It's a myth: Don't buy non-grocery items at the grocery store

Sometimes news websites or TV programs will run tips on how to save money at the store, and often one of them is that you shouldn't buy non-grocery items at the grocery store.  And it's true, if you wander down the toiletries or cleaning products aisle, the items at their full price are often ridiculously high.  But you certainly shouldn't make this a rule.  The grocery store runs sales on their non-grocery products just as much as on grocery items, and you can of course always use coupons, with the added benefit that the coupon will be doubled.

As an example, a couple of weeks ago Proctor and Gamble ran a sale on their products in conjunction with Kroger.  The items were on sale to begin with, but then if you bought $25 worth, you got $5 off.  I bought a box of diapers, a container of baby wipes, and Swiffer dry refills, with coupons for all of them.  I had $4 in coupons (counting the double bonus) so I got them all for $16, and the box of diapers alone is usually $19.  I had needed Swiffer refills for weeks but I was waiting for a coupon/combo sale and was glad it came along.  They put the box of refills on sale for $4 and I had a coupon that doubled to $1.  Typically you cannot find a box of Swiffer refills anywhere for $3.  The point is that the important thing is the price, and you never know where you'll get a good price for what.  Including buying grocery items at a drug store... which is another post. :)

Best ways to get items for free, #1

Despite what Kohl's advertising says, "getting paid to shop" is fairly difficult to orchestrate, but it can be done.  One of the easiest ways to do it is to save a coupon for an item that is seasonal or comes in a seasonal package until after the season has passed and the item is on clearance.  This works with candy, cookies, anything that is marketed for particular season.  Last week I needed coffee creamer.  Coffeemate is my favorite and I had two 50-cent coupons I'd been saving until after Christmas.  Sure enough, Kroger had discounted the Christmas flavors to 25 cents each.  There were only 3 left, and they were gingerbread (my favorite is peppermint mocha), but still.  I bought all three of them, paid 75 cents, and used the coupons, which were doubled and so worth $2. So Coffeemate paid $1.25 of my grocery bill in exchange for taking home 3 creamers.  Fun times.

Defining 'high value coupon'

Off and on I use the term "high value coupon" and I want to let you know what I mean by that. For me, a "high value coupon" is a coupon worth at least 20% of the item's cost (or 10% if the coupon can be doubled). A 25-cent coupon off of 2 packages or 1 large package of Cottonelle bath tissue is not a high-value coupon because at the store where I shop those large packages are typically at least $8. Sometimes it also depends on what you like to buy. A 25-cent coupon off of 4 cans of Campbell's condensed soups is not, to me, a high-value coupon because 1) I don't use enough to warrant buying 4 cans very often 2) these soups almost never go on sale and when they do it's like 19 cents off the regular price and 3) the coupons are almost never good on the cream soups, which are the only ones I buy because I like them for recipes.
BUT, a 25-cent coupon off of Daisy sour cream is a high-value coupon, because the item will occasionally go on sale for $1 per container, and after the coupon is doubled, you've saved 50% off of the sale price and more like 80% off of retail.

Changing the name

I'm tired of posting dates in the title and feeling guilty when I miss a day when I know from my analytics that my blog gets visited about twice a week, period, LOL, so I'm changing the name and format. Just going to call it Coupon Tips and post normal titles. I'll still try to make a short post every day though. :)

Saturday 1/9/10: It's not a deal if you don't use it

One of the news stories I've seen about women who use coupons to "get $$$ of groceries for a penny!" showed a mom whose pantry was stocked floor to ceiling with boxes and cans of food she'd gotten for "free or almost free." A bit of a sensational claim I have a few issues with, but the point in this tip is that her pantry was stuffed full of food that was just sitting there. I recognized a lot of it because as you become experienced in using coupons you know that there is a certain set of items that you can get for very low prices because from time to time they go on a very good sale that you can combine with a high-value coupon. The food in her pantry was that--bags of Knorr sides. Boxes of Suddenly Pasta Salad. She said "if my boys are hungry they know this is where the food is." But I don't know any teenage boys who are going to go in the kitchen and whip up a Suddenly Pasta Salad. I don't know this is the case, but it looked like as time went on she found "good deals," bought items, and packed them into every corner of her pantry. But my feeling is that if I paid 50 cents for a bag of cheese, and then I don't use it because I didn't have any plans for it and forgot it was there or whatever reason, it wasn't a good deal--it was a waste of 50 cents.

Thursday 1/7/10: Don't be afraid to stock up

If you see a great sale and have multiple coupons for an item, don't be afraid to get a bunch of them. I tend to shy away from getting a lot of one item because I know someone who goes to the store and buys 2 cans of canned milk to make potatoes, just in case there isn't any left, then uses 1, and does the same thing the next time she makes potatoes. Result- her pantry is full of cans of canned milk and a dozen other items she does the same thing with. But as I've gotten to know how much things that I buy and use cost, and how often they go on sale and/or appear in the coupons, I know that when a big sale comes along I need to take advantage of it. This has happened before with Wanchai Ferry and Romano Grill box meal-helpers. I ended up with 4 each, and we ate them over a period of about 2 months, but I got them at a ridiculous price (about 70% off), and that kind of sale hasn't come up since and we used them all. Skintimate shave gel is my favorite--I'd much rather use it than the store brand, but can't bring myself to pay the retail price for it when the store brand is so much cheaper. So when a sale/coupon combo allowed me to get them for $1 each, I got 4. That'll last me 6 months--I still have 2 on the shelf--but I'll use them all, and again, the sale hasn't happened since. When a great price comes along, it's a waste of future money NOT to stock up, if you have enough coupons to make it worth it.

Wednesday 1/6/10: Don't get discouraged by success stories

As I write this I'm watching a woman on the Today Show who is known as the "coupon mom." Her advice is better than others I've seen, just because it's more realistic. Still, at the beginning, she did go on the requisite stunning shopping trip where she "got $100 worth of groceries for a quarter!"

Remember, stories like this are designed to stun you. First, WHAT did she buy? You can't eat 4 tubes of toothpaste. Potatoes and ice cream do not make a meal. Also, what coupons from previous promotions did she use? She even mentioned getting a $5 coupon back for buying 9 items from a certain manufacturer. If she was using that kind of coupon (and I'm sure she was), then she spent money previously to get it. I did this the other day. I went to Rite Aid and got Loreal shampoo and facial cleanser, 100 Tylenol, and 11 bars of Irish Spring (the only soap my husband will use--I can't get him to undo his brand loyalty, lol!) for $2.61, but I'm getting a $3 refund check back so really they paid me $0.39. But I was using a rebate check and a rebate certificate worth $17 for which I had previously spent a certain amount of money there. So really it wasn't completely free.

The "coupon mom" mentioned that realistically you should be able to save 30-50% off your grocery bill, and that's a good guideline. You're not going to get your groceries for free. There are almost never coupon for milk or eggs or produce. It's very difficult to get cereal for less than $1.50 a box. Sometimes you need baby food and nothing's on sale and your coupons are lousy. Last night I spent $50 at the store and my savings on the receipt said 17%, which is abysmal for me. I did get some things as manager's specials that didn't register in that percentage, but still I don't think it would've been more than 25%.

Another thing, this woman was at a store that would double high-value coupons, and I haven't found a store in my area that will double them over $0.50. So the point is to have realistic expectations about what you can do with the time and resources you have, and be happy you're saving (any) money!