Match Prices to Save Money

Did you know that many of your favorite stores offer a money saving perk/policy called "price matching"?

Price matching is when you show your favorite store proof that a different merchant is offering the same item for a lower price. Your store may offer to match or even beat that price - saving YOU $$! Pretty neat, huh?

Most stores will have some kind of policy in place regarding the price matching. You may need to bring in a current ad showing the special price. They may request you to take a photo of the shelf tag or even bring in the other product. You might need a receipt from the other store. You need to do your research on your stores to see how they want you to prove that the other store has a better deal. Several stores will even offer to give you up to 10% OVER the matched price. Money back in your pocket..

Here are just a few stores that I know of that will try to price match for you:

• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Family Dollar
• Home Depot
• JCPenney's
• Kohls
• Lowes
• Sears
• Staples
• Target
• Tractor Supply Company
• Walmart

I'd love to hear of any more stores that can be added to the list. Let me know! 

How to Actually USE Your Coupons At the Store

We've all done it, spent countless time matching our coupons to the deals, sorting them out, making them ready for our shopping trip. Then we somehow manage to either leave them at home or in the car or if we do bring them in, we forget to give the cashier half of them at the register. FRUSTRATING!!

For quite some time I've been using a really simple system that has been helping me combat this issue of forgetfulness combined with pressure at the register. It is a very easy plan that anyone can implement immediately.

• I make my shopping list and match up all the corresponding coupons for my items. 

• I have 2 regular envelopes for each store I shop. One envelope is labeled with the store name "CVS or Walgreens, etc" and the other is labeled "Register". 

• I start out by having all of the coupons that I will be using for that particular trip in the store envelope. 

• As I make my progress around the store, I move the coupons for the products I've added to my cart into the "Register" envelope.

• Once I get to the register, only the coupons in that "Register" envelope are handed to the cashier. No fumbling, no forgetting, no problem!

****Another little tool I've been using is a couple of clothespins. Many times I want to do multiple transactions in order to roll my Register Rewards or ECBs. Instead of having to dig around in the envelope or carrying even more envelopes, I just clip the coupons for the other transaction(s) into a handy dandy clothespin. Easy peasy.

Show Me the Savings! How to Save With Little to No Effort

Today we'll talk a little bit about some super easy ways to either put money back into your pocket or have it never leave there to begin with. 

Each of these items are something we do in our household now or have in the past. None of them are very painful and some you won't even notice you're doing...

• Use Coupons - yes a topic near & dear to my heart. Even if you just use a 2 for 1 coupon at the dry cleaners one time, you'll have that extra $2.50 or so still in your pocket..

• Eat at Home. I know, who wants to cook. BUT, if you add up how much it costs to "just grab a burger" or "pick up that pizza", you'll be shocked. Save the dining out for a single night a week or special occasions. It'll be worth it healthwise & pocketwise.

• When you do dine out, skip the drinks. Water is FREE at restaurants & healthy...

• Do away with the soda habits. I know I'm banging on that "HEALTHY" drum again, but good old H20 is a much, much better choice in all ways.

• Keep the Change! This is one we've done for years. We're saving up to go to Scotland for a special wedding anniversary. We've been putting our pennies, nickels and dimes in a 5 gallon water jug. It's so heavy right now I can't move it! Every time it gets full-ish, we cash it in and put that money into a special savings account. By the time that anniversary rolls around, it'll be completely paid for - in change!

• Open an online savings account - stick just $20 in it every week and you'll have $1040 (+INTEREST) in it at the end of just one year. That's a thousand bucks that you won't know you're saving. If you have it done as an automatic deposit, you'll never miss that twenty dollar bill you don't see.

• Get rid of the cable bill. We get over 25 channels on FREE broadcast TV and subscribe to Netflix over the internet (using our Xbox as a receiver). Our total cost? $9.99 per month. We never run out of things to watch.

• Negotiate for a better price with your phone carrier. I call mine regularly to see what kinds of specials they have and ask them to lower my bill. I've been a customer for decades and I remind them of that when I call. They can usually find something to help save me some money.

• Watch for Free Admission days to parks, museums and many other attractions. Especially as it gets near their busy seasons, they will have special days.

What can you think of to add to this list? I'd love to hear from you.

Collecting Coupons - Where and How to Find Them

It's pretty simple, you can't coupon if you haven't any to coupon with! Makes sense huh? Well, today we'll show you a few places to obtain these little money-saving treasures.

• SUNDAY PAPER - our old standby. Most Sunday papers will have one or more coupon inserts. These may include Smart Source, Red Plum, Proctor & Gamble and on occasion Unilever. There may also be some oddball sheets here and there - just be sure to go through the entire paper in your search.
• ONLINE PRINTABLES - Right here at Centsable Coupons ;), Coupons.com, Smart Source, Red Plum, Common Kindness, Hopster, Bricks, Facebook, product websites, newsletters, blogs, etc. *Keep in mind that most Internet printables are limited to two prints per coupon.
• IN STORE - Be sure to join the rewards cards programs for EVERY store you shop at that has one. Many times they will send coupons directly to your card, email you, mail them to you via snail mail or even print out at the store. Several stores such as Walgreen's have a monthly coupon booklet you pick up at the store. 
• PHONE APPS - There are many, many apps for your smart phones that are out there. There are some to find all types of coupons, find sale items, track rebates and receipts, etc. Most are available for both Android and the iPhone platforms. I posted a list of my favorite and most-used HERE. 
• MISC SOURCES - Some of the less-traveled paths to coupons might include: Cellfire, Target Cartwheel, individual store websites, clipping services, Facebook groups and pages, local newspaper carriers, Post Office staff, etc. 

As you can see, this isn't your Mama's couponing world anymore. Coupons are a way of life for more and more people all of the time. Just keep your eyes open and you'll find em!

*in case you don't understand some of the terms in this post - or others I've published, you can find many if not most of the common couponing terms HERE.

Utilizing Apps to Pad Your Wallet and Up Your Savings

There are bajillions of free apps for your smartphones out there. 

But, did you know that there are a bunch of them that can save or even actually MAKE you money?? It's true! You can be paid via check, direct deposit or gift card on most of them.

Most of them are super easy to use - snap a photo of your receipt or just link your rewards cards. I've already made $187 in check/dd and $85 in gift cards - since the middle of May of this year. Just for doing my regular shopping.

**I opened a dedicated online savings account just for my couponing & rebate money so I could easily track it.

Below is a short list of some of my absolute favorites that I use all of the time. Don't miss out on the extra cash in your pocket. 

Free Couponing/Rebate Smartphone & Computer Apps

*click on each name below to be taken to the app page. Many of these will include a referral link and by using it you will usually get an extra bonus in points or even CASH! Plus, you'll be helping me keep this website afloat.

Snap

Ibotta 

Jingit

Shrink

BerryCart

SavingStar

Ebates

Receipt Hog - on your smartphone, go to the app store and sign up for a FREE Receipt Hog download. Use the referral code:  SWUNG436 and you'll get a bunch of free spins.

Shopmium - on your smartphone, go to the app store and sign up for a FREE Shopmium app. Use the referral code: KUAHHAHE and we will both get a $2.00 bonus. You will also get a FREE Lindt chocolate bar..yum

CheckPoints - on your smartphone, go to the app store and sign up for a FREE CheckPoints download. Use the referral code: brideofmikey to get a chunk of extra points just for signing up!

*There are affiliate links on this page.

Monthly Sales and Fresh Produce Cycles - September

Knowledge is power! Couponers can take advantage of knowing when certain products are always on sale during the year as well as what produce is in season. You get the best deals and the best produce if you're armed with the info. If you're like me, you have a basic understanding that pumpkins are harvested in the fall, and that's basically the extent of it. So this series of posts will let us all in the secret of what to buy when.

Fresh Produce

Grocery

Bread
Canned Soup
Diabetic/Sugar-free Foods
Lunch Box Ingredients
Tomato Products

    

Seasonal Sales

Baby Items
Backpacks
Diabetic Meters, Strips & Testing Materials
Harvest Decor
Halloween Decor

Clearance

BBQ items

Insect Repellents
Lunch Boxes

Patio Furniture

Pool Toys/Equipment

Sunscreen

September is

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Coupon Stacking - How To Utilize Multiple Coupons To Save More Money!

I get questions all of the time regarding the terminology and abbreviations that are commonly used in our couponing world.  One of the most frequent and in my opinion, one of the most important is STACKING.

Coupon stacking is simply the art of using more than one coupon when purchasing an item to maximize your savings. There are some rules to it, but that is basically it in a nutshell. 

The most important thing to remember is that you can only use 1 MANUFACTURER coupon, no matter what you're stacking with it. I am not familiar with any stores that will allow you to use more than 1 MANUFACTURER coupon - PER ITEM. If you are purchasing multiple identical items, you can generally use 1 MFR coupon for each one. Always read the fine print on your coupons as there may be limits per day/trip/shopper.

BUT, here is a lovely twist to add to the excitement:  Some stores will allow you to use more than 1 STORE coupon at a time!  Target is a great example of this with their in-ad, digital and Cartwheel app coupons. CVS will also allow you to combine some of their own coupons together. 



Here is a basic stacking scenario:

Safeway has Orowheat Bread on sale for $2.50. They have an in-ad STORE coupon for $1.00 off any brand of bread. The MANUFACTURER has offered a coupon in the Sunday insert for $1.00 off 1 loaf of Orowheat bread. You may combine these as follows:

Buy (1) loaf Orowheat Bread for $2.50
Use (1) $1/1 Safeway STORE coupon
Use (1) $1/1 Orowheat MANUFACTURER coupon
Final Price: pay just .50 after stacking both coupons



Now for a CVS multiple STORE coupons + (1) MANUFACTURER coupon stacking scenario:

CVS has Irish Spring soap on sale for $5.00/12 pack. The Big Red Machine (BRM) prints out a $1.00 off any Irish Spring product coupon. It also prints out a $2.00 off $10.00 any soap product coupon. You just happen to have two MANUFACTURER .50 off Irish Spring soap coupons that you printed online from HERE. Here is how you would stack them:

Buy (2) 12 packs of Irish Spring Soap at $5 each (total of $10.00)
Use (1) CVS $1.00 off coupon
Use (1) CVS $2/$10 coupon
Use (2) Irish MFR .50/1 off coupons
Final Price: pay just $6/2 or $3.00 for each 12 pack
- you had to buy 2 packs in order to meet the requirement of spending $10 for the CVS q which in turn allows you to use 2 mfr coupons as you have 2 individual items.

And that folks, is how we roll STACK!

In upcoming How To installments, I will talk about yet more ways to STACK onto these scenarios to save EVEN MORE MONEY with rebate apps, paperless coupons and actual Rolling deals. Oh yeah! $$$$$$

  

Couponing with Courtesy

Being a considerate and courteous couponer should be something we all strive for in our quest for the ultimate savings. The misleading TV shows and YouTube videos that glorify the “extremism” form of couponing are not helping put those of us who do it in a sensible and conscientious manner in the proper light. If you've been on the receiving end of the nasty glares, snotty comments and just bold rude behavior, you'll know what I'm referring to. The good thing here though, is that we can each do our best to change that stereotype and put a more positive spin on our label of “couponer”.

Below are a few tips to make your own life, the cashier/manager's life and that of your fellow shopper a much nicer place to be.

~ Be prepared. Have your coupons in order and ready to hand over. Have your form of payment ready to present to the cashier. Don't waste everyone's time digging around in your bag or binder when you could have had it all done BEFORE you ever got in line.

~ READ THE FINE PRINT. Be sure that your coupons aren't expired, are for the same size/style/brand/quantity that you're purchasing. If it states “4 like coupons per day”, don't try to use 6. Follow their rules.

~ Don't try to pass off photocopied coupons as originals. You're toeing the line of legal/illegal and if the store accidentally takes one, they don't get reimbursed from the manufacturer. This could have a big impact on all of us with stores refusing to take printed coupons and manufacturers discontinuing issuing them.

~ Know the store's coupon policy. If it states they only accept 2 like coupons per shopper, don't try to sneak in 4. If they don't take printables, don't try to make them. Also, if they limit one store card per household, don't try to scam them and have 8 cards, including 1 for the dog and 1 for the cat. It's GREEDY and it's against the rules.

~ Shop during the off-peak hours. If you have all day and can shop any time, choose early morning or late evening to do your couponing runs. There is nothing more frustrating for ANY shopper than to run into the store on the way home from work just to grab some milk and get stuck behind a couponer with two carts and 75 coupons.

~ Along this line, if you have a cart full and the customers behind you only have 2-3 items, ask them if they'd like to go ahead of you. I always try to go to the register when there is NO ONE in sight in the store (other than the friendly cashier). Of course it never fails that as soon as I get my cart unloaded, 5 people will mysteriously teleport into line behind me. Where the heck do they come from???

~ Always be polite to the cashiers and managers. They can make or break your deals, so it's a good idea to have a cordial relationship with them.

~ Don't clear out a store's shelves just because you have that major wad of coupons for one item. Do you really need 59 dish soaps right now? Products go on sale in a 6-8 week cycle. Those dish soaps really will come back on sale again in the near future and the manufacturer really will issue a new coupon around that time. A good rule of thumb is to buy enough product to get your family through until the next sales cycle, possibly plus a few extra. The key is to BUY WHAT YOU NEED. Don't be greedy or try to get featured on the next extremist TV show episode. Ugh.

~ Pay attention while the clerk is ringing up your items. It saves a lot of time and irritation if you catch a mispriced item while it's being rung up versus after the sale is completed. It's annoying for others to stand there while the clerk has to dig through your 12 bags to find that toothpaste that rang up wrong.

~ On the same note, if you are purchasing items with rain checks or fill-in coupons, have them grouped together and present them at the end of your transaction. This also makes it easier and quicker for the clerk to adjust the prices. (Some stores prefer the rain check items to be done at the beginning, it will vary according to where you're shopping.)

Remember, a smile costs nothing and is worth everything. Being polite and courteous, saying please & thank you and treating others as we'd like to be treated are all magic “words of wisdom” for a reason. Happy Couponing!