I have talked a lot about couponing lately but most of those posts have centered around using coupons in stores — and not really about getting great deals online. While I do try really hard to do the majority of my shopping locally, there are many times when buying online is just so much easier and in some cases, less expensive. Plus, there are many instances when buying online is the only way to find exactly what you are looking for.
One of the great things about shopping online is you can quickly compare prices between several stores. This can help you save a lot of money. Another great thing is that from time to time these online store offer coupon codes. COUPONS — yippee! These codes are usually good for free shipping, a percentage or certain dollar amount off an order and sometimes (if you are super lucky) you can find coupon codes that make items free — or almost free once you add shipping.
So how does one find these elusive coupon codes? It’s actually pretty simple. First of all, here at Kids Ain’t Cheap we have a Family Coupon Code Directory. There you will find many codes to help you save money on everything from baby furniture to audio downloads. Check it often because we get new codes all the time.
Another thing you can do is to do a search for: (your favorite store) coupons before placing an order.
Here’s an example, I was looking for a certain iPhone cover for my husband’s birthday. He wanted his alma mater’s logo and I had no idea where to find such a thing. I first searched for iPhone covers with his former university’s name. The company Coveroo.com came up and had exactly what I was looking for. The price seemed comparable to other covers I had seen — but I wanted to see if I might be able to save just a little bit more more money. On the home page of the site was 20% my order with xyz coupon code. SWEET! I still decided to look via my favorite search engine to see if it might turn up an even better coupon. Guess what — it did! So not only was I able to save 20% I also got free shipping. I was so please that when I was asked if I wanted to include personalization on the cover (my husband’s name) I said, “Heck yes I do!” So I got more that I had anticipated and still ended up spending less than I thought I would.
There are a lot of other ways to find coupon codes as well. If you love a certain brand, item, store, etc. sign up for their newsletters. It is a good idea to have a separate email account that you have these types of emails set to that way your personal email account does get overloaded.
Also, if you “like” certain pages on facebook you can sometimes get printable coupons or coupon codes periodically. I have been waiting for a Petco coupon for while and haven’t seen any come through. My dog’s food is kind of spendy (but she’s so worth it!), so I try to stock-up when I find coupons for the food, which are extremely hard to come by. However, in my news feed on facebook the other day there it was a coupon code! If I hadn’t “liked” their page I wouldn’t have seen it. If you are on twitter you can also follow certain brands and stores and some of them will periodically post special offers and coupon codes as well.
I have also talked a lot about following coupon blogs. These folks will also post details about online deals as well. This can come is especially handy with the holidays just around the corner!!! Speaking of the holidays shopping online can save you a trip to the post office and many online retailers offer free shipping during this time of year to entice you to buy from them.
So what are some of your favorite ways to save online?
Thanks for Reading!
Christie
Couponing is great! As I have mentioned before, I have been bitten by the coupon bug and I have had a great time learning the ropes from experienced coupon bloggers in my area. So far it it has saved my family and I lots of money — plus it’s really fun (and a little addicting). Even though I enjoy doing it, I simply do not have the time, energy or drive – to spend hours on end working as hard as some of these extreme couponers do. So as you might imagine, I am a HUGE fan of couponing shortcuts and that is what I plan on sharing with you in this post today.
If your goal is to get cart loads of items for free or almost free, or reduce you bill for grocery and household items by 80% or more, or you want insider information from an highly experienced couponing expert – this post is not for you. There are many awesome couponing gureus from all across the country who are sharing their tips and tricks and all kinds of great coupon information on blogs. I am what some might call a lazy couponer — or perhaps a better, nicer term might be a laid back couponer. I have only been couponing effectively for about four months but during that time I have learned a lot and I am excited to share what I know.
So without further adieu here are some simple tips that you can use to save on your grocery bill:
1. Pay Attention
I had no idea how much things really cost. I know that may sound silly but I really wasn’t paying attention to the actual price of the items we were purchasing. I had a general idea of course but when I really started to look at the prices – and realize what was and wasn’t a good deal - it really opened my eyes. Prices on items can vary drastically. I thought all retailers were within a few cents of each other on most items, but boy was I wrong! I would have to say that this is one of the most important tips for saving money because even if coupons became extinct, you would still save just by being observant and shopping sales.
2. Do Your Research
I do not have time to spend hours on end matching up the coupons I have, with items that retailers put on sale. This was probably one of the biggest reasons I didn’t coupon before — I just didn’t have the time to committ to such a project. Luckily, there are people out there who do this for a living and I love them for it! I have three favorite coupon blogs that I visit. They do store and coupon match-ups, they alert me to other sales that I might find on the internet, they provide money saving tips and they do so in a fun and informative way. Oh yeah, and the best part is it’s F-R-E-E. Just be sure that if you decided to take advantage of any coupons or deals they tell you about, that you use the links provided on their site. This is how they can bring such valuable information to you at no-charge. I highly encourage you to seek out these sites in your area. Facebook is a great place to find these people and if you have any frugal friends, ask them who their favorite coupon bloggers are.
3. Get Organized
Before you embark on any shopping trip it is to your advantage to check out what sales are going on at the store you are headed to. I usually just check out one of my favorite coupon blogging sites, make a list of the things I need and the deals that are going on and then I compile my coupons. Sometimes I take my whole coupon binder but most of the time I just throw coupons in of things that I know will be a good deal. It would be nearly impossible for these sites to list EVERY sale item, so it’s good to keep an eye out for other store savings. You can always go back later when you have your coupons with you.
4. Stock Up!
When you see a great deal — stock up! This is really a money saver. Paying attention to sales cycles is a great idea because then you will know what items go on sale at certain times of the year. If you purchase these items when they are at their lowest and stock up until their next sale cycle starts you’ll save a lot! Most of the coupon blogs will make note of “stock up” prices which is helpful for folks like me.
5. Make it a Lifestyle
Saving money can be like a diet. You might do really great for a month or so — you might lose a few pounds (or save a few bucks) then you might revert back to the old ways. If you want to save money you really can do it simply and it reallycan make a difference. It is a relatively painless process. Sure there is a little hassle associated with it but no pain, no gain right? You don’t need to starve yourself you look like a supermodel, just as you don’t need to spend your every waking hour obsessing over coupons. Once you get into the swing of things you’ll be able to save some money and have a great time doing it!!!
My next post will be about how to save money other than using coupons…stay tuned 
Thanks for reading!
Christie
P.S. For our selection of Online Family Coupons, click here.
As I mentioned last week, over the summer I decided to give couponing a real go. I am pleased to say that I have had so much fun saving money and stocking up on things that my family and I use the most. I am in no way an extreme couponing queen. I am probably what some might consider a lazy couponer. If you want to save money but don’t have 40 hours a week to burn, then I’ve got some tips that can still help you save money with coupons.
However, that post will have to wait for another day…
Today, I am going to share some couponing dos and don’ts. These are things I have learned from my own experience and from all the wonderful couponing blogs I follow. I had no idea some of the lengths people will go to to get coupons — some of it may surprise you as well. Couponing the right way means being ethical, being courteous to the store, the store employees and other shoppers who may be trying to save money for their family as well.
Couponing is actually pretty fun. I seriously NEVER thought I would ever hear myself say that; not even as I began my couponing journey/experiment. Saving money isn’t just about the coupons themselves — it’s also a combination watching sales cycles and stockpiling (not hoarding). If you have been wanting to try it out I highly recommend giving it a go but I’ll warn you , it can be a little addicting.
Do Get Organized but Don’t go Overboard!
Don’t go crazy! This is something I always have to tell myself when starting a new project. I once tried – unsuccessfully I might add – to crochet. Well, I actually tried it twice the second time was when I was on pregnancy bedrest — but the first time I tried it, I rushed out to the craft store bought a ton of yarn, about 10 different crochet needles in various sizes, and a couple of books on how to crochet. I didn’t crochet a thing! So, as you can see I tend to go a little overboard when starting out. This is why – when I decided to start couponing - my first instinct was to go out about buy 20 newspapers the first week, a binder, a bunch of baseball card holders to put the coupons in, a DVD on how to coupon, etc.
Being organized is key — for sure. However, when you first start out you won’t have enough coupons to fill a binder but a small coupon organizer is a great investment. I actually used envelopes in the very beginning. Now, I do have a binder but I still use my small organizer to hold the coupons I know I will need for certain trips to the store. I worked up to it slowly. So far — so good.
Do stockpile but Don’t hoard
We don’t have a very big house so I know my limits on what we have room for and what we don’t. I also know that certain items go on sale at different times of the year. It’s ideal; to buy when the prices are at their lowest, utilize coupons as much as possible and have enough stock on hand to last until the next time those items go on sale. If you pay attention to grocery sale cycles it can help you calculate how much of a certain item your family will need until the next sale cycle.
Let me just say, there are very few people who need to purchase 70 bottles of mustard. If you own a hot dog stand or a ballpark — sure, you might use that much or more. Buy what you know you’ll need. However, buying something just to buy it - AND clearing the shelves to do it – is excessive and rude. If you do own a hot dog stand and you want to purchase 100 bottles of mustard at the super low price – that’s awesome – just be sure you call the store ahead of time and pre-order the amount of items you want to buy. This helps the store and the other customers who would also like to get a good deal on that item.
Do buy what you’ll need but Don’t forget to check expiration dates!
When you are making purchases be mindful of expiration dates and only buy what your family will use. There are many items that never expire, so buy what you have room for — if your house is busting at the seams but you find a rockin’ deal on toilet paper that you can’t pass up get it and give it away. Getting great deals also allows us to give more to others. Couponing will benefit your family and allow you to bless others as well.
Do ask friends and family for their unused inserts but Don’t steal inserts.
Do I really have to say this? Sadly, yes. There have been reports of people heading to their local store to purchase newspapers, only to get them home and realize the inserts have been removed. There are so many ways to get coupons and inserts. You should never have to stoop to this level and there is no deal in the world worth stealing for. Instead, ask friends and family for their inserts. You can even post on twitter and facebook that you would love to have any leftover coupons people aren’t going to use and I’m sure you will be flooded with them.
The rule of thumb is one newspaper for each person in your household. If you have four people in your family, then four papers should be good. There are certain times when you may need or want more coupons but I bet if you ask around you can get more. Some people purchase coupons off of ebay. I haven’t done this and I’m not sure that I will ever get to that point but it apparently works well for some people.
Do have fun!
It is such a rush to get good deals. I love it! I don’t get tons of stuff for free but if I can even shave 20% off of my grocery bill, I am a happy camper!
So do any of you coupon? What advice might you have for folks just starting out? What are some of the best deals you have ever done?
Thanks for Reading!
Christie
Couponing! I talked about it in my extreme couponing post. I mentioned how my husband and I have attempted to use coupons – and how we just haven’t been very good at it. BUT, something inside of me keeps pushing me to really give a go. It could be all the episodes of Extreme Couponing that I’ve been watching, maybe it has something to do with the fact that my Mom hands me a stack of coupons every time I see her, maybe it’s the blogs I’ve been reading, or maybe it was my friend telling me how much she saved and how she did it.
My guess is that it is a combination of all of these things. So — I have now made the decision to really try this coupon thing and see where it takes me. Now, before you all start worrying about me – I’ll just say upfront that I won’t be stock piling a bunch of stuff, or buying things I know my family and I will not be able to use within a reasonable amount of time (unless of course I plan on donating it or something). My husband has clutter-phobia!
Okay fine — maybe he’s not afraid of clutter but it drives him nuts and makes it makes him grumpy. So even if I wanted to store toilet paper under the beds, or soup in the fireplace — he would have none of it.
Let’s Get Started
After speaking with my friend – who has shared some of her couponing tips with me – I decided to see what I could do. Sunday morning, I headed to the store and bought two newspapers. I figured if I’m going to do this, I might as well make sure I had a good amount of coupons. I really wasn’t confident enough in my abilities to buy five papers — which I am told (by my mother-in-law who took a couponing class) is the amount of papers serious coupon experts purchase.
Got Coupons ~ Now What Do I do?
I spent some time comparing the coupons I had on hand (that my Mom had given me the week before) with the weekly ads. One store had double coupons. Sweet!
I was also elated to discover that there are wonderfulpeople who do the coupon comparisons for you — and it’s free. All you have to do is follow their blog. There are two ladies in my area – that I follow – who do this. I have “liked” their pages on facebook and these fantastic coupon mavens post a LOT of great stuff. Not just grocery deals either. They post restaurant, department store, and internet deals as well.
If you do some research and I am sure you will find someone in your area who does this too. I would start by checking out facebook and twitter — this will then link you directly to their blog.
An example of what I can find on my favorite coupon web sites is this:
American Beauty Pasta $1.25/$0.75
$0.55/1 Quick Cook coupon from 4/17 SmartSource (if included)
Bottom line: $0.20
She tells me the store, the coupon, and the date it was in the paper. Then she includes my most favorite part — the bottom line (how much I have to spend).
I don’t know all of the ins and outs of couponing and I don’t pretend to, but I am learning and as I do I’ll share some of my experience with you.
One thing I have learned, is that couponing people are super sweet and love to pass the savings on to others who love to save. My most recent example of this is happened when I was at the grocery store on Monday. I was feeling pretty good about myself because I found a fantastic deal on Raisin Bran Crunch cereal. I also had two coupons with doublers. As I was standing in line, the woman next to me saw that I had the coupons in my hot little hands. She ended up giving me 2 better coupons, telling me that if I bought four boxes of cereal — I would get an in-store coupon (aka catalina) for a free milk. She even saved my place in line as I ran to get the other two boxes! THEN she made sure I had the doublers because she was going to offer me some of hers! I saved even more money, got even more cereal AND a free milk all because of her generosity. Very nice. She even apologized for all the coupons (she didn’t really have very many actually) and said that she and her husband were taking their kids to Disneyland because of the money she saves couponing. I say…sign me up!
Do you have a coupon story to share? Any tips or a favorite couponing web site? I’d love to hear your feedback.
Thanks for reading!
~Christie
Have any of you seen the show Extreme Couponing on TLC? I’ll go ahead and admit that my husband and I are not great at using coupons, we aren’t even really good at it. We try to use them occasionally – but we either forget to use them, or we end up spending more than we wanted to, because we end up buying things we probably wouldn’t have purchased. It just never seems like there are ever coupons for the things we actually do use.
This is why, when I watched Extreme Couponing I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. How on Earth do these people rack up a $300, $400, $500 or even $1000+ grocery bill and get away with spending $40 or less? In some cases they even get money back! It is crazy!!! Not only that — but they shop in some of the more expensive grocery stores that we try to avoid — especially when we are doing our weekly grocery shopping.
As far as I can tell, there is a lot of research that goes into extreme couponing. The people who are master couponers – have to know what the coupon policies are for each store, they need to know what is on sale, what coupons can be double and those that cannot. Also, extreme couponers have to be very organized and most put in as many hours (or more) as you would at a full-time job! This is not an activity that you can do, and do in an extreme way, unless you are very dedicated and super organized. I think it also becomes a sort of game and in some cases an obsession.
In doing some research, I was disappointed to learn that one of the extreme couponers featured, has allegedly committed coupon fraud and apparently did so on the TLC show. I won’t go into all the details - because there are a lot of them – but if you want to read about it, visit Jill Cataldo’s blog.
Another thing I noticed - is that when they show the homes of most of these couponing people - they have their own little mini-mart set up. They just have so much stuff and it’s everywhere. My husband would seriously freak out if we had that much clutter around our house – but I get it, they are saving boat loads of money so it makes sense to buy 70 bottles of mustard at one time…right?
I’m not saying there is anything wrong with extreme couponing. I think it’s great! If people can do this (if they do so without committing coupon fraud, which I think is how most people do it), I think they are very smart and dedicated individuals.
It would sure be nice if there was a show teaching people how to properly and effectively use coupons, instead of a show where we just stare at the screen – eyes wide is disbelieve – as these super couponers work their magic. It probably wouldn’t be as entertaining though.
Since I’m not great at coupons, I don’t have any fantastic advice on the subject. Do you? How do you use coupons most effectively? Do you buy a bunch of Sunday papers to get coupons? Do you spend hours searching for deals on line? What’s your secret? I’d love to know!
I have known of Groupon for awhile now but until recently, it wasn’t available in my local area. I used to check out the site and see what deals were available in Philadelphia, which is about an hour and a half from us, but with two kids, work and a very tight budget, we don’t get the opportunity to go into the city as often as we used to. I was pretty excited when Groupon starting offering deals right in our town and it looks like it plans on launching sites for many of the surrounding areas very soon. The company seems to be growing at an amazing pace, hopefully the people behind it are able to manage that growth so they don’t become the next dot com fatality but only time will tell.
For those of you that don’t know, Groupon is a “deal of the day” web site that provides huge savings in your local area. I have seen the savings range from 25% to 75% off with most being close to the 50% off range. Each deal has a tipping point that activates the offer. In other words, if enough people don’t buy it, then the deal is null and void. Most of the time, more than enough people jump at the deal. The deals can be for almost anything. In the short time it’s been available in my local area I have seen discounts for restaurants, local stores, flying lessons, spa treatments, and more. It’s part of the attraction of the site, every day brings something new and you feel compelled to read the emails, check the Twitter feed or view the site to see what the days deal is. It’s the perfect execution of a viral marketing plan.
It’s hard to see how some of the companies that use Groupon actually make money. To keep the math easy, let’s say a local restaurant offers a $100 meal for $50 (a pretty common deal on Groupon) the restaurant doesn’t get $50. They split that money with Groupon so Groupon get’s $25 and the restaurant get’s $25. After selling that particular deal, they still have to offer the $100 meal that was advertised. It’s not unusual for hundreds of people to jump on a deal like that so if you do the math, it’s quite a lot for a small business to absorb. Talk about eating into your margins!
Despite all that, there seems to be no limit to the number of companies interested in offering a huge discount on sites like Groupon. So, how do they make money or at least hope to make money, offering such huge discounts? I have a few thoughts this:
- It’s a service or product that has huge margins and they can afford to offer big discounts in the hopes of gaining a new customer
- The company knows it will lose money on the deal but hopes it will make up for it by the increased exposure and the chance to capture new and repeat customers
- As with most coupons/gift certificates, a certain percentage of people will buy the deal but will never actually use it. When that happens, it’s pure profit for the business offering the deal.
The only negative press I have been able to find online is from companies that have used it and failed to turn a profit on their particular deal but is that really Groupon’s fault? They seem to be pretty up-front about what they have to offer companies but I have no first hand experience. I am sure I am missing some strategies that businessmen smarter than me have been able to take advantage of and I would think that a good portion of the companies that use it must make out alright for the company to be growing as fast they are.
Okay, so enough about how Groupon works for the businesses that use it, let’s take a look at the customer, the end user for the service. Can you really save that much using Groupon? Absolutely! That I know for certain. The deals they offer are legitimate and easy to cash in on. Before you give them your credit card number and start buying up discounts and special offers, we do have a few tips on how to best use the Groupon site:
- As with any coupon, don’t get sucked in by the deal and spend money on something you didn’t need or never intended to buy in the first place.
- You can get $10 just for referring other people to Groupon who make a purchase. I signed up and referred my wife, my sister and my parents. If they opt into any of the deals that come along, I will get $10 to spend on any deal I want.
- The site can be fun and addictive, don’t let that overrule your own common sense. If you can’t really use it, it doesn’t matter how good of a deal it is, don’t spend your money on it
- If you do buy it, make sure you pay careful attention to the expiration date. They are counting on a certain percentage of people buying into the deal but never getting around to actually using it. If you aren’t sure you will be able to use it before the expiration date, don’t buy it.
- Take a look at what other customers have to say about a particular deal before you purchase it by clicking on the “Jon the Discussion” link.
- I never buy into the deal the first time I look at it. I typically check out the Groupon site first thing in the morning before work. If I am not interested, I don’t go back until the next day. If I am interested, I wait a few hours and go back to the site on my lunch break. It gives me time to think about whether I will really use or need the offer and helps to remove some of the emotional excitement from the transaction.
- Make sure you read the fine print so you know exactly what you are getting and what the restrictions are.
- If you are interested in the service, make sure you register and create a profile, it will make it a lot easier to purchase deals and keep track of what offers you have available to you.
I highly recommend Groupon, if you can exercise a little self control, it’s a great way to save a LOT of money. You can check out their web site and sign up by going to Sign Up with Groupon
