Coupon Lessons

Deal or NO DEAL?

April 3, 2012

in Beginners & Policies,Best Deals,Budgeting & Stockpiling,Coupon Lessons

How do I know I am really getting a “Good Deal”?

To start, its good to know what a deal actually is… To explain this, I will break it up into 3 types of deals:  A Deal, A REAL DEAL, and the SUPER DEAL!

(1)  A DEAL:  A deal would be any item that is at least 50% off or more.  That should be your target price at the very least.  You can cut your grocery bill in half or more, without cutting the first coupon.

Sales rotate on a 6-12 week cycle, depending on where you live, with the exception of seasonal items.  The trick it, buying enough to get you through until the next sale.  After you have shopped like this for a while, you will see the trend and know when items are going to be on sale.

(2)  A REAL DEAL:  A real deal would be an item at its lowest price point (50% off or more) , matched with a coupon!!!  This makes for HUGE SAVINGS and sometimes even FREEBIES!  For Example a sale might be:

This is a Savings of 80% when you buy (2) and your store doubles coupons!  You would end up paying 33¢ each!

(3) A SUPER DEAL: A Super Deal would be an item at its lowest price point (50% off or more), matched with a manufacturer coupon & a store coupon!!  Talk about savings!! This is where you can really stack up the savings!  An example might be:

This is a savings of 73% when you buy (2)!  I would end up paying $1.44 each!

Ways to avoid buying impulse items that could potentially cancel out your savings!

(1) Make a list and stick to it!!  This is the easiest way to avoid impulse purchases!!

(2) Carry Cash!  Leave your cards at home!  If you are making a list and using The Q-Tipping Moms Shopping Calculator found HERE, you should know almost to the penny how much your purchases will be.

(3) Beware of those End Caps!! Items displayed on the end caps are not necessarily bargains. We tend to grab things we see on special display!  Sometimes they will even have a big sign to make us think we are getting a deal!  See Rule 1!!

(4) Don’t fall for the power of suggestion.  If a store advertises a 10 for $10 deal, this DOES NOT necessarily mean we have to by 10.  Most of the time these really means $1 each!!  (more examples 2/$5, 4/$4, 4/$5 and so on)

(5) Avoid grabbing the “Store Brand”.  Store Brand is RARELY the best deal.  When you shop when items are at the lowest price point, especially if you have a coupon, more times than not the name brand will be the cheapest.

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Is it or isn’t it….

October 22, 2011

in Beginners,Coupon Etiquette,Coupon Lessons


Okay, after getting the following message on my ORDER INSERTS PAGE, I felt the need to further discuss..

“I read a feature from the CIC website.It states that the disclaimer from coupon cliping services that you are paying for thier time not the coupons is still illeagal.So if you are talking about using coupons responsibly how can you recomend these coupon clipping services if there are not leagal.Also buying coupons on ebay is illegal.I don’t understand how you could recomed these site.You are recommending sites that are not legal.Could you please explain why we should use these sites.I am really confused. Thank you.”

First of all, after further research….THERE is NO LAW at this time against buying or selling coupons online. For something to be ” illegal”, there has to be a law in place at the federal or state level.  There is not a law anywhere, (at this time) on any level of government, that deals with selling coupons.  Therefore, it is not illegal to buy, sell or trade coupons for personal use.  I have misused that term..”illegal”  before, but that is just not the case after further research.  

The issue that raises all the red flags is the fine print on most coupons.

 The fine print on most coupons says in some form or fashion “that they cannot be transferred, sold, traded, auctioned or altered etc.”  This is not a law, these are the rules set by the manufacturer. If you violate a manufacturer’s rule, then the manufacturer has the option to void the coupon.  Technically, if you obtain a coupon from a coupon swap or from a friend then the manufacturer can VOID  the coupon. I don’t think most of us have a problem with that practice.

The CIC, which the reader is referring to, is a private organization funded by manufacturers. ( I use the CIC often to check for fraudulent coupons)  The CIC warns “Coupons being sold on the Internet or by other means may be stolen property or counterfeit. Individuals attempting to use these coupons may be subject to prosecution.”  I would NEVER tell anyone to buy stolen coupons. “Stealing” anything IS ILLEGAL. Selling any kind of “Stolen Property” is also illegal.  I have VERY good faith in my most highly recommended website’s http://www.insertinsanity.com and others found HERE.  All of these places are obtaining whole newspapers legally (Therefore, I know they are NOT counterfeit) & taking the coupons out, sorting them & charging you for their time to do so.  Ebay is a different story.  You are placing your faith in the seller that they did indeed obtain the coupons legally.  If you feel you are breaking the rules by ordering coupons off eBay, then you answered your own question. Don’t do it. However, I find it no different from paying my daughters $5 bucks to cut out my coupons, which I do very often. I am the first person to speak out on using coupons ethically. I would NEVER knowingly tell anybody to do anything unethical or illegal for that matter. With that being said, I have no issues recommending the websites that I have here and other places. If the law changes, I will change, but as of now I stand by it. 

It is illegal to defraud Manufacturers.  You do this by altering coupons or counterfeiting coupons or copying coupons.  In my opinion, no matter how you obtain your coupon…as long as it was legal and as long as the coupon is used correctly when it is redeemed (right product, right size, right expiration), then the manufacturer has no issue with it.

 


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A Lesson on Coupon’s: Updated 9/6/11

September 6, 2011

in Beginners,Coupon Lessons

I wanted to address a few questions that I get frequently.  Maybe it will help you out to see pictures:)

The 1st question that puzzles folks is.. “How do I tell a store coupon from a manufacturer coupon” (Target coupon used as example)
Click on the picture to make it bigger.The top coupon is a MANUFACTURER coupon printed off of the Target website.  Technically, you should be able to use it anywhere.  The “Bulls Eye” is a suggestion to use this coupon at Target.  The coupon on the bottom is a TARGET STORE coupon.  Notice the difference in the bar code.  Below is an up close picture of the barcodes.


 

Another question people have is.. “What exactly is STACKING a coupon”

Click on picture to make it bigger.
Stacking is simply using a STORE coupon, with a MANUFACTURER coupon.  MOST all stores will allow this.  Take advantage of this to save a lot of money!!
The last question I get quite frequently is ” How is the best way to use a BOGO coupon”?

1) If you have a Buy one Get one Free coupon and the item is on sale at a TRUE BOGO store (CVS, WALGREENS, Florida Publix Stores)  then you will get BOTH items free. (THIS IS NO LONGER TRUE FOR RITE AID)
*A TRUE BOGO store simply means, you pay FULL price for the first item and you get the second item free.

2)  You cannot use (2) BOGO coupons on (2) items to get both items FREE.  In order to use (2) BOGO coupons you would have to purchase (4) items.

I hope this answers some of your questions a little better than my emails;)


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