If your are serious about saving money each month, then couponing could be your answer. We're not talking about extreme couponing like the popular television show, I'm talking about real couponing. The show is staged to show consumers saving thousands of dollars in one shopping trip. This however, is not your everyday couponers shopping trip. But you can expect to save anywhere from 40%-70% on your monthly grocery bill, which to most, is an enormous savings. My goal is to take the fear out of couponing for you, and let you know that there is money to be saved without being "extreme" or stressed out. Unless of course you want to be, in that case have at it!
The first thing that I would like to focus on is brand loyalty. If you can shed the loyalty you have to your favorite brands, and be open to trying new ones, this is where you can sometimes hit gold. For years, the only detergent that I would buy was Tide, now that's not to say that Tide isn't a great detergent and one of the most popular brands on the market today. But lets take a look at another brand, which happens to be my new favorite, Purex. At CVS, the 50 oz. bottle of Tide retails for roughly $9.39, the same size bottle of Purex retails at $6.49. Even if you never paired it with coupon, you would save $2.90 by choosing Purex. It just so happens, that the CVS in my area, has this 50 oz. bottle of Purex on sale this week at 2/$4. So again, even if you don't use a coupon, you will be able to do 32 loads of laundry for just $2.00. Which by the way, equals to $.06 per load compared to Tides $.30 per load!
The next step is to take stock of your pantry, refrigerator and freezer. Go through and take out any items that may be old or expired. Once your pantry is cleaned out, you're going to need to rearrange just a little. Place like items with other like items. Take baking items for instance, try to keep all of your flour, sugar, cake mixes and such together, so that at a glance you can see what you are running out of quickly. If you can store them in clear containers, that's even better. Place a running grocery list on your refrigerator. Each time you run out of an item in your pantry, refrigerator or freezer, add it to the list. This will make quick work out of figuring out what you're out of when it comes time to go shopping. Not only will your pantry be neat and organized, you will also save money by not purchasing extras of items that you already have and abundance of .
Now that your pantry, frig and freezer are organized, take a look and see what kind of meals you can put together with what you already have on hand. Write them down on a piece of paper and place it somewhere you can easily see it when it comes time to prepare meals.
In order to get the best savings, you also need to change the way that you think and shop. Now we already discussed brand loyalty, but it doesn't stop there. Shopping at the grocery and drug store is going to be a whole new experience. You are only going to purchase items that are on sale and/or that you have a coupon for. If there is something that you absolutely need, then only purchase a weeks worth at a time. There are some items that you will never find a coupon for, and that's ok. We are still going to look for the lowest price on these items. In the top right hand corner of my blog, you will see a link for The Krazy Coupon Lady. You will find that they are a great resource for all of your couponing needs.
Before I can describe stockpiling to you, lets talk about sales cycles. We are in the month of January right now, and there are certain items that you buy at certain times of the year, like produce. Citrus fruits are in season in January, so if you buy citrus fruits at this time of the year, chances are you will get them at the lowest price. This is the same with other groceries and household products. They all revolve on a cycle. Sales cycles, unless you are talking about produce, usually last anywhere from 10-12 weeks. So when you find an item that you use at it's lowest price, that is the best time to by more than one of that item, to carry you through to the next sales cycle.
We are finally at Stockpiling! Remember above, where I asked you to take stock of your refrigerator, freezer and pantry? This is where this will come in handy. Stockpiling is purchasing enough of each item, to carry you through until they return to or very near that price, which is usually 10-12 weeks. To start off, figure out how much you need of each item and purchase one or two extra until you get the hang of it. If you use two bottles of detergent in a 12 week time period, then maybe pick up two extra. The Krazy Coupon Lady has created a stock up pricing sheet for you to use. Here is the link: The Krazy Coupon Lady Stock Up Price Sheet. You can use this for learning the best prices to start stockpiling items. Key points to focus on:
- Purchase items at their lowest price
- Buy enough of each item to last you until the next sales cycle (10-12 weeks)
- Buy a couple of extra to stockpile.
By doing this, you will eventually build up enough of a stockpile of each item, that you won't need to buy it every time a great sale comes around. This is how your grocery bill gets smaller and smaller. At that point, you will only be shopping to replenish your stockpile, always have a full pantry and always pay the lowest possible price.
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