The Magic of Coupons

Coupons have been around for many, many years. So why all of a sudden, just now, is it all the rage to use coupons? Over the years you may have clipped a coupon or two for your trip to the grocery store, but the savings did not grab your attention so you figured why bother taking the few minutes to cut a coupon for $0.50 or $1.00? Or maybe you were not someone who read the Sunday paper so thought, why purchase one “just for coupons? Or you may have never even bothered with coupons at all. Well let me tell you, once you understand how to use coupons to their full advantage and see a large amount in the SAVINGS selection of your receipt you will instantly change the way you think about coupons!

I have seven mouths to feed, four of which are growing boys and I need to accomplish this on one income. My past grocery bills were $900 – $1,000 per month which included diapers, toiletries, cleaning products, paper products, etc. PAST is the keyword, I now feed our family and purchase all those necessities for $300-$500 per month. We do not each any different, are meals are still nutritious, balanced and high quality! So the question is – HOW?! Coupons are the answer!

Some may think of “Extreme Couponing” when they think of coupons, but I have to say I have never seen the show and have no plans to. You absolutely can save a lot of money with coupons but the show, in my opinion, gives a false perception of the proper and legitimate why to save money by using coupons. There are rules for using coupons, whether they are set by the manufacture or by the store, they showed be followed. When I was first starting using coupons I was under the impression I did not have the time and I would “never” be able to understand or remember the rules for each store. It was actually an overwhelming feeling, even a bit scary but after an hour with my sister who was already doing this I realized I was wrong! Of course I called her many times in the beginning with questions but eventually it all made sense, the only question which remained was – Why was I not using coupons sooner?! It is important to understand the need to have more than one coupon insert each week. Yes, one paper will give you coupons to save money but the key to couponing is to build a stock pile which we will discuss shortly. Obtaining 3-4 papers each week is a good amount when you are first starting out. As you get more comfortable with couponing you will be able to determine the amount needed for your family to save the most.

The first step to saving money using coupons is to understand how to use them. Now there are so many websites available which make understanding coupons easy or have questions answered. Each store and/or chain sets their own coupon policy, knowing these policies is the key to making your coupons work to save you money. Understanding the “fine print” on the actual coupons is important as well. Coupon policies for stores are often on their websites and can be printed out for easy reference when planning a shopping trip.

So how can coupons save so much money? Pairing them with the right sales! You are probably not going to save a significant amount by walking into a store and purchasing an item not already on sale using a coupon. Of course there are items we “have to have” at certain times when a sale is not going on so of course use the coupon to save, but the trick is to matchup coupons with great sale prices. By matching up coupons with sales you can build up a stock pile of items to prevent you from having to purchase them at full price.

Did I say stock pile? Yes, stockpile! For example, I have a stock pile of toothpaste which will last our family about 8 months. All of this toothpaste I received for FREE or about $0.50! The same goes for bar soap/body wash. We have a good 12 month stock pile which I purchased for 60%-80% less than regular price; some may have even been free! I will not purchase Kleenex the entire winter (unless a good sale pops up of course!) because we have enough in the pantry to take us well into summer, which was purchased at about 57% less than regular price. These are all name brand items which were purchased with a coupon in combination with a sale. Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom/Cream of Chicken soup is normally $1.05 for a 10.5 oz can in this area, I just purchased 32 cans for $0.29 each can, that is 72% savings. This is something I use a lot for cooking so the savings is great! Having coupons does not mean you have to buy things you would never use; not using a particular coupon is ok. I have had to learn to not be so brand loyal with things such as toothpaste or canned vegetables, but the things I am loyal to (such as Campbell’s) I can still get at a great price. Crest or Colgate, it does not matter to my family, it all cleans our tooth which makes us all happy and the savings makes me extra happy!

Matchups are the key to taking full advantage of a coupon. Matchups are just that, matching up a coupon with sale to get the best price possible. The best part is there are tons of available websites which list the matchups each week for each store such as Meijer, Kroger, Target, etc. This makes saving money so much easier, but it is probably safe to say once you are in the couponing groove you will find yourself finding deals on your own in addition to the published ones! This is where knowing the coupon policy is extremely important. For example, in my area Meijer will double (3) identical coupons up to $0.50 per transaction. So recently there was a sale on an item which was $1.00, there was a coupon for $0.50 off of 2. So knowing the policy I knew I could get 6 of that item, use 3 coupons and get each one for only $0.50 – 50% savings! How easy was that?!

Hopefully this overview of the world of coupons will get you excited to try it for yourself and learn more! Although you will see savings immediately it is important to understand that building a stock pile by purchasing items at stock up prices is the key to start cutting your monthly grocery bill. Building a stock pile is not a fast process but important to the overall goal – SAVING MONEY!


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