15 days of couponing | BargainBriana

15 Days of Couponing Day 14: Ten Commandments of Couponing

by Briana Carter on October 19, 2009

Stores and manufacturer’s give us such great deals there is not reason to abuse the system. I encourage everyone to follow these “commandments” when it comes to couponing. We play within the rules and it makes it easier for everyone. When people start abusing the system, stores and manufacturers cut back or give the honest couponers a hard time!

Thou Shall Not Used Expired Coupons. Unless it is your stores policy to accept them. Sometimes they will not beep even with expired.
Thou Shall Use the Coupon for the Item is intended.
Thous Shall understand the requirements & restrictions on the coupon. Read the coupon language carefully. Sometimes there is a certain number you have to purchase or a specific variety is only included on the coupon.
Thou Shall Not Decode the Coupon to misuse the coupon.
Thou Shall Not Alter Coupons.
Thous Shall Not Make Copies of Printable Coupons. Making copies of printable coupons is a big “no no”.
Thou Shall Not Clear the Shelves.
Thou Shall Question Any FREE coupon items for legitimacy. The old adage, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Thou Shall Not Misuse the Self Checkout System.
Thou Shall Use Your Couponing Powers for Good Only!

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15 Days of Couponing Day 13: How to Handle Coupon Rejection

by Briana Carter on May 1, 2009

Day 1: We all have to shop! Why not save money while doing it?
Day 2: The Language of Couponers – Translated!
Day 3: Where Art Thou Coupons?
Day 4: Know Thy Coupon (What does that fine print mean?)
Day 5: When to Use Your Coupons
Day 6: Buy Groceries, Pay for College with Upromise eCoupons
Day 7: eCoupons the Alternate to Clipping
Day 8: Don’t Get Mad, Get a Rain Check
Day 9: Advance Your Couponing Skills with Rebates
Day 10: Stockpiling
Day 11: Organize your coupon stash
Day 12: Surviving the Checkout Lane
Day 13: How to Handle Coupon Rejection
Day 14: Ten Commandments of Couponing

So now that you’ve gotten to the checkout lane, what do you do if your coupon is rejected? For the most part, I’ve never had much trouble. There has been a few instances like at Walmart or a particular CVS in a neighboring town with a grouchy cashier. I’m not the only one who refuses to shop at this particular CVS because of one cashier! Why torture myself, ya know! Throughout the course of your coupon shopping, you will come across one of “those” cashiers. It is a given.

I like to scout out my favorite cashier. I will wait wait extra to have a favorite check me out. I try to scout out a coupon friendly cashier before entering that lane if I don’t see one of my favorites. I have my own methods of trying to decide who will be coupon friendly by appearances if I don’t know. Nothing scientific just based on past experiences. You may also want to reference Surviving the Checkout Lane to get hints on how to stay organized so you can be confident you purchased X item which makes X coupon!

So what do you do if they say nope, can’t take this coupon. First, please remain calm. You will get a better result if you speak in a rational tone and in a respectful way. Remember, the cashiers have to answer to their managers, who have to answer to their managers, etc. They all just want to follow store policy and make sure that all coupons are utilized properly so the store is able to be reimbursed for the coupons.

If the cashier refused to scan the coupon, you should ask they try to scan it. If it doesn’t scan, it doesn’t mean the coupon is not valid. It just may be a coding error. Make sure your language matches the coupon. Some cashiers may try to say you have to buy the product pictured on the coupon. That is not always the case. Companies usually show a higher priced item on the coupon but many of the coupons I use state “any abc brand product.”

Decide if it is worth it to speak to the manager. Don’t forget your time has value. It is probably not worth my time to speak to a manager over (1) .25 coupon. I know that most deals come around again and my pantry is stocked so I don’t sweat the small stuff as much anymore. You have to determine how much your time is worth.

Be assertive not nasty when speaking with the manager. Usually managers are more informed about the coupon policies than cashiers. It never hurts to ask for a manager.

Having a corporate coupon policy is always helpful. Just remember a store has the right to refuse any coupon or change their policy at any time. You, however, have the right to contact their corporate headquarters.

Don’t be afraid to ask to remove an item off your receipt if they won’t accept your coupon. I’ve done this before for items I may not have bought at the price without the coupon before. If it is an item we need, I will still buy it and move on.

Final note, don’t be nervous about using your coupons. When I first started out, I got all clammy when I showed up at the cash register with a wad of my coupons. Now it is second nature and doesn’t bother me a bit. It also helps to arm yourself with coupon knowledge. The more you know, the more confident you will be in your couponing abilities.

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15 Days of Couponing Day 12: Surviving the Checkout Lane

by Briana Carter on March 23, 2009

Spend a little time before heading out on your next shopping trip to stay organized and save time & money. You will get a feel for what works for you after awhile but here’s my before, during, and checking out strategies. All it requires is a less than $10 pocket file organizer and multiple envelopes. Use envelopes from bills/credit card offers you don’t use.

Use my “printer friendly” version of my deal page.
Look through the pages and cross out the items I know I don’t want/need.
Search for the coupons by insert and then clip the coupons of the items I’m interested in.
Write the # of items I want of each item by the item, check off the coupon to use as I find them so I know they are clipped.
I then organize my coupons by aisle. I paper clip the multiple coupons together and then put the list and the coupons in an envelope.
As I am shopping, I gather the items I want to purchase. As I am doing this, I find my coupons and place them in a separate envelope so I will be ready for checkout.
For coupons I don’t use either because they are out of that particular item or I decide we don’t need it while in the store, I just place those in the back “To Be Filed.
I do a quick double check of my coupons as I’m standing in line just to make sure I didn’t miss any coupons.

One additional thing I have been doing is carrying a 8 1/2″ x 11″ clear envelope. I place loose coupons, coupon booklets, and ads in this envelope. This has helped me a save a little extra because I usually find a few items on clearance or unadvertised deals which match up to my loose coupons.

Here’s the coupon wallet I use while shopping. I leave my purse in the car and put cash or my credit/debit card, loyalty cards, gift cards in the outside pocket. I have extra coupons in different sections in my coupon wallet in case I find something that isn’t on my list that I need, unadvertised sale, or clearance.

As you get more comfortable with using your coupons, you will find it a little easier to shop with your children with your coupons. Good luck to you!!!

The 15 Days of Couponing will guide you through the art of couponing. It is a skill that you can learn and maximize to the full potential to help your family and help others. So if you are interested in cutting your grocery budget in half or more, read yesterday’s edition and stay tuned for the next edition!

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15 Days of Couponing Day 11: Organize Your Coupon Stash

by Briana Carter on March 18, 2009

Day 1: We all have to shop! Why not save money while doing it?
Day 2: The Language of Couponers – Translated!
Day 3: Where Art Thou Coupons?
Day 4: Know Thy Coupon (What does that fine print mean?)
Day 5: When to Use Your Coupons
Day 6: Buy Groceries, Pay for College with Upromise eCoupons
Day 7: eCoupons the Alternate to Clipping
Day 8: Don’t Get Mad, Get a Rain Check
Day 9: Advance Your Couponing Skills with Rebates
Day 10: Stockpiling
Day 11: Organize Your Coupon Stash
Day 12: Surviving the Checkout Lane
Day 13: How to Handle Coupon Rejection

To keep ya’ll here, I’ve read you should use words like “Easy”, “Proven”, “Effective”. Well, there isn’t really one method that is the easiest or proven when it comes to coupon organization. Everyone has their own preferences on what works best for them.

I’ve tried several methods and have my own system. Sometimes it isn’t perfect. Sometimes it isn’t pretty. It is what works for me.

So today I’m going to give you some ideas and maybe it will help you develop your own system on what works for you.

Does this look organized to you?

No, probably not. This is actually a picture of me working on my “masterpiece” while getting organized for a mega shopping trip. It looks ugly but I assure you there is a method to my madness.

I use the weekly insert method instead of clipping every single coupon every week. Meaning, I take my Sunday newspaper inserts, use a Sharpie and mark the date of the insert on the front page. This is a really fun project for my 7 year old son since it does involve the sacred Sharpie marker. If you use my weekly deals, you will notice I put the insert date and type in the coupon spot – this is to help those who use the insert method.

I do clip some coupons. I clip coupons I know I will use right away such as “Free” coupons or items we are always buying. I place these in my black coupon organizer which I will tell you about in the next edition of the 15 days of couponing.

At one time I was then placing them in a 12 pocket file organizer like the one shown to the right. However, I soon realized this was not large enough and it was annoying having to mess with the velcro when I needed an insert quickly.

So now I use these open file organizers. It looks messier but it works better for me as I can fit more inserts and reach them quicker to clip.I still file them by date but I don’t take the time to write it on a label. I just use the front of the insert as a guide.

Coupon organization is probably one of the biggest frustrations rookies have. I’ve put together a list of the advantages of each method. Use this as a guide to help you decided which method may work best for you. Just as with any other organization system, it does require constant updating to keep it organized or you will have a big mess like this.

Advantages of the Insert Method:

You don’t spend hours clipping, sorting, and filing every single coupon every week even the ones you don’t need.
Easy to find the coupon you need when you use my store match ups or the Coupon Database.
You don’t have to try to guess which category you filed a coupon that good fit into several categories.
You don’t “lose” coupons in your stash that state “any” product of a certain brand which could apply to medicine, baby, etc.

Advantages of Clipping each Week:

Sometimes you find coupons in your weekly insert that the databases didn’t tell you about or had down for a different week. Sometimes different areas get different coupons at different times.
You will have coupons clipped when you find a spectacular clearance deal.
Coupons are already clipping for trading, giving away, etc.
You spend less time right before your shopping trip pulling coupons our of your coupon binding instead of finding them then clipping them.

People who clip each week usually use a coupon box or a 3 ring binder with plastic sheets to organize their coupons by category. I did that when I first started couponing and I couldn’t keep up with clipping every week and once I even had a child empty out my entire coupon binder by flipping it upside down!

Coupon Pros or Newbies: How do you organize YOUR coupons?

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15 Days of Couponing Day 10: Stockpiling

by Briana Carter on March 14, 2009

Day 1: We all have to shop! Why not save money while doing it?
Day 2: The Language of Couponers – Translated!
Day 3: Where Art Thou Coupons?
Day 4: Know Thy Coupon (What does that fine print mean?)
Day 5: When to Use Your Coupons
Day 6: Buy Groceries, Pay for College with Upromise eCoupons
Day 7: eCoupons the Alternate to Clipping
Day 8: Don’t Get Mad, Get a Rain Check
Day 9: Advance Your Couponing Skills with Rebates
Day 10: Stockpiling
Day 11: Organize Your Coupon Stash
Day 12: Surviving the Checkout Lane

With all of your coupon knowledge, you can now begin your stockpile. The longer you coupon, you know the deals always come around again. I used to think that free toothpaste would never come around again but now I know that there is always free toothpaste available so I don’t stress if I can’t get to the store on that particular week.

By stockpiling items before you need them at the lowest price, you won’t have to buy at a higher price when you have to have them. This also eliminates unnecessary trips to the store, which could cause you to make impulse purchases. Another advantage of stockpiling is you already have food stocked in your pantry, thus giving you no excuse not to cook.

What to Stockpile

It is recommended you come up with a list of your 50 or so most used products. Items you can have on hand to whip together a meal anytime. This will be different for every family. Some of our family’s stock up items include cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, Crest Pro Health Toothpaste (yes, someone is picky!), personal care products, canned soups, cereals, bread, etc.

To get the most out of couponing, you usually have to expand your horizons and not be brand specific. If you are brand specific, like in our household have to buy Crest Pro Health Toothpaste in spearmint only or Gillette disposable razors, or only Aloe Shaving Cream, or only Tyson breaded chicken products (Have you guessed who the picky person is yet?) you may have to wait longer for a sale to come along. When it does, you will want to make sure you have several coupons on hand so you can buy enough to last your family until the next sale comes along.

When to Stockpile

So when do you stockpile? Some people track the lowest prices with a spreadsheet or something called a price book. Mine is stored in my head but here’s a few items and the my target rock bottom price. Remember this will differ for everyone and will differ on your own family’s needs.

Bargain Tip: For perishable items like potatoes, make a huge batch of home made mashed potatoes and freeze into smaller containers to re-heat later.

Cereal - $1.50/box or less
Toothpaste/Toothbrushes - Free
Hair Products - 25¢ or less
Fresh Boneless Chicken Breast - $1.87/lb or less
Pasta/Pasta Sauce - $1 or less
Dish Liquid - 25¢ or less
Cookie Mixes/Brownie Mixes/Frosting - 25¢ or less
Boxed Potatoes – 50¢ or less
10 lb bag of potatoes - $1.97 or less
Bread – 50¢ or less
Lysol Cleaning Supplies – 50¢ or less
Pizza Rolls – 50¢ or less
Frozen Pizzas – $3.00 or less

The professionals say the sale usually cycle through every 12 weeks. Some cycle through more often. Others cycle through less. You get more of a feel for this the longer you coupon. I try to give you the best coupon match ups here but only you can decide if a item is “worth” the price for you to stockpile.

You will notice that usually around 4-6 weeks before a holiday or season change, the related items will start going on sale. Baking items start going on sale at the beginning of November, Halloween candy starts going on sale at the beginning of October, etc. so you will stock up on those items before you need them.

Some things like lipbalm are considered “necessities” and I will ANY price for these items. Even though, I try to stock up when I find it for around 30¢/tube but sometimes you have to pay full price if is a “need” item.

You can save money by having the items you use regularly on hand because 1) you purchased at a low price and 2) saves time, money, and impulse items when you have to stop at the store for that one item 3) ingredients on hand to make meals instead of reaching for the phone for take out.

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15 Days of Couponing Day 9: Advance Your Couponing Skills with Rebates

by Briana Carter on March 13, 2009

Day 1: We all have to shop! Why not save money while doing it?
Day 2: The Language of Couponers – Translated!
Day 3: Where Art Thou Coupons?
Day 4: Know Thy Coupon (What does that fine print mean?)
Day 5: When to Use Your Coupons
Day 6: Buy Groceries, Pay for College with Upromise eCoupons
Day 7: eCoupons the Alternate to Clipping
Day 8: Don’t Get Mad, Get a Rain Check
Day 9: Advance Your Couponing Skills with Rebates
Day 10: Stockpiling
Day 11: Organize Your Coupon Stash
Day 12: Surviving the Checkout Lane

A Mail in Rebate Offer for a $1 is not worth my time or stamp. However, higher dollar rebates, free product rebates are worth my time when I combine with sales, coupons, and other store offers like Register Rewards or Extra Bucks. It can turn an already good deal into a money maker.

For example, their was recently a Colgate/Palmolive Rebate to receive a free Travel bag loaded with goodies when you purchased $15 worth of participating products. I combined with store sales, coupons, and CVS Extra Bucks for my qualifying purchases as most rebates are BEFORE coupons. I received my bag this past week and was quite pleased with it. You can see from the picture it is an adorable bag with travel size items and $9.50 in coupons.

Rebate Tips

1. Read Rebate Rules for offer thoroughly and check dates. Most request original store receipt, UPC, and item to be purchased during a certain time period.

2. Do one rebate at a time. Do not combine rebate items on one receipt as you usually have to submit the original receipt with your rebate submission.

3. Start your paperwork as soon as you complete the rebate offer. Trust me, don’t let your rebates linger – otherwise that UPC will disappear. Even if I’m not ready to start my rebate, I will go ahead and start a envelope to put all the required materials in.

Bargain Tips: Use the free address labels that come in the mail to save time filling out your information on the rebate forms. Use envelopes you receive from your bills or special offers to mail your mail in rebates. I do most of bill paying online so I usually have numerous envelopes around – don’t toss them, save them and use them!

4. Make a copy or scan your entire submission before mailing in case you run into a problem.

5. Track your rebates either in a notepad, a spreadsheet, or with a rebate tracking program like rebate-tracker.com. I keep track of offer name, address, rebate amount, date submitted.

6. Use caution when buying rebates with Extra Bucks. If you only pay less than the rebate amount out of pocket, you may not be eligible for the full rebate. I like to combine my rebate items with other normal household purchases so I get my maximum rebate.

7. Look out in the mail. I’ve almost thrown out several rebates before even opening them because many times they come unmarked and almost look like junk mail!

8. If you don’t receive your check within the indicated time frame, give them a call. This is when your records come in handy. Personally, I’ve only had a rebate problem once and it was taken care of very promptly because I had all my paperwork to back it up.

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15 Days of Couponing Day 8: Don’t Get Mad, Get a Rain Check

by Briana Carter on March 12, 2009

Day 1: We all have to shop! Why not save money while doing it?
Day 2: The Language of Couponers – Translated!
Day 3: Where Art Thou Coupons?
Day 4: Know Thy Coupon (What does that fine print mean?)
Day 5: When to Use Your Coupons
Day 6: Buy Groceries, Pay for College with Upromise eCoupons
Day 7: eCoupons the Alternate to Clipping
Day 8: Don’t Get Mad, Get a Rain Check
Day 9: Advance Your Couponing Skills with Rebates
Day 10: Stockpiling
Day 11: Organize Your Coupon Stash
Day 12: Surviving the Checkout Lane

Worst Case Scenario: It’s last day of the sale. You have your coupons clipped. You are ready to go. You get to your favorite store and they are OUT of the rock bottom sale price items. Frustrating. What is a couponer to do? Don’t get mad, Get a “Rain Check.” Rainchecks are usually available for advertised specials unless it states “While Supplies Last”, “Quantities Limited”, or simple “No Rain Checks.”

Raincheck

A seller’s commitment to sell an out-of-stock item at the advertised price as soon as it becomes available.

Each store has its own rules on Rain Checks so you will want to check your store for their policy. For example, Marsh Rain Checks expire in 14 days. So usually they are completely pointless for me to get because sometimes even in 14 days, the item is still not in stock or by then my coupon has expired without a new one . Other stores like Walgreens Rain Checks never expire.

Your mileage may vary on Rain Checks for Extra Care Buck or Register Reward generating products. This policy varies by location, store, manager, mood of cashier. One way you can maximize a Rain Check at Walgreen’s is if an Easy Saver Product is on sale this week and it is out of stock, you can get a Rain Check for the sale price and use the next week and you will still earn your Easy Saver Rebate. I’m pretty certain they will not issue a Rain Check for Register Reward items but they will for sale items and weekly store coupon items.

How to Use Rain Checks to Your Advantage

I say don’t get mad because Rain Checks can be used to your advantage. If it is a rocking deal, get a Rain Check for the maximum number of items allowed. It will allow you to have more time to gather additional coupons or wait until new coupons out if there are no current coupons available.

I’ve only actually done the Rain Check thing a couple of times because there usually isn’t much that I absolutely have to have anymore because our stockpile is so great. One hint is to make sure to give your cashier your raincheck as they are ringing up the item as they usually have to manually adjust the price. So if you purchasing a whole cartload of stuff, it takes them extra time to find it in the receipt.

What’s Your Experience With Rainchecks? Any additional hints or tips?

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15 Days of Couponing Day 7: eCoupons the Alternate to Clipping

by Briana Carter on March 10, 2009

Day 1: We all have to shop! Why not save money while doing it?
Day 2: The Language of Couponers – Translated!
Day 3: Where Art Thou Coupons?
Day 4: Know Thy Coupon (What does that fine print mean?)
Day 5: When to Use Your Coupons
Day 6: Buy Groceries, Pay for College with Upromise eCoupons
Day 7: eCoupons the Alternate to Clipping
Day 8: Don’t Get Mad, Get a Rain Check
Day 9: Advance Your Couponing Skills with Rebates
Day 10: Stockpiling
Day 11: Organize Your Coupon Stash
Day 12: Surviving the Checkout Lane

No clipping, no printing, no fuss when using eCoupons. Cellfire, Shortcuts, P&G eCoupons, and Upromise eCoupons offer this convenient alternate to paper coupons. Cellfire and Shortcuts are limited to Kroger shoppers (and the whole family of Kroger grocery stores.) While P&G eSavers can be used at Kroger and Safeway stores. Hopefully, more stores will participate in these programs as they become more popular.

Many stores participate in the Upromise eCoupons program and you can read more about how the Upromise eCoupon program works from yesterday’s post: Buy Groceries, Pay for College with Upromise eCoupons.

How it Works

Sign up for an account and register your participating store cards with Shortcuts, Cellfire, and P&G eSavers.
Load the coupons you want. I just go ahead and load all that I’m allowed to be on the safe side. It takes about an hour for it to be loaded on your store loyalty card so don’t wait until the last minute to load ‘em. You will want to check and make sure they are loaded before going out to shop.
Shop at your participating stores with your registered store loyalty card. When you purchase participating items, the amount of the eCoupon will be deducted at checkout.
If you have a problem with your eCoupon being deducted, contact the eCoupon provider with the link provided on their website. You usually have 30 days to report a problem.

eCoupons normally don’t double so sometimes you save more by using a paper coupon. However, eCoupons are a great option for those who don’t want the hassle of clipping, sorting, etc. Even if you don’t want to do coupon match ups, activate your eCoupon savings and if you happen to buy one of the products – YAY for you for unintentionally saving a little dough!

eCoupons & Paper Coupons

eCoupons from Shortcuts, Cellfire, and P&G eSavers are not meant to be used with paper coupons. However, most of the time you will be able to obtain both discounts. Probably even discounts from all four eCoupons places and paper coupons if there is a coupon for the same product available on all.

However, this is not how it is intended. I do know that is very hard to remember which coupons you have loaded on the card as well as values. So maybe your paper coupon is a higher value but you already loaded the eCoupon? What do you do?

These are issues which eCoupon companies/manufacturer/stores need to get a better handle on how to use these without being unethical or violating their rules. Because as we know, improper coupon usage hurts us all. You can read two different opinions about this at Mommysnacks.net and SouthernSavers. Each has a differing view on the opinion – my opinion is I won’t intentionally use both but I can’t remember it all! (Really, it isn’t too hard for me because my main shopping store doesn’t even offer eCoupons!)