Extreme couponing is actually extremely simple. I’m both incredibly busy and mildly lazy, and I still have both the time and energy to do it. I devote roughly one hour a week to couponing, and my grocery bill has dropped in the neighborhood of 75 percent over the course of the year I’ve been couponing.
You know how people say, “It’s not a diet; it’s a lifestyle change.”? Well the same theory applies to couponing. When you coupon effectively, you’ll start shopping differently for life.
There are a million nuances to couponing that I could overwhelm you with, and likely some I’ve never been exposed to, but instead of focusing on everything at one time, I’m just going to tell you the three steps you need to get started. That’s right: three. I call it OSS. Probably because I’m a teacher. Had I been a sailor, I may have titled it SOS.
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| someecards.com |
O is for ORGANIZE.
The first week I couponed, I bought one of those little wallets with 13 pockets. And I couldn’t find anything in it. The second week, I bought a one-inch binder, some dividers, and 25 baseball card sleeves. I also watched several videos about how to make a coupon binder on YouTube (and so should you). By the end of the month I was out of room in my binder and had to upgrade again.
Now I tell people to buy a three- or four-inch binder, 75 baseball card sheets, and 20 or more dividers, depending on how many categories you think you need. Here’s a tip for category determination: one category for each row at your favorite grocery store, plus a retail category, a miscellaneous category, and a free coupon category.
In order to save time, don’t clip and organize coupons you know you won’t use, and clean out your binder weekly. Takes maybe fifteen minutes, even with little sticky people yelling, “Momma. Momma. Mom. Mother. Mother. Mother. Momma! Mom.”
S is for STOCKPILE
Stockpiling is not synonymous with hoarding, so clear your brain of that awful thought immediately.
Before I go any further, I want you to know that I live in a 2000 square-foot, garage-less home with three other people. I don’t have any more storage than the rest of America, and I don’t ever buy anything I don’t have room for in its proper cabinets. I don’t have a room full of toilet paper, because, even if it was on sale, I wouldn’t want my neighbors tripping over it if they came into my house. (Which they never have. Even though we’ve lived there for six years. My husband says I should abandon the thought of receiving welcome-to-the-hood cupcakes, but I remain steadfast in my position that no one should ever give up hope when it comes to baked goods.) I also don’t hide stuff under my kids’ beds or in the guest bedroom. But, then again, I don’t have a guest bedroom, and my daughter did once find a hot dog under her bed. By “a hot dog” I obviously mean “a package of hot dogs.” She’s three and a meat-eater.
To give you an idea of what I do have on hand, there are probably eight bottles of shampoo under my bathroom sink. I have six bottles of laundry detergent on the laundry room shelf. I have three bottles of barbeque sauce and six packages of macaroni and cheese. If my family wants bacon, I have four packages left in the freezer. I only bought eight packages of bacon on my last trip, even though the price was fabulously low. More than eight wouldn’t have fit in my freezer, and that’s not something you want to keep in the top of your closet.
The reason you’ll want to stockpile is simply because you’ll be buying items when the price is low. I like the Christmas ornament analogy: If you’re in Walmart a few days after Christmas, you’ll likely notice ornaments for half price or less. Judging from the suffocating walk down the aisles during that time, I think it’s safe to say many of us have bought holiday décor post-holiday on clearance in anticipation of the same event the following year. People often buy clothes on clearance, Halloween costumes in November, and appliances during Memorial Day sales. Why, then, wouldn’t it make sense to buy groceries on sale, too? You simply save them until you need them, much like that unopened French maid costume you bought in 1995 and are still hoping you’ll finally fit into next Halloween. Or maybe not really like that at all, because you’ll actually use the groceries. Your boobs will never again be perky enough to wear the costume.
There are two important things you should know in the stockpile step:
1. You’ll need to buy more newspapers in order to get more coupons in order to stockpile. (There are obviously other ways to get coupons – exchanges, Dumpster dives – but I’d really just rather throw another couple of bucks at a newspaper rather than devote time I don’t have to these endeavors.) The rule of thumb is to buy one paper for each person living in your home. I buy four each Sunday, and that rule has always served me well. What this means is that when I can get free toothpaste with a coupon, I can get four free tubes because I’ll have four coupons.
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| kelloggsraisinbran.com |
2. Your grocery list may go from looking like “cheese, milk, peanut butter, etc.” to “four jars of peanut butter, eight tubs of baby wipes, and six boxes of Raisin Bran.” And that’s a good thing. Mostly because Raisin Bran is awesome.
S is for SALE
This is easy: Pair coupons with sales for maximum savings.
Let me give you an example: My favorite shredded cheese is generally $3.69 a package at my favorite store. This week it’s on sale for $2 per package. I have coupons for 50 cents off, which my store will double to $1. That’s incredibly rich and creamy cheese for $1 a package, people! I will, obviously, buy four packages, because I have four coupons. This is a perfectly sane amount, as we’ll eat that amount before it goes bad, and there’s plenty of room in nearly anyone’s refrigerator for that amount of cheese.
PARTING THOUGHTS
Take time to become familiar with one store and its policies before taking on another. Don’t chase sales down; there will always be another sale.
Don’t worry about doing anything with printable coupons right now. We’ll add those in later. You can save tons without ever touching a computer anyway.
Do expect this to take more time the first several months. You’ll find tips and tricks to cutting and organizing, and there will be some cross-over when you’re starting a stockpile but still having to shop like a normal person while waiting for sales. My grocery bill was the same the first month, but much of it was devoted to stockpiling. Within three months, I was only spending 50 percent of what I once had. It’s now been a year, I go to the store maybe once a month, and I spent roughly a quarter of what I once did.
HOMEWORK
Obviously I’m giving you homework; I’m an English teacher. This week, make a binder, buy multiple newspapers, and try a very small trip at your favorite store. If you save anything, call it a success. It’s not about the percentage, it’s about buying products that your family will use for a great price. Delicious products like Raisin Bran and cheese. (It's probably worth noting that I'm not the same chick who will be writing the fitness columns.)
