CVS Purchase and Shopping Strategy

I don't usually go over my individual purposes, but I wanted to show you an example of my couponing and shopping strategy.

Each week I go to Southern Savers to make out shopping lists for three stores:  Publix, Walgreens, and CVS.  Another good site is The Krazy Coupon Lady.  Here I can print lists that include the coupon matchups to go with each item.

Then I sit down for about 20-30 minutes to clip the coupons I need.  Then I paperclip each stack of coupons to the corresponding list.  I keep the lists in my car, so I can run by the store at my convenience.

Today I stopped at CVS on my way home from dropping DD off at school.  You must have a CVS card to take advantage of their sales.  You can sign up online or in the stores.

When I entered the store I went to the coupon machine and scanned my card.  It printed out three coupons, one which matched some of the items I was purchasing today.  That meant I had both a manufacturers coupon and a store coupon for those items.  Yay, extra savings.

Then I shopped for the items on my list.  All of them were marked down and I had coupons for them.  Here is what I ended up with:

I spent $13.38 for these items, plus I received $11.00 in Extra Bucks coupons, which means I actually spent $2.38 for these products.  Remember that even if an item isn't something that you may use, you can be sure that the local shelter will be happy to have it.

Happy couponing!

God bless,
Pam

Buy The Small Size To Save Money

When you are couponing you have to get away from the idea that buying the larger size will save you the most money.  It may be true that it is less per ounce (which, nowadays is not always true), but with coupons you can save more by buying the smaller sizes.

Here is an example:  If you buy one 32 ounce mouthwash for $5.00 and use a $1.00 off coupon you have spent $4.00 for 32 ounces.  If you buy two 16 ounce mouthwashes for $5.50 and use two $1.00 coupons you have spent $3.50 for 32 ounces.

I know that it goes against everything that we were taught by our mothers and the local big box stores, but when you have coupons, buying smaller is definitely better.

This is also why you should get multiple coupon inserts each week.  It allows you to use several coupons on smaller sizes in order to get the amount of product that you want.

God bless,
Pam

Stores That Raise Prices In Response To Coupons

One of my favorite lips balms is the Baby Lips by Maybelline, so I am familiar with the prices most stores are charging for it.  Generally it is $3.99.

I always wait until there is a coupon for Maybelline lip products available before I buy any.  Two months ago Target and Maybelline had coupons out, so I should have been able to pick them up almost for free.  Much to my chagrin Target had raised their price for Baby Lips to over $5.  They lowered the price back to $3.99 after the coupons expired.

This week a very good coupon came out, so I decided to pick up two lip balms at Walgreens.  Well, Wags had raised their price to $4.49.  Since stores are paid $1.08 for every $1 coupon they accept I find it insulting when they raise their prices to offset the coupon discount.

The only reason I had gone to Walgreens was because I had a $8 off my entire purchase coupon.  Otherwise I would have walked out of the store.  FYI Baby Lips is only $2.79 at Walmart.  With the $2 off Maybelline lip product coupon from yesterdays paper, that makes it just 79 cents.  Skip Walgreens and Target this time.

God bless,
Pam

E-mail Required To Print Coupons

When I first began couponing I noticed that some of the manufacturers offered their coupons online, via their websites.  A few of them required my e-mail address before I could print the coupon.  I hesitated, but decided that such reputable companies would only sell my address to other food companies, so any spam I received would be fairly harmless.

Oh, silly, naive me.  My spam inbox began to fill and fill.  The legitimate companies supplied a link to unsubscribe from their e-mails, but my e-mail had also been sold to x-rated sites wanting to sell sexual enhancement products of every kind.  These nasty sites didn't supply a way to unsubscribe.

A year and a half later I still receive 4-6 x-rated e-mails in my spam inbox.  And with no way to stop them because they have many tricks to keep you from blocking them.  My advice to beginner couponers is to never give out your e-mail address in order to get a coupon, even if it is a big reputable company.  I regret that I did every day when I check my mail.

God bless,
Pam

Extreme Couponing Returns Tomorrow

Well, the show that I sometimes totally disagree with, but holds me enthralled is starting it's new season tomorrow on TLC.  Extreme Couponing will be on most of the day, with the new show airing at 10:00pm. I wonder why so late?  Is it becoming R rated extreme couponing?

While the show sometimes offers a good tip, it is always good for a laugh.  I plan on snuggling into my jammies early, make some popcorn and enjoy myself with some mindless TV watching.

God bless,
Pam

I Am At That Couponing "Good Place"

I began taking my couponing  and building my stockpile last April after attending a True Couponing workshop.  When I first started I was buying large amounts of items and the couponing took several hours a week.

Four months later my stockpile is complete and my shopping consists of one or two staple items that are on sale and a few basics (such as milk and eggs).  It only takes me about 1/2 hour to clip coupons for the week which includes shopping at one grocery store and one drug store.  Once a month I purchase organic meat at Costco.

So, I am at that "good place" where my shopping time and coupon clipping time are minimal.  My bills are running at least 50% less than before and sometimes I get items for free.  I am able to use my couponing skills to shop in order to donate to charity.

Don't give up because using coupons is time consuming in the beginning.  Very shortly you will be able to put minimal effort into maintaining your stockpile and enjoy the fruits of your labors.

God bless,
Pam

Couponing Mishaps

A Beautiful Sight

When you start couponing progress is slow and after some critical mistakes you may be tempted to give up.  Trust me when I tell you that it will become easier, your savings will grow in amount, and it will begin to take up less of your time.  I will not tell you that you will stop making mistakes or having mishaps when out shopping with coupons.

Even though I am now saving 40-50% on my grocery and drug store bills, there are still days when I want to bang my head on the table because of a mistake I or a cashier have made.  But we are all here to learn, so here goes:

I try to shop during the slower hours, first thing in the morning at the start of the sale cycle for that store.  That means Sunday for Walgreens and (in my area) Thursday for Publix.  By shopping early the store is usually not sold out of items, plus there are fewer people for me to annoy with my coupons.  Why my shopping with coupons should bother others is beyond me as it only adds a few minutes to my checkout time.  I guess minutes count to some people, but I always though that was just surgeons and fire fighters.

Anywho...when I finish getting my items I check for a line with few to no people in line, thinking that I can get through quickly and, thus, irritate fewer people.  Now I have got to tell you that I can get to a cashier in a deserted store and, miraculously, ten people (where did they come from?) will appear behind me.

Some days the people waiting for me to check out are good natured, interested and, basically, happy to see someone saving some money.  But, every once in a while, I get a "sigher".  You know, the kind that looks at their watch, shuffles their feet and sighs deeply.  So, I just try to concentrate on what the cashier and I are trying to accomplish, which is to check me out with as few problems as possible.  It's not like I am buying a hundred of something, it's just my groceries with a few stock up items thrown in.

If you watch Extreme Couponing you have seen the EC's unblinkingly staring at the register screen.  There is a good reason for this; people and computers make mistakes and sometimes they are big ones.  You must watch the screen to ensure that your items are scanned for the sale price, bogos are registering correctly and that your coupons are being read.  Just recently I was distracted by someone in the store and didn't catch that the cashier had scanned an item twice.  That's $3 out of my pocket and nothing to show for it.  It's hard to prove that this has happened once you've left the store.

Most stores have a policy that you can only use as many coupons as you have items.  This means that if you are using two coupons (manufacturers and stores) for one item you must pick up an inexpensive filler item.  I usually need four or five filler items when shopping at Walgreens.  Conveniently, they have a display of 25 cent candy sticks by the register.  Dear daughter likes candy sticks so it is a win, win situation.

I will certainly share more tips in the future as I learn more about using coupons effectively.  With coupon policies changing so rapidly, it should keep me on my frugal toes.

God bless,
Pam

True Couponing Workshop

I am so looking forward to this evening. I am attending a True Couponing workshop at my daughter's school/church. It is a free workshop offered in church's around the country by a Christian group that advocates a Shop, Save, Share philosophy.

To see if a workshop is available near you or you're interested in sponsoring a workshop go to the True Couponing website at www.truecouponing.com.

I will be sure to share the couponing tips I pick up tonight.

God bless,
Pam