps me to create the best scenarios.

5. Walk away, but with joy.

When all else fails, choose joy. If you can’t make it work this week, walk away choosing to try again next week. And as you walk away, remember the things you have to be thankful for: for life, for grace, for breath, for family, for sunshine, for blessings…

…and, for ice cream.

What about you?  How do you react when all of your deals are gone?  What advice do you have to hande that situation?

Lacey lives in the Panhandle of Texas with her husband, Kade and sweet baby, Selah, where they manage Panfork Baptist Camp. Lacey writes about adventures in marriage, mommy-hood, and camp life on her blog.

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Guest post by Laura from Unpunctuated Life

I use technology to help me keep track of my coupon stash. I have a coupon organizer that is divided into categories that work for me, including a “using now” section, but sometimes I found myself in the grocery store confronted with an unadvertised sale and having to dig through my entire file to figure out whether or not I had a coupon for that item. I decided it would be a good idea to keep an inventory of my coupons and figured out a way to make it work!

When I began using a smart phone, I discovered a site called Evernote.com that allows me to edit documents and sync them among multiple devices (computer, phone, tablet, etc.). ­I created a document entitled “Coupon Inventory” and divided it into the same categories as my coupon organizer. Under each heading, I keep a bulleted list of each coupon I have, when it expires, and whether or not I have multiples.

In addition, I created a category for e-coupons, since I tend to forget what I have loaded onto my shopper cards. This also saves me paper, because I used to print out a list of my e-coupons each time I went to the store.

Once a week or so, when I’m organizing my physical coupons, I also pull up my document and make sure I have deleted any coupons that have been used or have expired, and I add any coupons I have recently clipped or printed. When I pull it up on my phone, the document looks like this:

Using this technology, it is so easy to view my coupon inventory even in the middle of the grocery store! If I see a coupon listed under a given category, I know that I can flip to that tab in my coupon organizer and find it there waiting for me to use. This has really helped me capitalize on deals I hadn’t known about ahead of time or hadn’t planned on using.

Laura is a young wife who recently moved to a new city with her husband and is looking to find work in the non-profit world. She enjoys hiking, reading, and finding a good bargain. Laura blogs at Unpunctuated Life about cooking, saving money, and learning about life in general.

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Guest post by Jessica from The Abundant Wife

A few weeks ago, my goal was to learn how to play the drugstore game. I’ve heard a lot about it in the past year, and now I live in a town where CVS is located five minutes away. So I decided to give it a whirl.

My first attempt was, as my 16-year-old brother would say, an “EPIC FAIL”

So here are my instructions for how not to play the drugstore game:

1. Don’t bring your children along.

It’s hard enough to think about your coupons and savings without your infant crying and your toddler bolting across the store before you can get her in the cart or knocking toothpaste and toothbrushes to the floor as you push your cart through the narrow aisles.

2. Don’t try to do too much in your first trip.

I bought a mouthwash, dental floss, and detergent. I had two coupons. Just buying these three items was too complicated for my first trip.

3. Don’t go at a busy time of day.

It was late afternoon and it was hot, so not only were my kids tired and cranky, but other people were getting out of work, so a line developed behind me while I tried to figure things out at the register.

4. Don’t spend a lot to get a little.

Set a spending limit for yourself. It’s not worth it to spend $11 just to get $1 ECB back.

5. Don’t go without first looking at the weekly advertisement.

I didn’t look at the CVS weekly advertisement until I arrived at the store. I just trusted the CVS deal websites I’d been reading. The coupons I chose only matched the store deal if I bought the most expensive mouthwash and dental floss available. Rather than saving money, I spent more than I usually would have.

6. Don’t lose sleep over it.

I spent all day and all night thinking about how to work multiple deals. Just pick one item to start.

After I returned home and had a chance to regroup, I decided to go back and try again. I returned my mouthwash and dental floss. Instead, I bought one Revlon nail polish ($4.99) and got $4 ECB back. I used a $1/1 coupon, and ended up paying only the tax ($0.29) for it. Now I have $4 ECB to spend on a future purchase.

EPIC SUCCESS!

What else did I learn through this process?

::Sign up for the CVS card, if you haven’t already.

::Sign up for CVS e-mails.

::Look at your local CVS advertisement on-line.

::Save and date your weekly Smart Source, P&G, and Red Plum Coupon Inserts.

::Do your homework. The Thrifty Mama and Money Saving Mom® have some great tips for getting started.

::Take your time. You’re learning how to do something new that will save money for you and your family. So be patient with yourself. If you fail miserably, you can always return your items and start over again.

Do you have any other great tips for Drugstore Game newbies like me?

Jessica is a former middle school art teacher who also taught English in China for two years. She now lives in her parents’ basement with her husband of five years and her two beautiful babies. She recently began blogging at The Abundant Wife about faith, family, debt, and unemployment.

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Brandy at Team Chandler emailed in the following testimonial which I thought many of you would enjoy reading:

About four years ago, I made the transition to become a work from home mom. While we technically still had a two-income family, my steady monthly teaching salary was replaced with an ever-changing monthly wage. At the same time, I realized that I wanted more to life than hours upon hours of work while my child (children now) was growing up before my eyes.

The changes we made were steady, but I began to see that time spent couponing was an investment not only in our budget but in our children’s lives. As I have seen us reduce our grocery budget yet still able to purchase many of the foods we want, it is exciting to know that I am working smarter, not longer, to make this happen.

I am often surprised now when I hear things like “I don’t have time for coupons” or “The only coupons I find are for junk food.” If I am able to go to my local grocery chain and save $100-200 off my grocery bill (that I would have purchased anyway), this is the equivalent to 13-27 hours working at minimum wage.

Since I would consider $15/hour a good wage in my area, a savings of $100-200 would be the equivalent to 6-12 hours of work. In some instances, this saves as much money as a part-time job would yield. And, it is time I can spend with my family instead!

In the last year, I estimate that I have saved anywhere from $200-1,000 a month by couponing and shopping sales or 13 to 66 hours of work time (at $15/hour), depending on how actively I was able to coupon for that particular month.

I have also found that there is more to couponing than just “junk food”. While we do buy junk food (and many other food items not considered junk using coupons), I find significant savings on everyday items like baby items, toilet paper, paper towels, personal hygiene products, dish liquid, detergent, and more well beyond just food items.

In addition to using these items as a family, it also helps us share with others whether it is a local drive in our community, a gift basket for a new mom or a missionary family, or it may be just to brighten up a neighbor’s day. It has become our family’s way to help and show love to others.

It really is a great feeling to know that I am able to save money while still providing for my family and sharing how I have been blessed with others.

Brandy is a work from home, mother of two, who loves spending time with her family, blogging about her family’s adventures at Team Chandler, couponing, and running.

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