Coupon Inserts

If you are one of those that buy a lot of papers just to get more coupons, check this out!  You can buy the whole insert for way less than you can buy more papers.  Might be worth checking it out for yourself!


Here's what they say about their service:
"We provide you a way to purchase manufacturer coupons without paying for clipping services. We pride ourselves on having the best coupons inserts at the best prices. Our coupon inserts are from large Sunday newspapers. Most inserts will have 65-95 coupons. We list the coupons in each insert so you will know just what you are getting. We find the best inserts and you do the cutting. This is a great way to get the best coupons without paying for clipping services that you don't need. In a lot of cases you can buy coupon inserts from us cheaper than purchasing the Sunday newspaper. No purchasing limits! No processing fees!"


Here's their shipping examples:
"Example of Shipping Rates:

Up to 100 inserts Priority Flat rate $10.70

25 to 35 inserts Priority flat rate $5.25

Or you can choose standard first class rates, which are determined on weight

Approx: less than 4 inserts around $2.00

6 is around $2.50

You can place items in shopping cart and it will figure out shipping rates to your zip code."

Harris Teeter Triples

Heard they are coming up on 6/23/10!

Lunch Box Giveaway

Check it out; it's a lunch box giveaway!

Harris Teeter Super Doubles!

Harris Teeter is supposed to have Super Doubles this coming week (5/19-5/25); they will double coupons up to $1.99.  Check the link for some good deals.  Happy Shopping!

Finding out early?

Okay guys and gals,
Want to find out early when there's triples or super doubles?  The best places to check are the good websites and you can find out a few days to a week early.  I like hot coupon world but, southernsavers.com is another great spot and it's probably easier to read.  Afullcup.com is another good one.  You can sign up for some feeds from these sites and find out early about the good deals!

thought to ponder

Want to save $144.56 per year? Here's how-- if you use 2 boxes of pasta per week (retail price: $1.79) you spend $186.16/year. If you buy those same 104 boxes of pasta ONLY when that pasta is BOGO with a $1/2 coupon you will spend $41.60/year on that SAME amount and brand pasta. That's it-- it's THAT simple-- buy the SAME items as ALWAYS but only buy them when they're at a fabulous price!

Random Thoughts and Tips

For the longest time, I would buy the largest quantity of something b/c the price per unit was better.  Well, then I met my coupon queens and finally realized that if I buy the smallest package on sale and with a coupon, it's waaaaaay cheaper.  Keep that thought in mind.


I buy a lot of "stuff" online and I always look for coupon codes to use.  Just Google the store name and check out the first 5-8 options that come up for different codes.  Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't - worth checking.


www.bestdealmagazines.com is an awesome site for some magazine deals


I try my hardest to not buy something unless it's on sale or I have a coupon.

Good Things

Pick a few of your coupon savvy friends/neighbors and start a coupon swap.  I've also just asked my neighbors who get the Sunday paper to drop any coupons they won't use in my mailbox so I can.  I take note of any they have clipped or ones I know they will use and I'll give them mine.  Ex, my neighbor uses Pampers and we don't so, I cut them for her instead of wasting them.

One of my best buys has been a FoodSaver.  I really love that thing and use it for everything in my freezer.  It is costly at first, plan on $150, but, worth every penny.

Recipes & Meal Planning

Now, the ideal thing is to plan your meals around what meats/foods are on sale for the week, that's generally how to get the best deal.  I like to try but, am not always successful that way.  However, I will not buy any meat that isn't on sale unless there is a dire need for it.

Do you forget the meals you like and seem to get in a rut of 4 or 5 meals over and over?  We do.  We now have a list on the fridge of meals that we can cook without too much effort.  Things that are fairly easy to throw together.  There's over 15 meals on it and I love referring to it when we can't come up with a dinner idea.

I have no idea if this link will work for you but, it's some good recipes:  http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gm/casseroles09/#/0

Want some Weight Watchers Recipes?   http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/ww-recipes-3/

This chick blogged about a crock pot meal every day for a year so, check here for some good recipes:  http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

Comparing Prices

I've started a Price Book for me - yes, I'm a dork.  It allows me to track some things I regularly buy so I know how much I generally spend to know it a sale is worth it.  

For example, I will track boneless, skinless chicken breasts and find that I can get them from BJ's for $2.99/lb but, last week at HT I got them buy 2, get 3 free which made them $1.66/lb which was the cheapest I've seen.  I stocked up.  I know that in general, I will not spend more than $1.99/lb and when it's less than that, I stock up.  

My book consists of an Excel SS with columns as follows:

I don't do this for everything I buy, just the most common stuff so, it gets in my head what's good vs. bad deals.  I will note when I have coupons for stuff too.  

I'm working on a Price Book for anyone to input info, so we could all have access without all the work.  Here's the link, feel free to start adding in any items you have.  

Getting more coupons you'll use

Any brands you normally buy?  Go to their website and sign up for their deals.  You can print coupons from those sites directly sometimes.  If you can take 2 minutes, send them an email or a Comment and say how much you love their stuff and would love any coupons they could send you.  I've gotten a lot of stuff that way (Arnold Sandwich Thins - they sent me $6 worth of coupons, Mrs. Paul's Fish sticks sent some, etc.).

Hot Coupon World.com How To

Click on “Forums”  tab

SCROLL DOWN AND CHOOSE  “Grocery Stores”

 Choose the grocery store you’d like to look at:

Typically you want to click on the heading: “ AD-Match ups done” for the week you are going to shop. (Unless another heading catches your eye)

  

Here you will see a list of all the items in the sales circular along with coupon match-ups, if there is a coupon out there for that item that is on sale.  You get the best deals, and should stock up on items that are both on sale, AND you have a coupon for.  You don’t typically save a lot of $ when you use coupons alone, or shops sales alone.

For example: you can see above this week at Harris Teeter, Birds Eye Steamfresh vegetables are on sale for $1.27 for one bag.  Below that, they are showing you all of the coupons that are currently out for that item (.50 cents off 1;  $2 off 4 bags etc.).  Then they show you when the coupon came out and where it came from (SS= Savings Source; RP=Red Plum etc.) If there is a link to click on, that means you can print the coupon online.

Below the Steamfresh vegetables, you can see that there are many items listed that don’t currently have coupons out i.e. Lays Potato chips, Ocean Spray juice etc.

This makes it very easy to know what is a really good deal each week, rather than going through all of your coupons and trying to compare them to sale items yourself…very time consuming.  You can go to each grocery store and view all the best deals that week and decide if you want to go to several stores, or just pick the store that has the best deals for you that week. 
Stock up on items that are a really good deal, even if you don’t need them…the trick is never to wait until you “need” something.  


COURTESY OF JULIE WILLIAMS :)

Actual Coupon Tidbits

Before you read this, keep in mind that all of this can be null and void if the person ringing you up is a stickler and is reading the coupons.  I really don't like those "coupon nazis."

Look at the serial # at the bottom of the coupon. 

If it starts with a 5, it WILL double/triple, even if it says it won’t on the front.  

If it starts with a “9” (as most catalinas and blinkies do) then it will NOT double/triple.  

The next 5 #’s indicate the brand maker.  16000 is General Mills, 37000 is P&G etc.  These coupons will all work interchangeably within their family as long as the 5 digit # on the coupon and the 5 digit # on the price sticker in the store match.  

For example, if your coupon is for $2 off Crest Mouthwash and the 5 digit number at the bottom is 37000, it will also work on Pampers diapers, Tide and various other Proctor and Gamble brand items.  Pepperidge Farm bread coupons work on Gold Fish, since they are made by the same company.  If your coupon is for a specific type of Uncle Ben's rice but, the 5 digit number is the same for all the types, it will work.


AGAIN, I stress that a lot of stores are really focusing on this little coupon "maneuver" - get your "Oh, I got the wrong coupon out" face ready!  Also, don't try to swap any coupons unless you are using a good stack of coupons to "disguise".  Keep in mind you could get busted for this and I don't condone it, I'm merely providing information.

Ordering Coupons Online

If you clip your coupons one Sunday and you notice a great $3 off Tide coupon and would like more, you can go online and purchase coupons.
Benefits:  The cost is minimal - you don't actually purchase the coupon, that is illegal, you pay a postage & handling fee per coupon and sometimes they have a minimum purchase to order.  You also don't have to go out and buy a lot of papers if the other coupons aren't worth it.
Downsides:  You might have to buy 5-20 coupons that expire in a month and you might not plan on using them that quickly.  Also, you do have to watch what you order based on expiration dates, make sure you factor in mailing time.


www.thecouponclippers.com  (I've used The Coupon Clippers and been very happy with them.)
www.lorihas3kids.com   (in the special instructions, put me down as referred by :))
www.ebay.com  (only use sellers with good feedback)

By Stores

Harris Teeter:  Will double up to 20 manufacturers coupons per day, up to .99 cents face value.  You can use only 3 “like” coupons per visit. i.e. you can use 3 Colgate toothpaste coupons to buy 3 tubes of toothpaste (or if the coupon reads $1 off 2 tubes of toothpaste, then you could use 3 coupons to get 6 tubes of toothpaste and so on.)  On BOGO items, you don’t have to buy two items to get the deal, you can buy 1 bag of Lays potato chips and it will just ring up at half price.  Or, if you have a coupon for say: $.75 off 1 bag, then you can use 1 coupon for the first bag and a second coupon for the “free” bag.  You can use 2 “like” IPs (internet Printable coupons) per visit.  
Go to www.harristeeter.com and sign up for to be an E-VIC customer. Each week they have 1 awesome deal for evic members only…it is always at the top of the page on Hot Coupon World.

Bi-Lo: You can use up to 10 “like” coupons per visit, which makes stocking up easy here.  They will also double up to 20 manuf. Coupons per day up to .99 cents face value.
Hook your Bi-Lo Bonus Card up with their new Fuel Perks Rewards Program for $$ off of gas at nearby gas stations.


Kroger: They will double coupons up to .50 cents face value.  No maximum number of coupons.


Lowes Foods:  They will double up to 20 manufacturer coupons with a face value of $0.99 or less every day.  You can use up to 4 "like" coupons.  Check this out: http://lowesfoods.com/index.cfm/aboutus/faqs/
Look for Lowes Foods Fresh Rewards (LF "check" to redeem on future purchases) and check online for "coupons" you can "load" on your card with e-offers and Instasave.

Food Lion, WalMart, Target, Bloom and pretty much everywhere else, do NOT double coupons.

Target will allow you to combine a manufacturer coupon with their coupons. Target.com has a big selection of Target printable coupons.

How to organize your coupons

Again, I admit my dork-hood.  I have a coupon binder.  Best. Decision. Ever.  It amazes me how much time I wasted using those accordion filers.  You can make your own or feel free to do what I did, I bought my tab dividers and baseball card pages from this chick online:  http://smartspendingresources.com/services.html        

I would buy the extra tabs from her too.    The downfall is that she doesn't have a Kid tab but, I use the Pet Care tab - kids, dogs, same thing, right?  I bought it from her because I figured it would be easier and maybe less expensive (I don't know that for sure, I never checked) than doing it myself.  Pick up a zippered binder (where's a trapperkeeper when you need one?)  and you are set.  I use a pencil case at the front to put the coupons I pull for that specific grocery trip.  The binder is super easy to find coupons and after that initial set up, it's so easy to maintain (expireds and new).

Another method is to just take the WHOLE insert and put them in a folder, then clip them when you are about to go shopping (the coupon matchups will tell you which date/insert to clip from!) 


By request, I'm listing the tab names for you to check out.  If you're making your own, you might want to make some adjustments but, keep in mind, more is better.
Baking, Beverage, Bread, Canned, Cereal, Cleaning, Condiments, Dairy, Deodorant, Entertainment, Feminine, Frozen, Hair, Laundry, Meat, Oral Care, Over the Counter, Paper & Plastic, Pasta & Rice, Pet Care, Salad Dressing, Snacks, Soap, Store Coupons

Terms to know

VOCABULARY:
IP – Internet Printable coupon

SS – Savings Source

RB – Red Plum

Blinkie – These are the little automatic coupon dispensers found in the grocery aisles

Tear Pad – There are often displays around the store that have coupon tearpads attached to them

Wine Tags – Every Wed. there are new tag’s placed on wine/fancy cheese/meat section/beer items. They are either coupons or mail in rebates…they are always a very good deals and go fast!!

OYNO – On Your Next Order

CAT – Catalina, which are those coupons/ads that print out with your receipt at the register

OOP -  Out of Pocket

Triples – triple up to 20 manufacturers coupons per day with face value up to .99 cents

Super Doubles – Will double up to 20 manuf coupons per day up to $1.99 face value