Today Joyce from Saving My Cents shares her tips for saving money in the “Land Of No Doubles”!

About Joyce:

As a SAHM to 2 little boys, two little cats and one big golden retriever saving my SENSE will never happen, but saving my CENTS has to happen. Anyone who knows me knows my favorite saying is “I’m not cheap, I’m thrifty” and I hope with my website you can be too!

In the coupon world The Land of No Doubles is an area where no stores offer double coupon savings. You know, when you have a .25 cent face value coupon that gets rung up as .50 cents thanks to double savings! Many of us, especially here in Florida *gasp* do not have double coupons anywhere!!

So we have to come up with other ways to save beyond the face value of our coupons here in The land of No Doubles. The closest thing would be coupon stacking. For example, take a look at your local grocery store flyer, many stores will have their own coupons in those flyer’s. So you see a store coupon for $1 off 2 toothpastes, you happen to have a manufacturer coupon good for $1 off any of that same brand toothpaste, combine this to get $2 off 2 toothpastes instead of just the $1, if you have two of that $1 off toothpaste coupons (and since you are buying two) use both manufacturer coupons to get $3 off.

Walgreens has their own coupons in their flyer every Sunday and many times the products they list have matching manufacturer coupons. During buy one get one free sales you can really make out, some stores will only allow one coupon to be used, but some will also allow you to use 2 coupons, so say the toothpaste you have coupons for goes buy one get one free on sale, the toothpaste costs $3.49 regular, use the store coupon and the manufacturer coupons, you end up getting two tubes of toothpaste for .49 cents! Without coupons and sales you would have paid $7, with just the store coupon and the BOGO sale you would have paid $2.49, stack your coupons and pay next to nothing!

Another easy trick, and sometimes this works great without even stacking, is to read the coupon and see if it specifies a size. If it does not, then go ahead and buy the trial size, it may end up free. Using the toothpaste example, the store has trial size toothpaste at $1, use your $1 off 2, and your $1 off manufacturer coupon to get two completely free, or just use your $1 off manufacturer coupon to get it free! I know it sounds a bit confusing, but stacking or not, many times if a coupon does not specify size, you can walk away with trial size products totally free! Sure you could only pay .49 cents with stacking & coupons for 2 tubes of toothpaste instead of just getting a small trial size for free, but if you can get your hands on multiple coupons, whether buying them from a coupon service, asking friends and family to hold their coupons for you or trading for them, it would save you money to get 2 or 3 FREE trial sizes that would add up to the same amount in the tube you PAID for!

When looking for store coupons keep in mind that they are not always found in the store flyer’s. Check out the shelves, you may see store coupons hanging near a product, when you first walk into a store check out the area where they keep extra flyer’s, even ask at the customer service desk! If you can sign up for a store mailing list do that too, lots of stores will send out magazines and flyer’s that include store and manufacturer coupons. And do not forget about stores that accept competitor coupons, you may see a great price on that toothpaste at Store A, but the store coupon you have is for Store B, well find out if Store A will take the competitor coupon and if they will, go ahead and stack and enjoy your savings! And if you are lucky enough to have double coupons at your store, with stacking, I am jealous at the thought of how much you could save!

This post originally appeared on Saving My Cents on April 9th.

Today’s guest post comes to us courtesy of Charlene of My Frugal Adventures! She shares her personal couponing journey, and it’s very inspiring to see how she’s cut her budget!

I started couponing last year after stumbling upon the frugal blog world via BabyCheapskate. Our family had just relocated to California and I knew the high cost of living was going to require cutting back in other areas of our budget. I started reading about store deals and how to use coupons to maximize savings at drugstores. I couldn’t’t believe some of the things these stores were apparently giving away for free! I had used coupons in the past to save a few dollars on a $100 grocery bill and figured coupons were basically a waste of time. Something little old ladies did to save pennies or bored housewives did to accumulate a bunch of junk no one else wanted. My husband and I rarely paid attention to prices- if we needed chicken, we bought chicken. Occasionally I would notice huge price jumps from week to week but we figured there was no rhyme or reason to the fluctuations and we just paid what the store wanted.

Serious couponing- with scenarios these bloggers were outlining- seemed too good to be true. Why wasn’t’t everyone using coupons? My first attempt at couponing was at Walgreens. I got a package of disposable razors and two Glade Flameless candles. I paid $2 and submitted a rebate to get $5 back. It was so easy, I kept thinking I was going to get in trouble. Was the security guard going to chase me out to my car demanding payment? No, it was a seamless transaction and the rebate came fairly quickly. I was hooked!

I have gotten better at couponing since those days and learned a lot of tricks of the trade. I have also built a reasonable stockpile and have been able to regularly donate large amounts of products to charities. Over the past year I have stumbled quite frequently but I would say on average I triple our dollars at the grocery store. Our prices in California are considerably higher than many other areas in the US and our stores do not offer doubles. If we lived in another market, I suspect I could easily quadruple our dollars.
This time last year we regularly spent about $120/week plus a monthly Costco run to total another $100. In March I spent $30/week total. Not only have we taken control of our finances, but we are now living on one income. As a SAHM it is important to me to feel like I am contributing to my family and I know I make every dollar we have count. Learning to coupon has become such a blessing to our family not only in saving money, but also in teaching us to become more mindful of what we spend. We are able to prioritize our goals, which include becoming totally debt free, and yet we don’t have to sacrifice our standard of living to accomplish our goals.

It is amazing to me that more people don’t take advantage of what manufacturers and stores offer via coupons, promotions and sales. As a blogger, I spend a significant amount of time each week outlining deals by store, matching up coupons and showcasing the purchases I have made. But because of great blogs like SuperCouponGirl, the time investment for a reader is so minimal it amazes me that couponing still remains a bit of a secret society.

I confess, I still look over my shoulder from time to time when I leave stores, amazed at how much I have gotten and how little I have spent. I also occasionally struggle with passing great deals up- I could easily hit 5 stores a week to maximize every deal they offer. But I have slowly learned that every deal will cycle back again and now that I have the basics down even if I do have to pay full price for an item, I know how to utilize other resources to still get a great bargain. It is a powerful feeling to know I am in control, not the stores.

Today’s post comes from Joyce of Saving My Cents. She shares good tips for maximizing your coupon savings, so read on!

About Joyce:

As a SAHM to 2 little boys, two little cats and one big golden retriever saving my SENSE will never happen, but saving my CENTS has to happen. Anyone who knows me knows my favorite saying is “I’m not cheap, I’m thrifty” and I hope with my website you can be too!

Recently, I had a friend tell me how using coupons did not help her and what was I talking about when I mention all the money I save? Well, after speaking with her for a just a few minutes I realized she was using coupons completely wrong. She wanted to get into couponing, she just did not know how! Here are some rules to remember when couponing! Using coupons the right way can save lots of money, help you build amazing stockpiles and save you endless emergency trips to the grocery store for items you could already have stockpiled in your closet.

1. Do not use coupons for the sake of using coupons. You know you are not a fan of some particular item, maybe granola bars, but you see them on sale for $1 in the store and you have a .50 cent off coupon. Don’t think “hey, it’s only 50 cents I might as well try it”, if you know you do not like it, then do not buy it. Instead, check around other stores and their sales, if you can get it free with coupons, you have nothing to lose, or maybe you can find a free sample of it to try on the manufacturers website, e-mail the manufacturer and ask for a sample, many times companies will send you samples or free coupons, or maybe they sell the bar individually to try instead of buying a whole box. At the end of every month when I clean out my coupon binder I have so many extra expired coupons I never used, if I used those coupons simply because I had them in my binder I would have a closet full of junk instead of a closet full of products we actually use and need.

2. Do not let one good coupon deal kill your wallet overall. This one is a big trap, I have a coupon for pasta, it is on sale for $1, with my coupon I get it free, so I think “hmm, what can I make with pasta, I know, lasagna”. Well I may have saved money on the pasta, but then I need to buy the cheeses, the meat and the seasonings, in the end I probably did not save any money. If you planned on making the lasagna anyway then you lose nothing, but if I already have my menu planned for the week (and I have and always will suggest the best way to save on groceries is through menu planning) and lasagna was not on there, then I do not need to buy the extra ingredients. Buy the pasta, take it home and stockpile it in your closet for when the other ingredients go on sale. On a side note, going along with stockpiles in your closet, always keep your closets and pantries organized. If you completely forget about the lasagna and go out and buy another box, then you really never saved anything, if you have a neat and organized pantry, when making your weekly meals, you take a peek in and see what you have and work from there instead of moving things around, watching things fall or trying to figure out if maybe you have this or maybe you have that.

3. Supplement your shopping with coupons if it benefits you. So you planned to make that lasagna, you have your pasta coupon, you go to the store and see that the cheese and seasonings are not on sale. So you say “eh, to much money, I am not going to bother”. You should bother, you planned on making it, next week you might finally say “ok, I am making the lasagna”, but the lasagna may not be on sale or your coupon may have expired, so now instead of at least getting a discount on your pasta, you pay full price for all the ingredients.

4. Again, don’t use coupons for the sake of using coupons! Just like you might buy a product you really do not like simply because you have a coupon, you may “buy up” because you have a coupon and it really is not worth it. Lets use the pasta example again, you normally buy the store brand pasta at half the price of the name brand, you use it, you like it. You see the name brand pasta on sale this week and since you have a coupon for it you buy it. But does the coupon make the name brand cheaper than the store brand, if it does, you got a deal, but if you are still paying more where is the deal? You like the store brand just fine, is there really a reason to spend extra just for a name?

5. If you see a good deal and you have coupons, buy, this is just like # 3, except describes the benefits of stockpiling more (but also buy carefully as I will mention in a second)! In my bathroom closet I have about 7 tubes of toothpaste and even more shampoo and band-aids. Do I really need 7 tubes of toothpaste, yes, I do. Eventually we will use it, none of it expires for another year. So when I saw that with my coupons I could get it free, I took advantage. Why not get it now free rather then pay for it later? If you see a great deal on something, an item you use regularly that you know may not go on sale often or something you really need, take advantage. Do not think that it is a waste to buy 5 toothpastes when all you need right now is one, after that tube runs out you will need another right? Why waste time going out to buy it again in another month when you can get it now? The only thing to pay attention to when shopping like this (and here is the buy carefully part), is to pay attention to details, what is the shelf life of the product, how well does it store? If the toothpaste expired next month of course I would not buy 7 tubes, if it needed to be frozen and I had no room in my freezer I would not buy it. If the product will last, if the product comes out free or cheap and you have the room for it, why not take advantage of the deal while you can?

Coupon shopping is definitely not as easy as just clipping a few coupons out of the Sunday paper and heading off to the store. It takes time and planning, but if you use your head and do it correctly you can save money!

This post originally appeared on Saving My Cents on April 8th.