coupon basics

Let's start with something everyone already knows about: coupons. These are not just for your mom. Smart people use coupons. You can often buy stuff for pennies with coupons vs. paying full price. It is a big myth that the time taken to use them is not cost effective. Here is how to do it.

SAVE: Clip every coupon you find for products that you use or would like to try. Forget brand loyalty. The best source is the shiny Sunday coupon supplements. If you don’t subscribe to the paper I recommend starting one. There are great deals right now particularly with the newspapers losing tons of subscribers to the internet. Also, whether you subscribe to the paper or not, have friends, relatives and/or neighbors save their papers for you. Check with your newspaper carrier to find out what happens to surplus coupon inserts. I have been known to go down to the Fresno Bee where they put their discarded papers to get the inserts if there is something really good. Also look for coupons in magazines and on specially marked packages. As you shop also watch for "peel-off" or instant coupons. Some offer significant savings, and they are very easy to use. Peel off the coupon and use it at the checkout for an instant savings. Sometimes they are inside the product itself that you will find after you open the product.
While shopping, watch for the blinky machines in the grocery store aisles. Many of these feature high value coupons, and have a “deposit” slot at the top for people to leave ones they have decided not to use. If it’s a great coupon, take the ones others have discarded.Most supermarkets now feature coupons printed out at checkout from a small box next to the register, called Catalina coupons. They are often printed in red and black, sometimes full color. They are long like a cash tape. These are tied to your purchases. Many of these are high value, and worth keeping. Especially valuable are the coupons marked good on your next shopping trip, which are not tied to a specific product but can be used on anything. They are as good as cash. At Walgreens, these catalina coupons are called Register Rewards.
What coupons should you clip? Everything you use. Toilet paper, shampoo, butter, cereal, etc. Do not stick to one brand. Almost everything is exactly the same. Believe me, I have tried just about everything on the market and I have rarely come across something that isn't extremely similar to the competitor. Clip all high value coupons too. You can use them for trading if you don't want to use them yourself for stuff you do want. More on trading later.

You can print many coupons on-line. Some stores take them, others don't. You have to ask at customer service if they take internet printables.
coolsavings.com
coupons.com
couponbug.com
boodle.com
BettyCrocker.com
SmartSource
EatBetterAmerica.com
ValPak.com


ORGANIZE

Now that you're collecting coupons, it's time to ORGANIZE them so that you can find the coupon you need the moment you need it. A coupon wallet is a good way to get started. You can get them from the coupon inserts in the paper from Carol Wright. I did find that her dividers were too flimsy with not enough of them so I just got dividers for a file box and relabeled them. You can always use the binder method where you get a binder with the baseball card holders to put your coupons in. I don't recommend it to start with though unless you are dedicated because you will probably just forget it at home vs. the wallet that fits in your purse. Once you are hooked you will quickly want and need to move on to the binder system though. Make sure you file right away and clean out your files monthly so it doesn't get too time consuming and a mess you won't deal with.

USING COUPONS

Start with sales. I can't stress the importance of this step enough. Match your coupons to products that are on sale!!! You save TWICE on the same product. Doing this simple step alone can save 50% on many purchases. Example: today I went to Winco and I found Kraft barbecue sauce on sale for .98 cents. I had a $1 off coupon. Total cost: FREE! Buy as many as you have coupons for and/or as many as the store will allow. Some stores have a 3 of the same coupon limit rule for example, so find out your store rules. You are only allowed to use one coupon for one item unless the coupon specifies something different. Sometimes you get lucky and find a store that doubles coupons. Right now no one in Fresno does it. Kmart has periodically done some doubles promotions but excluded Fresno for most of them. They are mainly at the Super K's. You should never pay full price for: paper towels, toilet paper, kleenex, breakfast cereals, pet food, shampoo, deodorant, cleaning aids, detergent, canned goods, and bottled products. ONLY BUY THESE ITEMS IF THEY ARE ON SALE! The worst time to buy anything is when you've run out of it. Why? Because you'll pay full price. Learn to stock up, and only buy when it is to YOUR advantage to buy. It's as good as a savings account and if done properly earns a better rate of return than any bank. One last thing. Sometimes you get coupons for buy one get one free
(B1G1F) I have successfully used a coupon for the item I am buying and the B1G1F coupon for the free item. Technically the B1G1F coupon covers the free item so there is no reason why you can't use a coupon for the item you are buying to get the free item. The only place I have issues with this is Winco. I have patiently explained it to everyone, but their darn registers are set to NOT accept it and those checkers no nothing about coupons. I had one tell me today she didn't think I could use the $1 coupon on the barbecue sauce because it was only .98 cents. I had to tell her to manually put in .98 cents. So, just be careful with B1G1F at Winco. Sometimes I'm successful and sometimes I'm not. Oh, and how you know stuff is on sale at Winco is with the color of the tag. If it's green, it's on sale.

BUYING BRAND NAMES:
If you have a choice between a brand name item and a generic and the price is the same with a coupon, buy the brand name. The reason why is that you can often get refunds on the brand name item and you won't with the generic. Save your cash tapes, and the upc codes on the products. More on refunding later.

SERVICES:
The last thing I want to mention is using a service like refundcents or thegrocerygame. They read all the ads and figure out how to match the coupons available for the best deals. It is a time saver so it's worth considering, but you can do it on your own with the sale ads too.