The Checkout Chicks

by Cricket from Half Price, Full Pantry, where she shares what she has learned about couponing and stockpiling because it is so much easier than most people think it is. You can also follow her on Twitter.

Many times I hear from readers and friends things like, “I could never do that!” when I share with them a great deal that I’ve found. I always tell them that if I can do it, they can too. And it’s true. Most of how I’ve trimmed our grocery budget is simply clipping and using coupons and paying attention to sales and taking advantage of those tools combined. Any time we start to wrap our brains around a new way of doing things, there are mental roadblocks to overcome, and couponing is no exception. Here are a few common stumbling points, and some facts about each to help you overcome the obstacle.

Coupons are so hard to find.

At first, it might well seem that coupons are hiding from you. There are the most obvious places to look, like your local newspaper. There are tons of other ways and places to get them however. Friends and family may have coupons that they do not need or will not use. They may be willing to give them to you, or trade with you for coupons you do not want or need. There are many sources for coupons online. From sites like Coupons.com where you can print coupons directly from your computer to clipping services like Coupons & Things by Dede and The Coupon Clippers, you can find a lot of the coupons you need. Something that many people overlook is contacting manufacturers directly. Is there a product that you love and want to save money on? Contact the manufacturer by email or by phone; you may be surprised to find them willing to send you coupons for being a loyal customer.

There aren’t any coupons for the things that I use.

Once you start locating and using coupons, not only do you start realizing that they’re almost everywhere, you start realizing that branching out and trying new brands is not always a bad thing. Have there been things we’ve tried that we didn’t like? Of course there have. We just make a note of it and move on. Brand loyalty is not as important to me as it once might have been, but there are products that we do not budge on. Butter? I’m flexible. Store brand, brand name; whichever, as long as I’m getting a good buy, nobody else notices a difference. Soda? We’re committed to Coca-Cola. So I maximize what coupons and sales I find, and that allows us to have what we want without sacrificing the huge costs that buying full retail would require. Don’t forget one of the hints from the last section; you may not see coupons for the items you use, but that does not mean they do not exist. Contact the manufacturer, and see what they say. Worst case scenario is that coupons introduce you to a product you would not have tried otherwise and you don’t like it. A better ending? You try a product for the first time, and it’s not only better than what you usually buy, it’s also less expensive. That’s a win win situation.

It’s so time consuming.

I freely admit that couponing can eat up a huge chunk of your time and your energy if you let it, especially at first. But when you have a system that works for you, it becomes more manageable. Take a few moments and really think about how you operate best. Are you someone who needs to see everything in order to remember what you have? A binder may be the best bet for you. Are you someone who has to have a compact storage solution? Look into an accordion organizer. Do you absolutely cringe at the thought of clipping all those coupons every week? Think about filing your inserts by date and only clipping what you need, when you need it. Do what you can to make couponing easy on yourself. If you don’t take your lifestyle and your needs into account, you will quickly weary of the project and you won’t reap the benefits of couponing. There are lots of different ways to organize out there, explore and see what fits best for you.

If I buy in bulk, I get better savings that way.

This one sticks in there a long time for a lot of people. At first, it seems accurate, but not always. The best thing to do in this situation is to calculate the price per unit to determine what is actually a good deal. For example, let’s look at some toilet paper.

Without a coupon, let’s say a 4-pack of toilet paper is $2.99, or $.75 each. The 8-pack without the coupon is $6.99 or $.87 each. Now say you have a $.50 off coupon for any size package. The coupon makes the 4-pack $2.49 or $.62 each. The 8-pack is now $6.49 or $.81 each. When you look at the per unit price, the bulk package is not always the better deal.

Coupon amounts are so small; it’s just not worth it.

Sometimes it seems like that little $.25 off coupon isn’t all that worth it. But if you go to a store that doubles coupons, now you’ve got $.50 off. Take that same coupon to a store that triples coupons, and it’s now a $.75 off coupon. Many times people also assume that they need to use a coupon as soon as they get it. More often than not, the manufacturer is getting the coupon out there in preparation for an upcoming sale. When you combine those coupons, no matter how large or small, with a sale you are maximizing your savings and you’ll see a huge difference in your grocery spending.

It’s a rare family who does not find that matching coupons with sales saves them heaps of money. Give it a try for yourself, if you haven’t already, and stick with it long enough to make it a habit.

Don’t miss a single guest blog post! Follow us on Twitter @checkoutchicks, subscribe to our feed, or get email updates!