“Ma’am, it won’t take this coupon.” After scanning the coupon for the third time and hearing an annoying beep, the cashier presses the total button on the cash register and hands me back my coupon with a sorry-can’t-help-you smile dripping off of his face.

I hold my hand out towards his, pushing the coupon back. “You just need to insert the amount that the product is for. That’s why it is beeping.” He looks at me, then at the manager making his way to the front of the growing line. Reluctantly, the salesman scans the coupon again. This time when it beeps, he keys in the amount of the product. Presto: the amount comes off of my total. All is well.

Over the last eight months I have become a dedicated couponer. And more times than I can count I have excitedly prepared my coupons at home for the perfect transaction, ran to the store with high hopes, only to be turned away by a disgruntled cashier who can either not figure out how to use the coupon, or who does not know their corporate coupon policy. The first two times my coupons were not accepted I was too embarrassed or intimidated by growing lines to say anything, so I just paid for the merchandise and quickly left the store. However, after several failed attempts I decided to start suggesting to the cashier how to input the coupon based upon my growing expertise from all of the other successful experiences I have had. By paying attention to cashiers, seeing which buttons they were pushing, discerning between the various toned beeps and asking my fair share of questions, I have become a bit of a scan artist.

As an official scan artist, I have compiled some information that might save you some frustrating trips to the cash register. First of all, the following are a few common beeping noises you may come across, and what they generally mean. It is a little difficult to discuss the different toned beeps through writing, but if you read them out loud I think it will help to clarify the sounds.

Common Sounds:

• Blip-Blip-Blip: The melodious sound of coupons being scanned through (successfully) and your total coming down, down, down.
• Blip-Beeeep: Typically this happens when a coupon needs the cashier to input the amount of the product purchased in order to redeem the coupon. This type of beep also results from a coupon exceeding the amount the product is being sold for. In this situation, usually the cashier can adjust the value of the coupon down to match the cost of the product (again, they have to input this price themselves). In any case, it means the cashier must manually override or input something. Be aware that some cashiers do not have the authority to manually override, and must call their manager in order to do so.
• Beep-Beep-Ba-beeeeep: That beautiful sound at CVS stores which means your ECBs are printing out. If you do not hear this beep at the end of your purchase at CVS, make sure to check your receipt because this means your ECBs have not printed. If you were supposed to get ECBs, talk to the register clerk and/or double check the ad to make sure you have bought the correct product (size, weight, shape, type, etc.

Another issue that you may come across at the cash register has to do with whether or not your cashier is knowledgeable about their corporate coupon policy, or whether or not the manager for the store you are shopping at has specific policies for coupon use. It is best to educate yourself on each store’s coupon policy. To help you do so, I have emailed each of four popular stores (CVS, Walgreens, Target and Walmart), in order to obtain an official copy of their coupon policies. The following is the information I was given:

CVS

• Accepts manufacturer’s coupons that have been obtained from an approved Web site sponsored by the manufacturer.  The coupon should be complete and contain a bar code that can be scanned at the register.
• Visit www.cvs.com and go to the ”Save With In-store Coupons” box and click on “start printing now”.  To print coupons, check the box next to the Clip! icon, (or click ”Select All Offers”) and then click ”Print Now”.  Please note that these coupons can be redeemed at CVS/pharmacy stores only and all manufacturer requirements must be met.
• Registers are set to allow 1 CVS coupon and 1 manufacturer coupon per item.
• CVS Extra Buck coupons are earned when you make a qualifying purchase.  These print out instantly at the register upon reaching the threshold for the offer.
• Free coupons or “offers at the register” are unearned and issued to you as a valued member of the CVS/pharmacy ExtraCare program.  These coupons take the form of “open ended” coupons such as $3 off $15 or a certain dollar amount off a specific item.  In any given transaction our registers will allow only one “open ended” coupon per transaction and more than one Extra Buck coupon provided the purchase threshold has been met for each offer amount on a per-transaction basis.
• In the case where a particular item is on sale for “buy one get one free” (BOGO), you are only allowed to use one manufacturer’s coupon.  For instance, if Revlon lipstick is on sale for BOGO, you can use one manufacturer’s BOGO coupon.  You would get both items free & pay any applicable tax.  The Store Manager can limit quantities.

Questions: Call 1-800-SHOP-CVS (1-800-746-7287)

Walgreens

I spoke with a representative on the phone, and she said that there is no actual coupon policy written down, and that each store has the leeway to change their coupon policy. She suggests that you go to the store you shop at most often and ask them for their particular coupon policies.

Here is what I have found for Walgreen stores in my area in (Houston, TX):

• You can stack one walgreen’s coupon, and one manufacturer’s coupon together for the same product.
• If you use a register reward to pay for a product that is supposed to yield a register reward, it will not print out your register reward.
• You can only pay with one register reward per transaction.
• You cannot have more coupons than you have items in your transaction. This means you may want to find a favorite candy bar (mine is mint musketeers!), and each time go up to the register with one or two of them in order to increase your items if needed.

Questions: Call 1-800-925-4733

Target

• Accepts two kinds of coupons: Target-issued and manufacturer-issued.
• Accepts one Target coupon and one manufacturer coupon for the same item, unless either coupon prohibits it.
• Cannot give cash back if the face value of a coupon is greater than the purchase value of the item; in this case, we’re able to adjust the value of the coupon to equal the price of the item.
• Can’t accept coupons from other retailers.
• All valid coupons should be presented to the cashier while you’re checking out.

Questions: Call 1-800-440-0680

Walmart:

• Wal-Mart accepts manufacturer coupons (Cents Off), free merchandise (or manufacturer’s Buy-One-Get-One-Free) coupons, store coupons (which come from specific store chains such as CVS, Kohls, etc), internet coupons, and soft drink container caps. Internet coupons should be legible and say “Manufacturer Coupon”, and there should be a valid remit address for the manufacturer and a scan able bar code.
• Only one coupon per item is permitted.
• The use of 40 or more coupons per transaction will require approval by Customer Service Manager.

Questions: Call 1-800-WALMART (1-800-925-6278)

I encourage you to print out this post and take it with you; if the cashier you are working with does not know their coupon policy, you can use the information above as a reference. Your next step may be to talk with a manager or customer service representative. If necessary, you can use the above headquarter phone numbers and have your answer at your fingertips.

Also a little note about printable coupons. The internet has truly brought saving money to our fingertips; you no longer even need to purchase a Sunday paper to get many coupons on such sites as www.shortcuts.com, www.coupons.com, etc. However, many stores still do not accept these coupons. Why? Well, turns out that they do look like they could be photocopied, and for some managers, that is enough to deem them all illegal. And as the last KFC free grilled chicken fiasco taught us, it is always best to check with the store through a phone call first to make sure they will accept your printed coupons.
Just remember, the store that you shop at will be reimbursed the coupon amount from the manufacturer, and each manufacturer prints up a certain amount of coupons based upon promotional programs that they have money set aside for. Besides, experts estimate that only 3% of the billions of dollars worth of coupons printed each year are ever redeemed. So you should never feel guilty or ashamed for using legitimate coupons; only intelligent for embracing your frugal side!

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Oftentimes coupons for free products do not actually result in a free product (of course that does not mean you can’t score an abundance of free products), a sad fact I experienced just recently. Last Friday I was riding high. Even though I normally do not work on Fridays (I work 4 ten-hour days, Monday through Thursday), I had to come into the office to conduct a special complaint investigation. I woke up that morning 15 minutes before the alarm even went off, and felt awake and alive. The investigation went well enough, and in the midst of trying to sniff out a plume of hydrogen sulfide, I even had some wonderful moments in nature as we were out in the middle of nowhere. I came back to the office, dropped off my gear, and got in my car to head home at 11:00 a.m. And then I remembered that I had a Free Coney Island Hot Dog coupon just waiting for me in my coupon envelope. Why not?

                I pulled up to the intercom system and ordered one cheese hot dog. “Is that all?” A lady asked. I said yes, and proceeded to the pay window, or in my case, the pay-with-coupon window. I’ve seen that look before, the baffled expression that the register clerk had when instead of handing her the obligatory credit card, $5.00 bill, or even nickels to pay my $1.83 balance, I handed her a brightly-colored coupon for payment. I just smiled, smug in my all-knowing. And then the window opened again, and she said “Uh, you have to buy a medium or large fountain drink to use this coupon.” My moment was shattered! I did not want the syrupy mountain drink; I just wanted the hot dog. Still, I was all ready there, and I had obviously been in the wrong by not reading the fine print carefully. I ordered a medium sprite. The bill came to $1.94, and we both had a giggle. The coupon was literally costing me extra money to use for a product that I did not want anyway. Because I used the coupon, I had to pay an extra $0.11 than if I had not used a coupon at all, and had just bought the cheese dog. Hmph!

                It is not often that I get hung up on fine print; after all, I am a regulator, and so I am pretty good about checking into all of the minor details. But every now and then I get called out by someone, and it is always a feeling of disappoint laced with the regret of wasted time. In fact, the only reason why I just smiled and passed over my credit card to pay the $1.94 bill was because it was ridiculous that the coupon cost me more to use than if I had not used it, and I knew I could write an interesting article about it.

                Sometimes the fine print is great—like in contests or sweepstakes when “No purchase is necessary”, or stores who give away products with “No purchase necessary”. But most times, the fine print is not in the consumer’s favor, although this does not mean you will not get a great deal. Here are some common pitfalls in the fine print that should not stop you from scoring a deal, but may change the way that you do it (and it’s always best to look for and find these out before the tally comes up at the cash register):

1. Purchase between Certain Dates
2. Purchase a Certain Brand, and Type of Product Within that Brand
3. Minimum Purchase Amount Necessary
4. Free Item with Purchase of Another Item
5. Certain ounce sizes or weight sizes only
6. On Buy One Get One Free Products, the Free Product is of Equal or Lesser Value
7. Coupon is Good for Up to a Certain Amount
8. Valid Only at Participating Locations

Most of the time if you just glance at the fine print, you will be fine. But some companies have started to really take advantage of this fine print they are allotted. MousePrint.org writes about a recent K-Mart special where the ad says “Buy any 3 items and get a $10 debit Card”, but the fine print says that your product total must equal $25 (this is an extreme case. In my opinion, this is false advertising). Or check out his article on Comcast’s 2-Yr Guaranteed Rate Increase.

Have you ever been snubbed by the fine print?

Author’s Note: This is the second article of a two part series this week on teaching you the skills to become a better shopper, for non-couponers and couponers alike. Check out the first article here.

Many of my readers are in the same spot as you; they like the idea of saving money, they think my articles are cute and funny, but they can’t seem to bring frugality into their own lives. Couponing takes too long, price shopping is just an added trip onto a growing errand list, and life has greater priorities then to spend time saving money.

                If you are in this boat, here are some great tips to saving money that take little time, and will reap you great rewards by helping you to shop smarter, not harder (or longer). 

• Shop Clearance First, Not Last: Here’s a secret I have yet to share: whenever I enter a store (online or in person), I always shop the clearance section first, even if I am using a gift card. You would be amazed at the deals you can find without using any coupons. Some of my favorite finds include a picnic blanket for $7.99 (originally $50), a year’s supply of spray-on 50 SPF sunscreen for $6.00 (that is 7 bottles, which do not expire until 2012), salmon fillets at Randall’s for half the cost (manager’s special meats: you will need to cook or freeze them within two days to be safe), a $100 long wool coat for $39, etc. I even shop clearance racks first at discount stores such as Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, and Half-Priced Books.
• Make Two Transactions: Thrown off by the Drugstore Game? Here’s how you can easily get in on the action. Every week drug stores offer free products for store credit. At CVS, you receive the product price in ExtraCare bucks, at Rite Aid you receive rebates after purchase, and at Walgreens you receive Register Rewards good to use on your next purchase. This means that when you need to purchase something from a drugstore—such as makeup, cold medicine, feminine products, etc.—pick up the weekly sales ad and first purchase the free product (or close-to-free). This way you will get a shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, or whatever else for free because you then immediately spend that reward on your next transaction, which is the purchase you were going to make anyway. No coupons involved. Here is an example from this week’s CVS ad (good through Saturday, May 22): Buy the Blade 5 razor system for $6.99, and get $6.99 in ExtraCare Bucks (register rewards). Use these right away to purchase whatever else you need. Or Walgreen’s ad (good through Saturday, May 22): Buy a Gillette Body Wash (10-18 oz) for $4.49, and receive $4.49 in register rewards (store credit). Use this right away to purchase whatever else you need.   
• Use Warren Buffett’s Advice…Well Sort of: Purchase when everyone else is not buying, and don’t buy when everyone else is buying. This is a good rule of thumb. Plan a trip or a wedding in the off season. Buy homes in the wintertime, when sales are down. Buy clothes out of season. Buy decorations after major holidays when they are reduced by 75%-90%.
• Buy Bulk on Sale of Products You Use Most: There are certain products that we all use more of. For Paul and me, it’s coca-cola, mustard and Ziploc bags (we buy bulk meats to freeze, and also we both pack lunches everyday). For you it may be batteries and mayonnaise. Whatever your frequent products are, the next time they are on sale somewhere, buy many of them. Coca-Cola refrigerator packs run anywhere from $4.45 when they are at their peak in price, to $2.00 when I can find them at their best price. So I purchase 6-8 packs of them at the $2.00 price and then I won’t have to buy them again until the next great sale. That right there is a passive savings of $14.70-$19.60. Because of the amount of cokes we go through in a year, we’re talking a yearly savings of over $100. (Ah yes…an even greater savings would be to stop consuming them!)
• Eat Out for Lunch Only: Instead of frequenting your favorite restaurant for dinners, think about eating there for Saturday lunch, or Sunday Brunch. The lunch menu is always cheaper than the dinner menu, and you could even bring some leftovers home for dinner (if there are any!).
• Shop at Uncommon Locations for Your Product: Why do I purchase spices at Walgreens or CVS instead of the grocery store, a fish tank fluorescent tube light bulb at Home Depot, and bird seed at Kroger’s? Because by not purchasing them at the specialty store or the most common (and intuitive) location, I get a much better price.

I know many of you reading this do not want to shop at Wal-Mart for any number of reasons, but if you find yourself in a pinch or a hard financial time right now, this is a great tool to save yourself some money until you get back on your feet.

One of the nice things about living in a city is having so many competing stores—each with their own weekly sales flyers—within a short distance of one another.

I take advantage of this by cherry picking deals every other week when we grocery shop, typically between two different stores. On Wednesdays the sales flyers for Kroger’s, Randall’s, Food Town, and H-E-B come in the mail and I sit in front of the television and circle deals that I want to take advantage of. Some weeks I find it lucrative to visit two grocery stores and some weeks it is lucrative but I find that I don’t feel like making an extra trip. Then on Friday (I work a compressed work schedule), or Saturday, Paul and I go to one-two grocery stores and bring the food home.

This week, I decided to do something different. I know that Wal-Mart has a price matching program, but I have never taken advantage of it. Also, I had a comment on my blog several months ago that price matching at Wal-Mart is a total nightmare and not worth it. Now that there is a Wal-Mart within a short distance of my home, I felt that this was the perfect opportunity for me to do an experiment!

Last Friday morning I looked over the Randall’s and Kroger’s ads of the week and circled what would normally attract me to make trips to each of these stores. Here is the breakdown for the sales ad week of December 2^nd:

Kroger’s

1. Mission Tortillas, 11.7-15 oz.: 10 for $10, or $1 each
2. Fresh Shelled Pecans, 12-16 oz.: $3.77 each

Randall’s

1. Lucerne 18 count eggs: $0.99 super coupon
2. Lucerne gallon of milk: $1.99
3. Buy 5 of either Kraft shredded/chunk cheese, Philadelphia cream cheese, Kraft Singles, or Kraft Velveeta Cheese: Get $5 off your order
4. Coca-Cola 2 liter bottles: $0.79 each
5. Honey Bunches of Oats 14.5 oz: $0.99 each

Armed with both of the competitor ads, I headed out to Wal-Mart in the beautiful, rare snow storm in Houston. As I filled up my cart with our normal groceries, as well as these particular items, I noticed that some of the sizes in the competitor ads were not available at Wal-Mart, thus making it impossible for me to price match (such as the Honey Bunches of Oats, which was only available in the Family Size 22 oz. version). Also, for store brand items that were on sale (such as Lucerne gallon of milk, which is Randall’s private label), I was hesitant to fill my cart with Wal-Mart’s own private label of the same size/quantity (Great Value) because I was not sure if it would work.

The checkout was extremely easy. The cashier noticed that I had competitor ads, and asked if I was going to do price matching. I said yes, and had all ready pre-sorted my groceries so that the price match items were at the end. When she began to ring these items up, all I had to do was show her the item in the ad, and she punched in the price from the ad instead of Wal-Mart’s price. Painless, and I saved a total of $4.79, plus the extra gas it would have cost me to travel to two different stores (admittedly not much, but this could be more for other readers).

Items that I was not able to price match include the Lucerne gallon of milk, which I just did not try (the Lucerne 18 count eggs did work with the private label brand of 18 count eggs available at Wal-Mart), and I could not find an equivalent of the Fresh Shelled Pecans at Wal-Mart.

All in all, I think this is a great way to save money. In fact, I am going to try this again in two weeks and widen my competitive search to score even more deals (I think we receive five different grocery store sales ads each Wednesday).

Good luck on your own price matching; I’d love to hear your experiences.

On Memorial Day Weekend my fiancée and I made a quick stop on the way home to Old Navy. If you hadn’t heard, they were having a $1 flip-flop sale on Saturday only, and I wanted a pair to wear to the beach for the summer. We get out of the car, knowing that the purchase will only take about five minutes (I know my size—6.5— I just need to pick a color). But soon we notice the front door to Old Navy, and the throngs of people going in and out of them. I think to myself, “Surely they can’t all be here at 10:00 am on a holiday weekend for a pair of $1 flip flops?” As we entered the store, the lines starting back at the toddler’s mannequins told the story (think 4:00 am on the morning the new iPhone debuted. Each person in line was clutching at least three pairs of flip-flops, waiting anxiously to pay and leave, and the store display of flip flops was completely empty.

Fortunately for me, buying that $1 pair of flip flops was not the height of my week, nor did I necessarily need them (I have an older pair of flip flops that are too worn to wear everyday, but that can certainly be repurposed for beach trips). But many times, there are deals for products that I am in need of, or am counting on, or am just really excited about and feel crushed after coming home empty-handed because other frugalites have beat me to it. Has this ever happened to you?

Here are some strategies I use to cope with the kind of shopping hysteria created by 24-cent tubes of toothpaste and $2.00 refrigerator coca-cola packs:

• I like to do my drugstore shopping on Sundays around mid-morning; this gives me enough time to get my papers, look through the coupons, and put together a list (think ‘early bird catches the worm’), and usually not enough time for other people who are frugal but wish to sleep in (fortunately I am a morning person!).
• Many stores will offer rainchecks if they are out of a promotional item; check in the sales flyer because they usually specify if they will not give a raincheck for a particular item. You will need to see customer service for this.
• If you know a frugally-minded friend who is going to pick up a discounted item and lives closer to other drugstores than yourself, give them your coupons and ask that they purchase the item for you. You can do the same for them in the future!
• Have several different store locations in mind that you can try for a particular item. Also, if you live in a city, try to find a drugstore that is on the outskirts (but not entirely out of the way for you) and is located in a lesser-populated area.
• Shop on rainy days. I have found that without fail, a rainy day can thwart the efforts of even the most frugal of people. Chances are you’ll be the only one in line!

I am not suggesting that you change your entire life to get a $0.10 can of tomato sauce. But there are ways that will help you to beat out the crowd and allow you to purchase some excellent products at a small cost to you. Good luck out there!

The other day I found myself racing to a local drugstore for a deal I just could not pass up. After working an eight hour day I shuffled through three lanes of traffic, over untold amounts of construction debris, raced from one redlight to the next, all to get to what appeared to be the sale of a lifetime: 20-cent cans of tomato sauce. In my mind I went through the cash register scenario over and over, making sure that I had not misinterpreted the sale, mentally checking that all of my ducks (or rather coupons) were in a row. I could see my future year made up of dinner recipes that these discounted cans of tomato sauces were to become the main ingredient for: spaghetti and meatballs, sloppy joes, eggplant parmigiana, homemade pizza.

I pulled up to the store and quick-walked down the aisle of food. Grabbing five tomato sauce cans, then one more for good measure, I claimed my spot in the back of a line of 8 people. I found that if I leaned back a little, I could juggle the cans with my torso for support as I slowly made my way to the front of the line. The sale went through fine. After an hour—to get to the store, make my way to the cash register, pay $1.20, and drive home in rush hour traffic—I now was able to add 6 more cans of tomato sauce to my all ready overflowing stash of 20 at home.

That’s right; in my supply closet, stocked for the dining pleasure of just two people, there are now 26 cans of tomato sauce. A sufficient stockpile for the next year for two people would probably have been 5-6 cans of tomato sauce. But 26 cans? That’s something different all together—that’s overconsumption.

It may seem counterintuitive, but Americans with credit cards, no money and the propensity to spend, or Americans with limitless money and no cares, are not the only category of consumers capable of over consuming in the United States. Frugalites also fall into the overconsumption trap, mainly because with the discounts we consistently achieve, the question we face in the store or at home while preparing our lists is oftentimes not of necessity or luxury, but simply why not?

There are several answers to this question of ‘why not’, besides the obvious environmental argument for limiting our consumption of resources and the amount of waste we produce. After awhile, each can of tomato sauce that I bought, no matter how severe the discount, ceased to add any extra benefit to me. This is essentially the law of diminishing returns, which in this situation explains that beyond a certain point, me continuing to put my time and energy into obtaining more of the same product becomes less and less beneficial. One can of tomato sauce to be used for spaghetti and meatballs is great, and five cans to be used for this same meal throughout the year equals a responsible stockpile; however, having to make spaghetti and meatballs four days a week in order to use up all of these cans before their expiration dates yields me much less happiness (and probably will make me never want to eat spaghetti and meatballs again).

What other ill effects has buying these extra cans brought me? I now have less closet space to devote to stocking up on other essential items. I lost several hours of my most precious resource—time—to purchase food that I will probably end up donating because I will be unable to use, and I now have several dollars less that I could have devoted to other necessities. Looking at this problem through a different lens now makes me realize that I paid far more than 20-cents a can for that tomato sauce.

If you feel as though you are falling into this trap, perhaps you should take stock of your supply closet, and remind yourself that you have enough of X product to feed your community for a week should a hurricane hit and it takes FEMA that long to get to you.

And if you feel that urge to stockpile at the next big sale coming up, instead choose to stock up on time, money, and mental energy. These are your most precious resources.

I’ll confess, I typically only shop at Whole Foods a few times a year when I have been on the run and feel like picking up some fresh premade food for dinner. As far as shopping the actual aisles, I was unsure of what I would find in terms of cost.

Before heading out the door to Whole Foods, I did some research for coupons. I found a few websites that house printable coupons for natural and organic products, such as healthsavers.com, mambosprouts.com, and a great article on about.com. I also did a search on the grocery coupon database on couponmom.com for natural and organic coupons. The following is what I found:

• Eggland’s Best Cage-free/Organic: Smart Source 5/03 and 6/28, $0.50 off
• Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter: Red Plum 5/03, $1.00
• Terra Chips: Smart Source 5/03 and 6/07, $1.00
• Mahatma Rice: Red Plum 4/26, $0.75/2
• Blue Diamond Almonds: Smart Source 5/17, $0.50
• Boca Meatless Product: Smart Source 6/7, $1.00/2
• Nature Valley Granola Bars: Smart Source 5/31, $0.75/2
• Silk Soymilk: Smart Source, 6/14, $1.25/2 half gallons
• Brown Cow Farm Yogurt coupons
• Organic Valley Dairy/Egg coupons
• Kashi coupons

I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of manufacturer coupons scattered throughout the store. Perhaps this is due to the economy, or maybe Whole Foods always attaches manufacturer coupons to products throughout the store.

In total, I spent $113.30, with coupon savings of $8.00. All of the products I purchased were HFCS-free, fresh, and most were organic. I also spent $23 at Froberg’s for fruits and vegetables. The groceries that I purchased will last me for the next two weeks.

This is significantly more than I normally spend on groceries. For my next shopping trip, I will be going to Wal-mart and attempting to buy HFCS-free, fresh, and natural/organic. I am hoping for a lower cost. Let’s see what I find!

I would like to discuss couponing strategies and the couponing system that I personally use to save a lot of money before I write about the food experiment I will be conducting. This ties in with my recent post on Cutting Down Your Grocery Bill by Playing the Grocery Game (the hyperlink is too long, please see archived posts). If you have read this article, you will know that you do not need to coupon in order to save a lot of money at the grocery store. However, couponing will save you even more money at the store on top of the grocery game strategy, so I personally choose to use it.

At first glance, couponing probably seems intimidating, time consuming, and perhaps costly because of needing to purchase a Sunday paper each week. Maybe right now you try to coupon, but only seem to save $0.75 or $1.25 off of each of your grocery bills and feel that this is not enough to warrant your time and energy. I completely agree! But what if you started to save $20.00 off your grocery bills? $40? $50? Suddenly it seems like a great way save money.

The way you can do this is by saving all of your coupons until you find a sale that you can then pair a coupon with. This probably sounds daunting, but thanks to some great blogs and an easy coupon system, it’s really quite simple.

As I discussed earlier, grocery stores run on a 10 or 12-week grocery sales cycle. Sometimes these sales line up with the coupons that come out in that week’s Sunday paper (specifically, in the CVS sales flyer you will see a little circle on a product that is being promoted that says a coupon is in this week’s Sunday paper. Grocery stores rarely do this). However, most of the time the coupon for a product that is on sale cannot be found in that particular week’s coupon circulars. Even if you organize your coupons by product type, you may still miss out on using coupons because your coupons become cluttered, or you have too many of them and cannot properly sort through them. Imagine how much potential savings you may be losing due to throwing away last week’s or last month’s coupon circulars, or simply by not knowing that a coupon is out there for a particular item!

Here is a simple way to coupon effectively so that you can start to see lots of savings from coupons in less than one hour a week:

1.       Start by buying a Sunday paper every Sunday, and perhaps two. Here is a site where you can get a discount on home delivery of your area’s Sunday paper. Also, you may have a neighbor who does not coupon and would be willing to share them with you.

2.       Purchase about ten two-pocket folders. Right now there are lots of sales going on for back to school at places such as Staples, Office Depot, CVS, etc., and you should be able to get these folders for $0.05 each or less!

3.       Each week, take the smartsource, vlassis, and redplum coupon circulars in the Sunday paper and put them in a folder pocket. Write the date of the newspaper on both the outside of the folder as well as the coupon circulars themselves. Please note that some Sundays there is only a smartsource, or a redplum, or maybe all three.

4.       Create a grocery list each week, or every other week (depending on how often you shop), with as many sales items from that week’s sales circular as possible.

5.       Go to: www.couponmom.com, and search her free Grocery Coupon Database on the lefthand side of her blog (I think you must register as a member for free first). This database logs in all currently active coupons around the country, and you can search by product. The search results will show you if there is a coupon, whether or not it was in a smartsource, redplum, or vlassis circular, and what date newspaper it came out in (which is why you need to keep the dates on those folders and circulars!).

6.       Go to your coupon folder library, find the coupon by date and circular, clip, and go to the store!

Not only will you save money with this system, but you will also save a lot of time because you no longer need to clip each coupon and categorize them. Also, this system allows you to follow many online blogs who write about weekly deals and pair together the sales circulars with particular coupons from particular dates.

As your coupons age and expire (which is normally when you run out of folders to fill), get rid of the older coupons, cross out the dates on the outside of the folder with a sharpie marker, and reuse the folder. Check out this website where you can find an address of a military base to donate the expired coupons to. Military families can use expired coupons for up to six months on base (please note, you do need to clip each of the coupons, and categorize them into two plastic bags: one for food and one for non-food).