Archive for ‘Coupon Strategy’

Frugal Living Tip #4: Getting More Coupons

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If you’re going to go through all this “work” of using coupons, are you going to go to the store with your one little set of coupons you got from the Sunday paper you subscribe to? NO!

You need to go armed with MANY coupons so you make an actual impact on your budget and out of pocket (OOP)!!

Today’s Frugal Living Tip: GET MORE COUPONS!

So how do you get more coupons?

Buy more papers!
I frequently incorporate multiple Sunday papers into my drugstore Savvy Scenarios and get my $2 Sunday paper for 25-50% off! Friends and family also save inserts for me. AND umm… is anyone willing to share the location of a newspaper recycling location? I’m not above dumpster diving… *gasp*

Print more!
Print coupons you want as soon as you see them because they often have print limits. They reset and reappear at will! Here is a controversial tip and I’ll leave it up to your discretion: you can find different coupons/values by searching under different zip codes.

Coupons.com – this is my favorite site and I check it daily!

Smartsource – Original Flavor HERE or Family Fare Flavor HERE

Red Plum – smaller selection and slower reset, but usually high value!

Purchase more!

The Coupon Clippers – great alternative if you don’t like to clip coupons PERIOD. You purchase only the coupons you want without purchasing a whole insert. If you run out, reorder and they arrive in a couple days!

Ebay – some people have great luck finding a particular coupon on eBay. Just be careful not to over-pay for coupons! Shop through Ebates for cash back on Ebay purchases.

All You Magazine – this is sold per issue at Walmart or save on a subscription. Great high value coupons!

Stack coupons!
See Frugal Living Tip #2

Join Vocal Point!
What is Vocal Point?

What’s your favorite way to collect coupons?

By Jolon, 22 January, 2010, Leave A Comment

Frugal Living Tip #3: Stockpiling

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Today’s Frugal Living Tip is STOCKPILE!

Stockpiling: buying as much of a useful product as you can afford and have room to store when the prices are lowest (by combining coupons, sales, and rebates) so you’re not subjected to full retail prices!

Sales are cyclical. Buy what you can at rock-bottom prices to last you until the next sale! In my mind, there are three types of pricing: retail, buy, and stockpile.

Retail price = what the store wants me to pay (this may even be a “sale” price).

Buy price = the price I’m willing to pay if I need something and have a coupon for it.

Stockpile price = the lowest price at which I buy as many as possible.

Stockpile products you will ALWAYS need… like toilet paper. For example, the retail price for Quilted Northern Ultra Plush is around 58 cents. Suggested “buy” price for toilet paper is 42 cents per double roll. This past summer, I purchased Quilted Northern Ultra Plush (that’s like the ultra-elusive Queen/King toilet paper couponers only dream about, just so you know) for 8 cents per double roll!

It was on sale at Rite Aid so I used manufacturer coupons, RAVV coupons, AND a purchase coupon all rolled up into a Savvy Scenario. (Explained in Frugal Living Tip #2: Stack Coupons.) When I tell you I purchased 84 rolls (and you know I am one person living in a 700 sq ft space) refrain from thinking I’m crazy. The point is, I bought as much as I could because it was ridiculously cheap and I don’t need to buy it again until the next sale cycle!

Stockpiling requires more coupons than just one little coupon insert in your Sunday paper can provide you. See Frugal Living Tip #4: Get More Coupons.

By Jolon, 21 January, 2010, Leave A Comment

Frugal Living Tip #2: Stack Coupons

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The bottom line is coupons are like money. They’re a form of payment. The more coupons you use, the lower your out-of-pocket (OOP). It’s not rocket science.

Today’s Frugal Living Tip is: STACK COUPONS!

“Stacking coupons” is combining 1 store coupon with 1 manufacturer coupon on 1 item.

When you stack coupons during a sale and/or with a rebate you get the kind of savings you need to “stockpile.” Many drug stores and grocery stores publish store coupons for this purpose.

Here is an example of how I post it:

Starkist Tuna Pouch $1.79
Use $1 coupon HERE
Also use $0.75 Meijer MB coupon
Final Price $0.04

How can you tell the difference between a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon (MQ)? BEST way is to look at the bar code. A manufacturer bar code will always start with a 5 or 9.

Drug Stores:

Rite Aid

(any coupon with a bar code beginning “RC”)
Rite Aid Video Values (RAVV): Watch video advertisements to earn coupons each month. I post the newly available coupons each month.
In-ad coupons
Purchase coupons: $5/20, $5/15, $3/$15, etc available in pdf format or sometimes on coupons.com **These can be used in addition to any other store coupons!

Walgreens

Monthly coupon booklets: **Dont’ forget (at least at my Walgreens) these actually count toward your “coupon to item ratio” which is the # of MQs (plus # of Register Rewards – they are MQs) cannot exceed the number of items in your transaction.
In-ad coupons (don’t count toward coupon to item ratio)

Grocery Stores:

Meijer

Mealbox (MB) coupons: print HERE or HERE

Retail Stores:

Target

WEB coupons: print from Target’s website. **Target’s new coupon site is actually a combination of store coupons AND manufacturer coupons. CON: You can’t tell if the coupon is store or MQ until you print it. PRO: While the MQs have a Target logo, they are actually MQs that can be used anywhere!

Have any questions? I’m happy to help!

By Jolon, 20 January, 2010, Leave A Comment

Frugal Living Tip #1: Don’t Spend to Save

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My most obvious Frugal Living tip is: DON’T SPEND TO SAVE!

When I first started couponing, I was so excited to get FREEBIES I was spending coupons like a nutso!

Perfect example: Bath and Body Works released a coupon for a FREE Antibacterial Soap with a purchase of $10+. IF you’re going to make a purchase at Bath and Body Works anyway… COOL you get a FREEBIE! BUT if you’re printing your coupon and heading there for the FREE soap, you’ll be spending $10 + tax to get a FREE item that frequently goes on sale for $3.

Pay attention to how much you’re spending and how much you’re actually saving.

By Jolon, 19 January, 2010, Leave A Comment

Does Frugal = Cheap??

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What does “Frugal Living” mean to you?

I’m preparing materials for a coupon class coming up next month and it got me thinking about what exactly frugal living means to me… and how it is ”chic” exactly. I think some people automatically assume coupon-users are ”cheap” or that they NEED to use coupons. On the contrary, I just want to get as many necessities as possible for FREE so I can continue to purchase my $67 eye cream (*gasp!!*) If I’m comparing notes with my girlfriends and we all bought the same sweater and I paid 75% less for it, who wins? Me! haha Does it make me any less cool that I used a coupon code and got FREE shipping?

Not every thing is cheap but how does it fit into frugal living?

If Rite Aid sold houses, I could live in a million dollar house for $100,000! haha I’ve told you before I got $700 of products FREE in one month last year at Rite Aid and my typical monthly savings is 90% to 100%. Unfortunately, not everything I need is sold there. I can’t find a deal on ALL of it.

There are some things I will continue to treat myself to even though they are not FREE or cheap, BUT I time my purchases to make sure I’m getting the best deal. For example, I always purchase my Lancome eye cream when I can get a gift with purchase, FREE shipping, and cash back on my purchase through Ebates or Shop at Home. I never just run out to the mall and buy it at full price.

What savings methods do you use to save money on your “must have” items?

Obviously not everyone thinks it’s cool to spend $67 on eye cream even IF you got FREE shipping and cash back. BUT I’d wager everyone has their “must have” items. If your hobby is painting, are you willing to purchase one supply at a time to use 40% off one item coupons? Obviously I would, but would you? Is there a point at which your time is MORE valuable than saving 50% – 75% off everything you buy? Some think so, some don’t.

What are your “must have” items? Is getting your favorite items for less worth the extra effort??

By Jolon, 17 January, 2010, Leave A Comment

Take this QUICK Poll: Grocery Stores

Ok, I just posted the “best of” deals for Meijer this week HERE and am currently working on Family Fare, BUT I’m curious:

What is your favorite grocery store?

Where do YOU find the best deals?

Please take this poll or leave a comment in the comment section.

By Jolon, 12 January, 2010, 2 Comments

Transfer Prescriptions and SAVE (+$50 MM!)

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An easy way to make money is by transferring prescriptions!

Rite Aid through 1/31:
Print coupon HERE and get a $25 gift card plus a coupon booklet with over $75 in savings *You can do this twice for a total of $50 in giftcards! Official details HERE.

Target through (I’m not near my printer – anyone know when this expires?)
Print coupon HERE for a $10 gift card when you buy a new OR transfer a prescription.

For example, I currently have a prescription at Rite Aid, so I’ll transfer to Target for $10 and back to Rite Aid to make another $25. If you have to spend on the prescription anyway, consider the gift card extra money in your pocket to spend on essentials!

*Note of caution: price check your prescriptions before transferring! I happen to know that my prescription is the same low price at both of these stores. In the past I was going to transfer to CVS to get a $25 gift card, but when I price checked it was 3 times the price so the gift card wasn’t worth it!

By Jolon, 4 January, 2010, Leave A Comment

New Year Challenge: NO SHOP January!

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Here it is! My Frugal Living Resolution is “NO SHOP January” and I’m challenging you to participate.

Coupons have afforded me the chance to FILL my cupboards, closets, and freezer. I mean FULL. (Granted I live in a 700 sq ft space, so that’s easily done…) The purpose of stockpiling products at rock bottom prices is to NEVER pay full retail price and to live on what you have until the next sale cycle allows to you purchase those items again at rock bottom prices (or FREE!) So… I’m going to live on just what I have for the entire month! I will eat from the pantry/freezer until everything’s gone purchasing only the fresh items I need – salad fixins, fruit, veggies, yogurt, etc.

My challenge is not only grocery. I will not purchase ANY household or personal care items either! I have plenty! I will ONLY allow myself to do deals if they are totally FREE – zero out of pocket.

Your “NO SHOP January” may vary based on how long you’ve been couponing. Your stockpile may not be big enough to sustain your family for an entire month so adjust your rules accordingly. The point is to spend as little out of pocket this month as possible. Are you up for it? What rules will you hold yourself to for your “NO SHOP January”?? Let us know in the comments section!

I’ll post an update in a week and you can let us know how you’re doing.

Happy New Year! All the best to you in 2010!

By Jolon, 1 January, 2010, 2 Comments

Housekeeping: Month-end Reminders

Here are your end-of-the-month reminders:

Rite Aid: December Single Check Rebates have ended – submit your receipts.
Rite Aid Video Values: watch the videos and earn the coupons you will want to spend NOW (December coupons expire 1/31/10) because the new videos will be arriving January 1.
Coupons.com: Print the coupons you haven’t printed yet HERE. Coupons reset the first of the month.
Also print any SmartSource or Redplum coupons.

By Jolon, 27 December, 2009, 1 Comment

Morningstar Farms + Recipe

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I still have a few $2/1 Morningstar Farms left that expire 12/31, so I need to restock my freezer! (I ordered them from The Coupon Clippers. If you’re not familiar with this service, read the post HERE.)

My favorite part of a holiday meal is the stuffing! A friend of our family makes the absolute BEST recipe, but I might try talking him into trying this Morningstar Farms recipe HERE as an alternative to red meat!

By Jolon, 17 December, 2009, Leave A Comment