So since my last post I have gotten a lot of the same questions about couponing, so let me take minute to try to answer those.
When I get to the store, it’s cheaper to not use the coupon.
I hear this all the time. Remember I said it takes a couple of months to really start seeing the savings? Well let me explain that better. Yes, when you first start you will have to buy the things you need now. But you need to start buying the things you will need. You have to change the way you shop. The first month I went couponing. I spent my normal amount because I needed those items, then I spent an extra $150 and got $100 in free items. I know your thinking this is crazy but it’s the way I had to do it, because we had items we needed. So I bought the needed items, then I shopped the deals for the items I will need.
So “will need” what does that mean?
I told you to make list of the meals you make most. So you know you make spaghetti at least three times a month. You buy your needs for that week’s worth of groceries, and then you buy the sale on spaghetti. So say the spaghetti is buy two sauces and get two free noodles. This is a deal I had my first months of doing this. I also had a coupon for the sauce for $1 off two. The pasta sale was the two sauces for $4.00 (2.00 apiece), with my dollar off coupon making them $3.00 for two and two free pasta. That came to $.75 each. Now that’s a deal, there was no limit so I bought 6 sets. So that gave me 12 sauces and 12 noodles. If I cook spaghetti only 3 times a month, I now have a 4 month supply. So guess what I don’t have to spend money on for the next four months? That’s right pasta because I bought what I don’t need now, but will need later.
Need vs Want:
A need is something your family needs, i.e. toilet paper, a want is something you want but can live without, a new laptop when yours works fine. You have to know your needs and you have to know the difference of them from your wants. Buying wants doesn’t save you money. But if you can get your needs for 50% to 100% off, then you have more money for your wants.
So that’s great for food but how do I get discounts on personal items?
Remember I told you to make list of the meals you make most; this is the same with personal items. You should have a list of personal items you always buy. Most people are loyal to a certain product or item. So you are going to buy those items when it goes on sale. Yes again at first you have to buy your needs list. And then add onto that your will needs. One would assume that everyone buys toilet paper, tooth brushes, body wash, and toothpaste and so on. So you buy your current needs and you know what you always buy, then you find the deals on your will needs. So this month you get deals on toothpaste and toothbrushes and next month you get a deal on mouth wash and floss. In two months time you can take care of your families oral needs for the next year!
Learn to Pharmacy Store Shop- CVS:
I have always been told, “You should never pay for personal items at CVS.” Until recently I really didn’t understand this. I had to go to Wal-Mart the other day to buy needs item that I didn’t have and didn’t have coupons for. I spent $73 and was sick about it. My sister has been trying to tell me to shop at CVS, but I really didn’t understand how it worked. Now I am a CVS master! The first thing you need to do is go to your CVS and get a CVS card. It’s free. Call the number on the back and follow the commands to link your card to your phone number. This way you don’t have to keep up with that dang card.
EBS- Extra bucks; CVS offers deals when you buy this item you get extra bucks. Okay so here is what you have to understand, you need the card to get the extra bucks, you need the receipts to spend the extra bucks. When you buy items at CVS the card gives you the deal. The Extra bucks are printed on the bottom of your receipt. Do not think of these as coupons, these are more like CVS gift cards.
So like everything, you have to buy something to get something. You have to pay for your first transaction. Yes, CVS takes coupons; no they do not double them. So you go to CVS and buy 6 items that offer Extra bucks. These are bucks you use on your next order! I recently went and got $206.94, did it in 6 transactions and only paid $53.74, that’s $153.19 in personal products for FREE! Here’s what I bought, 2 -6 pack of Charmin toilet paper, 4- Oral b Pulsar toothbrushes, 4- Crest 1 liter mouthwashes, 3 Gillette body washes, 4 Always feminine products, 4- Colgate toothpaste, 3 – Hershey’s candy bars, 4- Pantene Mouse, 2- John Frieda Shampoos, 2- John Frieda Cond., 2- Contact Solutions, and 1 dawn dishwashing liquid.
Do I currently need 4 mouthwashes, no I don’t, but I will. And the mouthwash doesn’t exp until December of next year. But we will use It up before then. Links to more information on CVS shopping below.
How do you know when it’s a better deal?
I like to look at my OOPS (Out Of Pocket Spending).Okay, so let’s look at the toilet paper I bought at CVS above. It was $7.79 each and on sale for$5.49 each with the coupon, that was $1 off 2, it was $4.99 each. At Wal-Mart it’s $5.39 with the coupon it’s $4.89 each. But at CVS with my EBS, I paid $1.03 for two, making them $.51 each. At Wal-Mart I would have paid $9.78 for two. So it’s a better deal at CVS. Because my OOPS was only 1.03 vs my Wal-Mart OOPS would have been 9.78. I base my deals off my OOPS. Even though the toilet paper was cheaper at Wal-Mart, my OOPS wasn’t.
Do you have to shop every week?
Yes, this is the way you maximize your deals and get free stuff! I used to shop twice a month, now I go every week. My Safeway ads are from Wed to Wed; my CVS ads are from Sunday to Sunday. So on Wed’s I get my week’s ad for Safeway and I get my CVS ads in my Sunday paper. Every week, something is on sale. Remember this, every week, there is a sale.
Hoarding vs the Stock pile:
This is by far my favorite question, “isn’t that hoarding”. No it’s not. I have a family of four, so I buy for my family of four. So what that means is, 4 bottles of mustard will last us a year. So I have four bottles of mustard in my stock pile. That’s stock piling. Now if I had 10 bottles that would be hoarding. Why? We would never use ten bottles before they expire. Now there are certain things you can never have too much of, example, toilet paper. But no one needs 1,000 bottles of toothpaste, that’s hoarding.
The purpose behind stock piling is to buy mass amounts of the items your family uses when it’s on sale. This way you don’t have to buy that item until it’s on sale again. My Safeway ran a deal this past week on my laundry detergent, during their mix and match deal. I have to tell you I was thrilled! I normally pay $12 a month for 2 bottles of our detergent ($6 each). I have never seen it in any size less than $4 a bottle. So when Safeway had it for $3.49 and my $1.00 off one made them $2.49, I bought 8! Paying $19.92. I would normally pay $48 for 8. So I saved $28.08 off what I normally pay! So basically for every two I bought was still $1.02 cheaper than what I normally paid for one. That’s a 4 month supply for my family. So now I have a four month supply, so I can mark that off my list until it’s on sale again. That’s not hoarding, that’s keeping my family’s needs met.
Don’t you buy things you don’t need or want?
Sometimes. I hear you, but sometimes an item is free or gives me an overage. An overage is when an item is cheaper than the coupon value. Say mustard is .88 and you have 1.00 off coupon. For every mustard you buy you “make” .12. Well you can use that overage toward your non coupon items, like meat, which is rare to have a coupon for. So you take that mustard and donate it. If I ever buy something for the overage or just because it’s free and I don’t use or need it, I donate it. You can find a place to donate items to no matter where you live. And if you have free deodorant that you don’t use or need, you should donate it, or you are hoarding.
I don’t have time:
Bull! Don’t tell me that. Everyone has time. My sister works and has three kids, and she taught me how to coupon. If she can find the time with her super busy schedule and I joke not when I say she is one of the busiest people I know, then so can you. The time is there if you want to do it. Once you make that first big save, you will be surprised where you find the time. And if you’re like me, my children and my husband help. It has become a family event to save as much money as possible. I am teaching my girls to be savvy shoppers. So don’t give me the “don’t have time”, you will find the time if you truly want to save some serious cash.
Links:
More on How to CVS:
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