DRS Couponing 101- Coupon Matching

If your ready to take your couponing from hobby to proffessional sport- this lesson is for you!

But before we get to the actual lesson let me tell you a little story:

I use to be a "casual" couponer. I would flip through the Sunday newspaper inserts and clip coupons of products that were on that week's grocery list. The rest of the insert would be tossed in the recycling bin. Then IF I remembered to take the coupons with me to the store and IF I remembered to hand them to the checker I might look forward to a whopping $3.00 MAX savings on my receipt. Hardly anything to get real excited about; and to be honest, with this amount of savings it was real hard to find the motivation to even take the time to clip coupons.

That all changed late one night in December 2007. It was around 2:30am, I was up nursing Cohen, so decided to flip through the channels. Not much on at 2:30am so I settled for a show called "100 ways to save money" or something like that. After watching several tips I was just about to flip the channel when a lady came on talking about using coupons. She took the cameras to the grocery store and had them film her shopping experience. As she stood at the register and pulled out a stack of coupons, I couldn't help but think "Man, I wouldn't want to be in line behind that lady." But all negativity toward the coupon stack left when I watched her bill total fall on the register screen after she first handed the checker her club card and then again after she handed over her mountain of coupons. I sat there with my mouth hanging open, when I saw that her total went from $140 something (a typical amount I spent weekly at the time) to less then FORTY DOLLARS- I had to learn more! Well it turned out that professional shopper was none other then Teri Gault, the author and inventor of "The Grocery Game."

I remember the first day I signed up for the Grocery Game's $1 trial month- I spent absolutely all Sunday afternoon trying to figure out "the game." It was a new language. Who knew coupon inserts had names! It was that afternoon that I was first introduced to the concept of coupon matching.... and I've never looked back!!!


Coupon Matching v. The practice of matching coupons with sale items to purchase products at rock bottom price.


I learned that the secret to winning the grocery game, was not just in using coupons but in knowing WHEN to use the coupons. The Grocery Game taught me that most grocery stores rotate sale items and that the best time to cash in a coupon was when the product was a part of the store sale. This would enable the deal to go from good, to GREAT, or even better FREEEEE (something I didn't even know was possible!)


The Grocery Game works by providing gamers with a weekly list of ALL sale items for the participating stores. (Supposedly "The List" includes not only advertised sales but also unadvertised deals as well). THE LIST then locates all available coupons that match the sale items and references them by newspaper insert and date, so gamers can quickly locate and clip desired coupons rather then sorting through endless stacks of coupons.

Not only does THE LIST provide all newspaper insert match-ups it also color coordinates the deals to help you know if now is the best time to use your coupon. If the sale item is BLUE then it is at rock bottom price and would be the ideal time to use your coupons to stockpile on the item. GREEN means the item is FREE after coupons! And BLACK means the product is on sale BUT it is NOT at rockbottom price, therefore unless you need the item now- WAIT until it goes blue or green.

At first I was a little leery of THE LIST. Teri strongly encouraged us players to only use our coupons when THE LIST referenced them. I can remember being real nervous about an approaching expiration date on a coupon for one of my favorite high fiber tortillas. Would Teri remember the tortillas? What if the tortillas never made it to color code Blue or Green before the expiration date? WHAT'S A GIRL TO DO? Well, I bought those tortillas with my $0.55 off 1 coupon without the consent of THE LIST- and do you know what happened? Those tortillas went on sale the very next week!!! Lesson learned- Always trust THE LIST.

For those of you who are new to couponing I think The Grocery Game is a great place to start. You can try the game for a month for $1. After your 1 month trial you will be charged $10 every 8 weeks for 1 list or $15 every 8 weeks for 2 lists. (In our area there is a list available for Kroger and Walgreens)

It does kind of stink having to pay for savings but I have always felt it was well worth the investment PLUS if you have friends that sign up and mark you as their referral you can earn FREE months. And believe me, when you get addicted to The Grocery Game you can't help but tell your friends!

If you just can't stand the idea of paying for THE LIST I have also found good coupon match-ups at the following:
hotcouponworld- Great Site! But very overwhelming. In fact one of my 2009 New Year's Resolutions was to figure out this site! Good luck!
couponmom- Much easier to navigate than Hot Coupon World and good list.

15 months later, my couponing extends far beyond the grocery game. I rely on a network of couponing sites that coupon match with not only coupons from the newspaper inserts but also printables available all over the Internet. I also have been known to figure a deal or 2 out on my own! And of course when I learn of a GREAT deal I always pass it on to YOU!

Bottomline: Learn to coupon match to know WHEN to use your coupons.

I hope you have found this marathon post helpful! Please feel free to use the comment section or today's Mr. Linky for any comments or questions.

DRS Couponing 101- common coupon lingo

So today I am going to catch you up to speed on some common abbreviations and lingo used in the coupon world- yes it is a whole other language. From now on I am going to put "bilingual" on all my resumes.


In respect to all the coupon newbies I have kept my coupon language to a minimum to this point on DRS. BUT I would like to start incorporating more of it into my Thrifty Thursday posts to help save on time when writing up your deal alerts. My goal is to eventually have the lingo available on the side bar for quick reference whenever I get that new fancy blog design I was telling you about last weekend. A girl can dream!


So here it is-in no particular order:


SS: SmartSource Insert


RP: RedPlum Insert


PG: Proctor & Gamble Insert


PGE: Proctor & Gamble Esaver Kroger loadable coupons

SC: ShortCuts Kroger loadable coupons


CF: Cell Fire Kroger loadable coupons


BOGO or B1G1: Buy 1 Get 1 Free


WAGS: Walgreens coupon found in the weekly flyer


ES: Walgreens EasySaver Catalog


CAT: Catalina


COP: Coupon on Package


B: Blinkie


IP: Internet Printable


OOP: Out of Pocket


RR: Register Reward


FAR: Free after Rebate


MIR: Mail in Rebate


MFR: Manufacturer

DRS couponing 101- organizing coupons

So last week we started our basic couponing class with learning where and how to collect a nice coupon stash. This week we are going to look at ORGANIZING your coupons. That word just makes me smile. I LOVE everything about organizing: brainstorming and development of the organizational plan; shopping for organizational products; using my label maker (double smile); implementing the plan; and seeing the final product. (I know- more conformation of my nerdyness- I accept it)

Anyways... I want to share with you my method of coupon organization and then give you some additional ideas that might work for you.

At first, when I was just a casual couponer, I would go through the weekly newspaper inserts and just clip coupons I thought I might need and file the clipped coupons in my handy dandy coupon organizer notebook that I bought at Walmart- see pictures.

As you can see it had little pockets for different coupon categories such as: baking, beverages, breakfast, canned goods, cleaning, dairy, frozen, meats, paper products, pasta, personal care, etc.

Pros: Very portable. I was able to slip the little organizer in my purse to take with me to the grocery store.

Cons: Clipping coupons is very time consuming. Because I only clipped coupons I thought I would need I often threw out coupons that I later wished I had. Plus there is no way this little organizer could have held all my coupons once I became a hard core coupon addict.

Once I became a hard core couponer my method of coupon organization changed:

As many of you know my true couponing addiction began with "The Grocery Game." This service matches weekly store savings (Kroger and Walgreens in our area) with manufacturer coupons to help gamers purchase products at "rock bottom prices." The game references coupons by type of insert (RedPlum, Smart Source, Proctor and Gamble, etc) and date (date the insert was in the newspaper) Therefore, I revamped my coupon organizational system to help me better locate the appropriate coupons when the game suggested I use them. I did this by implementing a coupon file box in which I would file coupons by date and insert type. Even though, these days, my weekly deal hunts extend way beyond "The Grocery Game," I still find that this method works great for me.

I knew I would be storing my coupon container on an open shelf in one of our main living areas so I chose to spend a little more money on my container to make it blend in with our decor. I started out with just one file box and then within 2 months of collecting coupons I went back to The Container Store to purchase my second box. I could easily go for a third, but I don't have room for another so I just try to do better about throwing out expired coupons and inserts. If your coupon container is not going to be "on display" you could use a cheaper filing box or plastic filing container. (The more it will hold the better, if you ask me)

Inside my coupon box I have hanging files that are labeled by date. Inside each hanging file I have folders labeled "SS," "RP," and "PG" for SmartSource, RedPlum, and Proctor and Gamble. Every week when I get my collection of newspapers all I have to do is pull out all the coupon inserts and place them in their appropriate file folder and I'm done. This takes seconds verses the hours it might take me to clip all of the coupons. Often I don't even take the time to look in the inserts until a coupon is referenced on one of the many couponing sites I watch. I keep all inserts filed for at least 4 months (by then most coupons are expired).

For my printable coupons I have file folders labeled: "Food," Self-Care," "Cleaning," and "Medicines." When I print off a coupon I file it in one of these folders. Because the printables are often not referenced on the couponing sites I make it a habit to go through each of these files once a week before I head out to the grocery store. I also store my Kroger Mailer coupons, Catalinas, and unused coupons (coupons I thought I would use at the grocery store and then didn't and now I have no idea what file they came from) in this section. I also have a hanging file for Restaurants, Clothing, Home Improvement, and Walgreens (this is where I store my EasySaver catalog)

Pros:

• Time Saver! Don't have to take all Sunday afternoon clipping and filing individual coupons
• I can easily find coupons when "The Grocery Game" or other couponing sites reference them by date.
• Saves all coupons. Who would have ever thought I would buy "Bald Head Cream" but last year when this was going to be a money maker at Walgreens I was sure glad I hadn't thrown out this coupon!

Cons:

• Sometimes hard to find coupons if it is not referenced by one of the coupon sites. For example, if we are out of soap and soap is not on sale this week the couponing sites are not going to reference soap so now I have to go digging though all my files until I find a soap coupon.
• Not very portable. Depends on the filing box you use, I guess, but there is no way I could take my coupon boxes with me when I shop. This means I might miss out on special deals that were not necessarily advertised on any of the couponing sites. For example, lets say "our" Kroger has placed Ragu Tomato Sauce on the clearance aisle (Did you know there was a clearance aisle? There is, it is over near the razors and self-checkout aisles), I know that I have a coupon for this tomatoe sauce but because this sale was just true at our Kroger I didn't know to bring this coupon. Soooo if I want to take advantage of this sale I will have to go home dig through all my coupons until I find the Ragu one. Does that make sense?

There are lots of other methods for coupon organization. Below I have provided links to other ideas for coupon organization. The best tip: Find the method that works best for YOU! And then come back to DRS and share it with me!!!

Money Saving Mom's Coupon Box

Out of the Overflow's binder method

If you have found this lesson helpful let me know. If you have additional questions let me know that too!

DRS Couponing 101- collecting coupons

Before you can utilize the money saving power of coupons- you got to get coupons! For that reason I have decided to kick off this series of posts with tips on how and where to collect a nice stash of coupons.


First and foremost-Newspaper Inserts. Most Sunday newspapers will have coupon inserts tucked inside. There are only a few Sunday's out of the year (mostly holiday weekends) with no coupon inserts. You can click here for the 2009 newspaper coupon insert schedule.


The 3 most common newspaper inserts are SmartSource (SS), Redplum (RP) and Proctor and Gamble (PG). Occasionally you will have other special inserts included by specific manufacturers. For example I can remember one time last year when Kelloggs put out a great insert full of coupons for Kelloggs specific products.


HINT: Our local paper does not have the RedPlum! To get the RedPlum I recommend "The Democrat- Gazette."
Another HINT: I have the most success with getting all scheduled inserts with a home delivered paper. Sometimes even the Gazette is missing coupon inserts when I have picked one up at the store.
Best HINT: Ask your Mom, Grandmother, Friends, Neighbors etc for their newspaper coupon inserts. Multiple inserts mean you have multiple coupons to really stockpile on products when they go on sale!


Internet Printables. Most of our local stores- Kroger, Walmart, Target and Walgreens do accept printable coupons at this time. (WARNING: there are always rumors floating around the internet that certain stores are starting to decline printables!) Internet Printables are found all over the internet. A lot of times manufacturers or specific products will have special offers and coupons on their website. For example when I went to YoPlus.com to research information for the "product of the week" I noticed there was a $1 off coupon.


Other sites that are ALWAYS a great destination for coupon printables:

Coupons.com (go directly or access through my DRS sidebar)

SmartSource.com



HINT: Most printables only allow you to print two coupons per computer!



Loadable Coupons. At Kroger you can load coupons onto your Kroger card from 3 different sites: P&G eSaver; Shortcuts; and Cellfire.

All three can be accessed through kroger's website. Once at Kroger.com click on the "In Store" link. A drop down menu will appear- click "coupons." From this page you can register with all 3 coupon vendors. Remember you will need to have your Kroger card available when you register so you can link your card with each site. Then once you have loaded your card your discounts will automatically be credited when you check out using your Kroger card.

HINT: Loadable coupons do not double! But you can stack your loadable coupon with your paper manufacturer coupons for really awesome savings!
Another HINT: Each coupon is only redeemable one time.
And Another HINT: Don't forget to add new coupons to your card at least once a month.


Blinkies. These are the coupons that are dispensed from cute little machines that stick out of the aisles in our grocery stores.

HINT: Go ahead and take 2-3 coupons from each dispenser whether your ready to use it or not. Then save to use when that particular item goes on sale.


Magazines. Most magazines, especially Women's magazines, will have advertisements that offer coupons. One magazine that I subscribe to specifically for the coupons is ALL YOU magazine. This magazine even has a coupon index to help you locate the different coupons found throughout each edition.


Peelies. Peelies are coupons that are found on products that you can "peel" off to hand to the cashier for immediate savings.

HINT: some products also have coupons printed on the inside packaging of the product. For example, there are a lot of cereal boxes that have coupons printed on the inside of the box to use for future purchases.


Catalinas. Catalinas are the coupons that print out after or attached to your receipt. Many times specific items purchased trigger certain catalinas. For example you may notice a catalina for baby formula if you purchased diapers. Sometimes a coupon will print when a competitor brand was bought. For example if you purchased a Kelloggs cereal, you might get a catalina for a General Mills cereal. And then sometimes catalinas print for $ off your next purchase- those are my favorite!


Kroger Mailers. If you have a Kroger card you should be getting coupons mailed to your house. These are some of my favorite coupons because Kroger sends coupons tailored specifically for me based on my past purchases. Many times they will even mail me a coupon for a FREE product. If you are not getting these mailers, contact Kroger. Forever I kept reading about these great coupons and wondered why I wasn't receiving any in the mail. So I called Kroger's headquarters and they fixed whatever the problem was and I now receive Kroger coupons all the time (at least twice a month!).


Walgreens EasySaver Catalog Each month Walgreens has a new EasySaver Catalog that is full of Walgreen specific coupons and rebates. The catalog is found at the entrance of the store on the same stand as the weekly Walgreen Flyer. The great thing about all Walgreen coupons is that you can stack them with manufacturer coupons for double the savings.


Coupon Swaps I have never participated in a coupon swap or trade but I read about them all the time. I'm sorry I have no words of wisdom on this particular method because I have not figured it out for myself quite yet. I'll have to get back to you.


Ebay Ebay is another resource for coupons that I have not taken advantage of. (I know your not suppose to end a sentence with a preposition "of" but I can't figure out another way to write that last sentence,) Anyways... Supposedly this is a hot market and you can bid on bundles of coupons for a great deal.