Couponing Basics Part 6: Shopping With Coupons

You've got your coupons clipped and organized and a grocery list ready to go. Let's get shopping!

Really, the hard work of couponing is already done. Locating coupons, clipping them, and finding deal match ups takes more effort than the actual shopping, but I do have a tip or two to help make your trips to the grocery store more smooth.

• Preview Coupon Policies
• Store coupon policies will tell you information like whether or not the store doubles coupons, which types of coupons are accepted, how many coupons a customer may use, etc. You will find links to the coupon policies of some Durham area grocery stores below.

                   Kroger - check with your local store, policies vary
                   Harris Teeter
                   Food Lion
                   Lowes

• Get a Store Loyalty Card
• Before you head to the grocery store aisles, be sure you have a store card in hand. If you don't already have a card for the store you plan to shop, stop at the service desk when you arrive and ask for one. A store card will allow you to access sale prices. At some stores, you will also earn rewards (gas points, money back, etc.) for purchases, which are tracked using your card.

• Match Products to Coupons
• When picking an item off the shelf, look carefully at the size and variety of the item. Locate the item's coupon and make sure the item and coupon match. On occasion, a coupon might be very specific, for example, stating something like $0.75 off a certain type of Cheerios. You'll only be able to use the coupon at check out if the coupon matches the product you're buying.

• Keep Track of Items with Coupons
• I like to keep items with coupons on one side of the cart. When I place the item in the cart, I locate its coupon in my coupon envelope and keep it in my hand. Before checking out, I scan the cart and match the coupons in my hand to my shopping list and cart items. This helps me make sure I've picked up the items I wanted and that I'm handing the correct coupons to the cashier. It can be easy to accidentally hand the cashier extra coupons or to forget to hand over a coupon you meant to use. Find a strategy that works for you that will help prevent this from happening.

• Keep Your Cool at Check Out
• Occasionally, you'll hear a beep when the cashier tries to scan one of your coupons. This could mean a number of things - the coupon doesn't match the item, the internet printable is too fuzzy to read, the system doesn't recognize the coupon...who knows. When it happens, though, you have some options. Ask the cashier to try again. Ask them to try using the hand scanner. Ask them if it's possible to enter the coupon in manually. Ask them to void the item from your order (if you don't want it without the coupon savings). Whatever happens, keep your cool. Couponers get a bad name from coupon users who let cashiers have it when things don't go as planned.

Reader Response: Have you tried using your coupons? How did it go? Any successes to share or questions to ask?

Coupon Basics Part 2: Where Do You Find Coupons?

What is the most important tool for a couponer to have in hand? Well, coupons.

Coupons come in many forms and are abundantly available, if you know where to look. Below, I'll list and explain common coupon sources. I'll also include explanations of any associated coupon lingo that you might see on this or other sites.


Newspapers
When most people think of coupons, I imagine this is what comes to mind. Coupon inserts can be found in most Sunday newspapers. On a typical week, you will find inserts from two companies, Smart Source (SS) and Red Plum (RP). Once a month, usually the last Sunday, you will also find an insert from Procter & Gamble (P&G), filled with coupons specifically for their products (Crest, Tide, etc.). Other inserts from different stores and companies will appear periodically.

Some people like to pick up multiple newspapers each week. This gives them multiple copies of a coupon, which helps when stockpiling items. Some people follow the rule of buying one newspaper for each member of the household. Some buy four a week because many coupons list a restriction of four like coupons per shopping trip. Personally, I preview the coupons online and pick up papers according to how well the coupons match my needs and food preferences. Sometimes, it just wouldn't be worth it for me to buy any papers. I don't think there is one right answer here.

When deciding which newspaper to pick up or subscribe to, though, do some research. Some papers carry more inserts than others. In the Durham area, the Raleigh News & Observer carries all available inserts, while apparently, the Durham Herald Sun has stopped carrying any coupons.

Printable Coupon Websites
Online printable coupons sites have become my go-to sources for food coupons. Search for coupons on the sites listed below. After selecting coupons you'd like to print, you may be prompted to install a coupon printer. If you're using one of the sites I've listed, this should be safe for your computer.

You are able to print two of the same coupon per computer. By hitting the back arrow on your browser after printing a coupon, the coupon will be sent to your printer for a second time.

A Few Online Coupon Sources:
coupons.com
Smart Source
Red Plum
Mambo Sprouts (natural and organic products)

E-Coupons
E-coupons are different from internet printables, in that you will not have a physical/paper copy of the coupon. E-coupons are typically linked to your store card and are deducted automatically when your card is scanned at check out.

Harris Teeter offers a number of e-coupons on their website. What is great about them, is that the electronic coupons can be combined with paper coupons for extra savings. For example, this past week, I had a $1 paper coupon for Bounty, as well as a $1 electronic Harris Teeter coupon for the same product. A total of $2 was deducted from the price of the paper towels.

Kroger also offers e-coupons, but be careful in loading them to your store card. They will be automatically deducted, but you CAN NOT combine them with paper coupons as you can at HT. These Kroger coupons  won't double either. Sometimes, this means you could get a better deal by using a paper coupon instead of the e-coupon.

Blinkies
This is a term I hadn't heard until I started to coupon, but it's one that makes perfect sense. Blinkies are coupons you find in grocery store aisles inside of those little boxes with the blinking lights. These coupons can be used immediately on purchases or taken home for later use. Coupon etiquette would say that you should only take what you will use (keep the number small). Now, there are some people out there who go shopping for 200 boxes of Hamburger Helper in one trip. Not my style, but if you actually have a use for that many products (donating?), then use your own discretion.

Tear Pads
Also found in stores, often on cardboard displays, tear pads are just that, pads full of tear off coupons. Like "blinkies," show some reserve when taking them, save some for others.

Peelies
Peelies are manufacturer coupons found attached to products.  This is a tactic used by companies to encourage impulse buying, those people who would be lured in by the "$0.50 off? Why not?" mentality.

While it's not against any written rules to take a coupon off a product you don't plan to buy immediately, many coupon users feel that it's best not to do so. I don't have a strong opinion either way.

Facebook
Most companies are aware of Facebook's wide reach and have created company pages to connect with consumers. Check out the pages of your favorite products. They will often offer high value coupons.

Company Websites
When couponing and wanting to get the best prices, it's necessary to break away from brand loyalty. That doesn't mean you have to give up your favorite brands completely, though. Check out the websites of brands you like to purchase. Sites will often provide printable coupons. If you want to go one step further, contact the company using the provided contact info (I e-mail). Pass along a compliment, tell them why you enjoy their product. Include your address because companies will often send coupons, sometimes for free products, as a thank you for taking the time to write.

Wine Tags
This is a coupon source I never would have thought about until I read about it on another site. As you stroll past the wine and beer aisles, be on the lookout for bottles or boxes with coupons or tags attached. While some tags will be rebate offers for buying liquor, others will be a bit different. Liquor companies occasionally offer money off products like meat or produce for buying their product.

Here's the interesting thing; in North Carolina and a handful of other states (sorry, Wisconsin, you're not one of them), you DON'T have to buy the liquor to get the discount. In fact, in NC, it would be against the law to require you to do so. This means, that if you find such a coupon, you can take it off of the product and use it immediately. If you find a coupon around a bottle of wine that states $2 off the purchase of meat, you do not have to buy the wine. You can simply use the coupon toward your meat purchase.


Reader Response: Do you have a question about where to find coupons? Post a comment or write to me at allisondurhamdeals@gmail.com

Coupon Basics Part 1: Intro to Coupons

I feel like I'm about to revisit September 2011 and eat my blogging words.

When I started this blog, I was pretty positive that it wasn't going to be a how to coupon tutorial. It was meant to be a place where I would simply share a few good deals that I thought others might like to know about.

I am so pleased with the positive feedback I've received about the blog from so many of you, through comments, e-mails, and conversations. It seems like the information has helped some of you save money, if even in a small way. I'm realizing, though, that many of you are just starting out with your own money saving adventure, and that at least a basic coupon tutorial might be helpful, so for the new year, I'm beginning a multi-post series about the general ins and outs of couponing.

Todays topic: Intro to Coupons

What are coupons??

• Simply put, coupons are discounts offered by manufacturers and stores, that can be redeemed by consumers for money off products and services. When the coupon, either paper or electronic, is redeemed by a shopper, the company that has offered the coupon discount is responsible for paying the coupon amount. For example, when a customer shops at Kroger and presents a coupon for $0.25 off Kraft Mac & Cheese, it is Kraft that is responsible for paying Kroger the $0.25 difference in price.

Why do companies offer coupons?

• By offering coupons, companies are banking on some predictable consumer habits. The typical coupon user receives an insert of coupons and clips just a handful of them, those for products he already buys or for new products he hasn't seen before. This typical shopper will head to the store and redeem the coupon without waiting for a sale, happy with a small discount. He is very likely to keep buying the same product at full price, not using coupons or discounts in the future. The company wins because they have a loyal, full-price paying customer. A savvy coupon user shops differently, though (that's what we're learning about :) ). 

Are stores getting ripped off when you use coupons?

• Absolutely not! When coupons are used correctly by shoppers (more on this another time), stores are reimbursed for the full value of a coupon by the product's manufacturer. This is the case even when a shopper gets a product for free using a coupon. If a product costs $1.00, and you correctly use a legitimate coupon for $1.00 off, the store WILL NOT lose money. 
• But what about doubling coupons?? When a store, like Kroger, offers to double a coupon, the doubled amount is a discount that is covered by the store instead of the manufacturer. This is a marketing idea the store has implemented as a shopper incentive. This is not taking advantage of the store.

Next Lesson: Where to Find Coupons