When I first started getting things super cheap or even free, especially doing the drugstore deals, my husband wasn’t sure about the whole thing. I would come home with bags of perfectly good items, and lots of them. He would ask, “Just how much toothpaste do we really need?” He didn’t understand the principle of stockpiling. (I’m happy to report, he’s completely on board now, though!)
Stockpiling is simply buying things that you know you will use, when they’re on sale, as opposed to waiting until you’re out of something, at which time it probably won’t be on sale. For example, Kroger had a sale on Suave deodorant for only $1 (the smaller size). The coupons I had were for $ .50 off. Since Kroger doubles up to $ .50, I could get the deodorant free! I had five coupons, so I came home with 5 free deodorants. As I explained to my husband, it’s true that we may not need all those deodorants right now, but won’t we need it eventually? They may not be on sale when we need it, so it’s better to “stockpile” when it’s free than pay full price when you’re desperate.
Here are some considerations when stockpiling:
Don’t be a brand snob. If you really don’t care which brand of toothpaste, deodorant, or soap you use, you will save a lot more. In fact, because I’ve tried new things, our family has found some new things that they really like, and they’ve also found things that they prefer I not buy anymore. So don’t be afraid to try a different brand just because you’ve never bought it before. (By the way, if you DO care which brand you buy, you can still save on it, but generally your savings won’t be quite as much.)
Have a place to put your extras. This was initially one of the things that bothered my husband. I ended up with so much overflow of body wash, shampoo, etc., that it didn’t have a place to go! Since he can’t stand clutter, I started using a big multi-drawer cart to keep my stash in, and it stays in my closet. Now, when he needs a new toothbrush, he asks me to get one out of my “stash.” And he has learned to appreciate having extras on hand, especially when it’s a lean paycheck week.
Get some extra, but don’t hoard. It’s best to practice the Golden Rule on this: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I’ve heard of people who buy things just to buy them. Unless it’s something I or someone I know can use, or something I can donate to the church missions closet, I generally don’t get the item, even if it’s free. It also puts couponers in general in a bad light when someone is a “smash and grabber” and clears off the shelves. Do the deals, but play nice!
Stockpile food items, too. I can’t emphasize this enough. We are blessed to have an extra refrigerator as well as a beautiful upright freezer in our garage. When I find things like perishable items that are super cheap, I snatch them up and put them away for later on. For example, Food Lion had a buy one, get one free sale on Kraft cheese. I had several $5/5 coupons, and ended up getting each package of shredded cheese for about $ .39! I went several times to do this deal, and ended up with a huge stockpile of cheese that lasted us for months. What a blessing! We also reorganized our laundry room during January 2011 snow days to accommodate a small pantry. Again, when food items go on sale, we have a place to keep it until it’s needed. This saves significantly on the grocery bill. The hardest part is keeping the kids out of it!
Stockpiling for birthdays and Christmas. If you’re on the lookout throughout the year for items that could be used for gifts, you’ll amass a stash of potential birthday and Christmas gift items, too. It’s inevitable that one of the children will be invited to a birthday party that we weren’t expecting, and it’s so nice to go to the closet and see what I found on clearance months ago, that will work as a present. The hardest part for me is remembering where I put everything! I recommend having a central location where everything will be. One year, I had bought so much throughout the year that when I went to get everything down from the top of the closet at Christmas, it was way more than my children would need for gifts. So we found people who needed some of those items, and shared the wealth.
So there you have it. Stockpiling in a nutshell. Stay tuned for the next installment of “Coupon Ninja”: Handling Coupon Rejection.
We’ve talked about why to coupon and various kinds of coupons including printables, but now it’s time to talk about e-couponing. E-coupons are coupons you don’t have to cut. The “e” stands for “electronic,” meaning that they are loaded onto your grocery store loyalty card. Kroger currently has a ton of e-coupons that are available to load, but you can load them with other grocery store loyalty cards, too.
Things You Need to Know About E-coupons:
They come off automatically at the register. As long as the coupons are loaded on your card and you purchase the required item(s), the coupon should be deducted automatically at the register as you check out. If a coupon doesn’t come off and you were expecting it to, first check to make sure you bought the right product AND the right size of product. If there’s still a problem, either stop at your store’s customer service counter or email the e-coupon company when you get home.
They do not double. Regardless of your store’s policy on doubling, these coupons will come off only at face value.
They generally may not be used with paper coupons. There was a time when you could use both an e-coupon and a paper coupon on the same product, to maximize your savings. But now if you have an e-coupon loaded on your card, it will come off before your paper coupon is scanned, and the cashier will most likely hand the paper coupon back to you. If I have to choose between the two, I would choose the paper coupons over the e-coupons, simply because paper coupons will double up to 50 cents at Kroger, and the e-coupons will not.
Generally there are two ways to remove e-coupons from your card. Either make the required purchase or wait until the coupon expires.
It takes longer at the checkout when your card is loaded. That’s because the register has to process through all the coupons on your card to see if any of them will match the items you bought. It doesn’t take a lot longer, but there is a slight delay. The savings is well worth it, in my estimation.
One e-coupon at a time, please. Heads up. Even if you have two coupons loaded for Chex mix, both coupons will not come off at the same time unless you buy two Chex mixes.
There are several sites where you can load coupons on your card, but I’ve tried to make it easy for you by putting them all right here at Luv2BFrugal…kind of like one stop shopping. To access them easily, go to “coupons” in the top menu, then click on “e-coupons” to access all the ones I’m highlighting here:
Cellfire – new coupons are available every two weeks on Tuesdays. I try to remind you when these become available. They also run special promotions from time to time, offering a cents off coupon for going to their website at a certain time.
Shortcuts – similar to Cellfire. Sometimes they have the same coupons as Cellfire, too, but you can have more than one coupon for the same item loaded on your card. These don’t have a set time that they reload, so I usually check them after loading my Cellfire coupons so I don’t miss anything good.
Kroger Digital Coupons – you can find e-coupons here for Kroger-brand items and other things. Limit of 150 coupons pre-loaded per card. Usually you will be able to see all the coupons you’ve already loaded from the other e-coupon sites right here, which is very helpful. I’ve gone here to print out a list of the coupons loaded on my card, so I can plan my grocery strategy more effectively.
P and G E-Saver – I don’t often use these coupons, since I usually get better deals on shampoo and toothpaste at CVS and Walgreens, but sometimes there’s a higher value e-coupon than I have in my paper coupons. Besides, there are also coupons for Pringles, dish soap, etc., and when there’s a special at Kroger, it can be good to have these on my card. These are new every month.
Target Mobile Coupons – Target will send coupons via text message to your cell phone each month. Standard messaging rates apply.
All those e-coupon sites are great, but I’ll let you in on a secret: my favorite ones are SavingStar and Upromise! That’s because SavingStar and Upromise CAN be used with paper coupons! They don’t come off your grocery bill. Instead, they are deposited into an account to help toward your child’s or grandchild’s college (Upromise) or with SavingStar, you can request a payout via PayPal, Amazon gift card, or check once you reach $5! Even better, you’re not limited to just Kroger! If you have a CVS card, a Food Lion, or other stores (except Publix isn’t participating yet), you can make the required purchases there, too!
SavingStar and Upromise are operated by the same company, so you won’t be able to load identical coupons from each site. If I have to choose between them, I would choose SavingStar because the funds are easier to get to, and you get a payout much sooner, with so many choices of payment!
It’s time to learn how to make friends with technology in your quest to save money. Coupons are no longer in just the Sunday papers. There are also plenty of cyber coupons to maximize your savings, including Printable Coupons and Electronic Coupons. Since each of those is a big topic, I’ll cover Printable Coupons first.
Printable Coupons - these are coupons that you print out from the computer. How is this different from the ones you find in the Sunday paper? Well, you can seleect and print only the ones you will use. With companies entering the social media market, often they will allow special high value coupons when you follow them on Twitter or like their brand’s page on Facebook.
Some of my favorite printable sites include Coupons.com, Box Tops for Education, SmartSource, and RedPlum. There are also some new ones like Coupon Network. Don’t forget about manufacturers’ websites, too! Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Unilever…check the company’s website to see if there’s a coupon available. Some sites will require that you register with them to access the coupons. (You may want to open up a junk email account for surfing online so your regular email account doesn’t get spammy.)
Are you looking for a specific printable coupon? Visit my Coupon Database, which will tell you exactly where you can find a coupon, plus provide a clickable link to that coupon.
Printable coupons are available only for a short time. If you see a printable coupon that you think you will use, it’s worth your time to print it now. With so many people trying to save money, a coupon can quickly reach its print limit before you remember to go back and print it.
Manufacturers use a “cookie” tracking system if you have printed their coupon. That helps them make sure one person isn’t printing 150 of the same coupon so no one else can print any! Because each computer has a different IP (internet protocol) address, if you have more than one computer in your house, you can print multiple coupons from the same site. Don’t have access to an extra computer? Here’s a trick I’ve learned for printing an extra coupon: hit the back arrow on your browser three times, and your computer will often print a second coupon! Both coupons will have different numbers on them, so it’s not a reprint or a copy.
Frequenty Asked Questions: Don’t I have to print coupons in color for them to be accepted? No! Don’t feel that you have to invest in a color printer to print coupons. My black and white printer does a great job, and the coupons scan just the same.
My store won’t let me use internet coupons. Now what? First, it’s important to know your store policies. I have two Krogers, each about 20 minutes from my house. One is somewhat coupon-friendly. The other isn’t as helpful in that area. Even different stores within the same chain can have unique policies. So ask about their coupon policies before you invest a lot of time shopping there and then end up disappointed. If they won’t work with you, try to find a store that will.
The Tullahoma News recently was kind enough to do an article about saving, featuring my blog. It’s actually because of the article they did last year that I found out about an awesome couponers’ special subscription. I receive 6 Sunday newspapers delivered to my house, but I split the subscription with a friend, so I really get only 3 papers.
Obviously the Sunday newspaper is a great place to find coupons. But for those who don’t have a subscription, the question comes up: where can I find the coupons to use for my deals? There are plenty of places to look.
Family and Friends, Co-workers and Neighbors. I am blessed with a generous church family, and many of them know that I do “that coupon thing.” After they cut out the coupons they can use, they give me the leftovers. Even better, some of them subscribe to the Chattanooga Free Press, while others go buy the Nashville Tennessean. (I say “go buy” because the Tennessean won’t deliver to our rural area any more. Ahem!) Different papers often get different inserts, or at least different values of coupons. So don’t be afraid to diversify.
Newspaper Subscriptions. A subscription might be a great option for you. I recommend the Sunday only subscription. If you can get it for less than $2 per week, that’s a pretty good deal. If you live in a decent-size area and can get more than one copy of the newspaper delivered to your door inexpensively, go for it! (By the way, the Tullahoma News carries most of the same inserts as the Tennessean, but it’s cheaper and you can get it delivered!) I know people who buy 10 copies of the newspaper just for the inserts, but their local newspaper is only $1 on Sundays. It’s more expensive here, and I just can’t justify $100 per month on newspapers, especially since I can get the coupon special of 5 additional Sunday newspapers delivered for just $84 per year!
Magazines. One of my favorite magazines is full of coupons: All You. It’s available at Wal-Mart, or you can get it even cheaper by getting a subscription to it. I do have a subscription to it, and I got it free as a reward for doing a school fundraiser last year.
Recycling Centers. If you’re able to make friends with the station attendant at the recycling area, you can likely score lots of ads that will potentially be thrown away. Note: I’m not advocating dumpster diving, but if the attendant will set the coupon inserts aside for you, that’s a great savings!
Company Websites. Many manufacturers have websites with coupons on them. And now, manufacturer’s are getting on the Facebook bandwagon, offering exclusive savings coupons when you “like” their site or product on FB.
With Free Samples. Often, though not always, a company will send a coupon when they send out samples.
On Packaging. Don’t throw that box away until you’ve looked it over for coupons, Box Tops for Education, Labels for Education, etc. Lots of packages have coupons on them, both inside and out. Look both places before you toss the packaging.
Blinkies or Tearpads at the grocery store. Look for brochures near the pharmacy, blinky machines in the aisles, or pads of coupons that you can tear off, usually placed near products.
Libraries or Restaurants. Sometimesyou can find inserts at public places where people read newspapers: McDonald’s, Hardee’s, or even Starbucks.
Receive $3 RR WYB 2, use two $1/1 from RP 1/31, then submit for MIR (YMMV)
Confused yet? Welcome to the wonderful world of “Coupon-ese”! It really is like a whole new language, but don’t worry. It’s not as complicated as it looks.
You’ll want to become familiar with these coupon abbreviations because you will be likely to see them on coupon match-ups sites. Knowing what they mean will help you snag the best deals.
Here’s a crash course on what these abbreviations mean:
$1/2: $1 off of 2 items
2/$5: Two items for $5
Blinkie: manufacturer coupons dispensed by little machines clipped onto store shelves. They are usable at any store. My kids love to go on “blinkie hunts” through the store while I’m in a different grocery section.
BOGO: Buy One, Get One Free; sometimes listed as B1G1 or BOGO
CAT: short for “Catalina,” a skinny paper coupon that prints out from a separate machine when you check out at the register
ECB: Extra Care Bucks – CVS “money” printed on receipts to be used like cash in store
FAR: Free After Rebate
IP: Internet Printable Coupon
IVC: Instant Value Coupon, redeemable at Walgreens, which comes out in a little booklet each month; these can be stacked with manufacturer’s coupons.
MIR: Mail-in Rebate
MM: moneymaker
OOP: Out of Pocket, meaning actual cash paid
OYNO: On your next order
PG: Procter and Gamble coupon insert that comes out monthly
Peelie: – Peelable coupon on package
RP: RedPlum coupon insert
RR: Register Rewards – Walgreens’ coupon printed at checkout to be used on future store purchase
SS: SmartSource coupon insert
WYB: when you buy
YMMV: your mileage may vary, meaning that this deal may or may not work at your store, depending on the cashier or other circumstances
Can you think of others that I may have missed? Leave a comment.
Next time we’ll talk about the best places to find coupons. I hope you’ll join me!
P.S. In case you forget some of these abbreviations, you can always go to the L2BF Abbreviations page. It’s under the “Coupons” drop-down menu at the top!
Luv2BFrugal is a fun, encouraging blog dedicated to sharing great deals, spreading some mom-related cheer, learning how to save, and finding ways to be a blessing to others. Thanks for coming! I'm glad you're here!
To access them easily, go to “coupons” in the top menu, then click on “e-coupons” to access all the ones I’m highlighting here:
