How to save without using coupons!

If you are always pressed for time and don't have time to clip coupons, there's alternate ways you can save money! Those being: ad matching, using in store coupons, and digital coupons.

Before you go on your grocery shopping trip, sit down and take 30 minutes to go through local supermarket and dollar store ads. All of them can be found online and you also may get a hard copy in your local newspapers. Simply write up your shopping list then scan through the ads. Mark the sale price and what store the sale is from next to the item on your shopping list. Walmart allows price matching so you can purchase all of the products you need at one place rather than going all around town to grab the deals. While you're in Walmart, make sure that the price you found in a competitor ad is cheaper than the Walmart's every day price. Sometimes, you will find that Walmart's price will be cheaper. Then, when you're at the register to check out, simply tell your cashier that you are going to be price matching some items. You will want to tell her this before she scans your item or else she will have to do a void. Tell her "the price for this cereal is $1.33 at Kroger." She will enter in an over-ride for the price of $1.33 instead of whatever the price Walmart sells it at. Walmart's ad-match policy states that you do not need to have the actual ad in hand in order to do an ad match but some stores are getting really particular about this because of people abusing the system. It's always best to try to have the ad if you can. This will save you many, many dollars just by ad matching sales prices!

Another way to save money is by using in-store coupons. Our local grocery store, HEB, has hanging yellow coupons in the store that are there for shoppers to take advantage of. Many coupons offer free products just for purchasing one other product that you probably were going to buy to begin with. Take time to look at the yellow coupons and see what kind of deal you can get by using them. Sometimes it may mean buying a different brand than your used to but it's great to step out of your comfort zone every once in a while! Other stores like Family Dollar and Walgreens offer in store coupons that you can find in the sales ad.

And last, the digital coupon is a great way to save money. Kroger and Brookshire's are our two local stores that have digital coupons available. You simply go online to their website and load whatever digital coupons you think you may need then when you scan your store card at the register, the savings are automatically deducted! If you don't like to be seen using coupons, this is a great way to save, incognito style! :)

How to Save Big at CVS ~ My Essay for English Class

I'm not the best writer by any means but I had a chance to write a process essay over a topic of my choosing. I chose to write it over how to save at CVS. :)  

How to Save Big at CVS Pharmacy

            Many people these days are trying to cut their budgets in order to live better elsewhere. In my example, I will show how to save 97.65% on a pre-coupon total of $86.12 in merchandise at CVS Pharmacy which included two bags of Brookside chocolate, four bottles of Pantene, one bottle of Clear shampoo, two feminine hygiene products, one box of alcohol swabs, a liter bottle of Crest Pro-Health rinse, one Almay eyeliner, one Almay mascara, and two bottles of Pediacare. I will explain how I managed to save this much in hopes it will help others learn the steps in order to succeed as well as I do when shopping at CVS stores. This includes being prepared; watch sales, gather the corresponding coupons and be equipped with extra coupons. While at the store, scan your CVS card at the coupon machine, go through the instant coupons, taking note of which ones have matching manufacturer’s coupons. Check out prices of the items that have both CVS coupons and manufacturer’s coupons and decide if the savings from both coupons are going to bring the retail price down to a reasonable amount of savings, preferably making the item or items free. Last, decide how much to spend out of pocket. The steps may seem lengthy but a seasoned couponer can do all of this in a matter of no time. As with anything in life, practice makes perfect!

            Being prepared is the first step in saving big at CVS. Follow a few of the coupon bloggers on Facebook or elsewhere to see what great deals can be expected. A lot of times, the bloggers find the coupons so as to cut the search for coupons down. I found my coupons for candy and the free alcohol prep pads from a blogger and had those printed out and ready to go for this trip. I also saw a blogger’s post about Almay makeup being free after coupons and Extra Care Bucks so I had my Almay coupons ready to go as well. Go over weekly sales and make a list of what deals to purchase. I had a mental note of what I was going to purchase. I knew the Clear shampoo was going to be free after an instant coupon from the coupon machine, as stated in the sales ad. Also, gather coupons from weekly coupon inserts and the internet. Always take extra coupons in a coupon binder or file system so if one is needed, it will be handy. Now that the preparation process is out of the way, we move to the next step which is what to do at the store.

            The next step in saving big at CVS involves matching CVS instant coupons to manufacturer’s coupons. Scan the CVS card at the CVS red machine to get the instant coupons. Always scan the card several times until the machine states that there are no more coupons. Pick out which of the CVS instant coupons have manufacturer’s coupons which can be stacked together for greater savings. In my case, I picked out the coupon for $4.99 off a bottle of Clear shampoo, making it free, a coupon for $4.00 off a $12.00 shampoo and conditioner purchase, a $2.00 off a $6.00 feminine hygiene purchase, and a $2.00 off a $12.00 makeup purchase. Sometimes picking out coupons can be done in the next steps. It’s a matter of trial and error.

            The third unofficial step in saving big at CVS is to check out prices of the items which have both CVS instant coupons and manufacturer’s coupons. Decide if the savings from all coupons are going to bring down the retail price of the product or products to a reasonable price, preferably making them free. Add up how much savings the CVS coupons and the manufacturer coupons are going to give on the product. For example, I didn’t plan on purchasing the Pantene products until I printed out the instant coupon at the store then I noticed I could save $4.00 if I purchased at least $12.00 in shampoo and conditioner products. I already had a product in this category for $4.99, being the Clear shampoo so all I needed to do was to pick out $7.00 more in a pre-coupon amount. I decided to go with the Pantene deal because I had high value manufacture’s coupons for them, being $3.00 off two Pantene products. I purchased four of those in order to meet the requirement on the Pantene coupons and the CVS instant coupon. In this example, I mustered up a $15.00 savings from all the coupons and had only $2.00 due at checkout on this deal. This is a reasonable amount of savings and defiantly a smart purchase.

            The final step in the process of saving big at CVS is knowing if there is a previous Extra Care Buck that needs to be used. Also, take mental note of how much the total purchase will be after coupons. In my example, I had a $10.00 Extra Care Buck to spend and needed to get the total price I paid over $10.00 in order to use this Extra Care Buck. I though about what was in my basket. The Almay was going to cost me $3.00, the candy actually gave me a dollar overage with the coupons I used, the prep pads were free, the Clear shampoo was free and the Pantene was to cost $2.00. So far, my estimated total was about $4.00 so I needed $6.00 in after coupon amounts to add to my cart. I found Pediacare on clearance for $2.00 and I had two $1.00 off manufacture’s coupons to use on them. After coupons, my total was now up to $8.00.  I moseyed around the store and looked back at my instant coupons, remembering the $2.00 off a $6.00 feminine hygiene product coupon and saw that the items I purchased were on sale two for $7.00 and I had a manufacture coupon, good for $2.50 off two of them to pair with the instant coupon. After coupons, the feminine hygiene products I purchased only cost me $2.50. I also went ahead and grabbed the Crest Pro-Health rinse because it was a great deal. After coupon, it only cost $2.99 and I got back a $2.00 Extra Care Buck for the purchase of that product. Bingo! I got my after coupon price I was shooting for over $10.00. When my purchase is all said and done, I ended up paying $2.03 in change to the cashier and I received back $5.00 in Extra Care Bucks for my next trip to CVS. This final step may seem confusing to some but really, all it consist of is thought process. Once the shopper has their thought process flowing, the whole shopping trip to CVS will become second nature, thus allowing big savings.

            Anyone can save big like this at CVS. It doesn’t take a lot of time and lengthy preparation in order to use coupons at this store; all it takes is a little practice. One just needs to get the steps down which include preparation: getting coupons from all sources such as bloggers, internet, newspaper inserts and the CVS coupon machine; matching instant coupons with manufacturer coupons at the store; checking prices of products to see if the product can be purchased for the lowest price possible; and last, one must decide how much they will be spending out of pocket, taking a mental note of how much the price of the product will be after coupons. This whole process can equal a highly profitable hobby for anyone, just like it has for me.

Coupon Lingo / Acronyms

MM ~ Money maker. Overage you earn by using coupons on a product that has a shelf price less than the coupon price. Some stores will adjust the coupon price to omit the overage.

MFG ~ Manufacturer. Stands for manufacture coupon. These coupons can be used at any store that accepts coupons.

Q ~ Coupon. You will never see me type this. It annoys me. :)

BOGO or B1G1 ~ They are both the same. The number 1 stands for the number "1", written out. It will end with either FREE or 1/2 off.  To let you know what you the the other one for.

Blinkie ~ It's a coupon that came out of a coupon machine or coupon holder at a grocery store.

CAT ~ Catalina.  It's a coupon that is printed at the end of a transaction. Walgreens and HEB has catalinas around here.

ECB ~ Extra Care Buck.  A store credit earned from CVS when buying certain products that week.  It's equal to cash but only usable at CVS.

MIR ~ Mail in Rebate.  A reward earned when buying a product that is redeemable for that reward. Manufacturer's will sometimes promote their products by providing consumers money back in the form of a check because they bought the product to try.

OOP ~ Out of Pocket.  Money that you actually pay for your transaction out of your own.  Does not include store perks or rewards or money you may receive for a mail in rebate.

P&G ~ Procter and Gamble.  The leading manufacturer of personal and miscellaneous household products They submit coupon inserts at the end of each month and are available locally in the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

RP ~ Red Plum.  A coupon insert, available in both the Fort Worth Star Telegram and the local Empire Tribune. They feature many different products, mainly beauty and household products.

SS ~ SmartSource.  A coupon insert, available locally in the Fort Worth Star Telegram.  They feature many different manufacturers of products, mainly food products.

Freebie ~ Free item.  A free item that you acquired for no out of pocket expense by either using a coupon at a store or by submitting your information online for a sample product.

(I'll add more as I think of them.)

Where to go for legit printable coupons

Many people who are just starting out with their couponing tend to not know where to find the best and legit printable coupons. I'm going to share the best of the best with you right here so you don't have to worry about printing a fake coupon! Some of these require you to install a java app on your computer. It's totally fine. Don't worry about that. :) All of these sites allow you to print two coupons per computer. You can only print coupons.com coupons from an iPhone via a wireless HP printer due to a contract between coupons.com and HP.  The others are only printable through a laptop or a desktop.  Sorry, phone users... I highly recommend investing in a laptop and printer for printing coupons because so many great deals can be had with these! Another idea is to go to your local library to print coupons or, try asking a friend or family member to borrow their computer and printer to print some.

www.coupons.com

www.redplum.com

www.smartsource.com

www.couponnetwork.com

I want start couponing, what do I do?

So you have decided that you want to begin couponing. "Where do I start?", you ask. "What do I do first?" "It's too overwhelming and time consuming", you think to yourself. "I don't use most of the stuff that I see coupons for".

Well, I have answers to all of those questions and concerns.

First of all, Saturday or Sunday morning you need to go buy your Sunday papers. The Saturday and Sunday papers are the ONLY papers that has the coupons in them. Local Stephenville people, you need to buy the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  For everyone else, you need to buy the larger papers like the Houston Chronical, etc.  Please be aware that Sunday papers are HOT. They sell out fast! You need to go buy them early in the morning.  There are several places to buy them at.  Walmart and HEB sells a double pack of papers for $3.00.  This is a better deal because they cost $2.50 individually on Sundays. On Saturday, our Fort Worth Star Telegram cost $1.00 each. (I was even on a trip and picked up the double packs in Georgia so I know they are available outside Texas.)  You can buy them at gas stations, either out of the machine or inside the store.  You can also have them delivered to your house. I came across a deal to have the Wednesday & Sunday paper delivered for 6 months for something like $36. I bought two subscriptions for $72 so, guess what? They throw two to my house. :)

"So now that I have my papers, what do I do, you ask?"  Go through your paper and pull out the sales ads which are usually CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Staples (when needed), and Target.  Also find the inserts, the BEST part of the whole paper! They are called Red Plum, Smart Source, Procter & Gamble, General Mills, and Pepsi. You will not have all of these every week. Most weeks, you will only get Smart Source and Red Plum.  Sometimes, you will have two Red Plum, some weeks you may have two Smart Source. Be sure to check the entire paper carefully!  The Procter & Gamble insert comes out monthly and the General Mills and Pepsi inserts come out every three months.

"Now what do I do with all of these coupons?"  Clip them, clip them all!  Have your kids help, clip while you watch TV, have your husband help!  After all, saving money should be a family effort, if it's not, that's when the overwhelming part comes in especially for working moms. Set aside a certain day for clipping. I like to clip Sunday and get it over with. Plus, I can't wait to see what coupons I got!

"I don't use the things I see coupons for."  This is a touchy subject for many. Personally, I don't mind using different brands of some things, some things, I prefer to use a certain brand, only.  But, what if you come across a great sale or better yet, a possible freebie and you know you *had* that coupon but you threw it away because you didn't think you wanted it?  I would be kicking myself in the rear. lol  If I don't want it, I'm sure that a friend or a family member would be happy to have that product! Better yet, donate it to a church or to a women's center!

"Now I have a huge stack of coupons, I'm overwhelmed!"  Okay so now you need to get an organizational system going.  I will tell you what I do and I've gotten several of my friends doing the same thing so it does work and is recommended.  I use a large zipper binder. Mine has two-three rings. (Rings on both sides.)  I have about 80-90 plastic baseball card inserts that I bought off amazon.com for $9.99 that holds my coupons.  My friend bought hers at Walmart and also got a great deal.  I recently came across a great divider system that a friend told me about. It's wonderful! It's from The Krazy Coupon Lady .  You can download it here and simply print it on your printer.

This is my binder. It's not the the prettiest one but I bought it on clearance for $4.50. You can't beat a good deal!  Notice the zipper and the shoulder strap! Comes in handy.

 Notice the double rings?  Offers more room for your coupons!

I put my weekly sales ads in the pockets to keep them handy and I printed out a cover page and divider pages from my computer. :)

 This is the inside. I only use the right side for my coupons, allowing use of only one side. It's much easier to keep them neat and readable like this.

"Now that I have everything organized and ready to go, what do I do?"  Take those sales ads from the paper and go through them. Now that you know what coupons you have, you can go through the ads and see what  things you may want to buy with your coupons. If at all possible, ALWAYS use your coupons with a good sale! That's how you score a great deal! Make lists of what you want to purchase at each store and have fun shopping!