Saving Money With Coupons
Courtesy of Power Ranch 2nd Ward, Gilbert Arizona San Tan Stake
Jason Frizzell, Elder’s Quorum 1st Counselor
Using coupons to save even 10% of your shopping bill each month may not seem like much, but over the course of a year, it can really add up. Example: If your budget for groceries is $400 per month, that’s already $480 per year. Imagine if you save 25%, 50% or even more. The better you get at it, the more you can save.
Where do I get coupons?
Sunday and sometimes Wednesday newspapers, other local papers, sales/store ads, and in-store coupons. Sometimes in-store coupons are tear-off booklets at the front of the store, at customer service, or on the aisles themselves. If you want to get even more savings, print your own coupons from the internet, and add coupons from a mobile app.
There are services available that will send you multiple copies of each week’s coupons for a small fee. You can either get each coupon for a few pennies each, or you can get whole inserts for a few bucks. Use your search engine to find the best deal for you.
Ask your neighbors and friends to give you their coupons if they aren’t going to use them. You’d be surprised how many people get the newspaper to read, just toss the coupons out.
Print online coupons. There are multiple websites that offer single-use coupons such as Red Plum, Smartsource, Coupons.com and many others. Usually, these websites have software that prevents you from going crazy and printing too many. Just be sure that your PC or smartphone has updated security software to scan any browser extensions that print the coupons for you.
Popular couponing websites that skim the internet for the good deals:
The Grocery Game, by Teri Gault
How to Shop for Free, by Kathy Spencer
The Krazy Coupon Lady, by Heather Wheeler and Joanie Demer
Totally Target, dedicated to saving at Target
Live Fabuless, by Jodie Furman
Money Saving Queen, by Sarah Roe
Savings Angel
Go to the manufacturers’ websites
Usually major manufacturers will have coupons on their websites that you can print or receive in the mail of you simply request them. Or, if you want to be more traditional, simply write an email or letter to the manufacturer expressing how much you love their [whatever] and that it’s the best you’ve ever owned. Sometimes they will return the favor by sending you freebies and coupons.
Popular mobile apps:
Fry’s Foods Mobile app tracks your fuel points, lets you add coupons while in-store before you check out, and allows you to look at the current sales ad. This can be really useful if say, you want to buy 2 jars of pasta sauce and only have one paper coupon – just add another from the mobile app!
Walmart Savings Catcher app will allow you to scan your receipt’s bar code, and it compares Walmart prices with other stores’ prices on the same product. If the item(s) you purchased are cheaper elsewhere, Walmart will send you a gift card with the price difference.
Safeway, Winco, and Albertson’s have mobile sites, but their mobile apps don’t have as many functions. Their websites do have printable coupons, though.
Be Strategic:
Check the sales ads for great deals at the stores you routinely shop at for items you typically buy. If the item is on sale and you can have a coupon, you can get a double discount. It’s not unusual for me to get a full-size tube of toothpaste or bottle of dish soap for free when you can combine a sale with a coupon. If you are really strategic (and disciplined), decide not to buy items until you can get the deep discount with both coupons and sales-prices. Then, stock up, and wait until it happens again and hit the double-discount all over again.
Take your time:
Don’t get impulsive and buy stuff just because it is cheap/on sale/you have a coupon. Make sure you are buying stuff you will actually use and don’t overstock and end up wasting it. This defeats the purpose. Take your time to actually plan a shopping trip and organize your coupons accordingly.
Organizing your coupons:
The simplest thing to do is keep your coupons in an envelope, but if you are serious about saving more money, you’ll need more coupons, and this can get overwhelming without a system. I use a mini-accordion file and organize coupons by product name, alphabetically. I go through it each week to throw out coupons I didn’t use/that expired, and insert new ones. Other folks like to categorize them by expiration date. If you really want to be organized, you can use a binder with baseball card sheets to easily identify them.
Learn from my mistakes – write your name and contact info on your coupon book/organizer. I’ve lost mine twice and got it back both times – Boy was I glad to not have to start over from scratch!
Watch for special savings events:
Occasionally, stores will have BOGO sales, case sales, and double/triple coupons events. Maximize your savings by paying attention. Beware, though – some BOGO events mark up the first item to recover the cost of “giving away” the second item. Be smart and do the math before you buy.
Coupon clubs:
Some HOAs and communities have coupon clubs where folks can exchange/trade coupons with each other. This can be a great way to get multiple copies of coupons and give away some you don’t use to others that might want them. It can be a win-win for everyone.
Don’t be afraid of store brand/generic items:
Sometimes the store brand items will be reduced in price to the extent that they are actually cheaper than name-brand items even when combining sale items and coupons. This can be hit and miss – some generic items are just as good as name brand, some are close/acceptable, while others are just plain gross/don’t work.
Be dorky and bring a calculator:
I always use the calculator app on my cell phone to make sure I am getting the best deal between competing products and sale items.
Best Advice:
Make couponing and saving money a game – You versus the grocery store. My personal best is on one occasion, I bought nearly $400 worth of groceries but spent only about $160. Even the cashier said she was jealous. On another occasion, the cashier had to call a manager over to the checkout and override the register. Apparently it halted the transaction because I had “saved too much money.” True story.
I hope this information helps!
Best,
Jason Frizzell