Couponing Explained

This is going to be my sad little attempt at explaining my couponing routine.  I'm a far cry from being an expert, or even a seasoned player, but I will share what I know and hope it makes sense...

First, the obvious key to couponing is coupons.  There are a LOT of places you can get them, not just from your Sunday paper.  Here are the sources I use and how I organize them:
   
     1:  The Sunday paper.  I have my own subscription, plus I get my Mom-in-law's coupons that she won't use AND her dad's.  So that's 3 sets {if I can remember to grab them!}.   I don't clip until right before I go shopping.  I have a container with hanging files, one file for each week.  When I get the coupons on Sunday I simply label a new folder and drop my coupons in.  You'll see why I don't even need to look through them later in the post.  I get 3 sets because our Safeway will only allow 3 manufacturer coupons per type of item {meaning I can only buy 3 boxes of granola bars per transaction, IF I want to use a coupon on each box.  Make sense?  No?  Great, read on.}, once I get more comfortable with the whole couponing thing I may pick up more sets of coupons each week.  But that's too scary to think about just yet!
    
     2:  Online Printables.  The websites I use have links to printable coupons.  There are 2 drawbacks to using these, the first being that you will print a LOT and therefore use more ink {which for me isn't a bad thing because until now, my ink usually dried up or got clogged with dust, so this is actually a good thing!}, and most websites will only let you print a certain number of each coupon.  But it's really nice because if you're like me and just getting started, you won't have a stockpile of coupons to use and so the printables are a life saver.  These coupons work JUST LIKE any other manufacturer coupon from the Sunday paper.

     3.  Store Ads.  I mainly shop Safeway and Walgreens, and both usually have great coupons in their weekly and bi-weekly ads.

     4.  Online e-coupons.  These are the coolest thing ever, and until recently, I had NO IDEA they even existed!  You can actually load e-coupons onto your Safeway card {no idea about other stores} and when you swipe it at check out, the ones that apply to your purchase automatically come off!  Sweeeeeeeet!  The main e-coupon sites are cellfire.com, shortcuts.com,  p&gesaver.com, and safeway.com.  Cellfire, Shortcuts and Safeway post new e-coupons weekly, and P&GeSaver posts new ones once a month {I think!}.

If, after I'm finished shopping, I have coupons left over that I didn't end up using, I have a small coupon organizer {you know what I mean, about the size of your wallet with an accordion divider inside} that I store them in according to category.  I also keep a printed coupon policy of the stores I shop at in there for reference if a clerk doesn't want to take my coupon and I KNOW they can... yeeeeah.

Here is the coolest thing about couponing.  Yes, you can only use one manufacturer coupon per item, HOWEVER you can use a store coupon, PLUS a manufacturer coupon {printed or from the paper}, PLUS an e-coupon - ALL ON THE SAME ITEM!  This is called Stacking.  AND our Safeway {check at yours} automatically makes each coupon worth at least a dollar, making it really easy to get free stuff, especially if you have the chance to stack your coupons.

Now that your head is spinnning, take a break.  Go get a glass of water, rest your eyes, let it all sink in for a minute.  Then, when you're feeling ready, read on.  :O)

The websites I use can seem pretty complicated at first.  I got my feet wet by reading The Krazy Coupon Lady's 10 Days to Become a KCL {click it to read it}.  She explains a lot of the lingo couponers use, which will help you understand pretty much all couponing websites.  Once you've read that, check out the rest of her website, thekrazycouponlady.com.  She posts all the deals for the week for a number of stores {Albersons, CVS, Rite-Aid, Safeway, Target, Walgreens and Wal-Mart}, and breaks them down for you {and I use wildforwags.com for Walgreens.  It's basically the same thing as Krazy Coupon Lady but ONLY for Walgreens}.  She lists everything on sale that week with it's sale price.  Then with each item she lists all the coupons you can use {and tells you where to get them}, then she says what your final price could be if you use the coupons.  You have to keep in mind when looking at her website what the coupon policy is for YOUR store.  Her Safeway doesn't double and triple coupons so that they are at least a dollar in value, but mine does so my deals are sometimes better than hers are.  And, she may have X-many coupons listed for a single item, but remember how many coupons your store will allow per type of item, per transaction.  It will do you no good to print off all the coupons she lists if you can't use them all.

For example, this week there is a deal at Safeway on Nature Valley granola bars and Fiber One bars.  They are on sale for $2.49 a box, and if you buy 4, you get an instant $4 off, making each box only $1.49 when it rings up.  Clear as mud?  Plus, there is a Catalina {Safeway store credit coupon} incentive: buy 3 of either or mix and match them and get a $1.50 Catalina, buy 4 and get a $2.50 Catalina, buy 5 and get a $3.50 Catalina.  The Krazy Coupon Lady has 7 coupons listed for the Nature Valley - 6 printables and 1 e-coupon you can load to your store card - and 8 coupons listed for the Fiber One - 6 printables and 2 e-coupons you can load to your store card.  Like I said before, my Safeway only allows me 3 manufacturer coupons {or printed coupons} per type of item, per transaction, meaning that if I were to buy 4 Nature Valley Granola Bars {to get the advertised $4 off at checkout} I could only use 3 coupons.  So, to get the BEST deal, I would mix and match {buy 2 of each or 3 of one and 1 of the other} so that I could use a coupon on EACH box.  My printable coupons for each type of bar are $0.50 off 1 box, but my e-coupons are $0.75 off 2 and $0.50 off 2.  That means that my best deal is to get 2 boxes of each type of box so that I can use my e-coupons too.  My checkout scenario would look like this: buy 2 boxes of Nature Valley Granola Bars and 2 boxes of Fiber One Bars for $2.49 each.  My total is $9.96.  I bought 4 boxes total so I automatically save $4, bringing my total down to $5.96.  My Safeway multiplies each manufacturer coupon to $1, so when I use a coupon on each box, even though it says $0.50 off one, I get $1 off!  I can use 4 coupons because there are only 2 of each type of item in this transaction, bringing my total down to $1.96.  Now my e-coupons kick in, giving me $0.75 off 2 boxes and $0.50 off the other 2, bringing my total down to $0.71!  That ends up being about $0.18 a box {on the Krazy Coupon Lady's website, she can only get them down to $0.62 each because her Safeway doesn't multiply coupons}. After taxes {which unfortunately get charged on the full price of the items} I'm still only paying less than $2 for 4 boxes of granola bars, PLUS I get a $3.50 Catalina because I bought 4 boxes {remember the Catalina deal I mentioned?}.  Soooooo, I pay around $1.67, get a $3.50 Catalina to use on my next purchase, so it's basically like Safeway is paying me $1.83 to take 4 boxes of granola bars! 

THAT is the beauty of couponing.  And you don't have to buy in such small transactions to get the great deals {I just did that to keep it as simple as possible in my explanation}, you just have to plan them so you can use the most coupons each time.  You may total have 3 transactions, but you can use the Catalinas earned on the first to pay toward to second and on and on...  It's SO addicting. 

A few more things to keep in mind... at my Safeway you can't use a Catalina earned in your first purchase to pay for the same items in a second purchase.  Like, I couldn't use the $3.50 Catalina earned by my granola bars to turn around and right then by more granola bars with it.  I could use it the next day to buy more granola bars, but not that same day.  Also, once you have used an e-coupon, it's gone.  And if you happen to find a coupon that gives you something free without having to make a purchase, be sure to check your store's coupon policy on that before you try to use it.  My Safeway won't take coupons like that, but my Walgreens does.

I know it's a lot to take in.  Take your time.  Get started as slowly or as quickly as you want to.  For me, I still shop Wally-World for my regular priced items that I don't have stockpiled yet, because I know I can get a better deal there than at Safeway or Walgreens.  I'm hoping to eventually break free of Wal-Mart by having what I need stockpiled enough that I don't ever NEED to buy things at full-price {or at least on a MUCH rarer occasion...}.  I love it enough to share what I've learned with you {and TRUST me when I say that this post took a LOT of thought and revision!!}.  I hope it helps, encourages, and gives you a reference place.  Ask questions, don't be afraid and GOOD LUCK!!!