Shopping Tip #4 – Coupons Are Free Money (if you use them correctly)

On Sunday morning I am like Edward Scissorhands.  Coupons are a flyin’.  I actually can feel my heart skip a beat when I find really good coupon.  If you ask my daughter, she will tell you, “Coupons are free money.”  There is however a bit of an art to coupon clipping.

The first thing is to only clip coupons for things that you will actually use.  If you want to try a new product, a coupon is a good way to make it affordable, which is exactly what the companies are hoping you think.  Doing this is fine, but in the end it will add to your bill not subtract, because you are buying things beyond your normal purchases.

Next, this is one that took me a little while to realize, using a coupon on a more expensive item when there is a cheaper version available does not save you money.  On my last shopping trip I had a 25-cent coupon for a five-pound bag of sugar.  Sugar was already on my list so the coupon was a good deal (see rule 1).  The bag of sugar would normally have cost 2.50 and the coupon brought it down to 2.25.  However, the store brand cost only 1.89.  The coupon did not bring down the cost of the item to lower priced option, therefore it was better to not use the coupon and instead buy the store brand sugar.

This type of thing happens a lot with personal hygiene products.  I am a Suave girl.  It’s reasonably priced and a quality product (a good price with a lousy product isn’t worth the money you save).  For a while I kept coming home with more expensive soaps and lotions and my grocery bill showed the strain.  I thought that just because I had a coupon I was getting a better deal.  Don’t be afraid to give up a coupon if you are actually going to pay less without the use of a coupon.

Now I am not saying that you should use the cheaper item just because it is cheaper.  However, like discussed in Shopping Tip #3, so many items in the grocery store have negligible differences.  So why pay more for advertising?

The next thing to do with coupons is to try to stack them with store specials.  Last week I was able to get cereal and sausage so cheap because I found a store that had them on sale and then I saved even more by using a coupon on top of the special.  Coupons are typically good for several months.  So, unless you need something right away, save them until the item goes on sale.

Finally, if you want to get the best coupons, you have to get a Sunday subscription to a larger newspaper.  I found a great deal in which I could subscribe to a year of the Sunday Washington Post for only 50-cents a week.  That is a dollar off the newsstand price.  All I have to do is find one good coupon and the paper has paid for itself.

I almost forgot.  It is important to keep your coupons well organized so that you can find them easily.  Here is a picture of my coupon organizer.  It is really almost embarrassingly big.  I got it at Michael’s and I used a 40% off coupon so it was only about $6.  Would you expect me not to use a coupon on my coupon organizer?

 

NEXT: Shopping Tip #5- Comparison Shop Online

Comments

[Carrie T]

Before I moved in with my now husband he always bought everything name brand. Now he comes home with all non name brand stuff. And they say we can't change them!

There are some things I don't buy generic. Razors are one of those, I do have a coupon though!

[Austin Chu]

I work for a company that manages and tracks gift cards, and I've been following the coupon craze on savvywallet.com. One thing to consider is all the fraudulent coupons that are floating around online.

How do you organize your coupons, by product type, alpha order, or expiration date? You are a shopping guru!! Keep up the informative postings! Even us old folks are never too old to learn new tricks!! /gg

[Laundry & Children]

I organize them by type. That way if I know I need to buy cheese, I got to the Dairy section and find a cheese coupon. I purge once a month to take out expired coupons.

Here are my categories:
Extra Care Bucks
Store Coupons
Restaurants
Misc. & Others
Cookies, Crackers and Snacks
Canned Goods, Side Dishes, Spices and Pasta
Paper Products & Storage
Cooking Supplies
Desserts
Cereal and Breakfast
Beverages
Sauces and Condiments
Babies
Dairy & Bread
Meat
Personal Hygiene and Make-up
Cleaning Products