As gas and food prices are going up, I noticed media is paying more attention to usage of coupons. I was one of those people who reads an article, and think "That's nice, but I have no idea how these people are doing it."
I remember watching TV long time ago, before I learned how to use coupons. TV news was showing the lady who goes to a grocery store and paid $2 for a cartful of stuff. At that time, I was a coupon beginner, and had no idea how she did it. I thought, I use coupons, but I can never get my total down to $2. How does she do it?? Well, now I know. She was targeting certain loss leader items, taking advantage of double or triple (which we don't have around here), and using multiple coupons.
So, I'm sure there are people out there, like I was, interested in getting into coupons, but don't know how.
It's amazing looking back, how I used to shop. I didn't know what I was missing out until I learned how to use coupons and rebates. I used to think the Dollar store was a good deal. Boy, what was I thinking???
Looking back....
May 15th, 2008 at 03:32 pm
May 15th, 2008 at 06:09 pm 1210874953
May 15th, 2008 at 07:59 pm 1210881566
I'd say I'm a moderate couponer. I don't have huge stockpile like some power coupon users build. I normally stock up up to 10 of same items if I have enough storage space. Some people stock up 200 bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc. I have about 20 bottles of shampoo & conditioner and I am not planning to get another bottle unless I make money by buying them.
Anyway, after couponing for few years, here's the lesson I learned.
Concept:
1. Understand what you need.
2. Look for coupons, find them, and save them
3. Find a sale for the product and use the coupon
For example, my DD likes Kellogg's Smart Start and Special K cereals. So, I keep my eyes on these product coupons and sales. I found $3/2 Smart Start internet coupon in Smartsource and Walgreens is selling them $2 per box. After sale and a coupon, the price for the cereal is 50 cents per box. I'm planning to buy 8 boxes this week.
I used to go crazy running around and getting things for free or really cheap. But some things just sat in my storage and never been used. So, I stopped getting things I will not use even though they are free. I still get some free after rebate items here and there, especially when I need to roll my catalina into gift card. But not so much. I don't have enough storage space for 10 glucose meters.
Some techniques I use.
- Use two coupons for Buy One Get One free items.
This was the most valuable technique I learned from power coupon users. I didn't know I could use two coupons for BOGO items. For example, if product A is on BOGO sale, and the price is $4, and you have two $1/1 coupons, then, you should use two of these coupons for the items. It will reduce the price down to $2, the final price is $1 each.
- Combine rebate/coupon/promotion
Drug stores have rebate programs to promote some products. In many cases, these products are new in the market, and manufactures often offer high dollar value coupons and run promotion. So, in some cases, you can get 1. discount by using coupons 2. get money back from drug store's rebate program 3. and get money back from manufacture's promotional campaign as long as you have sufficient document to submit. These can be a good money maker.
Another reason I don't go too crazy is couponing is A LOT of work. It takes time to do research and preparation, and sometimes you need to deal with people who do not understand how coupons work. But the pay off is truly rewarding.
Here's the website all you need to know about couponing.
http://hotcouponworld.com/forums/index.php
May 16th, 2008 at 04:52 pm 1210956739