What’s the Secret?? Part 3 February 2, 2011

Don’t forget to read Part 1 and Part 2!!

Drug Stores/Catalinas

Walgreens Register Reward

(click to enlarge)

Drug stores, such as Walgreens, Rite Aid and CVS(these are the only drug stores I have first hand experience with) are a HUGE part of sucessful couponing. Most people have a misconception that they are more expensive than WalMart, etc. but that’s not always the case! Most drug stores have a catalina program. A catalina is basically cash for that store. CVS’s catalinas are called Extra Care Bucks and they print right on the bottom of your receipt. Walgreens’ catalinas are called Register Rewards and they print out of a separate machine. Rite Aid’s catalinas are called UP Rewards and they also print right at the bottom of your receipt. These catalinas are as good as cash to use in the store in which they were printed. You can use a coupon and still get a catalina printed for the same item. Here is an example of a transaction I did not too long ago at Walgreens.

Gillette Fusion Razor-sale price $9.99

Used: $4.00/1 manufacturer coupon

Paid: $5.99 and received $5 Register Rewards back

Final Price: $.99

To see some of my drug store trips, click here. Drug stores aren’t just good for personal hygiene items. They have food too! I often find awesome deals for cereal and oatmeal there. If I had to pick one favorite store, it would be Rite Aid.

Separate Transactions

Sometimes you will need to do a couple separate transactions to get the deals that you want. It is OK to do that! If you think you might be a while, simply be polite and let the people behind you know that you might be a little bit longer than expected. Let them take that information and decide for themselves whether they want to stay in line behind you or move to a different line.

I did a couple different transactions here(scroll down to Walgreens and Rite Aid). These are perfect examples of how and why you might want to do a couple transactions and *roll* your Register Rewards to maximize your savings.

Dates

Be familiar with your stores sale dates. It would be real disappointing to miss a great deal because you forgot when the sale ended, so familiarize yourself with your stores sale day.

Also, set a reminder on the last day of the month to print any coupons you might want on sites like coupons.com, etc. These coupons reset on the first day of each month. Some coupons go away, some new ones are added, or the coupons may stay but are reset so you can print two more of that coupon.

You CAN do this!!

As I said in my first post, ANYONE can do this! It can be overwhelming at first, but if you stick with it you can and WILL be successful! Don’t forget to have a good attitude and be polite. I have gotten frustrated with cashiers before and it gets nowhere. Being polite will get you much further.

Start Small! This is a lot of information, I know, so start small! Start with just one store and get just a couple items each week. Every time you walk out of that store saving loads of money(and smiling from ear to ear because you DID it), your confidence will build and you will be a pro(and addict! 😉 ) in no time.

If I can help in any way, PLEASE ask! I *love* couponing and would be glad to help in any way I can!!

HAPPY SHOPPING!!!!!

 

Here are a few pictures of my stockpile….only because I’m in love! 😉

 

What’s the Secret?? Part 2

Be sure to read Part 1 before reading Part 2.

Coupon Policy

It is very important to *know* your store/s coupon policy before embarking on this new adventure. A lot of the time, clerks don’t even know their stores coupon policy so you need to have all your ducks in a row and know exactly what is and is not allowed. I would *highly* recommend printing a copy of each stores coupon policy that you go to. If an issue ever pops up while you are checking out, you can have all the rules right there in black and white and work through the issue quickly.

Get with the Times

Coupons are no longer just clipped out of the newspaper. As technology has progressed, so have coupons! Many stores have ecoupons available to upload on your store card(store cards are free!!). These coupons are automatically applied to your transaction when the card is scanned. To learn more about and see a full list of ecoupons available, click here.

Printing coupons is another popular way to beef up your coupon stash. There are many great FREE sites to print coupons. Here, here, here, and here are some of my favorites. *Most* coupons can be printed twice PER COMPUTER(so if you have more than one computer at home like I do, that means more coupons for you! 🙂 ) by simply clicking the “back” button.

Another idea to get coupons that *you* want is to simply write the company. It takes a few minutes to write them and tell them how much you enjoy their product and that you’d appreciate any coupons they have to offer. I’ve done this for many organic companies and often get coupons for FREE products in return! Give it a try!

Freebies

Freebies are an awesome way to not only try new products, but get high value coupons. Coupons often accompany the sample.  If you are worried about getting too much spam in your email from signing up for freebies, simply make a separate email account just for this purpose. I have sometimes found freebies for *full size* products. Just a couple weeks ago I received two coupons for two FREE FULL bottles of Excedrin!!

Stacking and Doubling Coupons

Stacking coupons is one of the best ways to ensure you are getting the lowest price on an item. When I say stacking, I mean using a manufacturer coupon AND a store coupon for the SAME item! Some stores like Target and Walgreens(these are the only stores that I have first hand experience with. I’m sure there are other stores around the U.S. that have store coupons too.) have store coupons. You can *NOT* use two manufacturer coupons for the same item. Simply ask your store if you are unsure if they have store coupons available for you to use.

Target and Manufacturer Coupons can be used together.

(Click to enlarge)

Doubling coupons is something that not all stores offer but it can be worth finding a store that does double coupons. The only store where I live that doubles coupons is Harris Teeter. Although from past experience, I know for sure that Kroger and Randalls double coupons(and even triple some). So what will happen is, the cashier will scan a $.50 coupon and the store will match the coupon and take $1.00 off. To know if your store doubles or even triples coupons, look at their coupon policy.

Know the Sale Cycles

There is a rhyme and rhythm to all sales. At certain times of the year certain items are sure to be one sale. Sale prices normally are on a 12 week cycle so when you find a rock bottom price on an item, you should buy enough to last you at least 12 weeks until it goes on sale again. Here is a full list by month of when items go on sale.

Don’t Buy Just to Buy

You never want to buy items just because they are cheap. Only buy the items that your family uses. I do clip all coupons out of the paper though because you never know what you can get for free. If I do find an item that is free but not something my family uses, I do still get the product and donate it to a family in need that can use it. 

To be continued…

What’s the Secret?? Part 1 February 1, 2011

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about HOW I often get items for cheap or even free. Well, I’m happy to say that there is NO SECRET! ANYONE can do this!!!! The whole philosophy is to stockpile and buy enough of an item at it’s rock bottom price to last you until it goes on sale again. Once you build up a good stockpile, you will essentially, “shop” at your own house when you need something in between sales.

COUPONS

I first want to emphasize that using coupons alone are *not* the best way to save money. Most of the time, it would still be cheaper to buy a generic brand than use a coupon on a regular priced item.  However, when you pair coupons WITH sales, you can get great deals. While I realize some people say they don’t have the time to clip coupons, I assure you once you take a little time to learn the process, it doesn’t take much time at all.

Having your coupons organized is a must! There are many ways to do this, and the way *I* do it may not be the way *you* do it. Here is my coupon box.

My coupon box was ordered through this site(scroll down a little). It fits perfectly in the baby part of the buggy. I started out with a much smaller coupon organizer, but as my addiction to saving money grew, so did my coupon organizer. 😉  So, inside my box, I have separators. Again, when I first started out, I had less categories than I do now. To give you an idea, a few of my categories are: frozen items, boxed items, canned/jarred/shelved items, hair care, body care,baby items. You can change the categories to fit your family/needs.

Some couponers use a binder and baseball card holders to organize their coupons. While I don’t have first hand experience with this method, you can read more about it here(click on “day 5”).

I would highly recommend getting more than one Sunday paper. In order to stockpile, you will need to buy more than one or two of an item to get a sufficient supply. Before you think, “I have to *buy* multiple Sunday papers??”, think outside the box. Check with neighbors that get the Sunday paper and see if they will give you their coupon inserts. Another idea is to check recycle bins. Americans throw away MILLIONS of dollars every year when they throw coupons out. Don’t be afraid to go out and get them!!!

 

TOOLS

There are a couple websites that I use when I go shopping. Both of these websites are FREE and I HIGHLY recommend subscribing to these two sites to get a daily email. In this daily email you will get all sorts of deals and tips on saving money. Everything is laid out for you too. All you have to do is copy and paste, print and shop.

The Krazy Coupon Lady

This site is awesome!!! When you go to this site, remember to subscribe and then check out the “beginners” tab on the home page. You will then find how to become a “Krazy Coupon Lady in ten days”. These are great tips when you are starting out. This site also has a HUGE coupon database. You can look up coupons by item name.

Money Saving Mom

This site lists the deals at just about any store you can imagine. To find your store, click on the “Store Deals” tab on the home screen.

**Please click on picture to enlarge**

From there you can find your store in alphabetical order.

Once you find your store and click on it, you will find all the current deals for that week at your store.

I pulled up the deals for Target to show you. You can see, the dates that these sale prices are good is shown at the top. After that, it lists the items that are on sale, the exact coupons to use with the item, and the final price it will be after the coupons are deducted.

When I’m going through these lists, I just have a notebook and pen ready and write them down exactly as I see them. Once I have my items written down and I know exactly what I’m going to be getting, I will go through my coupon box and pull out all the coupon I will need. I will then either put them in an envelope or the front of my coupon box so they are handy when I need them. Even though I already have the coupons I *know* I will need pulled out, I NEVER leave my coupon box at home because you NEVER know if you might come across an unadvertised deal or not. Here is a great example of why you should never leave your coupons at home.

 

To be continued…

 

Target Deals and Steals! November 22, 2010

I made a trip to Target this week and got some KILLER deals!

Stove Top Stuffing  $.79 each

$.50/2 Stove Top (Target Coupon, Target.com)

$1.00/2 Stove Top Product (deliciouslivingmag.com)

FINAL PRICE- $.08 each

Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Soup $.50 each

$1.00/4 Campbell’s Condensed “Great for Cooking” Soups (campbellskitchen.com)

FINAL PRICE- $.25 each

Seventh Generation Multi-Surface Cleaner $2.99

$1.00/1 Seventh Generation Product(Target Coupon, Target.com)

$1.00/1 Seventh Generation Product(Manufacturer Coupon)

FINAL PRICE- $.99 each

Benadryl Itch Stick $2.29

$1.50/1 any Benadryl Product(Manufacturer Coupon)

FINAL PRICE- $.79 each

1 Dozen Eggs $.99

$55/2 eggs, one dozen, any brand(Manufacturer Coupon, smartsource.com)

FINAL PRICE- $.72 each, when you buy 2 dozen

All Leapfrog Tag Learning Books BOGO Free (prices vary from $9.99-$12.99)

$5.00/1 Leapfrog Tag Book over $9 (Manufacturer Coupon)no longer available (use 2)

FINAL PRICE- TWO FREE!!!

Target Deal:Boy’s Shorts November 5, 2010

The family and I were at Target the other day and found boy’s shorts on clearance for $2. We bought a few pairs for Jackson for next summer.

Commissary Deal March 22, 2010

I just got back from the commissary and they had Quaker instant oatmeal(boxes) for $1.79(which is already cheap compared to Food Lion and Harris Teeter). I used the $1.00/1 from the paper a few Sunday’s ago and got the box for $.79!! Actually I bought 21 boxes since I had 21 coupons! 😀

Super Savings Saturday February 20, 2010

I finally got a chance to take advantage of the double coupons promotion that Harris Teeter is doing right now(check out my post here). I was a little disappointed because they were out of a few things I wanted, but I still got some great deals! Here is what I got:

2 – 8 count Brawny paper towels

4 – Ken’s marinade

1 – Organic Valley milk

9 – Dole Pineapple

2 – Wholly Guacamole

1 – Star Kist tuna pouch

2 – 3 pack Orbit gum

1 – 8 pack Lance crackers

Here is what I spent and saved:

I walked out paying $21.14 and I SAVED $48.14!!! 😀

Harris Teeter February 17, 2010

Do you have a Harris Teeter in your area? If so, you should check it out. Today through February 23, 2010 Harris Teeter is DOUBLING coupons up to $1.98!!! There are lots of good cheap items to be had here! I’ll update what kinds of deals I get as soon as I go.