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Try This! - Extreme Couponing -- A COUPON NEWBIE AIMS FOR SAVINGS
Coupons… I remember cutting them out of the newspaper as a kid, thinking that if I snipped out a coupon for cookies maybe that would inspire my parents to buy them for me. Miraculously, sometimes it worked. But it's been a good 15 years since I took a look at a coupon.
Well, that's not entirely true. I'm very loyal to Michael's coupons and sometimes I pick up the Sunday newspaper just to snag that coveted 40 percent off deal. Not to mention, there is no point in walking into a Bed, Bath & Beyond without a 20 percent off coupon in your grips. But those are different. Those are one shot, biggie coupons. We're talking about saving $40 on a KitchenAid mixer here, folks.
Over the past 15 years I have overlooked the little guys. Twenty-five cents off Cheerios? Come on, that's peanuts. That doesn't come close to my KitchenAid savings. Until that TV show hit the airwaves. You know the one I'm talking about, Extreme Couponing. These people were hitting the register with $900 worth of groceries and walking away paying less than a hundred. Viewers – myself included – were floored.
So I decided to try it out. I'll be honest, I was not going to be extreme. But I was going to see if I could actually save some cash on things my household needed.
I started with a little research. I talked to friends who, after some prodding, admitted to being couponers themselves. They directed me to a few blogs to help me out.
Even with my childhood cookie coupon cutting experience, I was a coupon newbie. I asked questions like: "Does Target take coupons?" (The answer is yes.) "Can you print coupons online?" (Yes, definitely!) "What is a circular?" (The flyer stores put out to advertise their specials and sales.) And, "Can you use more than one coupon at once?" (Depends on the store and coupon, but sometimes yes, and when it is a yes, that's great!)
After doing some preliminary research for a whole week, on Sunday morning I hit the supermarket bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to buy my Sunday paper. The clerk smiled at me. I smiled back. I was abuzz with excitement. I went home and pulled out my scissors. But when I opened the paper, what did I find? No coupons. No coupons?! My first reaction was embarrassment. Maybe I dropped them on the way into the house. I scampered towards the door to check, but they weren't there. Or maybe I purchased a faulty paper? My next reaction: anger. Someone stole the coupons out of my paper! I briefly considered my options. I could a) attempt to return my newspaper and exchange it for one bulging with coupons, b) go down the street to a different store and buy another newspaper, or c) pout and wait a week to start my coupon cutting project. I decided on none of these options and hit the internet to see if the whole "coupons stolen out of the paper" thing was a common occurrence.
It was a good thing I chose to internet search because I learned my first important coupon lesson: they do not have coupons in the Sunday paper before Labor Day! It was not my fault, nor a malicious couponer. I breathed a sigh of relief but also laughed at my rookie mistake.
I was glad to have Mistake Number One out of the way so I could plow onward toward success. In the weeks since that first misadventure, I have indeed saved some money using coupons. I scored free cat treats at Target, knocked three dollars off of cat litter, and drastically reduced the price of things like body wash, soap, toilet paper, and laundry detergent.
So far, I have found that the secret is patience. It's easy to want to take my "fifty cents off" coupon and run to the store and use it, but if I just plan a little and wait a few weeks, that coupon might line up with a sale, or another coupon. (That's how I got the free cat treats. It was a regular price item for $2 that was on sale for $1 and I had a $1 off coupon.) Wait for things like that to line up in your favor. There are loads of websites out there like hip2save.com that do a lot of the hard work for you and line up the deals so you can maximize your savings.
I'll be honest, the extreme couponers On TV scare me. Their stockpiles make me dizzy and overwhelmed. I can't help but wonder how many of the products they buy they actually need and use. That's the other thing I kept focused on. Each time I clipped a coupon I made sure to ask myself, "Will someone in my house actually use this or eat this?" If the answer was "no," I didn't clip, it was that simple. If you're not going to use the product, don't clip out the coupon. Otherwise you'll end up wasting money on products you don't need or want "just because they were a good deal."
Here are a few more tips you might find handy:
• It's easy to get obsessive and find yourself going to the extreme. There are A LOT of coupons out there and you can spend hours scouring the internet for them. Set yourself a limit. Budget a few hours for internet searching, otherwise you could find that you've wasted a whole day hunting for deals.
• Get the kids involved. Couponing is a great opportunity for a math lesson. It can also teach them about nutrition as they pick out foods. (Ask questions like, "What food group would Cheerios go under?")
• Stay organized. I use a folder, but find what works best for you… maybe it's a binder or a bunch of different folders. Either way, organization will make things easier in the long run.
• Do your research. Each store has a different policy when it comes to coupons, check their websites. Some stores double coupons (meaning that if a manufacturer offers a "fifty cents off" coupon the store might double that to give you a dollar off.)
If I've learned anything it's that you don't have to go to the extreme, you can make couponing work for you and your family. Plus, there are tons of great resources out there to help you out and keep you sane. Couponers are thrifty with cash but generous with help and support. If you have a question, don't be shy about posting a comment on a blog or forum, I'm sure someone will be happy to answer and help you out! Happy savings!
Jillian Melnyk is the Editor for Rochester Area & Genesee Valley Parent Magazine. She, obviously, likes to try new things. To offer her a challenge for a future edition of “Try This!” email Jillian at Editor@GVParent.com.
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