Recently we had a winner on our facebook page that purchased over 100 boxes of cereal for under $.50... (that is fifty cents lol) while this is just amazing savings, she went the extra mile and that is what truly impressed me! There isn't much out there more aggravating than empty shelves at the grocery store. Yeah Yeah, they should know to order more, have more on hand, limit how many one person can buy, etc etc. BUT... she PRE ORDERED her cereal so that she wasn't clearing the shelves for the next person. This not only helps other shoppers, but it helped her too. How? She didn't have to go all over town to get her 100 boxes, she only had to go to one store!
And I know what else people are going to think... what in the world is she going to do with over 100 boxes of cereal? Well.. she is going to donate a good bit to a local food bank. And why not? How many boxes of cereal can one family eat? My family goes through some cereal, but I even think that over 100 boxes is probably a bit excessive! So my point is this, if you run across a great deal and you get an abundance of something, donate it to those in need. It makes your heart feel all warm and fuzzy and some child's tummy very happy!! Also, don't forget to donate personal care items... these are items that are often forgotten and very much needed!
So my challenge to you... keep track of how much you donate this year... not your coupon price... your REGULAR price and add them up at the end of the year. You will be amazed!! It can make for a great write off on your taxes at the end of the year too!
Stay ethical in couponing and keep it fun for everyone!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Why a stockpile?
Sales go in cycles, every item you buy is not going to be on sale every time you shop. For instance, Peanut Butter is an item that doesn't go on sale AND have coupons too many times during the year. So, when peanut butter is on sale and I can get it free or at a very low price, I stock up. This way, I will not have to purchase it at full price later. Since I have been adding different items to my stockpile every week, my shopping list has gotten much smaller. Now I only buy those items when they are very low again, and I do not typically run out in between.
Another reason is to have items on hand in case of emergency. My husband and I both got laid off a few years ago and we were NOT prepared. Had I started couponing before hand, we would have been in a much better situation. NOW if we are laid off, we are pretty well set for at least 6 months, maybe longer.
I will give another example... Toilet Paper. The type of TP that we prefer is usually over $10.00 for an 18 pack. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to get the same TP in a 12 pack for only $1.35. I bought 10 packs. For a little more than what I would have paid for an 18 rolls, I got 120 rolls.
The point of a stock pile is to get your grocery list down, hence lowering your monthly out of pocket. Once your stock pile is up, you will only need to buy what is on sale that week free or really cheap. So if you get a good deal... buy lots of it! People in the store may look at you like you are crazy, but once you ring up at the register and your total comes to under $20.00 for $200.00 worth of goods, they will be begging you to teach them!
Another reason is to have items on hand in case of emergency. My husband and I both got laid off a few years ago and we were NOT prepared. Had I started couponing before hand, we would have been in a much better situation. NOW if we are laid off, we are pretty well set for at least 6 months, maybe longer.
I will give another example... Toilet Paper. The type of TP that we prefer is usually over $10.00 for an 18 pack. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to get the same TP in a 12 pack for only $1.35. I bought 10 packs. For a little more than what I would have paid for an 18 rolls, I got 120 rolls.
The point of a stock pile is to get your grocery list down, hence lowering your monthly out of pocket. Once your stock pile is up, you will only need to buy what is on sale that week free or really cheap. So if you get a good deal... buy lots of it! People in the store may look at you like you are crazy, but once you ring up at the register and your total comes to under $20.00 for $200.00 worth of goods, they will be begging you to teach them!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
What's with all this hype on the news about coupons?
There has been many news articles recently about coupons and how stores are starting to clamp down on us couponers. While there have been some changes to store policies, there have not been any substantial changes made. Publix recently changed how they view "competitors" and Target changed their view on BOGO sales. Target will no longer allow you to combine a BOGO coupon with a BOGO sale making both items free. Other than these two changes, there has not been any other major change in couponing. The Publix and Target change will actually help to eliminate those "shelf clearers" and help others to be able to get in on the good deals.
Many people, even the media, is contributing this to the show Extreme Couponing. It seems the show has brought couponing to the attention of some businesses and they are trying to crack down. While I do like watching the show, I do not agree with all of their antics. Stealing newspapers and purchasing 100 of the same items is a bit too much for me to handle. Unfortunately this has led to some stores limiting how many "like" coupons per transaction. However, this will also help to ensure that other customers get in on the deals as well.
There are some draw backs to the new changes, but lets be honest. How aggravating is it to get to your store and there be NO items left that were on sale? Some of the changes can be beneficial to us that are not trying to wipe a store clean.
So while the media is playing it up that couponing is getting harder to do, just sit back and laugh. The way I see it is, those that were planning on joining our wonderful couponing community and were in it for the wrong reason will now be deterred from doing so! And once this "couponing craze" has passed, so will the media hype and all the policy changes.
Many people, even the media, is contributing this to the show Extreme Couponing. It seems the show has brought couponing to the attention of some businesses and they are trying to crack down. While I do like watching the show, I do not agree with all of their antics. Stealing newspapers and purchasing 100 of the same items is a bit too much for me to handle. Unfortunately this has led to some stores limiting how many "like" coupons per transaction. However, this will also help to ensure that other customers get in on the deals as well.
There are some draw backs to the new changes, but lets be honest. How aggravating is it to get to your store and there be NO items left that were on sale? Some of the changes can be beneficial to us that are not trying to wipe a store clean.
So while the media is playing it up that couponing is getting harder to do, just sit back and laugh. The way I see it is, those that were planning on joining our wonderful couponing community and were in it for the wrong reason will now be deterred from doing so! And once this "couponing craze" has passed, so will the media hype and all the policy changes.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Get another email!
Signing up for all these great freebies can cause a whole bunch of unwanted emails. My suggestion is to sign up for a free email address through gmail or yahoo specifically for these deals. This will prevent you from getting spammed to death in your regular email. I check mine from time to time to see if I have gotten any good deals or coupons. Also, I have had a few that I signed up for that the coupon print limit went by your email, not your IP address. This will help you to print more coupons if you have multiple email addresses. Now, this doesn't happen all the time, but occasionally! Also, if you are getting emails that you do not want, you can always scroll down to the bottom of the email and "unsubscribe". By law, they have to give you this option, rather you signed up for it or not!
Friday, July 1, 2011
Per Item vs. Per Transaction
If a coupon states one coupon per purchase, what this means is you can only use one "like" coupon per item. For instance, if I am buying two (2) Frozen Pizza's and I have two (2) $1.00 off coupons, I can use them to purchase the Pizza's. Because it is ONE coupon per item.
If a coupon says only one (1) coupon per transaction, then you can only use one coupon per times through the register. Some people do multiple transactions in order to get around this, that is IF your store will allow you too. Most of the stores that may limit your transactions would be ones that have reward cards, they are better able to track your transactions through their card.
If a coupon says only one (1) coupon per transaction, then you can only use one coupon per times through the register. Some people do multiple transactions in order to get around this, that is IF your store will allow you too. Most of the stores that may limit your transactions would be ones that have reward cards, they are better able to track your transactions through their card.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Walgreen Filler Items Explained
At Walgreen you are allowed to stack coupons as well as use their Register Rewards (RR) to bring down your total bill. Register Rewards are those coupons that print out that say $X.00 off your next purchase. Sometimes the register will beep and the cashier may tell you that you have too many coupons, this WILL happen, I promise. You will need to purchase a cheap "filler item". Their registers will only allow one coupon (register rewards are considered coupons) per item. So lets say you have 10 items with 10 Manufacturers coupons and you also have $1.00 in RR, so you will actually have 11 coupons, so you will need to buy some cheap item, (I like the $.09 pencils always on clearance) so that you will have 11 items to go with your 11 coupons!
Have a binder and clip less!
If you like the idea of having a binder and clipping less coupons... this is the way to go! It combines both organization systems into one!
Get your binder and dividers as I instructed before, but instead of getting baseball card inserts, get the full page ones. You can organize them by date instead of by items or store isles. For example: Your first divider could hold Date: 6/26, combine all of your like pages and add to the protectors one at a time (for double pages, cut them in half), this way you can flip through the dates and see what coupons you have, pull them and cut them as needed. If you run across a good deal and you know you have that coupon, look though your binder, find it, clip it and make your purchase!
Get your binder and dividers as I instructed before, but instead of getting baseball card inserts, get the full page ones. You can organize them by date instead of by items or store isles. For example: Your first divider could hold Date: 6/26, combine all of your like pages and add to the protectors one at a time (for double pages, cut them in half), this way you can flip through the dates and see what coupons you have, pull them and cut them as needed. If you run across a good deal and you know you have that coupon, look though your binder, find it, clip it and make your purchase!
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