How To Get Started on Saving and Stocking Up With Coupons:
- Where do I get Coupons?
First you need to start getting the Sunday paper for the inserts. I suggest 2-3 for beginners to start with that way you are able to start stocking up on the good weekly deals. As you get better you can up the number of inserts you get to 5-6 and then there are some really large families that need 8-10 inserts to get enough of a product to last them the 3-6 months. You know whats best for your family.Also there are printables you can print right off line and use at the store.
- So, How and When DO you use coupons to get these deals?
The Big “Secret” is MATCHING COUPONS WITH AWESOME SALES and PROMOS!
For example- If you go to Walmart to use your $1 off 5 Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Coupons, it will end up being cheaper to just buy generic.
BUT, if you use the coupon when the name brand are at a rock bottom price- or if you match it with a promotion at your corner grocery store – Viola! Cheap Soup!
Can I Really Get Paid To Shop?
Yes! Walmart now gives overage back and there are many items that you can get paid for just buying. You can use a $2 off coupon on a .97 pack of batteries and you will get back the $1.03 for every pack you buy or they can apply that to your other items in the cart. We like to call these types of items money makers. You should review the Coupon Policy and print it so that it is with you incase you get a cashier that does not know the new policies since this is still kind of new. I also would print the Match Guarantee and take with you since that also has changed and you no longer need a sales as from another store to get the lower price. Say you see Walgreens has $1.99 Rice Crispies but you don't feel like running to 5 different stores all you have to do is tell them that the Rice Crispies are $1.99 at Walgreens and they will match it. Pretty Neat Huh!?! Please also note that you should not be loud and rude to the cashier or clear a shelf because an item is on sale, this gives a bad name to all os us couponers!!!
What is Stacking Coupons?
Stacking simply means using 1 Manufacturer Coupon and 1 Store Coupon on 1 Item!!
Target, Albertson’s and Walgreens, Rite Aid, Safeway, & Kroger Stores (to name a few) all have store coupons and allow them to be stacked with a manufacturer coupon! (You can never use 2 manufacturer coupon on 1 item… but most stores allow you to use 1 store and 1 manufacturer coupon on the same item)
- How Do I Double Coupons?
Some stores in some
regions double coupons or even triple up to a certain value. This means that one $0.50 off coupon will become $1.00 off, or .30 off coupon can become .90 off etc. Check your store policies and see if your local store does.
- What Does All The Abbreviations Mean?
$1.00/1, $2.00/1, etc: One dollar off one product, two dollars off one product, etc.BOGO: Buy one, get one. Will usually end with “free” or “half off” meaning buy one, get one half off, or buy one get one free.
B1G1, B2G1: Another way to write ‘buy one, get one’. The “B” stands for “buy”, the G stands for “get”. The numbers indicate how many of a product you must buy to qualify and the number of products you get when you redeem the coupon or offer. B1G1= Buy one, get one. B2G1= Buy two, get one B2G2= Buy two, get two
ECB: Extra Care Buck CVS pharmacy program; now renamed Extra Bucks.
EXP: Expires or Expiration Date
IP: Internet Printable coupons may be printed right from your home computer. Usually limited to 2 prints per computer, download quick and safe printing software to be able to print securely from home.
MIR: Mail in Rebate, refers to rebates which must be submitted by mail. These are the traditional rebates that require you to mail in both your receipt and proof of purchase in the form of UPC barcodes.
MFR: Manufacturer abreviation.
OOP: Out-of-Pocket; refers to the amount of money you will pay a store to make your purchase. Does not include and after-purchase savings, coupons or rebates.
OYNO: On Your Next Order. Store promos such as Spend $25, save $10 on your next shopping order. OYNO refers to savings that you will not see on your first transaction, but that may be applied to your next purchase. Most OYNO coupons have no minimum purchase. If you spend $25 and receive a coupon worth $10 off your next order, there is no minimum purchase on that next order. If you spend and value over $10, you may redeem your coupon. If you spend under $10, you may use your coupon, but will forfeit the difference.
PG: Proctor and Gamble manufacture a wide range of consumer goods and are one of the largest corporations in the world. Proctor and Gamble puts out monthly coupon inserts filled with coupons for a variety of Proctor and Gamble produced brands, just a few of which include: Always, Bounty, Crest, Dawn, Gillette, Olay, Pampers and Tide.
PSA: Prices starting at; when a group of items are on sale, such as Fiber One products 25% off. We might write “PSA $2.09″ and list a group of Fiber One coupons. This means that the cheapest Fiber One product is $2.09 and prices go up from there.
Q: Coupon abbreviation.
RR: Register Rewards. Walgreens drugstore rewards program, and version of the catalina coupon. Look for the same machines located at register, dispensing long receipt-like coupons that may be used on a future purchase. RRs cannot be ‘rolled’ like catalinas.
RP: Red Plum. Formerly known as Vallasis, Red Plum coupon inserts and website feature coupons from a variety of manufacturers. Red Plum is part of Valassis Interactiv.
SS: Smart Source. A marketing company, like RP, Smart Source coupon inserts and website feature coupons from a variety of manufacturers. Smart Source is part of News America Marketing Co. Smart Source coupon inserts can be found in most Sunday papers.
WAGS: Abbreviation for Walgreens Drugstore
UPC: Universal Product Code. Bar code printed on product packages that can be scanned electronically.
WYB: When You Buy. Some sales or coupons require purchase of multiple items. When reporting a deal on KCL, we always include a final price. Example: Buy 2 Mint Milano cookies $2.00 each, use 2 $1.00/2 coupons, Final Price: $1.50 each, WYB 2. You must buy 2 in order to use the $1.00/2 coupon, so the final price states “WYB 2″.
YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary. A phrase used to describe that an experience one shopper has may differ from your experience. One store may allow you to stack additional promos and another location may not do the same. Some stores, such as that ‘one’ SuperCenter, who do not have a universally enforced coupon policy will often let one customer do one thing and another do something completely different. If we receive an email from a reader with a great shopping scenario, we might report it and say, YMMV until we see if stores nationwide are allowing the same scenario.
- How Do I Get Organized? I See Lots of Ladies with Big Books at The Store and I Wish I Could Be Just As Good At Being Organized....
There are many ways but the most popular is it organize by category: More time up front, Less time shopping
- Organizing by category requires a few hours of time each week to clip and organize all your coupons. I usually spend and hour-90 minutes on a Sunday evening getting up to date on all my coupons.
- This method makes preparing to shop quick and easy because your coupons are already clipped and organized! Plus, when you find a clearance item in the store, it only takes 20 seconds to flip to the right category and find the coupon you need.
- Use Baseball Card Holders to hold the clipped coupons (Find at Target, Walmart, eBay, etc). Should be around $5 for 30 pages. You’ll need around 60 pages.
- Download this printable table of contents and categories from The Krazy Coupon Lady.
- Seems Like The Store is Always Out of Sale Items, How Do I Not Miss a Deal?
If you find something that will be great in your stockpile and won’t expire and it is out of stock… Take the opportunity to get a Rain Check for the maximum quantity allowed. Then hurry your little self over to Ebay and buy all the coupons you need- then go back when they are in stock (or consider special ordering) and when you have your additional coupons. Viola! Easy as Pie.- How Do I Know How Much I Am Really Saving?
It is very important to keep track and have a budget even with couponing. This way you can see how much you are saving now with coupons and to stay within a spending limit that want leave you with empty pockets. Just cause it's on sale does not mean to buy all of them, only buy what you need to stock up for 3-6 months at a time. Here is a link to a really good Excel Spreadsheet that is more than helpful. For those of you that aren’t spread sheet or math folks here’s how to quickly calculate your savings each week:
1. Add together the amount that you spent for all receipts
2. Add together the total amount saved (usually at the bottom of all receipts)
3. Add Total Spent and Total Saved together to get the total Value
4. Divide Total Saved by the Total Value, multiply that by 100.
You have the percentage saved for the week!
