Extreme Couponing or Centsible Couponing: Make your shopping list

Now you know when to use your coupons, and you know not to clear the shelves.  You have collected a stack of inserts or coupons, and have them organized, but NOW WHAT?


Time to shop!  Well, actually time to make your list.

Here is my method in shopping each week: 1. Buy all the FREE and/or cheap items that we use (or would be willing to try! :) that are the lowest price possible that week. 2. Pick up any good sales on meat, produce, and dairy even if I don’t have coupons, but they are at their lowest price. 3. Buy any item we need that week but aren’t necessarily on sale (this is usually only 1-2 things).

Notice, I didn’t say anything about making my menu above.  That is because my menu is not based on what we want to eat that week, but it is based on what is on sale that week or items I already have on hand from previous sales.  I check out my pantry/freezer stock and the deals that week and then make out my menu!

Remember, I stated earlier that you will save very little, if anything, by taking a stack of coupons to the store and buying those products regardless if it is on sale. 

Lowest sale price possible + coupon = maximum savings!

There are times when a coupon comes out for a product we use or even love and I never use the coupon.  Why?  The item never went on sale or at it’s lowest price – I will hopefully catch a better deal next time around.

When you find an item that is at the lowest price AND you have coupon, making it a great deal – how many will you buy?

Here enters the popular word – stockpile! 

Some of you are now picturing aisles of shelves in your garage piled high with years worth of mustard, toilet paper, and pasta!  While that might be the Extreme Couponer’s method of stockpiling, we are Centsible Couponers! :)  We don’t need grocery store aisles in our garage to save a lot of money or have a stockpile.

I will discuss stockpiling next week (and even share pictures of my stockpile!)  But basically you want to buy as much of that item as you will use until the next time it goes on sale for the lowest price (which is usually about 9-12 weeks.)

How do I know what is on sale that week and know if there is a coupon for it? 

1. Of course there is the old-fashioned method of matching coupons with the store fliers. 

But if you use the no cut method how will you know what coupons are available?  You could use a database such as CouponTom.com.  I love this database – you can search coupons by name or use the “Browse coupons” link on the right to search by insert or see if your entire insert is expired.  

But there is even a better way…

2.  Let someone else do all that work, and just print a list from your favorite website of store sales already matched with every coupon out there!

With technology today and coupon websites/blogs abounding, there are tons of coupon sites that post weekly coupon matchups for your favorite stores! Here are some that I use: CouponMom.com (must register, but it is FREE) Southern Savers (probably the most comprehensive) Money Saving Mom I Heart Kroger I Heart Publix I Heart the Mart and there are many, many more!  Check out these sites, and see if they offer lists for stores in your areas.  Then go through the list of store deals, checking off the deals you want to buy, cut or pull your coupons, and you are now ready to shop!

How do you make our your shopping list? 

Any favorite sites you use?  Share in the comments!

(If you missed any posts in this series, you can start from the beginning here.)

Extreme vs. Centsible Couponing: How to organize your coupons

This post will help dispel another coupon myth - “I don’t have time to coupon.”  Which I think what they are actually saying with that statement is they don’t have time to sit down and cut out every coupon from the coupon inserts that come out each Sunday.

If I had to cut out every coupon from each Sunday’s paper, I wouldn’t have time to coupon either!!  But I DO coupon and save a lot! 

Here’s how:

I DON’T cut coupons! :)

Well, until I actually get ready to use them, that is! :)

Remember I shared that I get multiple coupon inserts each week and there is NO WAY that I have time, nor do I want to cut each coupon out. 

I use the “No-cut or whole insert method”

(or as I like to call it, the "cut it when you need it method!:)

Each Sunday, I browse through the coupon inserts that came out that day and make a mental note of the coupons in it.  If there are any “FREE coupons” or a coupon that I will use regardless of whether the product is on sale, I go ahead and cut them right then (this is probably 1-3 coupons each week.)  Each insert gets rubber banded together by type and date (5/10 SS together, 5/10 RP together, etc.) and labeled with the date on a sticky note stuck on the bottom edge as my “tab.”  (You can find the date on the spine of the coupon insert.)  I fill them by date in a stacker system.

Then, when I print out my shopping list (I will share where I do this in another post), I just pull the insert stack where the coupon is located, cut as many coupons as I want, and file the stack back.  So I am only cutting the coupons that I need, WHEN I need them!  That is why you will see me say here on this blog,  “Use $1.00/1 coupon from 5/15 SS" – meaning you can find the coupon in the May 15th Smartsource insert.

What do I do with the coupons I have now cut out?

The polka dot expandable file is for CVS and the blue file is for grocery stores.  I file cut coupons in these binders.

Not by food type such as dairy, frozen, canned goods; but by store (since I already have my list and know which store I am going to use that coupon at.)

Blinkie coupons, FREE coupons, coupons I find in store, coupons I printed but won’t use this week, etc. get filed in the front pocket or behind the store pockets.

My CVS expandable file sections are divided by:

• this week’s coupons
• rainchecks
• ECB’s (or Extracare Bucks = CVS $)
• CVS coupons (from the coupon printer)

This is the method I highly recommend!!  It could be organized in hanging file folders, smaller stackers, in a notebook with pocket, or many other ways!

There are also 2 other coupon organizational methods:

“Coupon binder method” 

You cut every coupon from the Sunday paper and file them in baseball card holder sleeves organized by category in a large 3-ring binder. 

The one advantage to this method is that you can take your whole binder to the store with you, so if you found a clearance or unadvertised deal you have the coupon with you (which I would not! :)

But you are going to spend a good amount of time cutting coupons (even if you only get 1-2 inserts) and will probably  end up only actually using less than half of those coupons.

“Expandable file method”

Basically the same method as above.  You cut all your coupons each week and filed them into an expandable file (like the ones I showed above just with more categories and/or pockets.) 

Once again, one advantage is you have all the coupons with you when you are at the store.

One more thing about cutting your coupons before you need them…

Once you make your list or print your list, you would still have to pull the coupons that you need from your binder or file.  With 8-12 weeks of un-expired cut coupons in your binder or file, that is a lot of coupons to sort through to find the one that you are looking for!   I have seen many people in the store with their huge binder across the cart hunting for coupons.  While I have my stack of coupons in hand that I plan to use and nothing else!

Bottom line, you have to do what works best for you.

If you are happy with the method you currently use, then use it!  If you are just starting out, try one method for a while and see if you like it, if not try another method!

What method do you use and why?

Extreme vs. Centsible Couponing: Where to find your coupons

So if you haven’t already figured out from the previous posts in this series, you need to have as many coupons as as you can get your hands on.  That way when something that you use/want goes on sale, you can buy more than one item and stockpile it for future use!

But where are you going to find all of these coupons and then how are you going to keep them organized in your house and in the store?

There are THREE main places you will find coupons:

1. Newspaper coupons (this is going to be the large majority of coupons you will use.)

• The Sunday paper is going to be your #1 main source! 

You will want to subscribe to home delivery for the largest cities paper in your area or pick up a copy at the store on Monday.  Notice I said the largest city near you.  I live in a suburb of Atlanta that has it’s own city paper that does have coupons on Sunday, but that local paper only carries the Smartsource (SS) insert, NO Redplum (RP), NO Proctor + Gamble (PG).  But the Atlanta paper (Atlanta Journal + Constitution) carries all the inserts and one of the best (most) coupon inserts available nationwide.  So I subscribe to the Atlanta paper! I also have a family member that works for our local paper, so I am able to get the unsold Sunday and pull the SS inserts out of them.  There is also a FREE Hispanic newspaper that comes out in our area that contains the same coupon inserts (although some are in Spanish!), so I make sure to pick up some of those too!

If you don’t have any other way of getting your coupons from a Sunday paper for FREE, I have seen and recommend that you buy 1 paper/set coupon inserts per person in your family.  So family of 2 = 2 sets of coupon inserts, family of 5 = 5 sets of coupon inserts. 

Ask friends, people at church, family members to save their coupon inserts for you if they don’t use them.  Check coffee shops, your local library, and post office for extra coupon inserts.

• Check newspaper recycle bins. 

The ones on your street if you have local pickup or the ones at the transfer stations/landfill.  In other words, dumpster dive! :)  (I have done it before, it is really not all that gross since it is just newspapers in the bin :)

• Buy extra single coupons from a coupon clipping service or on Ebay.
  
  
• Buy whole inserts online.

2. Coupons in the store.

• “Peelies, tear pads, blinkies'” – Finding these is like a scavenger hunt in the store.  If you take your kids shopping with you and they are old enough, teach them what these three types of coupons are and make it their job to find them while you are shopping! :)  “Peelies” are the coupons attached to the product that you peel off (usually when you actually buy that product.)  “Tear pads” are just that – a pad of coupons that you tear off the coupons.  And “blinkies” are the little red coupon dispenser boxes that you sometimes see throughout the store.
  
  
• Store coupons.  Another reason why I LOVE Publix is they literally throw coupons at you when you walk in the store! :)   All throughout the store their will be display racks with coupon booklets or sheets.  Pick a few up, use any of you want right then, and SAVE for later when their might even be a better sale!

3. Printable coupons!

Printable coupons are becoming more and more popular.  Many companies host printable coupons on their website or on their companies facebook page.  I post links to lots of these coupons especially when they are high value or for a product that is on sale right now.  Sometimes you can just google - “printable coupon for ____________” and if there is a printable coupon it will come up as one of the options.

Then there are 3 major websites where you can print coupons:

1. Coupons.com

2. Redplum.com

3. Smartsource.com

This post has already gotten long enough so I think I will share "How to organize your coupons" in part 2 tomorrow!

If you have any other places where you find coupons, tell us in the comments!

Extreme or Centsible couponing: Response to a reader’s comment!

 

Part 1 of my series posted yesterday - “Know when to use your coupons.”  

Heather from Fields of Heather left a comment on that post which I thought brought up some excellent points - “My questions on this post would be, assuming I bought things like cereal or granola bars (I do not) where would I get 6 coupons for them? And should I really save 6 coupons for an item I don't normally buy, just in case it went on sale to make it a great deal?”

First, where could she get 6 coupons?  I will touch on this later, but most people should buy/acquire more than 1 paper or set of coupon inserts, if they plan to coupon heavily.  Try to find ways you can get more coupons for FREE - from friends/family who don’t use them, library/coffee shop newspapers, recycle bins, buy them online at a coupon clipper site, or find a FREE newspaper in your area that has coupons (like I do!)

Now, maybe you have 4 sets of coupon inserts giving you 4 of the same coupon.  The same coupons or coupons for the same product are also sometimes available online to print (2 per computer) giving you at least 2 more coupons.  (I have a laptop and a desktop computer, so I can usually print 4 copies of each printable coupon.)

And yes, I do suggest saving all coupons just in case of a sale.  I just don’t suggest cutting all of them until or if you use them.  (I will detail that method in my organizing your coupons post.)

Heather also proceeded to write a more detailed rebuttal with even more questions/points on her blog.  No arguing, just trying to understand couponing and if it would work for her family!  Which is GREAT!  That is exactly what I am wanting to accomplish in this series.  Get you to ask yourself, “Is couponing (centsible NOT extreme couponing) right for me?

Since I know many of you are asking the the same questions, I am going to do an short explanation post now (and will continue to explain further in future weeks.)

Here is an excerpt from her post…

“We have 4 teens.  I don't buy cereal, because they would eat 4 boxes of it for breakfast, along with a gallon of milk, and still be hungry… We have our own hens, so eggs are cheap...  and we get our milk at the dairy price, straight from the family owned dairy where my son works.  That effects our breakfast prices.”

Since I have no experience with 4 hungry teenagers, I am going to totally take her word for it that they eat a lot! :)  And cereal for their family might not work right now!  Having her own hens/eggs and getting milk straight from the dairy is saving her family a ton of money!  She referenced the cereal in my picture (which was an organic/natural granola $0.89/bag after coupon).  I don’t always buy cereal either, BUT for that price (and actually even less since I had overage that helped pay for it), I am enjoying having yogurt parfaits for breakfast this week!

She also said, “…where I could really use coupons are on bacon, sausage, cheese, and bagels, & whole wheat tortillas.  Maybe bread too..”

For the last 2 years, I have rarely paid over $0.50/package for cheese by using coupons!  :)  I stock up on as much as I can during those sales and freeze what I don’t think I can use before it expires.  Occasionally there are coupons out for bacon and sausage too.  I have gotten Thomas frozen bagels free at Publix in the past using a Publix store coupon.  I usually purchase my tortillas at Aldi (although not whole wheat), but have also purchased whole wheat ones at the grocery store without coupons.

Then she references my shopping trip picture (I paid $0.12 for everything above) and says… “none of that is on her shopping list.” :)  But then she also admits… “In other words, we could use all of these items, yes, but for the most part, they are not something you'd  find on my grocery list.  I guess I'm struggling with the practical aspect of collecting a ton of coupons, spending a lot of time matching them up with sales, running to stores out of my way that I don't normally shop at, just to get a pile of free items that I didn't actually really want to begin with, just because I "could" use them, and they are free.  Especially when we're trying to make healthier choices...  and these items are definitely not healthier.”

In the above shopping trip- the yogurt and pasta were the only things that were totally free after coupon.  Everything else was around $0.50 after coupon.  So how did I only pay $0.12??  Look at the noodles again … (my husband has long grown tired of eating these, but they make excellent college kids and food pantry donations!) Each box gave me $0.56 overage (they were $0.44, but I had a $0.50 coupon that doubled to $1.00.)  And I also had a $3.00 off a $25 purchase coupon.  Buying the noodles and kids yogurt (which I didn’t really want for my family) helped get my total up to $25 so I could use my $3 coupon AND it also gave me overage to help pay for the other things I was going to buy.  I could have bought anything (meat, organic products, bread, milk) and had that $8 in overage help pay for it.  I just chose to buy the above items because we use pickles, ziploc bags, napkins, and cereal (when it is super cheap) and they were at their lowest price last week.

I understand that she might not use napkins or ziploc bags but most people do.  (BTW, the kids yogurt pictured was all given to my nieces, I prefer the Yo-plus for my husband and I.)  And I completely understand not wanting to waste a bunch of time (and money!) compiling coupons to buy things she really didn’t want to buy to begin with!  :)  That is not saving money at all! 

But think outside the box, even if you don’t normally use/buy a product, if you could get if FREE or for pennies, would you use it?  If you could get FREE ziploc bags would you use them?  If you could get FREE yogurt, would you eat it?  If they answer is yes, then why not buy it?

We strive to eat as healthy as possible right now (with me still working outside the home which limits my time), although I know we can do better and plan to in the future.  Notice you don’t normally see twinkies, microwave dinners, boxed prepared meals, etc. in my shopping trips.  I cook most meals from scratch (or semi-homemade) and if we eat sweets or baked goods, I bake them at home, mostly from scratch!

Bottom line, you need to do what is right for your family.  If you are trying to go all organic, or eat all whole-grains/no processed food/raw sugars, etc. you might not be able save $50 off each shopping trip.  BUT, you can still save!  We NEVER eat white bread, we eat whole grains 75% of the time, I cook from scratch most of the time, and I still save a lot!      

I hope I can show Heather and you even more ways to save in the coming weeks!

(Thanks, Heather for your post and comment! :)  Hope you keep reading along and can find ways to save your family money!)

What questions do you have? 

Post them in the comments on this post and any other post in this series, and I will try to answer them as best as possible at the end or throughout the series.

“Extreme or Centsible Couponing” Part 1 – Know when to use your coupons

(Sorry for the delay in this post.  When blogger went down for 2 days last week, I lost several posts and drafts and this was one of them    :(  So I have been busy re-writing what I already had written.)

If you missed the introduction to this series, you can read it here.

Let me first start out with how you can use coupons, BUT NOT save money. 

Get the Sunday paper, cut the coupons for the items you want to buy, make a menu based on what you want to eat that week, head to the nearest store, and buy all the items on your list and the ones you have coupons for regardless of whether they are on sale. 

This is what I did when I was first married.  I shopped mainly at Wal-mart and was excited if I saved $8-10 off my shopping trip using coupons (which usually totaled $75 –100 a week!  This is not how to save 50% off your shopping trip!

Let’s discuss why you won’t save money in the method above: #1 – You are using the coupon on the item regardless of whether it is on sale or not.  The best way to maximize your savings is to use a coupon on an item that is ALREADY discounted 50% or more.  #2 – You are shopping at the nearest store (or even Wal-mart), not the store that has the best sales that week. #3 – And you are basing your menu on what you want to eat that week instead of what is on sale that week (or from the previous week.)  I will discuss menu planning another week.

So how did I change from spending $75-100 a week (buying everything from food, laundry, toiletry items, personal care items) at Wal-mart to spending $40 a week at Kroger/Publix/Aldi for food and other items and $10-15 (in tax and balance after ECBs) a month at CVS getting personal care items?

There are 3 major ways:

#1 – I ONLY buy what is on sale at the lowest price possible each week at the store.   (With the exception of maybe 1-2 things that we have to have that week – flour, sugar, milk)

#2 – I switched from shopping at Wal-mart to shopping at grocery stores that will double my coupons AND also put things on deep sales each week. (Wal-mart usually just keeps everything at their everyday low price.)

#3 – I base what we eat on what I buy on sale that week or what I have bought in previous weeks on sale.

-----------------------------

Here is an example:

Walmart granola bars - $1.88

Quaker granola bars - $2.50 (at Wal-mart and other grocery stores)

You head to Wal-mart and need to buy granola bars.    You have a coupon for $0.50/1 box of Quaker and buy the Quaker bars (since you will be saving money by using that coupon, right?)  $2.50 – $0.50 (since Wal-mart does not double) = $2.00.  If you had just bought the Wal-mart brand box you would have paid $1.88.  Are you saving money??  NO!

BUT, two weeks after the coupon comes out, Publix puts Quaker granola bars on sale for 2/$4.00 ($2.00/box).  You buy a box, use your $0.50/1 coupon (which doubles to $1.00!) and pay $1.00 for that box!  Now you are saving money!! :)

And you will save even more money if the week that you can buy them for $1.00 a box, you don’t just buy the 1 box that you need for lunches that week.  BUT you buy as many boxes as you have coupons for, maybe 4 or 6 boxes that will last you 4-6 weeks and hopefully until the item goes on sale again!

6 store brand boxes at $1.88 at Walmart = $11.28

6 Quaker brand at Publix on sale week = $6.00

That is a savings of 53%! 

That is how you save 50% or more on your grocery bill!

Here’s what coming up next: Next week - Where to get your coupons and how to organize them at home and at the store. In two weeks – How to find out what is on sale each week and if it is at the lowest price possible.

“Extreme Couponing” or “Centsible Couponing” – which one is right for you?

I am sure everyone has by now heard of, if not watched, the “Extreme Couponing” show on TLC.  While I find it interesting, there are many reasons why it is not possible (the stores break their own rules/policies for the show) and not necessary (50+ bottles of mustard??  I don’t think I will use that much mustard in my lifetime!)

While I am not about to debate the right or wrong of the show, I do want to share with you that you can be “extreme” in your couponing (by some people’s estimation) and feed your family on a $40-50 weekly budget without installing grocery store shelves in your garage to store your stockpile, clearing shelves at the nearby supermarket, or buying 100 newspapers each week.

I have shared many times before that I strive to stick to a $40 weekly grocery budget for our family (my husband and I).  We only eat out 1-2 times a month (usually with coupons!) and eat fast food just a few times per month.  95% of our meals will come from our $40 weekly grocery budget.  (I also giveaway/share/donate items to friends and family often, as well as fix meals for church/Sunday school a few times a month out of this budget.) 

Striving for a $40 weekly grocery budget with food to share inspires me to have a sensible approach to couponing and try to pay as few “cents'” as possible for my groceries!  I enjoy letting coupons pay for my groceries, instead of paying for them myself! :)

For example, here is what I bought at Publix today: Total: $38.54 -$5.00 off a $30 purchase (Publix coupon) -$32.45 in other coupons I paid $0.12 (+$0.97 tax) for a grand total of $1.09!! Some would say, “How did you do that?”  Others would say “That is extreme!” I say, this is “Centsible Couponing!”  (No, I do not always have trips like this; and no, I can’t base my menu just off the items purchased in this trips, but it is a start!  I still have $39 left this week to spend on other items! :)

Come back Monday as I start a series entitled “Centsible Couponing” where I will share:

• How to coupon to an extreme!
• Is it possible to reduce your grocery budget by 50% or more by using coupons?
• Maximizing your savings by basing your menu on the items you buy on sale in previous weeks
• What is the Buy-ahead principle and how does it save me money?
• How to organize your coupons at home and in the store.
• and much more!

As well as dispel the many myths out there, such as:

• “I don’t have time to coupon.”
• “Coupons are only for foods that I don’t eat.”
• “My stores don’t have as good of sales as your stores do.”
• “I don’t have access to the same coupons or the number of coupons that you do.”
• “Using coupons makes me buy items I don’t need just because they are free or cheap, making me spend more money in the long run.”

This series will run every week for the next six – eight weeks.  Read the rest of this series:

• Know when to use your coupons
• Don’t clear the shelves
• Response to a reader’s question
• How to organize your coupons
• Where to find your coupons
• Make your shopping list