Couponing

Ask the Readers: Selling extra coupons?

by Crystal on January 26, 2011

Today’s question is from Christy:

I used to coupon heavily, but do much less now since switching to a whole foods/organic approach last spring. I still get my weekly papers, and wondered if anyone had experience selling extras on eBay or through another method? I am the mother of a preschooler and work part-time so I have a little extra time. -Christy

Note: Comments left regarding the ethics of selling coupons will be deleted per our comment guidelines. Please keep your answers to the question asked. Thanks so much!

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Reader Tip: Couponing for a Friend

by Crystal on January 19, 2011

Wendy emailed in this great idea which some of you who have extra time and enjoy couponing might consider:

Now that I’ve been couponing a while, I’ve accumulated a good stash of toiletries and cleaning supplies — more than I need. It was killing me to pass up those really good deals and freebies, though, even though I have a year’s worth of shampoo already. (Getting good deals is addictive!)

My solution: teaming up! A friend of mine would really love to coupon but just doesn’t have the time, so she pays me $5 a week and I bring her a bag of surprises! I can still pick up almost-free items I don’t need, and I can pass on the free ones I won’t use. She gets $10-$20 worth of items for $5, and doesn’t have to spend the time clipping coupons. (She still buys specific items if she runs out, but that doesn’t happen often.)

It feels like I get to give her a present every week! Plus we have different “favorite brands” for several things, so I rarely have to choose whether to pass on something or keep it for myself.

It’s fun, it helps a friend out, and it makes me feel like I’m really getting my money’s worth out of my time spent couponing. What’s not to like? -Wendy

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In the Land of No Double Coupons: Skimp on Meat (Part 1)

by Crystal on September 14, 2010

Guest post by Clair Boone from Mummy Deals

In a land far, far away lives a group of people. While they’ve heard the stories of how others are getting free food by a practice known as “double couponing”, they’re not sure how it works. They’ve seen the phrase “Do Not Double” on select coupons but if asked to explain, they aren’t exactly sure they could.

Their budgets are stretched, their creativity is exhausted and when these “doublers” talk about their small grocery bill, the people in the land faraway roll their eyes and smile.

Welcome, folks, to the Land of No Double Coupons.

Whether it’s because I live right outside a big city or because the grocery store choices are too vast and therefore nobody needs to double, I’m not sure. But one thing is for sure: Nobody’s doubling around here, 35 minutes outside of Chicago.

A few months ago I participated in a focus group with Crystal and when asked the question, “What would you say if a big grocery store discontinued the double coupon program?” I didn’t hesitate and responded, “I’d say: Welcome to my world!”

Over the years I’ve learned to be creative with the budget, skimp and save. Even without doubles, our family of 3 lives on a weekly grocery budget of $50 including toiletries and diapers. For those of you in the same boat, here’s some food for thought:

1. Skimp on Meat

I have a man who loves meat and lots of it. Although my hubby would rather eat steak for every meal, it’s expensive and not healthy every night! I’ve learned how to skimp on meat without making it look like I’m doing so by stretching the meal. In other words, I add other cheap yet healthy ingredients and take out some of the meat.

  • I’ve been known to add rice or beans to a pan of taco meat to stretch it. I’m not a fan of beans but I know how good they are for me and disguising them in meat cuts down the cost and gets in some of the goodness.
  • Many people use Italian sausage for a whole variety of meals and yet by buying it as that, it’s more expensive than if you buy it as a whole sausage, take the casing off and cut it down.
  • Instead of defrosting a chicken breast/pork chop per person, if it’s going into a casserole I’ll add a little less and then just add more vegetables or side dishes.
  • Meatless Days are great to keep the budget in line and plain spaghetti with whole wheat noodles and homemade spaghetti sauce will bring a family of 4 way under $4 for the whole meal, even with salad!

A lot of these tips are depression era tips that I’ve learned from a group of older ladies at a Bible Study I attend. Back then, skimping on food and yet trying to be healthy was a way of life.

To be continued tomorrow…

She bought diapers for 20 cents a pack prompting her friends to ask her to start www.mummydeals.org to teach others how to save money.  She loves to use her couponing powers to buy things and donate them.  Originally from England Clair Boone is wife to an amazing man, Mum to a toddler and lives near Chicago.

Do you have an idea for a guest post? I am always looking for high-quality, original (i.e. not published anywhere else online) content with tips and ideas Money Saving Mom® readers can use. If you would like to submit a guest post, please follow the Guest Posting Guidelines.

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Eight Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Coupons — oh really?!

by Crystal on July 21, 2010

Yahoo Finance released an article earlier this week on 8 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Coupons. Articles like these always leave me shaking my head.

No offense to the author, but I believe she is very misinformed. A quick internet search would have proven most of her points invalid.

Of course, I’m biased as I believe everyone should use coupons in some way, shape or form. Unless you make half a million dollars each year and own an island, I believe you could benefit from using coupons — if even just to casually use them for a few products each week and shave $40 off your grocery budget every month.

Andrea did a great job of responding and rebutting each of the author’s points in her post. And, just for kicks, I thought I’d do the same. So here are the eight arguments for not using coupons from Yahoo along with my rebuttals:

Argument #1 You have to buy a newspaper.

My Rebuttal: Actually, I use lots of coupons and haven’t purchased a newspaper in over two years. Check out my article on 10 Ways to Get Coupons for Free.

Argument #2: Clipping coupons takes time.

My Rebuttal: Yes, clipping coupons takes time, but in most cases, it’s time very well spent. I mean, where else can you find a job you can do from your home that earns you $30-$50 per hour in tax-free savings?

To be honest, I really don’t spend any extra time clipping coupons. I bring my coupon box each week to a regular family gathering and clip and file while engaged in our discussions. I figure if my mouth and brain are going to be busy, I might as well keep my hands productive, too.

If you want to save even more time, try the no-coupon-clipping method of using coupons.

Argument #3: Getting a newspaper invites lots of additional advertising into your home.

My Rebuttal: Who says you have to bring the whole newspaper into your home? We don’t. We only bring coupon inserts to be clipped.

Argument #4: Many of the coupons will be for things you neither need nor want.

My Rebuttal: Yes, and that’s why there’s this thing called a trashcan. No one says you have to clip and use every coupon — especially if you didn’t pay for them. Use the coupons which work for you, toss the rest.

However, I’d also argue that if you’re willing to try new things which are free, almost-free or more-than-free, you might discover some new products you love! Or, if you have the time and energy, you could also consider buying things you can get for free or more-than-free with coupons and donating them if you won’t use them.

Argument #5: Coupons can tempt you to spend your grocery dollars on things you shouldn’t.

My Rebuttal: If coupons are tempting you to spend your grocery dollars on things you shouldn’t, you might consider not going grocery shopping because just walking down a grocery store aisle can tempt you to spend all sorts of money you shouldn’t spend. One reason you need to learn self discipline is that, otherwise, you’ll likely spend money on things you shouldn’t all the rest of your life.

My advice is to create a grocery budget and shop with cash in order to help encourage self-discipline. After all, it’s pretty hard to spend a lot of money you don’t have at the grocery store when you have a budget and pay with cash!

Argument #6: The same coupons tend to be offered over and over again.

My Rebuttal: Seriously, has this author ever even clipped coupons before? Yes, there are some coupons that you see regularly, but the whole point of coupons is very often to introduce new products. So there is a wide variety of coupons offered — especially with the advent of printable coupons and coupons offered through Facebook.

And at any rate, I like it when great coupons which net free or almost-free products appear again and again. It enables me to keep my pantry and stockpile filled for pennies on the dollar!

Argument #7: You might become a slave to coupons.

In explaining her point, the author says:

“It can be very difficult to buy something without a coupon once you get used to using coupons. Knowing that you can get ice cream for $2.50 might make it difficult for you to spend $4 on it…”

My Rebuttal: Okay, I admit it. I’m a Coupon Slave. Because seriously? Who pays $4 for ice cream? It’s very rare we ever pay over $2 for it!

Jesting aside, she does have a point here. It is possible to become so obsessed with coupons and bargain-shopping that you spend excessive amounts of time planning and shopping.  That’s why I always suggest you consider how much time you realistically have to invest and how much you are saving per hour.

If your other priorities are suffering or you are saving less than $15 per hour, you need to step back and take a look at how to streamline things so couponing is more effective and rewarding for you and your family.

Argument #8: Shopping takes longer.

My Rebuttal: It can, but it doesn’t have to. If you take the time to plan a menu and plan your shopping trip, you can actually save time on shopping and meal prep.

How? Because having a plan and following the plan is always going to save you time and effort when compared to having no plan and just flying by the seat of your pants. Instead of waiting until 5 p.m. to figure out dinner and then running to the store to pick up things to make dinner, you can write out a menu for the whole week and make one big shopping trip to buy everything.

Now, of course, if you enjoy couponing and see it as your hobby (a hobby that saves your family money, too!), you can spend more time grocery shopping than average folks do. But usually, the savings you’ll reap is also very significant. (And if it’s not, then you likely need to see my point above about re-prioritizing!).

Whew! There’s so much more I could say on each of these points. It was hard to condense my rebuttals to a paragraph or two. But I figured I’d leave it at that and let you chime in.

Do you agree with any of the author’s arguments for why you shouldn’t use coupons? Why or why not? I’d love to hear!

photo credit: Miss Messie

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Sneak preview of Sunday’s coupon inserts

by Crystal on July 10, 2010

Wondering what coupons will be in Sunday’s newspaper inserts? Head over to the Sunday Coupon Preview to get the full scoop on all the coupons which should be in the two coupon inserts coming out.

New to using coupons and cutting your grocery budget? Check out my series “31 Days to a Better Grocery Budget” to for helpful hints and tips.

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Q&A Tuesday: How Do You Calculate Your Savings?

by Crystal on July 06, 2010

I’ve been receiving your emails for a few months and was wondering how you calculate your savings? I went to Publix today and spent $37.07. The bottom of the receipt said I had Store Coupons of $6.81, Vendor Coupons of $7.70 and Special Price Savings of $18.94 = Savings Summary of $34.45. So, did I save over 40% on my groceries or do I only count the savings from the coupons I used? Thanks! -April

Guess what, April? In my opinion, there’s no “right” or “wrong” way to calculate savings and everyone has a bit of a different method to doing so.

I find it fun to see my total percentage of savings based upon retail, pre-coupon price vs. post-coupon, sales price. Of course, most of the prices are much higher than I’d ever pay (I mean, come on, we all know better than to pay retail, right?!), so it’s not exactly an accurate representation of true savings. But, it’s still rewarding and fun to see an 85% or 99% savings shown at the bottom of the receipt! :)

However, how much you spend matters so much more than how much you save. So I’d encourage you to set a grocery budget and focus more on sticking with that grocery budget, rather than getting overly focused on how much you save.

In the long run, consistently sticking with a grocery budget is likely going to save you a significant more amount of money than just concentrating on having large percentages of savings on your receipts.

Just for fun: How do you calculate your savings?

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Coupon Terms and Abbreviations

by Crystal on June 30, 2010

When you’re first learning the ropes of using coupons, it can seem like you’re learning a foreign language. Here are some of the most-used terms and abbreviations used by seasoned couponers on blogs, in forums and elsewhere:

$1/1, etc. :: Indicates the value of a coupon, $1 off 1 item in this instance but could be any value, $4/2 ($4 off 2 items), $0.25/1 ($0.25 off 1) etc.
AC :: After coupon
AR :: After rebate
Blinkie :: Coupon dispensed from a box attached to a store shelf. The term “blinkie” comes from the box which sometimes has a blinking light.
BOGO, B1G1, B1G1F :: Buy One Get One free
BTFE :: Box Tops for Education
B&M :: Refers to a “brick & mortar” store (as opposed to an online store)
CAT, Catalina :: Coupons which print at the register after your purchase is made. These can usually be used like cash on your next purchase. However, if the say “manufacturer’s coupon” on them, you should be able to use them at any store although YMMV (see below). ;)
CPN :: Coupon
CRT :: Cash register tape — often referring to coupons at the bottom of your receipt.
DND :: Do Not Double
Double Coupon :: A coupon which can be doubled in value
ECB :: Extra Care Bucks (CVS, prints on receipt)
ETA :: Edited to Add
ETS :: Excludes Trial Size
FAR :: Free After Rebate
Filler :: An item or items you buy in order to get your total up to a certain amount in order to use a percentage off coupon
FS :: Free shipping
GC :: Gift card/gift certificate
GDA :: Good Deal Alert
GM :: General Mills
HTH :: Hope That Helps
In-Ad :: Coupons that come in the weekly store ad, most likely found by the entrance of that particular store.
IVC :: Instant Value Coupon (Walgreens, found in the monthy EasySaver booklet)
IPQ, IP :: Internet Printable coupon
MFG, MFR :: Manufacturer
MQ :: Manufacturer’s Coupon
MIR :: Mail-In Rebate
NED :: No expiration date
OOP :: Out of Pocket
OOS :: Out of Stock
OYNO :: On Your Next Order
P&G :: Proctor & Gamble coupon insert found in the Sunday newspaper
Peelie :: Coupon attached to an item’s packaging which can be peeled off
PSA :: Prices Starting At
Q :: Coupon
Regional :: A coupon or deal available in only a specific area
RP :: Red Plum coupon insert found in the Sunday newspaper
RR :: Register Rewards (Walgreens, which print with receipt)
SCR :: Single Check Rebate (Rite Aid)
SS :: Smart Source coupon insert found in the Sunday newspaper
Stacking :: Using a manufacturer’s coupon in addition to a store coupon for an even lower price
Tear pad :: A pad of rebate forms or coupons attached to a store shelf
TMF :: Try Me Free
Triple Coupon :: A coupon which can be tripled in value
UPC :: Universal Product Code (a.k.a. bar code)
UPR :: Up Rewards, a coupon you can earn on your register receipt at Rite Aid
WSL :: While Supplies Last
WT, Winetag :: A coupon hanging on the package of a product
WYB :: When You Buy
V :: Valassis coupon insert found in Sunday newspaper (same as RP or Red Plum insert)
YMMV :: Your Mileage May Vary (in other words, you may or may not be successful with a particular deal at your store)

Did I miss any abbreviations or terms? Share them in the comments or ask for clarification if there’s a term you don’t understand what it means.

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31 Days to a Better Grocery Budget: How to Maximize Your Savings With Coupons

by Crystal on May 19, 2010

Missed the first posts this series? Read them here.

We’ve talked about why you should use coupons, how to obtain coupons and how to organize coupons. However, those things alone won’t help you cut your grocery bill unless you know how to maximize your savings with coupons. So today, I want to help you take this new-found coupon knowledge and put it into practice — to your greatest advantage.

Take Babysteps

You hear me say this a lot. But I think it bears repeating: please take baby steps when you start couponing. Do not go buy 10 newspapers, get a big honkin’ coupon box, and spend 5 hours clipping coupons when you’ve never used coupons in your life. You’ll overwhelm yourself, take an enormous amount of time and probably end up exhausted and burnt out — before you’ve even saved a penny on your groceries!

Start with a few newspaper inserts and a small coupon organizer. Check out the deals at your local store (you can find weekly deals for almost all regional stores in the Store Deals section of our website). Pick a few of the best deals that you have coupons for and can use and work those into your grocery trip.

Once you’ve gotten accustomed to matching a few coupons with a few deals, take it step farther and start looking for more coupon sources and try planning a menu based upon what’s on sale at the store. Once you’re comfortable with that, start practicing the Buy Ahead Principle.

Learning things gradually will help you to stay sane, save money and time and really determine what works best for your own family.

Prioritize Your Bargain-Shopping Based Upon Your Family’s Needs

There are often many more savings opportunities than time and it’s easy to lose track of this when you get caught up in the excitement of saving! Time is money, too, so always remember that it’s okay to not hit every deal.

In fact, I encourage you to cherry pick: focus on the best deals that week for items you need. Meaning, if you already have 10 tubes of toothpaste but are almost out of shampoo, prioritize shampoo deals over toothpaste deals. If you have extra time and extra wiggle room in your grocery budget, than you can definitely stock up on other great deals, but focus on feeding your family first.

How Much You Spend Matters More Than How Much You Save

A 75% savings on your grocery bill may sound impressive, but the 25% spent is what matters most. Stick to your grocery budget — even when it means passing up good deals — and you’ll see much greater savings in the long run.

In addition, when you commit to not going over budget, you’ll find that you focus on only getting the best deals and you’ll more easily be able to pass up a nominal deal because it’s not in the budget.

What tricks and tips do you have for maximizing your savings when using coupons? I’d love to hear!

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Are Coupons Just for Crazy People?

by Crystal on April 15, 2010

As you well know, I believe everyone should use coupons in some context. Well, if you’re still skeptical, Kris from Cheap Healthy Good has written an excellent article which you must go read. Here’s a snippet:

When you think of couponing, what’s the first thing that pops into your head? Is it GoGurt? Is it a planet-sized binder and never-ending stack of circulars? Is it a crazy cat lady, forever in search of the single slip of paper that will net her 14 free packets of McCormick fajita seasoning?

It’s understandable. Long stereotyped as the favorite pastime of bargain-happy grandmas and moms of 47, clipping coupons gets a pretty bad rap. Many believe it gets you minimal deals on junky food. I didn’t touch coupons for years, figuring the time it took to collect them was disproportionate to the amount of money they saved.

Now I know better. While I still buy groceries primarily based on the circular, I’ve come to realize that a simple, no-frills approach to couponing nets good money for little time investment. I don’t freak out, I don’t buy rainbow-colored faux food, and I save a couple hundred bucks each year. Not too shabby.

Read the full article.

photo credit: Always Breaking

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