Ongoing Observations on the Coupon Trail

For all intents and purposes, it's been about a month since I decided to be a Coupon Shark in 2011. During that time, I've done some reading & research, tried my hand at the Grocery Game, and kept you updated on my overall progress. I'm a numbers nerd, so I've provided concrete dollar amounts or percentages when I can, since that's what I look for when I'm reading a blog or article for information. Today, however, I thought I'd offer some more generalized observations I've made since starting this little experiment.

One of the first things I've noticed is that couponing is much less work that I thought it would be, or than I made it in the past. Maybe I didn't do enough homework in the past, or maybe retailers and consumers have simplified the system over the years, or maybe the savings are simply worth more to me these days, but I remember it being a lot harder than it is. Or maybe I'm just welcoming the distraction from 2 straight weeks of rain with a sick preschooler! In any case, I thought it would be more time and effort than it is. I have 2 copies of my local newspaper delivered, so the coupons come to me. I've chosen to continue my subscription to The Grocery Game.com site for now, since it's the easiest for me to use (more on that another time!).  Although the grocery store and drugstore specials come out on different days of the week, the Sunday coupons only come out once, so I limit my planning and shopping to one day a week, Sunday or Monday. I hit the drug store first, because it has a fee-free ATM where I can get cash for my envelopes (a' la Dave Ramsey). Even if it's a bi-week and I don't need the ATM, the stuff I buy at the drugstore is never perishable anyway. After the drugstore, I head off to the grocery store. If I hustle, I can get all my shopping done before the game starts on Sunday afternoon. If I have the kids, well, that takes longer, but I try to think of it as a hands-on math lesson. The rest of the week, I don't worry about shopping at all.

I've also noticed that at first, I ate more because there was more food around. Don't laugh! I read about it and laughed myself, but then I realized I did it, too! I think it's called an Abundance Mentality, during which you consume more (of both food and non-food products) simply because they're there. I've since learned to choose my pantry items carefully, put them away promptly, and keep everything I'm not using out of sight (and out of mind). Meal planning helps, as does keeping my personal drugstore (a.k.a. household stockpile) in a harder-to-reach closet. After all, how often do you need to grab a new tube of toothpaste?

Finally, my vision has changed. Sadly, my eyesight is still somewhat lame (20/30 at best), but I now have savings-vision. People who knew me as a teenager will never believe it, but when I became a mom, I got germ-vision, and ever since, I've kept a far cleaner home. Well, it's the same with savings-vision. I cringe at full-price anything, and see discounts and coupons everywhere. For example, in our house, we love Mr. Bubble bubble bath, but it's hard to find and never on sale. But last time I found it, I noticed a cardboard tag on the next bottle back. My savings-vision had seen a rebate coupon on a bottom-shelf, behind the product I was buying. When you consider that I don't bend over well these days, and I had both kids with me, that's pretty good coupon-radar! The rebate was good for a free bottle of Mr. Bubble, so for some bending and a stamp, I saved 50% on a product my family loves and is rarely on sale. That was great, but I've also considered buying by the case, perhaps, or getting it at 30% savings with the AmazonMom Subscribe & Save programs. In any case, I won't pay full price for it.

For the next few weeks, I'll be working on honing my savings skills and filling my freezer for when my next kiddo arrives. I'll be trying to stock up on some specific items, which is harder than simply working the sales, so that I don't have to run out for toilet paper or frozen pizza any time soon. If I do, though, you know I'll bring a coupon!

Grocery Game Score Jan 2011

Oops. I fell off the wagon. The last week of January my 6-week chest cold (the "plague") finally wore me down, and I just didn't have the energy left to play the game well. I made two separate trips to the store with no coupons and both kids, which as any mom knows is a losing strategy! On each of those trips, I managed to save a mere 8% & 9% respectively by buying products on sale. Not great, but better than a full-on shopaholic retail therapy splurge.

I may have stumbled a bit at the end of the month, but I still got 2011 off to a strong start. My average savings on groceries and household goods for the month was 29%, nearly a third off of retail costs. For some veteran couponers, that's not much, but that's 29% more than I was saving last month! Not only did I manage to squirrel away $96 for a rainy day, but there's healthy food in my pantry & freezer, and my stockpile of toiletries is really starting to grow. For the first time ever, I'm "long" on deodorant, body wash, toothpaste and tissues, all in everyone's favorite brands and all purchased well below retail cost. I even had enough in the budget to splurge on treats for the dog, and at "2 for 1 + 1 free" prices, why not?

Now, there are 2 schools of thought on couponing: stockpilers and sharers. Stockpilers use their coupon savvy to build a large inventory of favorites for their families, and sharers use their talents to get as much stuff as possible to share with others. I've just assigned those titles off the top of my head, and both are worthy uses of practiced skills! Most people seem to start as stockpilers, then become so good at saving that they have the goods and money to give to others - clearly a win-win for everyone.

Perhaps I should have identified the beginner phase - the savers, because that's where I am now, just trying to save a few bucks. I'm just trying to stretch my dollars a bit and take care of my growing family with less cash. I think that's probably where (and why) most people start using coupons or savvy shopping techniques in the first place. Gradually, as we get better at the Game, we begin to stockpile certain items, and then someday, we have an abundance to share. Well, I'm still trying to save money and learn the game, but I'd like to build up a stockpile for next month when I'm out of commission with a newborn, and of course, I'd like to help others, too. But one step at a time. First, I'm learning the game and saving money. The stockpile will come with time and practice, and I'm sure my cup with runneth over before I know it. My point is that it's hard to work through the learning curve, but it's a natural progression. You can't build a stockpile in a day, and you can't give to others until you have something to share. You're not being selfish or greedy while you're learning the Game, you're learning how to provide even more for your family and community.

So that's where I am, after my first month of playing the Grocery Game- a saver working on her first stockpile, saving about a third off her usual household & grocery bills.I hope your year is off to a good start too, and I'm looking forward to sharing more - with you!

Going Off the Cheap End

Man, I'm good. This week I got my savings down to almost 100%! Ok, I can't lie. I really have saved 100% off my usual grocery & household shopping this week, but it has nothing to do with my coupon-savvy. My car battery died. And I wasn't even in it, so I couldn't grab one last box of Tic-Tacs or anything else while waiting for the tow truck.

Hyperbole aside, I really did save money thanks to my sudden loss of transportation. It's not a sustainable way of life for most of us (my DH had better get it fixed by Thursday!), but it does prove the value of the occasional planned (or unplanned) spending fast. I love a good fast, but it's awfully hard for most of us to avoid picking up little things on the way home from work or school or Cub Scouts. If we use only cash (and I hope you do), we can stop when the cash runs out, but personally, I like having just a bit leftover to squirrel away at the end of the month. Some financial advisers suggest spending fasts as a cold-turkey way to curtail out-of-control spending, but many of us aren't that extreme. Point being, it rarely happens, and there isn't much incentive to try one.

Like an eating fast, however, a spending fast forces you to slow down. You use what you have in reserve, and can appreciate what's right in front of you. Instead of thinking about putting that first bite of cake in your mouth, you stop and think, "Do I really need that?" before buying it. Yes, as I write this, a great stockpiling deal on Colgate toothpaste is going to waste at my local CVS, but I'm long on toothpaste right now, and if I did race to get the Colgate deal, wouldn't I burn ($3/gallon+) gasoline? And probably see other "great deals" I needed to buy? Would I pick up something quick & easy for dinner on the way back from the store? Probably. In fact, it's just as likely my "nearly free" toothpaste would cost me both time and money as a first bite of cake would lead to more.

In this particular case, at this time, I have the cash for a new battery (thanks again, Dave Ramsey!), so that's covered. I also have plenty of reserves around the house, so my family won't lack for anything. Between now and next week's shopping I'll probably have to pick up some milk, and maybe eggs, but not much else. There. That's about 95% savings this week, off of the grocery and household bill. More surprisingly, I've noticed the difference in my own time & energy savings. I browsed the inserts and deals, but there was no rush to scoop them up. I can stay home on this rainy day and enjoy snuggling with my DD, or catch up on my reading, without feeling like I should be running errands or planning to go shopping.

I've said before that my DH is the spender in the family, and it's very, very hard for him to go a day without spending any money. It's not so much the money, I've discovered over time, but restlessness. He can't stay home, he can't relax without going anywhere or, often, spending anything. I'm the other extreme, but I know that there are many people who are like him, miserable after only a few hours home alone. While I don't share your frustration (or necessarily understand it) I can offer that in our house, we can sometimes split the difference by planning a low-cost or free day of activities. That way he gets out of the house, and my ledgers don't take a beating. Unless you find yourself sans transportation one day (or just in case you do!), planning a free day might be a fun way to appreciate just how much you can enjoy saving without feeling like you've survived a spending fast.

The Coupon Learning Curve Continues

Thankfully, last Sunday, home delivery of my newspaper began. I was like a kid praying for a snow day, racing to the window to see if it had come overnight. I happily scooped up my four-year-old and let her help me get the paper from the end of the driveway. We returned triumphantly mere moments later and presented our prize to the rest of the household. The "real" newspaper went to my husband, the comics to my son, and the ads and treasured coupon inserts were put aside for me. Ah, sweet Donna Reed-esque victory.

Unfortunately, there were only 2 inserts this week. That was kind of a let-down. Also unfortunately, there really wasn't that much for me to stockpile this week. Another bummer. Just as I was getting so excited about my savings, I found myself in the position of needing the real basics, staples, you know, those things that never go on sale and never offer coupons. My coupon euphoria was blown.

I'm sure this is how most people who try couponing get discouraged and quit. Last week - WOW! Huge savings! This week - um, now what? Well, after my initial disappointment wore off, I did find some good deals. It actually worked out well that the simple coupon deals didn't line up with my needs this week, because it forced me to look at the alternatives and shop around. And the alternative shopping gave me some time to think over this week's deals and realize the values I had initially missed. Over the course of the week, I learned some new ways to save and learned to temper my enthusiasm with patience and wisdom.

One of the ways I saved this week was to shop at Sam's Club. We've had a membership there for several years, but had backed off a bit because it's easy to buy more than you can use or grab "great deals" you don't really need while you're shopping. To avoid both those downfalls, I used their "Click'n'Pull" option on their website. Because we needed some of the things right away, I used the feature to find out what was in stock and compare prices with the weekly inserts and online stores, but I didn't submit it. Instead, I printed it out and handed it to my husband to use as a shopping list. He knew exactly what to get, the right sizes, prices, quantities..., everything - and no temptation shopping!

I also signed up for AmazonMom this week and by combining that program with their Subscribe & Save program, saved 30% off all sorts of baby supplies - with free 2-day shipping for a year! You can cancel the automatic subscription any time (as I might have to, since babies race through diaper sizes so quickly), but the extra 15% savings is certainly worth checking out. Speaking of Amazon, I also got a $20 gift certificate for only $10 on LivingSocial.com. It seems to be one of those daily local deal sites, like Groupon, but yesterday they were offering 50% off a $20 Amazon GC, and I don't know of anyone who couldn't use that! Supposedly I could have gotten it for free if I referred 3 people to the same deal, but I always like to test these things before I tell anyone about them. I'm happy to report that although it's too late for me to refer anyone officially, I did get my CG code within 24 hours and it's sitting in my Amazon account right now awaiting my next purchase. Yea!

So what didn't work, you might be wondering, in light of the aforementioned shopping successes? Well, don't send your husband to the store to get a 12-pack of Sam Adams for $12.99 (save $3 with your loyalty card!). Anyone who likes Sammy knows that's a great price, but since I'm expecting, I'm not sure who he thought was going to drink all that beer. Somehow he assumed I was, and blew any savings by buying himself a 12-pack as well. 'Good thing we've been invited to a Superbowl party in a few weeks!

Also, my ancient PC and I had words about Java. My PC is so old it has a Pentium MCLIIV inside. It resents being bothered in its old age, and after a nasty viral bout last year, has been more crotchety than ever. My wonderful sister spoiled me with a new laptop for Christmas, but for now, our printers are still hooked up to Cap'n Cranky. Point being, I need Java to print about 40% of the online coupons in the universe, and my PC wasn't speaking to Java. It took about 2 hours of tense negotiations, but finally, I can print coupons from, for example, SmartSource. Yes, that's right, one of the two biggest coupon companies in the U.S. and my PC wouldn't acknowledge them.

Eventually, like the President, I offered my PC and Java each a Sam Adams, and they shook hands and made up.

Hurry Up & Wait

My first week of trying to (finally, in earnest) learn how to coupon was fairly successful. I've got a long way to go, of course, but I saved some money and there's still some food in the house, so I figure that's a win-win. This week will be more challenging. My DH, who actually makes the money, is a spender, not a saver, so I have to get to the money before him. The schools are closed 2 days this week, so I'll have extra snacks and entertainment to provide. The actual list of "needs" is longer than last week because I'm so new to "stockpiling" and my original stash of things like coffee and cat food have run out - and man, the cats are mean without their coffee!

So here I am, on Saturday night, tweaking my budget (which sounds naughty but isn't) and waiting impatiently for this week's Sunday coupons to come out. I'm hopeful that my newspaper subscription will finally kick in so I don't have to make a special trip for one. It's usually just me, looking like a total scrub, and the church ladies at the corner store on Sunday mornings. It's pretty clear they have more important plans than I do, so I always let them go ahead of me, and somehow it takes me 45 minutes to pick up the paper. I'm also optimistic that I'll get up early and actually shop tomorrow instead of Monday. Last week it took me all day to figure out the "system", make my list, find the coupons, etc... Then on Monday it poured, so my daughter & I were soaked to the bone between each store. Actually, one of us has a pink tie-dye slicker, so she was fine - I was the only one dripping wet. That might explain this horrific cough I can't shake, and that cough might lead to me kicking the church ladies out of the way tomorrow morning.

Anyway, I know how much money I have to spend, I know what needs to be done. All I need now is that damn list of weekly specials and coupons. Grrrr! Who would of thought that in one week I'd turn into a coupon-monster?

The Grocery Game - Week One Results

I have a lot of math to do. Supposedly, I was going to spend $100 at CVS and Publix combined, using my "Teri's List" from The Grocery Game.com, and get $250 worth of stuff. That's what? Like a 60% savings on food and household items? Well I said yesterday if it works out even half that well, I'd be happy. Let's see if I saved 30% on this inaugural week of the Game.

CVS: Spent $50.67, Saved: $23.58 (off of regular prices)
Got $74.25 worth of products for $50.67, so saved 32%.

Publix: Spent $109.74, Saved $75.16 (again, off of regular prices)
Got $184.90 worth of products for $109.74, so saved 41%.

Week One Totals:
Spent: $ 160.41
Got: $ 259.15
Saved: $ 98.74, or about 38%.

So yeah, I guess I did slightly better than "half that!". I haven't gone over my lists in detail yet to see where I fell off the wagon, but I did notice a few differences even while shopping.

First, I had a hard time finding just the right size or package of certain things. The manager at CVS even noticed I had the wrong package of paper towels and fixed it for me, completely unsolicited, I might add, which was very kind of him, but I had more issues than one nice guy could fix. I have preggo-brain, and my 4-year-old was "helping", and I've been in that store about twice - ever. I also have this thing about asking for help, which is STUPID, but there you go. I'm just shy that way. Finally, I didn't have enough boxes of Kleenex on the first trip to earn the $10 of ExtraCare Cash. I went right back in and bought the rest, but it didn't show up on my card balance. I'm sure I'm going to have to visit the nice manager and fix that (ugh!) but I also suspect that $10 was part of the the savings percentage I was supposed to see today. Personally, I wouldn't count that cash as savings until I used it at a later time, but it does help explain the difference in savings.

In addition to being clueless and potential register errors, I also noticed that some sales weren't actually on sale like the site said. The VAST majority were, I should point out, but for example, at Publix the pork loin was $ 2.49/lb, not $ 1.99/lb, and things like that. I opted not to get one or two things that didn't seem like such a good deal once I saw them, and I splurged on $1.98 worth of my favorite pasta. I bought a few staples, like milk, which is almost never on sale anywhere. I couldn't find a couple of coupons when I was preparing last night, but I found others that weren't mentioned, so the fliers must change locally to some extent. Speaking of last night, I spent about 3 hours learning the site and preparing for this trip, and about 2.5 hours this morning shopping. That's a lot of time, but again, I'm sure I'll get more proficient with time, and well, I already told you my issues. AND it was pouring rain - did I mention that in my list of excuses?

As I said, I have some math to do to figure out exactly where I "went wrong" but honestly, for a first try, clueless, pregnant, with a preschooler, in the rain, and using a free trial of the site, I have to say it worked pretty well, not "wrong" at all. The list enabled me to pick and choose which deals I wanted to get, so I didn't buy anything just because it was on sale, and I ended up with a good selection of stuff I'll actually use. The junk food I bought was because darnit, I like Tostitos, not because that's all the coupon or deal offered. Actually I have a freezer full of fish and turkey right now - which is pretty healthy, in my book! When the free trial is over, it will cost me $2 a week to keep using this site, and so far, the first week's savings have just about paid for the year. Now, if only I can work my way up to those 60% savings...

Couponing 101 in 2011

I admit it - I'm a lousy couponer. I know that people routinely save hundreds of dollars at the store, and that billions of dollars (literally!) worth of coupons are thrown away each year, but I've never quite gotten the hang of it. Sure, I've clipped and printed, but that's as far as I get. I might remember a coupon or two on a given trip, but usually, all I do is waste printer ink. Frankly, I need to cut my grocery budget to support my printer ink habit, and I'm pretty sure that's backwards.

So here we are in a new year, 2011, and I've seen many of my friends blogging away their resolutions and new ideas. Now, a full week into the new year, I've finally written down my goals and aspirations for the year. Most of them are dull, I'm sure, to anyone else (like you want to hear about yet one more person who will "Lose the baby weight" this year!). However, one of my financial goals is to "Become a Coupon Shark". Nope, not a Coupon Queen, a Coupon Shark. That's not quite the norm, is it?

For me, the difference is that the "Queens" all seem to be really nice, Mid-Western moms of large families who simply enjoy saving and entertaining. Ok, so I'm a mom, and my family is growing, and I do enjoy saving and entertaining, but I'm not from the Mid-West, and to be honest, I'm really not that nice. I like the idea of a shark because it gives me the sense of having the knowledge and power to choose how I shop. I'm in control. See what I mean about the not-very-nice part? Don't get me wrong! I don't want to steal anything, cheat any system or take food from anyone else - it's not that kind of power! I do want to be able to save money, yet still buy champagne when I want to, or bake from scratch, even though "staples" like flour are never on sale, or pay full price and not feel guilty if I'm running late or tired some evening. I want to learn enough about couponing to be able to buy myself some leeway with the savings. I don't want to be so tied to the system that I beat myself up for going to the import store for a wedge of real Parmesan every now and then.

I also don't want to become an "extreme couponer" - ever. TLC recently aired a special called "Extreme Couponing", which profiled four women who really do take couponing to the extreme, saving amazing amounts of money and collecting giant stockpiles. I didn't see the whole show, but apparently it was popular enough to justify a new series. The viewer reaction, from what I've read, ranged from amazement to disgust, but personally, I was saddened by the one profile that I watched. It seemed to me that this young newlywed had a serious addiction to the "score", rather than simple shopping smarts, and it was costing her more than 70 hours a week, her health, her marriage and yes, even money, in the form of coupon services, newspapers and printing. I kept thinking that if she couldn't be "cured", at least her head for numbers could be better used to supply a food bank, homeless shelter, or other charity. By the way, the general opinion of this particular woman in the couponing community was that she was a greedy, thoughtless b**** who cared only about herself. Ouch!

In 2011, I plan to learn enough to settle myself somewhere between where I am now (broke and lazy) and extreme couponing (somewhat psycho, but well-financed). My goals are to trim back our family budget for food and household goods (it's the latter that always kick my fiscal butt), to collect a small stockpile for after my next baby is born (so I don't have to brave the grocery store with a newborn, again), and to be able to contribute to some local charities, whether in goods or cash.

With that in mind, I raided the local library for all the classic Coupon Queen handbooks, and I signed up for a 4-week trial of The Grocery Game. I'll keep you updated as I climb the coupon learning curve, and hopefully help you reach some of your own goals in 2011.