Coupons!

Before I go into the tips and strategies that work for me, I want to point out that hip2save.com, which first got me into couponing, and iheartpublix.com, which my local Publix manager told me about, are fantastic places to check for deals and links to specific coupons. This entry is just what works for me.

I do pretty much all my grocery shopping at Publix, except for one trip a month to Sam’s and every couple months I might wander into Whole Foods, and I do pretty much all my toiletry/household shopping at Target, with the occasional side trip to Ulta. It keeps it simple. I’m not going to drive 5 different places on one of my 2 days off during the week, toddler in tow, to save a couple bucks. I occasionally hear people say that Publix is too expensive but I have never found that to be true. I’ve also heard people say it’s not worth the time to coupon. To be completely honest, it does take time and effort to plan around deals but it’s worth it. Case in point: I bought $112 worth of groceries today for $57. I will sacrifice some time to get half my groceries for free, thanks.

My first piece of advice would be to find out your store’s coupon policy. Each Publix has the right to establish their own policy. Mine accepts Target, Albertson’s, Winn Dixie, Walgreen’s, CVS, and I think one other store’s coupons, but they don’t accept Whole Foods as a competitor. They allow a maximum of one Publix coupon, a competitor coupon, and a manufacturer coupon per one item. (I used to get super cheap formula this way, among other things.) They also allow one coupon for each item on a buy one get one free, for example today I bought Fresh Express bagged salad BOGO, and I had two 50 cents off one bag coupons, so I paid $3 for $8 worth of bagged salad. And with the acceptance of competitor coupons, I used an Albertson’s coupon for buy one, get 2 free racks of ribs, which all went into the freezer.

Come up with a filing system that works for you. The first website I mentioned above uses a system of sticking coupons in baseball card style sleeves so you can see each one and taking it with you when you shop. That would drive me crazy. I have an accordion file labeled according to categories, and a couple times a month I clip and organize my coupons, pulling out expired ones, and filing the new ones, and I only take the coupons I plan on using to the store, paper clipped to my list.

Utilize the internet! My mom saves the coupon circulars from the Sunday paper and after she clips her coupons, passes them on to me because I don’t get the paper, and in the meantime I can print them off various sites. The best site out there, in my opinion, is coupons.com. Also, I do Swagbucks, and they recently added a coupon option that is powered by coupons.com, so it’s a win-win. Since my Publix accepts Target coupons, I print coupons off their website (note: sometimes they are manufacturer’s coupons not store coupons, and the only way to find out is to print it.) Every so often, Target will have $1 off produce coupons, which I snatch up. Usually they only print twice per computer, but we have 2 computers, so I maximize savings that way. I currently have several pasta coupons, just waiting for a BO/GO so it’ll all be free. Many companies offer coupons on their facebook sites or for signing up for email newsletters. Redplum.com is also good, as is mambosprouts.com which has natural food product coupons. The Whole Foods website has coupons to print, and I find that it is great for things like Thai Kitchen products, of which Whole Foods has a better variety than Publix.

I clip any coupon I think I might want to use. When the Publix ad comes out, I read through it, write down what’s on sale or bo/go that I want to get, and then go through my coupons to match what I can. If I don’t have a match on a bo/go I’ll go online and see if I can find any coupons to go with the sales. I do the same when I need makeup, face cream, shampoo, etc. before going to Target. Again, I only take the coupons I plan on using, to avoid the trap of buying something just because I have a coupon. If it’s not on my list, I don’t buy it. If it’s not on sale (and it’s not a necessity) I don’t buy it. I don’t buy snack food like crackers unless they’re on a BO/GO, (last time I bought Wheat Thins on BO/GO and I had a Target $1 off purchase of 2 to stack with a manufacturer of the same, so I paid a dollar for 2 boxes) or recently I stocked up on Goldfish for Edward because they were 10 for $10 at Publix. There are occasions I will buy something if it’s not on sale if I have a coupon, but only for a select few items. I love Muir Glen tinned tomatoes, and right now I have some coupons for them. I’m hoping there will be a sale, but if not I’ll go ahead and buy them before the coupons expire because they are so much better than any other brand I’ve tried. (Great for soup, sauces, etc.)

You can’t be brand-loyal on most things, or if you are, be willing to wait til it goes on sale. Fortunately none of us are picky. Everyone eats what I fix, end of story, and we don’t have food allergies, so I don’t have those kinds of considerations to make.

Many people have asked me about my couponing, so I hope this was helpful. What are your best money-saving tips? Do you have more questions about what I do to save money?