Couponing Basics - The "rules" of couponing

Ok, maybe not "rules," per se, but many of these things were things I had to unlearn, as far as what I considered to be smart shopping.

1. Stockpile. Grocery stores run on a sales cycle, which means, for instance, one week meat might be on sale, the next week, paper goods, the next week, frozen foods, etc. Grocery stores bank on the fact that most people do their shopping every week/two weeks, so while they might be buying some things at the sale price, the rest they will be paying at full price. The whole "goal" of couponing is to build stockpiles, so that you never have to buy anything when you actually need it. Of course certain things you can't avoid (like produce), but most things you can buy when it's cheap/free/close to free and stockpile until at least the next sale. Pay attention to sales and prices and try to determine if something is low enough that you think it is worth stocking up on. For instance, for awhile I was getting toothpaste any time I could get it for 25/30 cents, then when I got a few tubes, I decided to only buy it when it is free. This is also where it comes in handy to have multiple coupons. It's harder to build a stockpile when you only have one coupon at a time to use.

2. Bigger is not always better. If you don't have coupons, then usually it's a better deal to get the bigger size. But when using coupons, the opposite is usually true. For example, let's say a 4-roll pack of toilet paper is $1.50, but the 8-roll pack is $2.50. With no coupons, then the 8-roll pack is a better deal. BUT, if you have a $0.75 off any 4-roll pack or larger coupon, then the 4-roll pack becomes $0.75, and the 8-roll pack is now $1.75. Not such a good deal. In better cases, a lot of times you can get the smaller sizes for free using coupons. Again, here's another reason to have many coupons.

3. Forget the brand loyalties. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule (Iams Healthy Naturals is the only cat food that doesn't result in my cat scratching her ears until they bleed), but for the most part, you only want to go for things that are good deals or free. If your particular brand rarely goes on sale or issues coupons, then you might want to consider switching to one that does. (Of course, you can always try contacting the manufacturer to see if they will send you some coupons!) On a side note, since couponing, I almost never buy generic (unless it's something I need and don't have a coupon for). By combining sales and coupons, I get most items for less than the generic.

4. Know your store's coupon policies. In general, for the Houston area, Kroger triples coupons up to $0.39 and doubles up to $0.50. They will double/triple only 3 like coupons per transaction (for instance, if you walk up with 4 $0.25 off Pillsbury crescent rolls, 3 will triple to $0.75, the 4th will only take off $0.25). Randalls doubles/triples the same amounts, but they will only do 1 like coupon per transaction. Most other stores in the area do not double or triple, but it is always good to check with your local stores to be sure. Call customer service, and they are usually more than happy to tell you their coupon policy. Most stores (drug, grocery, mass retailers) will accept a manufacturer's coupon with a store coupon. This should be specified on the coupon. Walgreens has some great deals that involve combining their in-ad (store) coupon with a manufacturer coupon. Target also has some good deals. I haven't heard of any of stores not following this policy, but, again, it's always good to be sure.


Something to keep in mind about coupons in general... Manufacturer coupons are like money. The store gets reimbursed the face value of the coupon plus, usually, 8 cents. This is on the fine print of the coupon. So whenever I get things for free, it's not like the store is losing money; they are getting reimbursed by the manufacturer (of course, whatever extra amount is taken off for doubling/tripling comes out of the store's pocket). Once I started thinking of coupons as cash and not as just a discount, it changed my mindset towards couponing.