Short Attention Span Challenge | The Coupon Queen

Like many others, my family has dealt with our share of budget cuts and economic set backs.  In some ways, it has made things more difficult for us, but in others it has been a sort of blessing.  I have found ways to cut our expenses that I didn't even know existed and learned how remove things from our budget that my family wouldn't even notice was gone (although the "no cable" experiment was a complete bust). However, there was always one skill I knew in the back of my mind would probably help me, but I never really could bring myself to try.  Couponing.  I have heard couponing is a great way to save some money, but...

1.  Couponing takes time.

2.  You can't be shy if you want to coupon.

Believe it or not, I don't have time (although maybe when I am done writing these blogs posts every week, I will), but I am also pretty shy.  I can strike up a conversation easily enough and do my fair share of socializing but when it comes down to it, I embarrass easily.  I hate the thought of inconveniencing people, including strangers in a checkout line or people working in a store.

That can happen when you coupon.  Does it mean it is wrong?  No way!  Can it feel a little awkward?  Well, for me, yeah.

Extreme Couponing on The Learning Channel

The Challenge

Find and get some amazing coupon deals---like "buy in bulk, I just bought this for free" type of deals! EXTREME couponing!

The Process

Even though my rule is no online sources, for this challenge I was forced to go online.  However, I did use books to learn the basics, but in order to find the weekly savings, I had to use certain websites.  Another thing to note is that although I only did this challenge for one week, I had been saving coupon books for about a month or more.  This is part of couponing that is a challenge for some people.  In order to get many of the coupons, you have to have a newspaper subscription or know someone who does.  If you didn't already subscribe to a newspaper and you are doing so just to get coupons, you need to subtract that from part of the money you are saving. 

There are several different types of coupons.  There are the manufacturer inserts that come in the newspaper (SmartSource, Red Plum, Proctor and Gamble), as well as the store inserts and coupons.  There are also printable coupons that are available online from sites such as www.coupons.com.  Smart phones can also be used to access coupons, but I think I am the only person in their 30s to not have one.

On their own, most of these coupons are not worth much. You can find $1 or so here and there, but the real savings comes from stacking.  Stacking is using store discounts, combined with manufacturer's coupons, combined with store specific coupons to create a sizable savings.

This is where it gets a little tricky.  Couponers must be aware of store policies in order to use their coupons effectively.  For example, Costco does not accept manufacturer's coupons (but they do send out their own coupon book once a month). They also need to know who has the deals.

My challenge was figuring out how to use the coupons together to create an amazing deal.  I have seen those shows where Couponers go out and fill up their carts with goods, and once they are through getting everything rung up their total is $0.  I want to do that!

Here are the steps I took:

• Collect coupons- See above

• Organize - Some books suggested taking the coupons out and putting them in binders, by date or type.  Other suggested using a shoebox with dividers.  I tried the shoebox but it wasn't working for me, and took too much time, so  I just put mine in piles.  I had a pile of SmartSource Books, a pile of Red Plum books, a Proctor and Gamble book, and a pile of store books.  

• Find -  Use the internet to find weekly deals at particular stores.  I used www.couponmom.com and www.moneysavingmom.com.  Here, I looked up the different stores I was interested in and found items that I would like to buy.  I tried to pick stores that I already shopped at and stores that were not far out of my way.  So, I scratched out Walmart, because I don't really shop there.  Also, even though there were lots of items that could have been free after  the coupons, I skipped things I did not need.  However, I would like to suggest that if you are interested in couponing, and there is something that you think you don't need, but you can donate, this is a great way to help our local homeless shelters and charities.  If you see a deal where you can get free soap, diapers, or toilet paper, go for it! Here is a list of things the Stockton Shelter can use.

• Clip - Take out the coupons you will use and organize them by stores.  For example, I found some deals at Walgreens. I cut out the coupons I needed, paper clipped them together, then wrote down the deals I was looking for on a Post-it and stuck it on top.  

The Result

I had two very different, but interesting coupon experiences.

• Walgreens - There was a buy one get one (BOGO) 1/2 off deal on many Almay products at Walgreens.  I had two coupons I could use for Almay products.  One was a $2 off/1 item Walgreens coupon, the other was a $5 off/2 items printable coupon.  Walgreens accepts a manufacturer's coupon combined with their store coupons and the $2 coupon could be used twice, taking $4 off total..  According to one of my websites, I could get a makeup remover for free.  Two with BOGO 1/2 off deal = $8.99-$5 printable coupon =$3.99-$4 Walgreens coupon=$0.There was only one problem!  By the time I got there, there was nothing left!  The nice saleslady (at the Ripon location)  even went through some of the inventory boxes for me, to no avail.  So instead, I found another Almay product I could get a good deal on, eyeliner.  Here's how the deal worked.  Originally, they were $7.50 each.  With a BOGO 1/2 off 2 eyeliners came to  $11.25-$4 Walgreen's coupon = $7.25-$5 Man. coupon=$2.25 total.  So, I got $15 worth of makeup for $2.25.  

My experience at Walgreens was great.  I told the lady who helped me that I was writing a blog and she made sure that I understood how all my discounts (I got a few other things too) worked so I could explain it to you!  I asked her if she ever got annoyed with people coming in with coupons and she said, "NO! Not at all. We have people come in with binders full of coupons, and I say 'Good for them!". 

• Target - There were two deals I was looking for at this store. The first was a deal on 34 count Bounce Dryer sheets ($1.97 regular), where after using a $3 off 3 manu coupon and a $3 off 3 Target coupon would end up being $0.  Once again, when I got to the store, there were none left on the shelf.  I found a store associate walking around nearby and asked her if they had any in the back.  No luck.  The second deal at Target was a deal on Neutrogena bar soap.  Regular price on these items is $1.97, and with a $5 off/2 items it would make them $0.  According to Target's coupon policies, they are free to lower the discount of a manu coupon, and will not give money back.  I thought this would have been a great item to give to the homeless shelter.  When I got up to the register with my coupon and two bars of soap, the lady at the register said the coupon was not possible because the total was less than $0.  I politely asked her if she was sure and she turned on her blinky light thing above the register and loudly yelled, "MANAGER!!!  I NEED A MANAGER!!!".  When the manager walked over, the associate held up the coupon and said "Coupon!" in a no-so-nice tone.  The manager looked at the coupon and said "The picture has a big item on it, this is too small."  Already completely embarrassed, I told her I would look for something larger.  As I was walking back to the soap aisle, I looked at the coupon and nowhere did it say that the item should be a certain size or price.  I ended up grabbing 2 hand lotions (priced at about $3.50 each) for around $2.30 total with tax instead. At that point I just wanted to leave.

So, using coupons at Target was pretty much my worst nightmare.  Exactly what I didn't want to happen did.

Will I coupon again?  Maybe, if there is something I need and it is easy or an exceptionally good deal.  Would I count on couponing as a way to cut our budget, probably not.  On top of raising two young kids with a full time job, I do not have time to coupon regularly.

How about you?  Have you ever tried extreme couponing?  I would love to hear about your experiences!