aka The Coupon Mom Part 2. This is part two of a three part series. Click to go to Part 1: The Coupon Mom and Part 3: Cut the Hunger. Just How Valuable Are Coupons? In 2006, 331 billion dollars were distributed through 253 billion coupons. Of those 253 billion coupons that were distributed, 2.6 billion coupons were redeemed. (See Coupons Trends.) To repeat, in 2006, coupons were worth $331,000,000,000! 331. Billion. Dollars. In. Coupons. $331 Billion Is Nice But What Are Coupons Worth to Me? You can often save over 50% on groceries using coupons in conjunction with store sales (see Coupon Mom Part One). For example, if Quaker Oatmeal is on sale for buy one get one, it is already 50% off. If you have a coupon for $.40, you are going save more than 50% on this purchase. Sometimes, you can even get an item for FREE! For instance, a box of Toaster Strudels is normally $2.00. They go on sale for $1.00. There is a coupon for $1.00 off. You will get this box of Strudels for no cost at all. You really cannot beat this! It is free food! (This is an actual deal right now at Publix stores in Georgia.)I Don’t Want To Clip and Store All Those Coupons. How to Collect and Store the Coupons Without Mass Clipping:Each week when the Sunday paper arrives, go through the paper to find the coupon circulars. There are generally 3 types of circulars:
- Valassis (weekly)
- SmartSource (weekly)
- Proctor & Gamble (once a month)
Instead of getting your scissors and beginning to clip right now, get a Sharpie marker and write the date on the front of the circular. For example, this coming up Sunday’s paper, mark 9/30 on the outside of each circular. Now, place all the circulars in a Rubbermaid box. Set the box aside until it is time to create your grocery list. I’m Ready to Create My Grocery List Create you grocery list using using The Coupon Mom website to find what is on sale (see Part One of The Coupon Mom). You will notice a code on the left side of the generated grocery list. The code may look like this: 09-23 V. This code means you need to go to your Valassis coupon circular from the September 23rd newspaper. Look through the circular and clip the coupon. Now, you only need to put the coupons you are actually using in a coupon organizer or envelope or whatever works for you. The Coupon Mom’s generated grocery list also lists the face value of the coupon and the quantity of the item necessary to purchase to use the coupon or take advantage of the sale price. What If I Want to Purchase Something Not on Sale? In addition to free access to sale prices for multiple grocery stores, the Coupon Mom also has free access to a Grocery Coupon Database. In the Grocery Coupon Database, you can look at the entire list of available coupons and sort this list by published date, expiration date, description, value, or quantity. You can also search coupons for a specific item. For example, you are out of zip top bags. You can search for “bags,” “Ziploc,” or “Glad” to see which items have coupons available. This is a powerful database because it empowers you to simply store your coupons in the entire circular without clipping and sorting each individual coupon. You can find the coupons you want or need by using this database and then clip that particular coupon out of the circular. What If I Purchase the Paper and Then There Are No Coupons I Would Use? While I am not organized enough to take advantage of this option on The Coupon Mom website, you can see what coupons are available each week prior to purchasing your paper. Normally the site lists the coupons by 2:00 on Sunday. If you wait until 2:00 on Sunday, you can look through the Grocery Coupon Database to see what coupons are available in this week’s paper before actually purchasing the paper. This can save you a little bit of money if there are no coupons you would use from that paper. Are There Other Ways to Get Coupons? In addition to getting coupons out of the newspaper you purchase, you can ask friends and family members to give you their coupons if they do not use them. You can also use The Coupon Mom’s site to find places online to print free coupons. Do You Have Other Grocery Saving Tips? If so, please leave a comment below to help others and me save even more. Be sure to check back next week when I post the final article in the series. Also, if you have not already read The Coupon Mom Part 1, you can read it now. This is part two of a three part series. Click to go to Part 1: The Coupon Mom and Part 3: Cut the Hunger.
0 responses so far ↓
1 xboxwife // Sep 26, 2007 at 1:29 am
Your organizational skills are amazing to me! I have just recently become interested in trying to really work coupons for all their worth! I have purchased the newspaper for the last three weeks for a big shopping trip!
Thanks for sharing your great ideas!
Mrs. Brownstone @ XBOX Wife
http://xboxwife.blogspot.com/
2 SingForHim @ Real Life // Sep 26, 2007 at 8:18 am
I do the same thing with The Grocery Game, but I’ve looked into Coupon Mom, too. I used to try to use coupons, but I was just spinning my wheels because I didn’t know which coupon to use when. I saved 55% this week. Great tips!
I’ve also wondered if I should go to saving the entire circular or keep clipping like I do now. It takes more time to clip, but it saves time when I’m getting them out for shopping.
3 jenuinejen // Sep 26, 2007 at 9:18 am
SingForHim,
Since I have not used The Grocery Game, I cannot speak directly about it. I do know that the major difference between the two website is that The Coupon Mom is free whereas The Grocery Game has a monthly fee. Also, with The Coupon Mom you can look at multiple stores rather than paying for each store’s sale prices. With that being said, since I have never used The Grocery Game, I do not know if it is easier to navigate and worth the money.
As far as clipping or keeping the entire circular goes, for me it is worth the time when I create my list to clip as I go. Keeping up with all the smaller coupons would be a little tough for me, even using a coupon organizer.
Be sure to check back next week (or the week after since next week’s WFMW is supposed to a question) to see the final installment on this series. Stephanie Nelson, who runs The Coupon Mom, has a mission in life of helping feed the hungry and I think you will find it interesting.
4 jenuinejen // Sep 26, 2007 at 9:21 am
xboxwife,
Thanks for the compliment about my organizational skills. They ebb and flow - some weeks I am organized and others I am not. Honestly, I label the circulars like I do because I am not organized enough to keep up with every single little coupon.
The first time I used my coupons after collecting them for several weeks, I was so psyched. It was amazing to me how much money you can save. Using the tools on The Coupon Mom’s website makes it so easy, that now I feel like I was throwing money away for years by not doing this.
Have fun on your first big coupon saving shopping spree!
5 SAHMmy Says // Sep 26, 2007 at 10:40 am
Great advice! I do clip food coupons for anything we may be remotely interested in eating–even though we eat primarily unprocessed food, if it’s Free, I’ll try anything once!
6 mom2fur // Sep 26, 2007 at 1:38 pm
I’ve been doing grocery game for several years now. It’s so little money each week to save quite a lot that I don’t mind spending it. Today, for example, I bought $70 worth of groceries for a little over $35…almost 50% savings!
I keep my circulars in a binder, each one in its own plastic sleeve. (Scrapbookers will know what I mean.) I write the date on the side, and the initial of the type of circular–S for Smart Source, for example.
Oh, new couponers should know that there are no coupons on holiday weekends, like Thanksgiving. And be careful of the P&Gs…they expire really fast.
7 jenuinejen // Sep 26, 2007 at 6:32 pm
SAHMmy,
If you try Coupon Mom, please feel free to let me know if you have any questions. I will do my best to answer them for you.
8 jenuinejen // Sep 26, 2007 at 6:34 pm
Mom2fur,
Thanks for the advice on how to store coupons and for the dates when coupons on are not in the paper. It is useful information!
9 expectingamiracle // Sep 27, 2007 at 11:58 am
Great tips! Try this site: http://www.taylortownpreview.com/
They list the coupons for the upcoming Sunday several days ahead. They already have them up for this Sunday.
10 Kandy // Sep 27, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Excellent tip…thanks so much! I haven’t done coupons in years but I’m beginning to think I need to get back to them!
11 Jennifer // Sep 29, 2007 at 11:22 pm
Good tips. I’m new to coupon mom, but the problem I have is that there just aren’t coupons in my area. I have to go by the store circulars for the best deals, and scrounge coupons when I can, but we don’t seem to get any in our paper.
Jen @ Lords of the Manor
12 sam // Sep 30, 2007 at 7:09 am
Great advice! Thanks so much. Id also like to post http://www.discountspies.com/home-depot-coupons/
13 Online coupons // Oct 1, 2007 at 10:23 pm
thats awesome !
i think i cant get a better deal than this ,
14 Joo // Oct 2, 2007 at 5:29 pm
That’s terrific! Thank you!
15 Works for Me Wednesday - The Coupon Mom « Jen’s Genuine Life // Oct 22, 2007 at 8:27 am
[...] is part one of a three part series. Click to go to Part 2: Save More than 50% on Groceries for Free and Part 3: Cut the [...]
16 Rachel Terry // Nov 26, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Thanks for the tips. Even though using coupons takes a little longer, it’s so worth it to cut the grocery bill significantly.
17 Works for Me Wednesday Online Shopping Edition « Jen’s Genuine Life // Feb 12, 2008 at 10:00 pm
[...] Save More Than 50% on Groceries Using Coupons for Free [...]
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