Further info on coupon savings...

I have had a couple of people ask some questions about my couponing blog from earlier ths month. I thought I would address them here. I hope I can shed some light on your couponing questions!

First, if you are having problems printing coupons and are using internet explorer, you might want to try downloading Mozilla Firefox (www.mozilla.com/firefox/ ) as that helped me (and several others that I know) print coupons. It is free and I have had no problems using it on my system combined with internet explorer! AND I have been successful at printing coupons that I couldn’t get any other way. As far as printable coupons are concerned (which are often a higher value), consider swapping printing with a friend? I have an aunt who lives near me and we swap printing coupons for each other. For example, she prints cereal and diaper coupons for me, and I print shampoo and yogurt coupons for her.

Second, I think I can explain my $100 of groceries for $20-$30… I often do my coupon shopping separate from my “regular” (bread, milk, eggs, fresh produce, etc.) shopping. When I combine all of my shopping together, I usually only get a 50-60% savings (give or take). It is fun to do the coupon shopping on a separate trip or at least in a separate order because it is fun to watch the total drop and drop and drop and drop!!! I think many other people with similar savings are doing the same thing.

To continue on that thought, the other way that I can see such significant savings is to have several of a particular coupon for a sale item. For example, right now Eggo waffles are on sale at my local store for $1.22 for a 10-count box (regularly $1.99). Well, I had purchased some coupons online that were for $.55/1 which my store doubled to $1/1, so I purchased the waffles for $.22 per box – WOOHOO!!!! (I can’t make tasty homemade waffles to save my soul, so this is awesome for me! LOL!!!) That is a savings of 89%!!! I then traded with someone online for some similar coupons and enjoyed the same savings again! My freezer is pretty packed full of boxes of waffles!!

I also purchase approx. 5 newspapers each Sunday and also get inserts from some friends, so I have approx. 8-10 of each coupon each week. If I do not have coupons from local papers for sale items, I also purchase coupons online (www.ebay.com, www.thecouponclippers.com, www.thecouponmaster.com ) to get some great deals – some parts of the country get different coupons (bigger cities get higher value coupons due to often higher prices)! I think that is part of the trick to getting a good deal – have lots of coupons to match up with good deals! I also try to focus my shopping for the week based on what is on sale. This week diapers and breaded chicken are on sale so I am buying more of those than anything else. The week before I was getting good deals on chicken thighs, laundry soap, ketchup and cheese.

(On a side-note, I buy a lot of my meat at Sam’s Club where I get the best deal and great quality (I also try to go early in the morning when the marked-down red-sticker meat is available – they also sell their meat in bulk prices, i.e. save approx. $.50-.60/lb. when buying 80 lbs. of ground beef which I then split with friends)).

Another thing I have found is that Walgreen’s usually has 4 different kinds of cereal on sale each week. Last week Honey Bunches of Oats was on sale for $1.99 per box and there are several spots online to get coupons for $2/1 box so the cereal is FREE!!! A previous week had Shredded Mini Wheats for 4/$10 and I had 2 coupons for $1/2, so I got each box for $2 each (normally $3.69 even at Wal-Mart and higher at other stores) and earned a $2 coupon on a future purchase (a Register Reward). I only buy cereal when it is on sale and have purchase lots of name-brand cereal for free or for less than $1/box. I have a stock-pile area in my basement with over 40 boxes of cereal. Walgreen’s often has other good deals on some grocery items as well as health and beauty items. I watch the www.moneysavingmom.com and http://centsibleshopper.blogspot.com/ for good Walgreen’s deals; they also post good CVS deals – we don’t have CVS here but if you do that is also a GREAT place to get some deals! Also, on www.hotcouponworld.com there is advance notice given of the weekly sale flyers so you have a little bit of extra time to stock up on coupons.

Target also has some good deals. The other benefit to watching the deals at Target is that they have store coupons available on their website which you can combine with mfg coupons for additional savings. To see Target coupons, visit www.target.com and scroll to the very bottom of the page to “Super Target Coupons and Specials.” You can use the Target coupons at regular Target stores, not just the Super Targets.

I will try to summarize this way… if you need something that is not on sale, only buy as much as you need at the time (need Cheerios but they are not on sale, only buy 1 box – the one with the best unit price; if your store doesn’t put that on the shelf with the price then carry a calculator and do the calculation), then wait for the sale and stock up on coupons. When there is a sale buy as much as you will need and can afford before the next sale. I am pretty stocked up right now (and it does take some time to do that) so I am pretty much able to focus on what’s on sale this week. I really scour my sale flyer each week to ensure that I am getting all the deals that work for us. Again, I don’t buy things just because they are on sale and I have coupons (unless I can donate it to a local food bank or shelter); I only buy what my family will use otherwise it’s not a good deal. If you have major grocery store chains in your area, you can check http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/grocery-stores/ for some advance notice of sales as well as people posting the deals they found at that store.

I hope that this wasn’t too confusing or too long! If you need any clarification please feel free to post a comment!

Happy Savings and Many Blessings!
Amy