I have been so shocked at how few people are interested in paying little to no money for grocery and household items. During the past 15 months as I have reaped the benefits of couponing I have also tried so hard to share my discovery with my closest friends and family. Hardly anyone can even stand to listen about coupons, let alone wants to actually learn. It is SO crazy to me! I feel like here I am, offering to really help, have proof that it really works, and people tune me out as if I was a used car salesman. Whatever!!!!!!!! So, for anyone out there who actually has an open mind to changing their approach to shopping for his or her household - read on . . .
First of all - couponing effectively is about a 2-pronged approach. It is very simple. The first, most effective use of coupons is to use coupons in conjunction with a sale price. Most grocery stores in SC have a 1/2 off BOGO policy, which means that each BOGO item rings half price (aka, you do not half to buy two items to realize the sale price - some states, like FL, have a true BOGO which 1 items rings full price and the second rings $0). And that price is substantially lower than any warehouse bulk pricing. Combine that BOGO sale price with a coupon (or better yet, DOUBLED coupon!!) and you will be buying your selections for pennies on the dollar. So, if you can grasp the concept of waiting to purchase items you need (and have coupons for)until they go on sale (BOGO or not)then you are already ahead of the game. And when you begin shopping like this you will notice that the sales of certain items come in waves/cycles. It was a little tough for me to get used to, actually - Because I was accustomed to buying what we needed week-to-week, not really stocking up. So when I changed my approach to the combining coupons with sales - an entirely new pattern emerged in our home. One week would be free Ziploc baggies, free Reynolds foil, free Reach toothbrushes, free Jiffy peanut butter, and free Bush's black beans. So at that time I would use my coupons and stock up with several months' worth. It took about 3 months for us to have a good stock of the variety of items we regulary use. And then after that initial transition period it was all smooth-sailing. And it is so cool because now, when i notice a stockpile necessity is getting low, i can be on the lookout for the next toilet paper deal, for example. Or the text laundry detergent deal. . . whatever it may be that we always use.
The second element, my favorite, is the OVERAGE. Sweet sweet overage. You gotta love it!! (And this is where most people tune out, ironically) An overage-provider is an item that creates a negative dollar amount (when a coupon is used with it)in the register, bringing your subtotal DOWN the more you buy/coupons tendered. Example scenario:
Shopping cart items-
(1) dozen eggs $2.00
(1) loaf of bread $3.00
(4) tubes of Crest toothpaste @ $1 = $4.00
Subtotal WITHOUT COUPONS= $9.00
MINUS (4) $2/1 Crest coupons = -$8.00
NEW subtotal WITH COUPONS= $1.00
So, now the question is - Would you rather buy a loaf of bread and a dozen eggs (or whatever the items are that you needed to go to the store for) and pay $5.00 - OR would you rather get your bread, eggs, AND 4 tubes of toothpaste and pay $1??? The bizarre thing to me is that most people's reaction is "Well, we don't need 4 tubes of toothpaste!" And if that is your reaction then you are dense beyond belief and you cannot be helped. Because this principle of overage, when applied on a larger scale, is what slashes your grocery bills to nothing and, in my eyes, SO WHAT if you have to figure out who to give extra toothpaste to?!?! And who, in his or her right mind, would choose to pay more for their groceries?
My favorite freebie is body washes.
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