The Coupon Thing

Last year coupon usage went up by 72% last year when the economy was at it's worst. Usage had been flat or down for many years prior. In 2010 usage is down from last year but still significantly higher than it was in previous years. I have personally been using them for at least 15 years on some level. The past few years I have used them on more items and in the past year I have really found myself in the "coupon zone".

I am going to devote my blogging here to grocery/drug store coupons as opposed to clothing or restaurant coupons which I could write a whole piece on as well. But we are supposed to talk about food here so we might as well talk about saving a few bucks on it, right?

I hear all the time from people that the time spent clipping and organizing them isn't worth the savings...That to me is a cop-out. If you don't want to be bothered, that is fine but don't say it isn't worth it because I save a minimum of 20% on each grocery purchase, and have been known to save between 30-40% when the stars align. For our family that conservatively adds up to about $100 per month. I clip while watching TV, and about once a month I purge any expired coupons also while watching the Tube.

I buy the Sunday paper every week, and in Albany you can get it on Saturday for $1. The saving of the whole entire dollar isn't why this is a great idea though. If you buy on Saturday you can look at the grocery and drug store circulars for the upcoming week and possibly use those new coupons on the current sale or save for the next week. If you have time you compare the current ad with the one starting the next day to maximize your savings.

I clip everything I think I will use. I also clip alot from the Internet coupon sites ( I will list the sites below...) and have signed up for coupon notifications from a number of specific brand sites (again I will list them below). I also subscribe to a couple of news feeds on Facebook-Saving Everyday which is a great resource for freebies and sales, Gimmee Freebies and Free Mania are sites that do a fantastic job telling me which stores are featuring sales on items there are currently coupons for. Case in point: I had 3 $1.00 off coupons for Reach Dental Floss last week and one of these sites told me that Target had it on sale for $.97/ea. I got them all for free and had $.09 applied to the remainder of my bill. If you use Facebook I highly recommend these 3 sites.

Aside from the floss I refuse to pay any more than $1 for a tube of toothpaste any more and stocked up on a years worth of of laundry soap with coupons and sales for about $20 recently.

My rules are: only buy what you will use or can store or donate. I can store a years worth of laundry soap but not a years worth of cheese! My friend Susan has been known to donate bags of groceries to the food pantry that were free after double coupons and sales. That to me is AMAZING! Cut coupons for things you only use occasionally....if you run into a sale you will kick yourself for not having clipped it. When you see a new product try to find a coupon if you are worried that it could be a waste of money. New products always have a coupon within the first month or two of launch....

Onto the list:

Coupon Sites in order of my preference:
Couponmom.com
Redplum.com
mambosprouts.com
couponcabin.com
coupons.com
*These sites above have all brands. There is also a coupon toolbar you can download if so inclined. Just Google that.

Brand Websites worth your time: Proctor & Gamble (P&G Brandsaver), Arm & Hammer, Nestle, Kellogs and if you have little ones all the diaper and formula ones too!