I have been studying coupons.
My research says you can't get the 90% savings they do on TV (unless you are willing to feed your children aspirin and dental floss for the week), but 30-50% is possible.
With our grocery budget, 50% would pay the mortgage!
So I am putting some effort into setting it up to really figure out the coupons. The basic philosophy of "couponing" is:
1) Don't use coupons the week they are clipped. Save them to combine with sales until you can get 50% or less.
2) Don't think "What do I need this week?" Think "What might we possibly use in the next 2-4 months?" Buy up to a year's worth of each item (that keeps) at 50% or less per product.
3) Whenever possible, ditch brand loyalty. This includes "generic" brands since when you combine sales with coupons the "Name brands" are often (though not always) cheaper than the generic.
4) If possible use coupons for more than the cost of the item at Walmart. They give you the overage while other stores lower the value of the coupon. On the other hand, my experience is that the grocery stores registers are more forgiving of weak ink, so if your printer is printing weak, use them at the grocery store.
5) Keep an eye out for unadvertised specials at your local grocery (i.e. Kroger) store. These are the killer deals.
6) All items run on a 4-16 week sale cycle with killer deals "in season" once a year (i.e. baking stuff goes on killer sales in November and December, diet stuff in January, picnic stuff from mid May to July 4th.)
7) Check your store's deals at TheKrazyCouponLady.com once a week. They have done the leg work of matching up coupons and sales, even giving you links to print coupons when possible. They tell you if it is an everyday sale or a stock-up sale, too.
8) Organize your coupons in some way so you can find what you need when you need it. It helps many to pull the coupons they expect to use ahead of time and keep them in a separate envelope (though you should still take all your coupons with you to the store in case of surprise deals). As items are added to the basket, putting coupons in a "buy" envelope helps too. And for big and/or homeschooling families:
9) Delegate. Give each child their area of the food storage to neaten and inventory (have a pre-printed list for them to go down). When they are old enough, give them their own shopping list and coupons and let them learn how to watch prices and shop. Example: Hubby drinks Kool-aid nearly every night. He goes through one container in a week or so. These cost $2-2.50 at the local grocery store and $2-2.25 at Walmart. I often bought four each month so I wouldn't have to bother putting it on the list every week.
Then... Our local Kroger store (Smiths) put Hubby's favorite flavors of Kool-aid (brand name) on sale for "10 for $10"! (Note: "10 for $10" is just a fancy way of saying "$1.00 each." You don't actually have to buy 10 to get the good price. However if the sign says "$10 when you buy 10" you DO have to buy 10 to get the good price.)
I spent the same $10 I was going to spend on Kool-aid at Walmart anyway but bought enough for 2 1/2 months! The next time the same sale came around, I threw in a couple of "$1 off of 2" manufacturer's coupons and bought 2 1/2 months worth for only $8.00! You do need to:
Problems I have run into:
1) Volume I have 9 dc meaning we have 11 people in our home; 2 adult men, 2 teenage boys, 2 adult women, 1 women-ete (12 and probably full grown physically) and 4 little ones. What would feed a normal family for a year might do us for three meals. Do you know how many coupons you need to stock up for a family our size???
2) Storage The 11 of us (plus an 85lb dog, a cat, 5 rabbits, and a dozen chickens) live in a 1400 sq ft mobile home. Add a shed with no door, a trailer that leaks, and three cars used for storage. That's it. Where am I supposed to put a year's worth of supplies (the amount necessary to really hit the best deals)???
3) Mice We live in the country. This means mice. It is inevitable. All the above mentioned storage is NOT mouse proof. Only the cupboards above my stove, sink and fridge appear to be. This means no stockpiling anything that won't fit up there and isn't in mouse-proof packaging (toilet paper, paper towels, kleenex, cold cereal, et al).
4) Money "It takes money to make money." We are not rich. We live on one income and it's only average. But with a family three times average, well, you understand, I'm sure. We don't have the extra money to stockpile, meaning we have to buy at full price frequently. Only the rich can really save money. Sigh.
5) Time Self explanatory (1 mom + 9 homeschooled kids)
6) Not smart enough Now, I was a straight A student in high school, especially in math. But some of the store's incentive programs would take a Master's degree to understand!
7) Different sizes Is a bottle of laundry soap that is supposed to wash 20 loads for $3 a better deal than one that washes 100 loads for $10? (Yeah, Yeah, I know. Do the math. But it's annoying to have to figure the amounts out for each item on the shopping list when comparing sales at different stores. Time again.)
Coupons can be discouraging. Yet, I do see a tiny bit of difference. Due to planned camping trips this summer, I needed to keep the grocery bill very low (and still, somehow, buy the more expensive food for camping). I knew I wouldn't have to spend any money on toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, or a few other things during this time because coupons+sales had allowed me to stock up my cupboards (stocking up is an essential part of couponing, disaster preparedness, and tin foil hat conspiracies). I guess that is a benefit, though too small for my impatient self.
My research says you can't get the 90% savings they do on TV (unless you are willing to feed your children aspirin and dental floss for the week), but 30-50% is possible.
With our grocery budget, 50% would pay the mortgage!
So I am putting some effort into setting it up to really figure out the coupons. The basic philosophy of "couponing" is:
1) Don't use coupons the week they are clipped. Save them to combine with sales until you can get 50% or less.
2) Don't think "What do I need this week?" Think "What might we possibly use in the next 2-4 months?" Buy up to a year's worth of each item (that keeps) at 50% or less per product.
3) Whenever possible, ditch brand loyalty. This includes "generic" brands since when you combine sales with coupons the "Name brands" are often (though not always) cheaper than the generic.
4) If possible use coupons for more than the cost of the item at Walmart. They give you the overage while other stores lower the value of the coupon. On the other hand, my experience is that the grocery stores registers are more forgiving of weak ink, so if your printer is printing weak, use them at the grocery store.
5) Keep an eye out for unadvertised specials at your local grocery (i.e. Kroger) store. These are the killer deals.
6) All items run on a 4-16 week sale cycle with killer deals "in season" once a year (i.e. baking stuff goes on killer sales in November and December, diet stuff in January, picnic stuff from mid May to July 4th.)
7) Check your store's deals at TheKrazyCouponLady.com once a week. They have done the leg work of matching up coupons and sales, even giving you links to print coupons when possible. They tell you if it is an everyday sale or a stock-up sale, too.
8) Organize your coupons in some way so you can find what you need when you need it. It helps many to pull the coupons they expect to use ahead of time and keep them in a separate envelope (though you should still take all your coupons with you to the store in case of surprise deals). As items are added to the basket, putting coupons in a "buy" envelope helps too. And for big and/or homeschooling families:
9) Delegate. Give each child their area of the food storage to neaten and inventory (have a pre-printed list for them to go down). When they are old enough, give them their own shopping list and coupons and let them learn how to watch prices and shop. Example: Hubby drinks Kool-aid nearly every night. He goes through one container in a week or so. These cost $2-2.50 at the local grocery store and $2-2.25 at Walmart. I often bought four each month so I wouldn't have to bother putting it on the list every week.
Then... Our local Kroger store (Smiths) put Hubby's favorite flavors of Kool-aid (brand name) on sale for "10 for $10"! (Note: "10 for $10" is just a fancy way of saying "$1.00 each." You don't actually have to buy 10 to get the good price. However if the sign says "$10 when you buy 10" you DO have to buy 10 to get the good price.)
I spent the same $10 I was going to spend on Kool-aid at Walmart anyway but bought enough for 2 1/2 months! The next time the same sale came around, I threw in a couple of "$1 off of 2" manufacturer's coupons and bought 2 1/2 months worth for only $8.00! You do need to:
- Know your prices (which takes time but is a lot easier than you would think. After you begin paying attention, it just happens)
- Watch the sales.
- Save ALL coupons, even for things you won't use.(sometimes you can make money by using them and then just donate the items to a charity)
- Combine sales, manufactures coupons, and store coupons and rewards programs
- Since all sales run on a 2-4 month cycle, you buy 4 months worth at a time.
Problems I have run into:
1) Volume I have 9 dc meaning we have 11 people in our home; 2 adult men, 2 teenage boys, 2 adult women, 1 women-ete (12 and probably full grown physically) and 4 little ones. What would feed a normal family for a year might do us for three meals. Do you know how many coupons you need to stock up for a family our size???
2) Storage The 11 of us (plus an 85lb dog, a cat, 5 rabbits, and a dozen chickens) live in a 1400 sq ft mobile home. Add a shed with no door, a trailer that leaks, and three cars used for storage. That's it. Where am I supposed to put a year's worth of supplies (the amount necessary to really hit the best deals)???
3) Mice We live in the country. This means mice. It is inevitable. All the above mentioned storage is NOT mouse proof. Only the cupboards above my stove, sink and fridge appear to be. This means no stockpiling anything that won't fit up there and isn't in mouse-proof packaging (toilet paper, paper towels, kleenex, cold cereal, et al).
4) Money "It takes money to make money." We are not rich. We live on one income and it's only average. But with a family three times average, well, you understand, I'm sure. We don't have the extra money to stockpile, meaning we have to buy at full price frequently. Only the rich can really save money. Sigh.
5) Time Self explanatory (1 mom + 9 homeschooled kids)
6) Not smart enough Now, I was a straight A student in high school, especially in math. But some of the store's incentive programs would take a Master's degree to understand!
7) Different sizes Is a bottle of laundry soap that is supposed to wash 20 loads for $3 a better deal than one that washes 100 loads for $10? (Yeah, Yeah, I know. Do the math. But it's annoying to have to figure the amounts out for each item on the shopping list when comparing sales at different stores. Time again.)
Coupons can be discouraging. Yet, I do see a tiny bit of difference. Due to planned camping trips this summer, I needed to keep the grocery bill very low (and still, somehow, buy the more expensive food for camping). I knew I wouldn't have to spend any money on toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, or a few other things during this time because coupons+sales had allowed me to stock up my cupboards (stocking up is an essential part of couponing, disaster preparedness, and tin foil hat conspiracies). I guess that is a benefit, though too small for my impatient self.
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