Coupon haul: Rite Aid

This is an excellent week to stack up on Stayfree sanitary pads and Vitamin Water! 

I got $27 worth of pads for 54 cents!!!  Here's how:  I used 3 Stayfree $1 off of 1 pack coupons from stayfree.com and 3 B1G1 Free coupons from SS 6/26. They were on sale 2/$5 and earn $2+Up Rewards.

I got the +Up rewards by spending $54.70 for $82.88 of food items.  They are having various +Up sales, such as buy $15 worth of certain items (like ketchup, Bush's Beans, Kraft Salad Dressing, Bacon Bits and more) and get $3+Up rewards.  Also 3- 12 packs of soda (Canada Dry, 7Up, Sunkist and more) for $10.98 and earn $3+Up rewards.  The Vitamin Water was 5/$5 and earn $1+Up reward. 

All in all I spent $62.46 and earned $18.69 in +Up rewards for $135.80 worth of products, including an awesome circulating air window fan which was only $7.72 after the sale and +Up rewards that I used.

Rite Aid is the idea place to learn couponing as well as rewards and rebating too!  It's one of the only places where you can actually make money from your purchases.

Making your list, checking it twice!

Making your grocery/shopping list when couponing takes longer than just "eggs/milk/bread". You need to look at the sales flyers, look at what's on sale, look at your coupons and look at what you need.  You then make your list, double check that your calculations are right and match up the items on your list to your coupons.  Here's how I do it:

I gather up all my sales flyers for the stores I like to shop at and circle the items I'm interested in as I go along.  Then I compare the circles to see who has what cheaper.  To get the best price sometimes you have to go to 2-4 different stores to get everything on your list.

Once I see what is on sale where I make my list per store, per section (produce, meat, cereal aisle, etc) in order to save time when I'm in the store.  I then further divide my list by transaction, sometimes you have to do more than one transaction to get all your deals (more on this in later lessons).

Then I calculate what my final prices are like this example:
(4) Caress Body Wash ($2.99 - 4 x $1/1 MFC + 4 x $1/1 TC) [$3.96]

Breaking down my math:
(4) = Quantity I'm going to buy
Followed by the item name
($2.99) = The sales or normal price
(-) = Minus, meaning minus the following coupons
(4 x) = 4 times or four of the following coupon
($1/1) = The coupon, this one was $1 off of 1 item
(MFC) = Manufacturer Coupon, the type of coupon that was $1 off of 1 item.
(+) = Plus or plus the following coupon
(4 x) = 4 times or four of the following coupon
($1/1) = The coupon was $1 off of 1 item.
(TC) = my shorthand for Target Coupon
[$3.96] = How much I am really spending out of pocket total for these items.

I write down that equation line for every item, this way I know what coupons I need to give and what kind of deal I'm getting and what the total should be in case it rings up for more.  This is the part that you really need to double check in order to make sure that when you ring up your order that you pay exactly what you should.

Coupon Piggybacking (stacking)

Take your coupons for a piggyback ride!  Coupon piggybacking or stacking is when you use 2 coupons for the same items.  How is this possible?  If your store has their own store coupons, such as Target, you can use one store coupon and one manufacturer coupon per item.  Many stores have their own coupons that you can stack with your Manufacturer coupons.

For example, my Target usually has Caress Body Wash for $2.99.  I printed a coupon off their website for $1 off of Caress Body Wash.  I had a manufacturer coupon for $1 off Caress Body Wash.  I got the Caress Body Wash for $0.99 cents each so I stocked up!

Tip: That Target coupon for Caress is still available for printing!

Types of Coupons

There are different types of coupons, knowing the difference is important as not every retailer takes every type of coupon.  Let's take a look at the types.


Manufacturer Coupons - These come directly from the manufacturer of the product and are usually found in your Sunday newspaper or mailed to you from the manufacturer.


Printable Manufacturer Coupons - These are the same as manufacturer coupons except you print them yourself and not all stores accept printed coupons.

Store Coupons - These are from your store and only redeemable at that store (unless competitor stores accept them as well).  They are usually available either from the weekly sales ad for that store, a monthly book available from that store or printed from that store's website.  Sometimes these are a Manufacturer coupon as well.

eCoupon - These are coupon codes that you use when you shop online and are not useable when you are physically in the store.

Catalina -  These are coupons that print out after your receipt at a store and are either for products, a percentage off or other local businesses.

Tearpad or Tear offs - These are usually found in the store on a pad near a specific product.  You tear off the coupon to use on your purchase (or for later).

Blinkies - These are found in the store in those (usually) red electronic boxes that spit out a coupon for use on your purchase.

Mobile Coupons - These are typically store related and available on your Smart Phone/Iphone/Android Phone.  You load them onto your mobile phone and show the coupon on your phone to the cashier who then scans the barcode that appears on your phone.

Savings Card Loaded Coupons - Some stores let you load coupons via their website to your savings club card, when they scan your card the coupons load onto your total.

Coupon Inserts

There are different types of coupon inserts, some come weekly, some monthly and some randomly or seasonally.

Weekly:
Red Plum
Smart Source

Monthly:
Proctor & Gamble Brand Saver
Target

Seasonally:
Pepsi
Toys R' Us

Sunday Papers

The number #1 place most people get their coupons is the Sunday newspaper.  When you're first starting out, there is no need to buy 15 copies of the newspaper!  There's an easy way to calculate how many papers you should buy: Number of people in your home = Number of Newspapers you should buy.  However, when you are starting out double this number or triple it, that way you build your stock of coupons up faster.  I have a 2 person household and typically purchase 2-5 newspapers.

The other key is that different regions and Newspapers, most of the time, have different coupons.  For instance some newspapers might carry $0.75 off Cheerios while others have $1 off of 2 boxes.  Some papers generally carry better coupons.  The price of newspapers varies as well so some newspapers might be a better value than others.

For instance, for my area I generally purchase The Lawrence Eagle Tribune (my city's newspaper) for $2.50, The Lowell Sun for $1.75 and The Boston Herald for $2.  Typically The Lowell Sun is my best value newspaper, it has better and often times more coupons for a lower price than my newspaper.  You don't have to run around town either, if you shop for your newspapers at a convenience store like I do, they will have the paper for more than one area.

Know your coupon policies!

Knowing your coupon policies is essential and crucial to your couponing.  It's the difference between savings and going way out of budget!  Don't assume that every employee in your store knows or is familiar with the couponing policies.  Most are not.  You will most likely have to argue your point a few times and having their store policy with you will save you time and aggravation.

You can request the store coupon policy from customer service or the store website.  Always keep an updated printed copy with you when shopping.  Check back with their site or help desk at least once a month to make sure you have the most frequent policy on hand. 

Show cashiers and managers (they don't always know either) their store coupon policy if a question or situation arises.  Let them know (nicely but firmly) what their policy states and that "Limit one coupon per purchase" actually means "one coupon manufacturer coupon per item".  Sometimes cashiers will make up policies and tell you that you have too many coupons when in fact you are under their limit.  So always, always, ALWAYS know the coupon policy for each store you go to and have the printed policy with you.

Check back later today for links to coupon policies for various stores.

Coupon Organizing: Extreme Saver

After you've chosen your couponing level, you'll want to chose how you organize your coupons.  This is important, if you bypass this step you'll be mad about it when you go to use your coupons.  The way you organize your coupons is completely personal and up to you however it varies with your level too.

Here's a guide to help you organize based on your couponing level:

Extreme Saver: You have the most coupons and need to be very organized with them in order to save time (and your sanity).  You will need 2 - 3" binders, card collector sheets, sheet protectors AND an envelope size expanding file folder.  The binders will house your coupons for general storage.  The expanding file folder will hold the coupons that you will be using for your specific shopping trip, divided by stores for that day and transactions.  Always carry both all, this way you'll have your expected coupons ready to go and have your other coupons in case you find a great unadvertised sale.  Use the card collector sheets to store your coupons, each type of coupon in one slot (eg: 5 Bounty Paper Towel coupons for $1.00 off all go into one pocket of the sheet).  Use the sheet protectors to store coupon policies for the stores you frequent.

Here are some categories to divide your coupons by organizational tool:
Expanding File Folder
Store 1: List, Transaction 1, Transaction 2, Transaction 3, Transaction 4, Sales Flyer
Store 2: List, Transaction 1, Transaction 2, Transaction 3, Transaction 4, Sales Flyer
Store 3: List, Transaction 1, Transaction 2, Transaction 3, Transaction 4, Sales Flyer
Store 4: List, Transaction 1, Transaction 2, Transaction 3, Transaction 4, Sales Flyer
Store 5: List, Transaction 1, Transaction 2, Transaction 3, Transaction 4, Sales Flyer
Fast-Food Restaurants
Sit-Down Restaurants

3" Binder #1: Edibles
Baby Foods, Baby Cereals, Baby Formula, Baby Snacks, Baking Mixes & Flours, Bars, Breads, Butter, Canned: Beans, Canned: Fruits, Canned: Meals, Canned: Meats, Canned: Soups, Canned: Veggies, Candy, Cat Food(if you have one), Cereals, Cheese, Chips, Coffee, Cookies & Crackers, Dairy Creams, Dog Food (if you have one) Dressings,  Dry Condiments, Dry Goods: Other, Eggs, Frozen: Desserts, Frozen: Fruits, Frozen: Meals, Frozen: Meats, Frozen: Veggies,  Fruit Snacks, Juice, Lunchmeat, Meal Kits, Milk & Creamers, Meat, Nuts, Oil, Pasta, Produce, Refrigerated Misc, Rice, Sauces,  Seafood, Soda, Soups, Spices, Sweeteners, Wet Condiments, Yoghurt

3" Binder #2: Non-Edible
Bathroom Cleaners, Bathroom Tissues, Batteries, Body Cleansers, Body Moisturizers, Books, Cat Stuff (If you have one), Clothing, Computer Items, Dental Care, Deodorant, Deodorizers, Dog Stuff (If you have one) Electronics, Facial Care, Facial Tissue, Food Storage, Gardening, Hair Care, Hair Color, Laundry, Magazines, Makeup, Medicine, Misc, Nails, Napkins, Office Supplies, Pesticides, Razors, Shaving Prep, Suncare, Toilet tissue

These essentials will keep you organized and sane:

Coupon Organizing: Crazy Saver

After you've chosen your couponing level, you'll want to chose how you organize your coupons.  This is important, if you bypass this step you'll be mad about it when you go to use your coupons.  The way you organize your coupons is completely personal and up to you however it varies with your level too.

Here's a guide to help you organize based on your couponing level:

Crazy Saver: You will be using a good amount of coupons, a full size expanding file organizer plus file dividers is what you'll need.  Your coupons need to be organized into more categories than basic saver because of the amount of coupons you'll have.  This way if you're at the store and see a great deal and want to search for a coupon, you don't have to look through 50 coupons to find the one you need.

Categories for you include:
Baking, Beauty, Body Care, Breads, Canned, Chips/Nuts/Popcorn, Cereal, Cheeses & Spreads, Coffee/Tea, Condiments, Dairy Creams & Eggs, Dental Care, Facial Care, Food Storage, Frozen Desserts, Frozen Meals, Frozen Fruits & Veggies, Grains, Hair, Juice/Soda/Water, Household Deodorizers, Household Cleaning, Laundry, Meats, Medications, Milks & Creamers, Office Supplies, Paper Products, Produce, Refrigerated Items, Sanitary, Sauces & Dressings, Sweeteners, Misc: Edibles, Misc: Non-Edible

These products are essential for you:

Choosing your couponing level.

A few people have asked me to teach them how to coupon, here I'm inviting you all to learn with me.  Couponing seams hard at first but with a little organization and patience it pays off big and gets easier as you go along.  Let's take a look at the first step..

The very first thing you want to do is decide what type of couponing is best for you:

Basic Savings - Saving a little each time you shop - This is great if you only have an hour or 2 a week to dedicate to couponing.  Here you'll save a few dollars each time you shop.

Average Savings - Saving around 20% each time you shop - This is ideal for those who have more time to spend each week on couponing.  You save an average of about 20% each time you shop.

Crazy Savings - Saving up to 80% each time you shop - This takes on average 10+ hours a week of prep time but the payoff is big.  You save on average up to about 80% when you shop depending on how much time you've put into  your planning.

Extreme Savings - Savings of up to 100% when you shop - This is the type of couponing you see on the TLC Tv Show, Extreme Couponing, and takes upwards of 25 hours a week to prepare for.  This level is savings of up to everything free!  Remember you don't have to get thousands of dollars worth of product for it to be extreme!

If you are completely new to couponing, never having used them start at Basic and move your way up to where you are comfortable.  If you've used coupons comfortably before then start at Average and work your way up at your own pace.  Right now I'm at Crazy Savings and working my way up to Extreme.