Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Couponing 101


The rules of couponing to get the most BANG for your BUCK-

1. DON'T be brand loyal...try new products, and be opened to purchase products you don't normally use.

2. Stockpile which basically means if you're getting a product at a rock bottom price get TONS of them even if they wont be used right away. Great things to stockpile are canned goods, cleaning products, toothpaste, paper goods ext.

3. Buy a few newspapers that way when a good deal comes your way you don't have to just buy one and this will help with rule #2 as well.

4. This is by far the best advice we can give that has helped the most. Buy the smallest size possible that the coupon will allow. For example if we have a $1 Charmin coupon we'd by the 4 pack or some stores sell just one roll for .98....so with 12 coupons we could essentially get 12 rolls FREE. We did this the other day with Old spice body wash coupons. We had 4 $2 off 2 body wash purchases. The coupon didn't exclude the travel size (which some coupons do)... so we went to Walmart and bought 8 travel size old Spice body washes that would have cost us $1 a piece for FREE!!

5. Another good lesson we've learned is to always check different product boxes before throwing them away. A lot of times there are different rebates going on or other promotion where you might need the UPS. Also some products have coupons on them as well...sometimes hidden inside the box. We cut out the UPC from our Colgate toothpaste and sent them in last month to get FREE Sponge Bob automatic toothbrushes!

6. Coupon organization is key when it comes to finding unadvertised clearance deals. That way you have them on hand and can get to them fast. You may think this is dorky, but for any couponer it is essential! Everyone chooses different options, but our favorite by far is the binder method. Basically we have a binder with dividers and baseball car inserts for coupons. We use the dividers for different categories such as dairy, snack foods, canned goods, personal care, cleaning supplies ext. The baseball card inserts are great because you can see all your coupons laid out in front of you!

7. Sometimes you have to buy products you don't need to get products you do. Now this rule might seem like a hard one to understand. Here is an example- The other day we went to Walgreen's because they had a great promotion going on. You had to buy 10 Gillette shaving products and you would receive $5 back to use in the store. So we went in and got 10 of the cheapest shaving gels-- which were $2 a piece for a total of $20. Well Walgreen's had a store coupon for $1 off each shaving gel which brought the total down to $10 plus we had 10 $1 off manuf coupons bringing the total down to nothing but tax!!!:) So we then used the $5 in another transaction to get 4 FREE newspapers to get more coupons. So we walked out of there with 10 FREE shaving gels that we didn't need, but 4 FREE newspapers that we did!!

8. Make couponing work for you. We clip and sort through expired ones while watching TV or movies at night. We like it because it keeps our hands busy! It's also a way to get the kids involved by having them help sort the coupons into the right categories, and put them into the inserts. Now when we go to the grocery store the kids will pick a product and ask if we have a coupon for it!

9. Bring cash when you shop!!! This really helps SAVE, SAVE, SAVE!!!

10. Coupon overage is Great. It lets you get other products you want and don't have a coupon for at a better price. Example: We buy the travel size clean and clear at Target for $1, but have a $2 coupon...so the additional $1 goes to other products. This also is another reason for rule #7.

There is so much more to come!! STAY TUNED....

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is rule #10 what you refer to in your blog as a moneymaker?

Hip2Save said...

Hi,
Im not really understanding your question. Do you want to know what items you can purchase to create overage(make a little extra money on)?!? If so, check out the Walgreen's and CVS weekly deals.

Feel free to ask me any other questions!:)

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Hey there,
I am new to clipping and I have been using multiple coupons for single items. ie 2 manuf. coupons and another from internet all for a single item. I figured, if they were not right they wouldnt work. They always go through, or there is a beep, but the cashier reeds it and puts it through, i just thought they were making sure I got the right item. Only today as I was clipping did I bother to read them and noticed they said only one per purchase. My store has been accepting them this way, are they making a mistake? I just dont want to find out one day that instead of owing $20, I owe $100!
And when you have an internet coupon that says $1.00 off two items and that coupon cant be used with another coupon, how are you able to save as much as you save? Even with the sale price, I dont know how you are getting them for free?
Please educate me!!!
Just found your site and am a fan already!!!

Hip2Save said...

Hi,
Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. To clarify, You can ONLY use one manufacturer coupon per item purchased. I'm surprised your store was excepting your coupons since they usually would beep if you were using more then one manuf. coupon on a single item. Also if you have a $1/2 coupon, then that manuf. coupon will cover both items and you will ONLY be able to use one. Hope that makes sense!:)

I promise you still will be able to score some sweet deals. If you check out the CVS, Walgreen's and Rite Aid deal posts, you will see lots of items you can get FREE and even make money on too!

Oh ya I forgot to mention you can pair a manuf. coupon with a store coupon on a single item... so Walgreen's coupons can be paired with manuf. coupons for an even sweeter deal!

Anonymous said...

I see a question on this thread that I was wondering as well! About doubling your savings on a certain product.

I understand the using a coupon on say a sale item. Say a pizza is usually $3.00 and is on sale for $1.50 and you have a coupon for $1.50 off that pizza making it FREE. But the overage is if you have a different coupon for the same item (say the stores own coupon) then you just made money.

My concern was if it was even possible! It sounds great, but I never know what the rules are for certain stores. I for the most part because of the short distance shop at Walmart. I've noticed the cashiers there are more likely to examine the coupon with a magnifying glass and tell you why you can't have it. I once used the comp option with a coupon and the cashier said I can only have it one way, not both ways. Not sure who was right there. And now they have informed me that they no longer will except coupons printed online! I guess I need to shop somewhere else.

I do though, wonder if you can double your coupons no matter what the coupon says, or should I stick to the ones that have say no limit per transaction? I fear the beep and the learing eyes of the cashier as she thinks I'm trying to be sneaky lol.

Thanks a bunch!

C and G said...

i know this is an old post but i still have a question . . . what if you have two manufacture coupons but they are different - for example a $1.00 off coupon and then a $0.50 off coupon for the same item - should you be able to use both of them?
Thanks!!!

Hip2Save said...

C and G,
You can only use one coupon per item purchased, so you'd have to choose between the two coupons.

Jon and Christine Knecht said...

I was wondering about the cash thing? Why bring cash? My husband will not let me have cash since we get points back on our credit card so I have to use it for everything. Can you explain that part to me?

I love your site! It makes me want to get out and start right away...especially since I live in an area where NO ONE doubles coupons ever...and we just saw a coupon for double a manufacturer's coupon at Albertson's AND my husband works there so we got an extra 25% off. It was sweet!