Back to Basics Series: I want free stuff! (Or do you?)

Couponing is becoming much more popular. Lots of reasons-crappy economy, a certain tv show…..people who have never done it are gawking at our stockpiles of free stuff and saying “I want free stuff!” I love love love free stuff. Just ask my husband. At least twice a month we have this conversation: Him-“we don’t need all that ‘insert name of free item.’ “Me-“But it was free!” Him-“Doesn’t matter, we don’t need it.” And then we either use it or donate it. Sometimes he’s right (all the granola bars & Cheezits I just gave away) and sometimes I’m right (the 30 jars of spaghetti sauce he said we’d never use, and we did, in much less than a year’s time!).

But as a result of the economy, the tv show, or whatever else brought you here, you’ve decided you want to save money. And possibly become one of those supercouponers. Or do you? I’ve received lots of requests for assistance lately and as I promised some of you, I’d do a “Back to Basics” series of posts. For beginning couponers, how to get started, what to do, where to begin. Because in the beginning, it can be overwhelming. So here it is, the first post in that series.

What I’m going to do, is present you with some questions to ask yourself, and tell you what you need to become a supercouponer. Really look at it, decide if this is something you want to pursue. It’s not all or nothing. You don’t have to be a supercouponer or not coupon at all. Even if you just get one newspaper a week or just use printable coupons, with smart spending you can save a significant % at the grocery store. There are often simple freebies to be had with one coupon or none at all. I don’t want to scare any one off, thinking they have to get multiple coupon inserts to gain from this blog.

First, the TLC show is a very unrealistic depiction of what it takes. At one end of the spectrum, they show someone spending 80 hours a week doing this. I don’t know anyone who does that, nor would I ever! At the other end of the spectrum, they show shoppers getting 5 or 6 carts full of stuff all in one transaction, as if it were that simple.

Know that building a stockpile of free stuff takes time. You find one product category one week, another the next. I never get it all at once. This week for me it was greeting cards, wipes & diapers. I have enough to last several months. Next week it will be snacks and soft drinks, and I’ll get enough to last several months. The week after that, who knows? You decide what your stockpile price is for a commodity, and when you can get it at that price, you stockpile. Stockpile prices are highly personal-it has to do with how much you need or want that item.

As far as time spent clipping & couponing, I probably spend 5-10 hours a week total. This includes checking out my favorite deal site, clipping coupons and doing matchups. I usually try to keep to two shopping trips per week. One trip is my regular weekly shopping trip for my household, during which I score whatever deals I can. Another trip is spent just getting free or supercheap stuff. Five to ten hours each week may sound like a lot, but I have figured that I am saving about $100-$150 on my weekly groceries, so $10-$20 per hour is ok with me. That’s my return, that’s what I’m getting for my time.

To be a supercouponer you need the following: about five hours of time each week and access to multiple coupon inserts. That’s it, really. From there, it’s just a matter of learning the deals in your area, at your stores, and stacking those deals. I never recommend that people buy multiple newspapers. I read of women buying ten or twenty papers, and that means you’re already $20-$40 in the hole each week, before you’ve clipped anything! I don’t want to have to make up that much ground. Ask family, friends, coworkers, neighbors. Put a bin out in your workplace breakroom, preschool, church, school with a sign that says “Please leave your Sunday coupons here if you don’t use them.” You’ll be surprised at what you get. Ask at your local newsstand, library, school, mini market–ask what they do with them on Mondays. Ask your local news carrier. I never recommend dumpster diving either, but some people do it. Whatever fits you.

Find a deal site or a blog or two that you like and follow them. Most will spell out all the deals for you. Non-couponers and supercouponers do the same deals, supercouponers just do them with stockpiling in mind. Stay tuned for the rest of the Back to Basics series–tell me, what would you like explained to you?

 

 

Some good deals at Walgreen’s this week

Now that I have a few moments to actually check out the ads and the forums on HCW, I may get a few things at Walgreen’s this week. I have $5 RR to spend from the last Pampers offer. Here are a few items I noticed-

Carefree Pantiliners 20-22 count, $.51 overage
TOTAL: $.51 overage after mfr coupon and RR
SALE: $.99
MQ: $.50 off any one Carefree product, 3/27 RP insert
RR: $1 RR when you buy Carefree pantiliners 20-22 count

Garnier Nutrisse or Herbashine

TOTAL: 2 for $4
SALE: 2 for $14
MQ: $3/1 coupons.com (toolbar to your left)
RR: $4 RR wyb 2
MATH: 2 for $14-$6 coupons-$4 RR=2 for $4
Note: I also saw this on clearance at Acme, for $2. So you’d get $1 overage and no bothersome RRs to roll.

Pampers jumbo packs 
TOTAL: 2 for $8
SALE: 2 for $18
MQ: $1.50/1 PG insert (last week)
AD Q: $2/1 Walgreens Infant Care booklet **Note, this coupon has been beeping & cashiers have been turning it down. Try at your own risk.
RR: $3 RR wyb 2
MATH: 2 for $18-$3 mfr coupons-$4 wags coupon-$3 RR=2 for $8

Biore Cleanser & Pore strips
TOTAL: .99 after Q & RR
SALE: $5.99
MQ: B1G1 – Biore Cleanser (1) Free when you buy Biore Pore Strip (excludes trial size) – 03-06-11 SS
RR: $5 when you buy 2 participating products
MATH: 2 x $5.99 – $5.99 (BOGO Q) – $5 RR = .99

One supercouponer’s opinion of Extreme Couponing

Several months ago, TLC did a show called Extreme Couponing. Now they are making it into a regular series and the season premiere is this Wednesday. And once again, all the various couponing forums and deal blogs are all abuzz about it. In many cases, they are on the same coupon boards with some of us, or we follow their blogs or are even Facebook friends with some of them. And once again, since friends & family know that couponing is an interest of mine, they’re asking me if I’ve seen it or plan to see it, followed by a “What do you think?”

First, yes I watched the first one and plan to watch future episodes if I find it in reruns. It airs at the same time as Modern Family and I really like that show. However, I wasn’t that impressed with the first episode because there was much they didn’t show. For example, the one grocery store has a policy of only accepting 4-like coupons per customer. Well, 4-like coupons doesn’t make for interesting or extreme tv, so they broke their own policy and allowed….hundreds of the same coupon. Like anything else on reality tv, this show must be taken with a grain of salt, because much of it is staged. Other than Joyce from Philly, the others certainly did look extreme and that is the goal of the show.

Regarding this particular cluster of episodes, I’m not sure what to think. For one, I’ve read in several places that one of the women being profiled regularly commits coupon fraud then makes videos bragging about it on YouTube. I hope that the show’s producers choose to portray her in a negative light, because coupon fraud hurts everyone, even those of us following the rules. But that they would even give someone like that the limelight makes me have less respect for the show overall. Many of those profiled are turning this into a cash-cow for themselves and using it as a platform for self-promotion. Can’t say I blame them, clicks=money. But I will have little sympathy for their whining when the shows portray them in a less than favorable (read-crazy) light.

Some couponers are all abuzz about how these shows will make everyone want to coupon and then deals will be harder to find. I disagree, mostly. Watching the Duggars does not make me feel the need to go and turn my uterus into a clown car; in fact it has quite the opposite effect. I don’t think this show is going to motivate that many people to race down to their local dumpster to find coupon inserts. I believe that supercouponing has been dying a slow death for quite some time and I blogged about it last year. The reason that couponing is getting harder is because of coupon boards, deal sites, social media and frankly, blogs like this one. Deals are spoon fed to readers. All one has to do now is read, click, print and head out to the store, there is no thinking involved. Add all that up with a tough economy and of course more people want things for free.

You have my word that any deal posted here is legit. If I make a mistake and the coupon doesn’t match the item or something like that, it is merely an innocent oversight. If you do go to other deal sites, make sure they are making the same promise. It’s one of the reasons I am so loyal to Hotcouponworld; I know I won’t be fooled or duped or led astray. Some sites actually encourage fraud and sketchy practices. Others, while they may not necessarily encourage it, they do not admit to mistakes or correct them if they post a bad deal. Sure, the prosecution rate for coupon fraud is very low, but it’s still wrong.

For what it’s worth, no I don’t spend 80+ hours a week couponing, nor do I know anyone that does. I shop once or twice a week and spend 60-90 minutes clipping my inserts and filing them. I only purchase what my family will use. If you click that image, it will take you to the hcw editorial on the show. Bottom line is, as with anything, you have to have balance. With any hobby, activity or sport, if it’s causing marital and family problems and taking over your life, it’s too much.