i’ve had a few people ask me what my coupon “secret” is and how i work my savings magic…so i thought a little blog postie was in order to explain a few coupon highlights…
* ALWAYS shop at a store that doubles or triples coupons…the store i use (weis market) doubles coupons up to .99, which is really awesome
* read the fine print…coupon values are determined by their wording, not by the item pictured…look for words like “any variety” and limiting terms like “applies to 1.4 ounces size and larger.”
* buy one get one free…many people (myself included) don’t know you can use two coupons for this, one for the one your paying for AND one for the free one…many times if you have high value coupons you can get these items nearly free.
* know your stores coupon policy inside and out…do they take internet printed coupons? do they double coupons? do they accept expired coupons? you can call the store and ask these questions, that way you’ll know before you plan your next trip
* internet printed coupons are a BIG help, every week i check the coupon sites such as smartsource.com; coolsavings.com; valupage.com and coupons.com and print what coupons i know i will use at some point in the future
* i try to not buy things that aren’t on sale unless it’s a necessity…i also try to only buy things on sale that i already have coupons for…by pairing sales and coupons i save a ton
* plan out your grocery list and coupons at HOME, not when you get to the store…that will overwhelm you and you won’t continue doing it…i take about a half hour to cut my coupons and another half hour to pour over the sales flyer, find what coupons i have and plan out my list (i have a spreadsheet for my grocery list)…that way when i enter the store i already know what i’m getting, my coupons are already in my envelope and i don’t have to dig for them and i just breeze through the store
* another little tip…when an item is on sale but i don’t have a coupon for it, i will go to the company website and see if they have any coupons on their site…a LOT of times you will find companies actually do offer coupons on their websites…
* browse the coupon sites i have listed on my sidebar…they will let you know if there is a new coupon and link you to where to find it…i browse those sites a few times a week and always find savings there
* the coupon sites i mentioned above also will list when free samples are available…i always get these free samples for the simple fact that most of them will come with coupons, some of them being high value coupons (or even for a FREE item sometimes)…
* clipping and organizing coupons does take a bit of time BUT it is well worth it in the end…like last weeks shopping trip when i saved $113…that is well worth the half hour it takes me to clip coupons…but people normally don’t because they think it will take too much time and it will be too much trouble and the industry counts on people NOT taking the time to clip coupons…
here is a little scenario that i’m playing out this week during my shopping trip…
scenario #1
campbells tomato and chicken noodle soup is on sale for 4/$2 (or .50 a can)
i have two coupons for .50 off two cans (which my store will double)
i will end up getting 4 cans of tomato soup for FREE
scenario #2
nature valley granola thins are on sale for 4/$6 (must buy 4)
i have three coupons for .50 off one box (do not double)
and 1 coupon for .75 off one box (can be doubled)
i will end up getting 4 boxes of granola thins for $3
hope ya’all found some helpful tips here…and that you find TONS of grocery savings in your future!!!
out for now
~kisses
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