Monday 11/30/09: An example of getting something for 'free'

Whenever I pull off an amazing deal, I'll post in on here as sort of a case study in how to stumble on or plan a great buy. Friday we were on the road to visit relatives and I needed to get Bonine (an anti-motion sickness medicine) so I could grade papers (I'm a teacher) in the car. So we stopped at Walgreens. It also happened that I'd forgotten my deoderant on the trip. I thought, well, I have some deoderant coupons, and I like to have a backup for when the other runs out because I hate running out of deoderant. So I stopped by the deoderant and was reminded by the sale tags that the new Dove Ultimate was priced at $3.99 with a $4 Register Reward. I have written about being careful with Register Rewards, but there are times when they do work well. I picked it up and went and got the Walgreens version of Bonine, which is about $6 a pack. So since what I really needed was more than the Register Rewards, this is how it worked: I took them both to the register, and said I wanted to pay for them separately. I bought the deoderant for $4.26 (tax) and received a coupon for $4 off my "next purchase." Then she scanned the medicine, I handed her the coupon, and I paid my $2 left over. So I got what I had gone in for, which I would have bought regardless of the price, and got Dove deoderant for $0.26.
(Incidentally, it would've been better if I'd had a coupon for Dove, but all I had was Secret and Suave.)

I'll probably miss Sundays fairly often

Sundays around our house is a pretty quiet, reflective day, and as a rule we don't turn on the TV or get on facebook or the like, so just warning you I should've named the blog "Coupon Tip of Most Days except Sunday."

Saturday 11/28/09: Buy for next Thanksgiving

The best time to buy anything for any holiday is within a week after the same holiday the previous year. So if you're into decorating for Thanksgiving, or you were thinking how nice it would be to have a pretty fall platter at this year's dinner, head out to Hobby Lobby, Michael's, AC Moore, drug stores, department stores, etc., and get at least 50% off Thanksgiving decor and supplies for next year. This is how I get all my Christmas decorations, and I'm developing quite a store of great stuff. After a week the items left aren't the best selection, but also after a few days the store will keep cutting the price, often up to 80% off within two weeks.

Friday, 11/27/09: Black Friday-power hours get extended

It's time to head out to shop! As you shop today and plan where you're going, consider that stores that are very busy will often extend their "power hours" or whatever they call them because of the volume of customers who arrived before the hours ended but haven't made it through the looooong line yet. I know for sure this happens at Kohl's. Also, if you get to a place right before their hours end, ask an associate if you can still get the sale price even though it will be after the power hours when you get to the register. They want to make the sale so I'm betting they'll acquiesce. How much money you save is often up to you and how assertive you're willing to be!

Thursday 11/26/09: Black Friday-file your rebates immediately

Rebates are great, and the reason that companies think they're great is that many people don't bother to file them. With more and more online filing of rebates (I've done Staples and RiteAid recently) it's so easy--DO IT. I mean as soon as you get home tomorrow, go online and file all your rebates. The way I do it, I put the item on my credit card and file the rebate immediately, so I get the money back before I pay my credit card bill. So I actually don't spend any of my own money and it functions exactly like a coupon.

Wednesday, 11/25/09: Black Friday tips-read the fine print

It's almost time for one of the biggest shopping days of the year! As you head out this Friday (which I will NOT be doing for the first time in a few years!) I have a few tips for you. First, read the fine print on all the sale papers with offers you're interested in. Check out how many items the store will have so you can plan where you need to be first. See if the computer comes with no software so you'll have to buy $500 of software to use it for anything. Look for quantity limits, and time limits (i.e. the deal is only 5-11 a.m. or whatever). Remember, all sales and advertising are designed to get you to spend money on specific products. That's not bad, because if you need a product you're going to buy it one way or another. Just be sure that you're spending the amount of money you planned (or less) on the products you want, without spending more because you missed the hidden rules.

Tuesday 11/24/09: Thanksgiving week-it's all on sale

Sorry I missed yesterday-family in town and all that!

In honor of Thanksgiving I want to make a few comments this week about Thanksgiving week shopping. First, understand that grocery stores are competing to sell you Thanksgiving food this week. So, everything you can think of eating for Thanksgiving is going to be on sale everywhere. Your task is to look at sale papers, look at your coupons, and look for the best sales. You'll be exceeding your typical food budget this week so it's worth the time to save extra!

Sunday 11/22/09: Throw away the coupon if the alternative's cheaper

If you're going to be a good couponer, that means you're not going to fall prey to the purpose of coupons--to get you to spend money you wouldn't otherwise have spent on a product you don't really need or want. To that end, marketers will do anything to convince you that you must have their product above all others. Even couponing itself becomes a ploy because you think you must be getting a good deal because you used a coupon. Don't believe it. Always look at all the alternative items before you decide on a purchase. If the generic store brand is cheaper even using the coupon, ditch the coupon and buy the store brand. This is especially true with medicine, to me. Almost any acetometaphin product is the same as Tylenol, so why pay three times the price for Tylenol? Seriously, I have seen Tylenol cost triple the generic, the exact same product.
On the other hand, if you don't like the generic or alternative, or have a particular affinity for the brand, feel free to buy it. I will not buy generic canned corn. I just don't like it as well. The point is to make an educated decision and be pleased with the savings you're getting.

Saturday 11/21: Watch coupon rules-Buy this, get that

Occasionally there will be a coupon that allows you to save off of two separate items, or to buy one and get a different one free or at a discount. I rarely cut these out because I rarely need both items, and if you stop to calculate the actual savings, it's not much. The odds that I'll need both items, find them both on sale, and have the coupon be high enough to be a significant savings are small. Also, one of the items is normally higher-priced than a similar brand (e.g. you have to get Carnation canned milk when Eagle is cheaper). However, if you know you'll buy both items, better to save some than nothing. Just make sure you get the right items at the right sizes to get the advertised savings.

Friday, 11/20/09: Watch coupon rules-sizes and weights

Another reason a store might reject your coupon is if you haven't purchased the right size or weight of the product. For example, right now I have a coupon for Reynolds foil because I may need some soon. But, it's only good for certain sizes (the larger ones, actually, which is typical). Now, at my grocery store they won't usually catch or refuse a coupon because of the size. They're in too much of a hurry and they remember seeing the item, so they override it and move on. But to me that's dishonest so I try not to do it, and at your store they might be a little more careful about it. Again, you may end up in a situation where you're tempted to say, "Oh go ahead and get it anyway," in which case you've paid more than you wanted to and the coupon failed your purpose.

Thursday 11/19/09: Watch coupon rules-expiration dates

I don't know if all stores are like this, but the grocery store where I shop will catch via computer when a coupon is expired and won't allow you to use it (which makes sense). So make sure all your coupons are valid, if the store cares. Otherwise you'll be tempted to say, "oh, just put it in anyway," in which case another marketing aspect of coupons has worked on you--you've bought the product without a discount. I go through all of my coupons shortly after the 1st of the month to throw out all the ones I haven't used that have expired. And I look at them and think, "all those coupons represent money I didn't spend." So throwing them out is not a bad thing!

Wednesday 11/18/09: BOGO plus 2 coupons

You might think that if you need/want two of something, and they're buy-one-get-one, you can only use one coupon because the other is "free." Well, it's not really free, you're paying half-price for each, and you can certainly use two coupons. Think about say, a side dish from Country Crock. If they're typically $5, and they're on sale as a BOGO, and you have two coupons for $1 each, you're getting $10 worth of side dishes for $3- 70% off. That's smart couponing!

Tuesday 11/17/09: Shop where BOGO means 50% off

The most annoying thing to me about Walgreens, my favorite drugstore, is that when something is "two for $__" or "buy one get one," you actually have to buy two in order to get that price. Check out your local store to see if "buy one get one free" really means 50% off. At Kroger, it does. Don't be tricked into buying two when you only need one. If they're $4, and it's BOGO, it rings up as $2 each. Even better if you have a coupon, or two... but that's for tomorrow!

Monday 11/16/09: Know what's a sale

Off the top of my head, the stores that make a whole lot of money on this type of gimmick are Hobby Lobby and Kohl's. Their "regular retail" price is outrageous, but any given week almost everything in the store is 33-50% "off". And just to make you really think you're getting a deal, every so often it's actually full price. Part of smart shopping is knowing what a real sale is, and knowing what a good price is, not necessarily believing what the store is telling you. They're playing off of research that says people will buy things "on sale" no matter what the price, just because it's a "sale."
At the grocery store, my best example of this is Tyson Anytizers. My husband and I like to use the boneless buffalo wings to make buffalo chicken salad, so we occasionally buy them, and I can tell you I have never seen them NOT "on sale." My coupon gets me a good price, but I'm not fooled--I know I'm not really saving as much as Kroger says I am.

Sunday 11/15/09: "Do not double" doesn't mean anything

As I wrote yesterday, you should shop at a store that will double your coupons. But what about a coupon for 50 cents that says "Do not double" on the top? Doesn't mean anything. A store that doubles coupons will still give you the bonus amount. I *think* the difference is that in one, the manufacturer pays the doubling, and in the other case, the store does, but regardless of the reason, be assured that your store will still double a coupon 50 cents or lower if it says "Do not double" on the top.

Saturday 11/14/09: Shop where they'll double your coupons

This seems almost intuitive, but you should always shop at a place that will double your coupons, IF your coupon is for 50 cents or less. Every once in a blue moon Kmart will double coupons up to $2.00 but that's the only time I know of a place that doubles coupons over 50 cents. Where I used to live a store would sometimes have a special triple coupon day.

Find out who doubles coupons and go there!

Friday, 11/13/09: sign up for special offers

Are you one of those people who always clicks "decline" "no, thanks" "skip this" on websites asking for your email and/or mailing address. So was I. Not anymore. If you regularly use a particular kind of item, check out the company's (companies') website(s) to see if they have a "club" for savings offers--most do. Huggies, for example, typically puts coupons up to $1.50 off of diapers periodically in the newspaper insert. In their mailings, however, their coupons are often $3 off one package. That's how I got the great deal on Huggies I talked about earlier this week. You just won't get coupons with that high a value in the paper. Pampers also has a club and they sent me coupons just a couple of days ago. This morning I checked my email to discover a coupon for $5 in Borders Bucks in my email (and unlike Barnes & Noble, the Borders Rewards program is free). Even Kellogg's has an e-newsletter for promotions and special offers.
Think about where you shop and what you spend money on, and start surfing!

Thursday 11/12/09: Use internet offers

Don't forget to take advantage of internet offers! For example, for the next three days you can get a $25 gift certificate to a restaurant on Restaurant.com for $2 by entering the code 'ENTREE' before checking out. Now, you do have to spend $35 to use the certificate, and you do need to remember to tip 18%, but still in the end you're getting a $35 dinner out for about half that. Then, after you've bought one coupon, Restaurant.com will email you when they run new sales. Remember, the newspaper isn't the only place for good coupons!

Wednesday 11/11/09: Undo your brand loyalty

Brand loyalty is the term advertisers use to describe the situation where a certain brand has won you over, so you keep buying that brand. It's especially common with cars and clothes. Once a Toyota owner, always a Toyota owner, and so forth.
If you're serious about saving money, you've got to get out of the mindset that you have to have a certain brand of everything. Now, for some things I really do. I love my Schick Quattro Pro razor. Generic canned corn tastes weird to me. But as much as you can, resolve that you will get whatever offers you the best deal. I promise, regardless of ad campaigns, Crest is every bit as effective as Colgate--if you doubt it, read the endorsement by the ADA on the box. I prefer Coffeemate, but when International Delight is having a good sale and I have a coupon, I switch because saving money is more important that exercising my brand loyalty. And don't invent brand loyalty out of what the advertisers say. Ignore Swanson broth commercials and look on the Progresso and even store brand broth cans to see that no, they do not have MSG either, and work just as well in recipes.
As you're clipping coupons, this plays out by clipping several coupons of similar items. Clip both Progresso and Campbells. Clip both Colgate and Crest. You never know which one will be the closest to free next time you need it.

Tuesday 11/10/09: Give it time

Today's tip is to give yourself time to 1) collect the right amount of the right coupons and 2) improve your coupon-using skills. I estimate it will take you about three months to build up a good collection of coupons. Remember you want a variety of coupons for the things you typically use. I categorize things largely as food, household items, or extras. (Actually I have a fourth category--baby stuff.) Extras are things like portrait package coupons (I do have a baby!) and restaurant coupons (we like to hit Cold Stone once in a blue moon).

Keep getting those papers, clipping, organizing, and you'll have the collection of a pro in no time!

Monday 11/9/09: Beware of Extra Bucks & Register Rewards

Or, how Rite-Aid beats Walgreens and CVS.

Don't get me wrong, I love Walgreens. I think it's my brand loyalty. I get this warm fuzzy feeling when I go in. But Walgreens and CVS each have this 'rewards' program where you buy a certain amount of stuff and get "money" to spend on your next purchase. But lately I've seen two news stories, like this one, where women have claimed that by using these rewards (and similar ones at grocery stores) you can get stuff for 'free.' Not true. These programs, like anything else, are designed to get you to spend money and think you're getting stuff for free. In fact, CVS will tell you in their ad "$5.95-$5.95 in Extra Bucks, like getting it for free!"

Not true. The fact is that you paid $6 (plus tax) for whatever it is you bought, and IF you use it immediately (recommended) or come back before the ECB or RR expire, you'll get that much off your next purchase. Which means you didn't get anything for free, you paid $3 for each thing. Now, if you really need all the things you bought, then this is a good deal. My experience, though, is that these rewards are on things I don't need or want in the amount offered, or that there isn't enough more that I need that I can spend them on within the allotted time. I don't need $25 worth of Garnier products, but that's how much they want me to spend in order to get $5 in ECB. So I'm not getting $5 off, I'm spending $20 on stuff I don't need.

Rite-Aid is better because their offer is an actual rebate. The only thing is you need to be sure to file it, as soon as you get home. This way, I get the money back usually before I even have to pay for the stuff on my credit card. That's how last month Rite-Aid paid me $1 for a tube of toothpaste. They had a rebate for the entire amount, and I had a $1 coupon. Also I got 3 packages of Huggies, normally $11 each, for $5 TOTAL. Huggies offered a $10 rebate, I had $9 in coupons, and Rite-Aid had their Fall Gift of Savings program (and accidentally sent me two $5 rebates).

Shop rebates before ECB or RR, and if you do use the ECB and RR, make sure that BOTH purchases are items you'll actually use, combine with manufacturer's coupons (this is allowed!), and use the rewards immediately.

Sunday 11/8/09: Beware of "buy one get one"

As I look through the paper today, my tip is about looking through sale papers. I know it's hard to believe (lol) but sale papers are designed to get you to spend money. Everything is a ploy for companies to make money. They're counting on you not being one of the few who knows how to turn everything to your financial advantage... which I know you can do! So on the front page of the CVS insert, I find out that Loreal lip color is buy one, get one. Plus there are coupons for $1. I have two because I bought two papers. So I can get 2 lipsticks for $3.99 ($5.99, plus one free, - $2 in coupons). This is a really good deal for Loreal lipstick. If you wear lipstick. I have to admit I'm very tempted by this deal, but I wear lipstick perhaps once a month, and anything I need, my lipstick-addict mom can supply me with. So if I take advantage of this great deal, I've just spent $4 I didn't need to spend.

Don't get sucked in to the marketing ploys!

Saturday 11/7/09: Clip what you'll use

Ok, so you've got your papers, you've taken out the grocery & drug store sale ads and coupon inserts (and hopefully recycled the rest), now what?

As you go through, it takes some discipline and time to cut the right coupons. Refuse to clip coupons for things you know you won't need or want. I do not use disposable razors. I can't stand them. So, even though you can get them for free sometimes, I never clip those coupons. My husband doesn't use shaving gel. I have a migraine sensitivity to anything strongly-scented, so I don't use candles or continual air fresheners. I don't like to keep desserts in the house, so unless it's a special occasion I don't buy cookie mixes or frozen pies.

Remember, as great as coupons can be, they're still a marketing ploy to get you to buy something. Saving 40% still means you spent 60%.

Shared post: Ten things you should never pay for

Be sure to check out this post over on Saving Your Cents. Once you get really into this you will be surprised at the things you're getting for free or almost free! E.g. in my shopping trip this week I got Land o'lakes butter for free and paid $0.17 for pancake mix.

Friday, 11/06/09: First newspaper of the month

Have you noticed that the first Saturday of the month is the biggest one for yardsales? Well, the same is true for coupons. The first weekend of the month, unless there's a holiday (like Labor Day), is typically the biggest one for coupons. Occasionally there are as many as five coupon inserts that Sunday, but the norm is three for us here, one RedPlum, one SmartSource, and one P&G brandsaver. So on the first Sunday you'll definitely want to buy two unless it's a holiday. The coupon value that day is usually well over $300.

Thursday 11/5/09: Don't buy two newspapers

Does your newspaper tell you how many coupons are inside?

On the outside of our newspaper, the Louisville Courier-Journal, in the top right corner, there's a red box that says "$145 in coupons inside!" or something to that effect. When there are no coupons, no box.

In this tip I'm amending the previous one to buy two newspapers. If there is less than $200 worth of coupons inside the paper, I only buy one, because I can be pretty sure there aren't enough coupons I'll actually use to justify the cost of two papers. If there are over $200, I'll buy two.

Wednesday 11/4/09: Buy two newspapers

Today's tip:

Almost every Sunday, you should buy two of the largest local newspaper. This will get you two of each coupon inside.

Exception:
There are usually no coupons released on holiday weekends, so don't buy a paper. You can view sale papers online so the newspaper isn't worth it for that.

Welcome! (to myself)

I've been asked by a lot of friends to start sharing information about how I use coupons and sales to save lots of money in this difficult economy.

A little bit about me: I'm an almost-30 mom of a 6-month-old baby girl, wife to the best husband on the planet, making our way through life here in Kentucky. My husband and I are both working part-time now since the baby was born, and things are really tight. So, we tightened with them. I'm on a quest to get the most I can for the least amount of money.

I'm a realistic person. You aren't going to find too much here about getting $200 worth of groceries for five cents, or how to get paid to shop. I always look at those stories and think, I want to know more. What kind of food did they get? Are they eating beans with chocolate bars? Canned meat with no spices? I mean, if you're going to get pancake mix, you're usually going to want some syrup, right? I want to feed my family well, but at the best price, and that's what this is about. As an example, earlier this week I went to the store and got $240 worth of groceries for $132, a savings of 40%, real food including meat, sides, vegetables, and even desserts, to feed us for at least 3 weeks.

Anyway, welcome and here we go!