Yesterday, while shopping, I had a large pile of coupons on my purse, and I was carefully looking for deals and matching those up with the coupons I had, when a lady came up to me and asked, "I'm sorry, I know this sounds strange, but are you one of those extreme couponers who pays $5 for a $500 order?" I shook my head, and politely said "No".
It was kind of a funny exchange, and I laughed it off. I'm sure it was because of the new show "extreme couponing", that people who use coupons are now on the radar as potential extreme couponers. Sadly, I do not save 95% on each shopping trip, nor do I have a stock pile that could last me 10 years should a bomb go off and we had to live in our basement.
And, in fact, I am kind of new to the whole couponing game. I always used to save coupons when I saw a good one, but never remembered to bring them with me shopping. And, when I'm walking down the aisles with my grocery cart, I'm a throw-the-shopping-list-out-the-window-and-get-what-looks-good kind of a shopper. But, last month as I was going over our finances to make a new budget before the baby arrives, and realized...HOLY CRAP! We spend a LOT on groceries!!! A LOT! Now, I will be the first to admit that being a vegetarian is probably more expensive than being an omnivore. Our soy "fake meat" is more expensive than real meat, soy milk is more expensive than cow milk, and cage free vegetarian eggs are more expensive than the alternative. But, after spending per month what we spent, and having a fridge, freezer, and pantry that was more often bare than stocked was unacceptable to me!
So, I decided it was time to start shopping smarter, because in a few short months we will be adding one more mouth to feed. I hit the web and began research. I had seen on Oprah or some fluff piece on the news (yeeears ago) about shoppers who took a large grocery bill and got it down to practically NOTHING using sales and coupons. At the time, I scoffed at it, thinking "That would probably take more time and effort than I have just for grocery shopping!" But, after reading more about HOW it can be done (perhaps to a lesser degree), it actually seemed possible...for me!
Basically, the rules of thumb go something like this:
1) Start by getting a preferred or plus card at your grocery store. It's free, and it automatically deducts the store sales at checkout. (I go to a Kroger affiliate store, Hilander) They can also let you add special eCoupons from their website, so you don't even need to bring a coupon, and it will automatically deduct that coupon amount at checkout. Also, find out your store's coupon policy. My store matches coupons worth UP TO $0.55. But, if I am using multiples of the same coupon (to stock up), they will only match the first 2. And my store doesn't match eCoupons, so I make sure to only use those when the savings amount is MORE than $0.55.
2) Print coupons from online sites (google "coupons" or "printable coupons" and you'll find DOZENS!). Also, it's a good idea to subscribe to a Sunday newspaper for even more coupons. (My Sunday paper options are limited in my area, but I do subscribe to a Sunday-Only for $1/week)
3) Cut and organize your coupons in a way that works best for you. Some people organize by aisle, some by category. (I organize mine alphabetically by brand name. That way, when I'm walking down the aisle and see a BIG YELLOW SALE TAG, I can just flip to the brand name of the sale item.)
4) Check out the store's circular for that week, to check the Preferred/Plus Card sales. Some people plan their trips down to the letter, but as for me, I get an idea of what's for sale, and just bring ALL my coupons just in case there was something that I missed in the circular. Plus, I am terrible at sticking to a shopping list, and I KNOW IT! The only time I write a list is so I remember what we absolutely need. Otherwise, I'll buy what's on sale w/ coupon.
5) Finally, start shopping! The trick is to ONLY use your coupon(s) IF the product is currently ON SALE. And to maximize savings, if the coupon doesn't have a size restriction, buy the smaller size. Also, don't be afraid of the store brand. Oftentimes it's on sale more often, and cheaper than the name brand (even if you have a name brand coupon), and the quality is just as good...if not BETTER! (for example, I think Kroger brand spicy mustard is WAY better than French's or Gray Poupon.)
6) Stock up when a great deal strikes. If something is a BARGAIN, AMAZING, AWESOME DEAL, don't be afraid to stock up, assuming it will not expire before you're able to use it. I'm not particularly a fan of EXTREME stockpiling, but having 6-8 months worth of certain items can be a good insurance policy in case something were to happen. I'm also of the mindset that a "stock pile" should take time to build. Getting 8 carts of groceries to create an INSTANT years worth stock-pile is excessive, in my opinion. Like everything in life, things are best in balanced moderation. For example, I had several coupons for Chex and Cheerios (in addition to a special the store was having of "buy 4 get a free $5 gift card), so I bought 8 boxes of cereal. With the $5 gift card, I ended up saving about $16, and the cereal should last my family 4-5 months until the next good cereal sale.
Here's an example from my last trip:
We needed soy milk, which is usually $3.89 for a half gallon (see...EXPENSIVE!!)
Hilander was having a sale on a particular flavor, $2.99 for half gallon with Plus Card ($0.80 savings)
I had a $2 off 1 half gallon of ANY flavor Silk
So, for that $3.89 half gallon of Silk, I paid just $0.99! (Savings: $2.90, 66%)
(Unfortunately, I only had one of those $2 coupons, but if I had more I would have DEFINITELY stocked up, since we go through soymilk like water in our house!)
Here's another example:
Hilander had Yoplait yogurt (another high sought after commodity in my house) on sale for 10/$5 with Plus card, making them $0.50/each. I had a coupon for $0.40 OFF when you buy 6. After Hilander matched that $0.40, I paid about $0.36/each. Yoplait yogurt is normally $0.60/each, (so I saved $1.44/6 yogurts, or $0.24/each, 40%)
My first trip with all this new information in hand was only mildly successful, and that was, in part, because I didn't HAVE any coupons to use. (We didn't subscribe to a Sunday newspaper, and I hadn't found the best printable-coupon websites yet). So, my savings was based solely on sale prices from using my Plus card. On that trip I saved about $45 which was about 17% of my total bill. I learned a few things, like, just because there is a BIG YELLOW tag, doesn't mean that it's on sale. Sometimes, it's just a way of tricking you into THINKING it's on sale, when really it says "Everyday Low Price". So now I check to make sure that BIG YELLOW tag says the price "with plus card". So, with slightly more confidence and WITH coupons-in-hand, I went shopping again. And this time I saved $91, which turned out to be about 29% of my total bill. Both times the bill was eerily the exact same amount (give or take a few pennies), but the savings were greater the second time around, which means I walked away with MORE groceries for the same amount of money.
My next coupon goal is save to 50%, while getting MORE groceries for even LESS money at checkout!
If you have any helpful money-saving tips, please feel free to comment!
Happy Smart Shopping!!
XOXO,
Marcia
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