There are lots of different places to get coupons. Newspaper, printables, magazines, in store dispensers, coupons on products, pamphlets in the store… the list is endless. Please remember with all these different coupons that you can still only use one manufacturer coupon per item. It doesn’t matter where you found the coupon, only one per item.
So you print a coupon to take with you and then find a coupon on the box when you get there. If they are both manufacturer coupons then you need to pick one of them to use for that item. Pick the coupon that is the highest price, or will be the highest price after doubling (a .40 cent coupon would be worth more than a .65 cent coupon at a store that doubles .50 cents or less coupons).
How do you tell if it is a manufacturer coupon?
Many store coupons say at the top that they are manufacturer coupons, so how do you really know what kind of coupon you have?
First look at the bar code. A manufacturer coupon will start with a 5 or a 9. That’s it. Any other number starting the bar code and you have a store coupon. Also look in the small print for a mailing address for redemption. All true manufacturer coupons that can be used at any store will have an address. If the coupon starts with a 5 or a 9 and has the address then you will be able to use the coupon at any store without problems. (Note: If the fine print states to be redemption only for X store than the above does not apply – haven’t run into one of those yet though). “Redeemable At…” or a coupon having a store logo are only attempts for the store to get you to use the coupon in their store, not a requirement.
If you find that you do have a store coupon, then you can find a manufacturer coupon to use with it. This is called stacking. At most stores you can use a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon on each item. Stacking them together can really increase your savings! All stores covered by Southern Savers allow stacking.
Many grocery stores will double coupons that are a certain value or less every day. This is not based on the words on the coupon, but is based on the bar code. The computer systems will double any coupon that is the right value and if the bar code starts with a 5. While the store can override the double manually, that is not done in many stores.
This is just a basics post.There is a lot more to bar codes but for SouthernSavers.com we will stop there. It borders on illegal to go into decoding coupons and I am not up for that. Please no linking to other posts that discuss this either.
I recently listened to a segment of the Dave Ramsey show where he was talking about everyone filling in the following sentence:
“I save so that I can __________.”
What would you fill in the blank. For us, part of our answer would be, “We save so that we can give.” Not only does saving money on groceries allow us to do this, but just the way we shop allows us to do this too. There is so much in each week that is free or pennies that others can use. If you see deals for free items and pass by them thinking that it isn’t an item that your family would use, I want to encourage you to think about who else could use that item. There are many groups that would love to have your glucometers, shampoo, razors, food, and pretty much anything else that you can buy. Some groups to contact would be:
Churches
Medical Missions (local and abroad)
Food Banks
Homeless Shelters
Battered Women’s Shelters
Red Cross Disaster Relief
To give you an idea of the needs out here let me highlight one organization in my area, the Oliver Gospel Mission. This is a mission in downtown Columbia SC that has both a one night shelter and a long term leadership program. As you skim this list there I hope you see so many things that we have opportunity to buy for almost nothing. While you might not be in my area, I would venture to guess that the organizations in your area have needs very similar.
Current Needs:
Non-Perishable Food
Sugar – 5lb bags or larger
Coffee
Kool-Aid Drink Mix – unsweetened
Tea Bags
Non-dairy Creamer
Spaghetti pasta
Canned Vegetables (#10 cans preferred)
Grits
Parboiled rice (Important: parboiled, not regular rice)
Disposable salt and pepper shaker sets
Paper Products
Paper napkins
Plastic knives, forks and spoons
Styrofoam coffee cups (small)
Clothing
Men’s underwear (new) Sizes 32 – 4
Undershirts: Sizes M-XXXL
Jeans: Sizes 32 – 46
Long Sleeve Shirts: Casual or dress, all sizes
Tennis Shoes: Sizes 8–13
Socks
Belts
Winter coats: Sizes M-XXXL
Knit hats
Baseball caps
Back Packs – new or used
Guest Post from Christy Jordan of Southern Plate.com:
I almost didn’t bring this to you at all because it is so embarrassingly easy. I’m giving away my secrets here! But after a busy day at school and chauffeuring around kids to appointments, you just might need to call upon this dish. It is also extremely economical. Using a sale I found out about on Southern Savers, I picked up these two boxes of scalloped potatoes when they were buy one get one free. I had two coupons for .40 cents off a single box, which Publix doubled to make it .80 off each box. Considering the price was 1.59 with buy one get one free, I actually made a penny by purchasing these. I used up the leftover ham from a dinner and that puts my out of pocket costs at whatever the little bit of milk and two tablespoons of margarine ran me.
I apologize for springing math on ya like that. Believe me, its something I try to avoid!
Embarrassingly Easy Ham and Potato Casserole
- 1-2 Boxes Scalloped or Au Gratin Potatoes
- Leftover ham
- Ingredients called for on box (typically milk, water, and a bit of margarine or butter)
Prepare potatoes according to package directions, place in casserole dish. Stir in ham. Bake according to package directions.
1 Box potatoes yields 8×8 casserole
2 Boxes yield 9×13 casserole
Can add green beans or peas to make this a more complete meal!
For a delicious and economical dessert, try my mother’s Chocolate Cobbler recipe!
Visit SouthernPlate.com for a complete tutorial, including photos of every step!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All You Magazine, a source of coupons with as many as a Sunday Paper, has started a fun Challenge. They are offering one person:
- $1000 Grocery Card
- Year supply of Knorr Sides
- Chance to appear in All You Magazine
What’s the deal? You have to try to spend $25 or less per person per week. The Challenge starts July 13th and runs for 4 weeks. Go HERE to sign up and to get more information. I know we can have a winner from Southern Savers!!
Even you don’t fully suceed it would still be something to help hold you accountable on spending. They even have a free tracking program you can use.
One more upside… if Southern Savers can get the most registered over other sites we win $250. For me that sounds like (5) more $50 free grocery giveaway winners… So go and register!!
Note: All You has stated that costs of infant formula do not count into the $25 per person.
Most of you that visit Southern Savers on a regular basis, already know that you can drastically decrease your grocery shopping expenses with coupons. But did you know you can also decrease your organic grocery shopping by at least 50%? I am able to say this, because I have done it myself.
Having organic items in my family’s diet is something that is very important to me. It means less pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and chemicals in our food. Organic deal finding and couponing is not for the faint of heart. Don’t think that it is easy. It is harder than regular deal finding, because there are usually less deals and options. But it can be done! Here are a couple of tips to apply to your organic shopping (notice how some of them are similar to regular couponing):
1. Buy local. Shopping from local farmers will not only reduce your costs on produce, but it will also be supporting farmers and helping our economy. Check out Local Harvest to find local farmers and farmer’s markets in your area.
2. Do some research and find all the possible sources of organic coupons. Some come in the paper, there are a lot of printables, and you can even get them by contacting companies. You want to get your hands on every organic coupon possible. Here is a list that I have compiled on my site of all the online resources for organic coupons.
3. Watch the sales and match coupons with the lowest price.
4. Check for mark downs or clearance items, and match coupons with those.
5. Use your overage from other grocery deals to use towards your organics. This sometimes means getting things you would never eat or use.
6. Use your store rewards to get your organic items. ie. Register Rewards and Extra Bucks.
7. Watch the online deals. Lately, places like Amazon
8. Use rebates and gift card deals to get your organic items. One example of this would be the prescription transfer coupons that give you a gift card. Use those towards your organic items.
9. Find blogs and websites that help you find organic grocery deals. One such forum is www.OrganicGroceryDeals.com.
There are 4 levels of organization I would recommend. They go up in order of time involved to organize but they also each make the time spent finding the coupon faster. So you decide the system best for you and the time trade off.
The pictures below go in order of system type.
#1
“Not Cutting” Keeping your Inserts Whole
When you get your weekly inserts write the date bigger on the front page of the insert. Then get a large 13 pocket accordion file system and put all the inserts from this week together in one pocket. Next week put those inserts in the next pocket of the folder. As the weeks go on you have all the inserts from each week together organized back by the date that they came out. If you buy more than one paper, just put all the inserts no matter how many into the same pocket. Now when you come to Southern Savers you will use the SS dates that are next to coupons on the weekly deal posts to find each coupon and cut it out before going to the store.
This is where I live. There are not any more hours in my day and this is a compromise with my husband. I do not recommend this system to anyone that hates to miss a clearance or closeout deal in the store. You can take your large file with you but you will spend way to long finding the coupon you need (if you even can find it). The upside too this system is that the only time spent on it, is the time you spend getting ready for your trip. Usually takes me about 15 minutes to cut any coupons needed for a trip.
You will also need to have #2 to keep any coupons that you cut and don’t use or any printable coupons in.
#2
Canceled Check File:
This is one small step towards organization. Get a small accordion file with 13 pockets (these are $1 at Target normally). Leave the front pocket empty and as you plan your trip you put the coupons there that you will use that trip, then in the remaining pockets label the tabs on them according to the areas that you use the most. I use: Baby, Canned/Boxed Goods, Cereals, Desserts/Baking, Snacks/Drinks, Other food, Toiletries, Drugs, Paper goods, Cleaning products, Refrigerated, and lastly Frozen foods.
I DO NOT recommend organizing by alphabetical or expiration date. If you choose alphabetical then you are the only person in the world that knows where that coupon is. B for Betty C for Crocker or P for Potatoes. If you try expiration date then you are helpless if you need to find the coupon. (It is okay to let a coupon expire by the way, you will probably get another very soon and it really means that they item never came on a great sale).
This system is fast on the time it takes to organize them, you cut put them in twelve stacks and shove them in. It is slow on the time it takes you in the store. Your stacks will be large. If you need to find a coupon for canned chicken you might have 30-40 coupons to look through. Another problem with this system arises if you get more than one copy of the paper. Your stacks of coupons are now really large and time in the store slows even further.
#3
Make Your Own Box
Yet another step closer to mastering organization. For this system find any box you like. I recommend something that can fit easily in the top part of the grocery cart. Then buy or make your own dividers. You can go to town with dividers and make categories for anything you like. You will increase the amount of time it takes to organize your cut coupons, but in the store you will have smaller stacks to sort through to find a particular coupon. I made my own box and used a 3×5 index card file box, they sell dividers for it and it had a lid! For my categories when I finally moved out of the box I had over 40 dividers with everything from Baby to Personal Care Supplies I don’t use (just in case it was free).
Sunday morning my Husband and I leave for the first true vacation, by ourselves, in almost 5 years! This is a frugal girls dream as it is an all expenses paid getaway (out of the country) that is costing us nothing! Southern Savers will continue as normal, no worries, you just might find that deals added in comments do not get moved to the main deal list this week — so make sure to read the comments before shopping.
I have lots of guest posts, savings tips and articles set for you so you should have a wonderful week. And again, all of your grocery lists will still be up at the regularly scheduled time. No need to cause Southern grocery shopping panic.
In case you haven’t heard, Nestle is voluntarily recalling all of their refrigerated cookie dough products. If you have any of these, according to their site, you are to take them back to the grocer for a full refund. I do not know how this will work if you no longer have the receipt but there is a number at Nestle you can call for more information: 1-800-559-5025
Go here to read the full press release. Note that right now no illnesses have been directly linked to these items, this is just cautionary.
I love my mailbox. I need a bumper sticker that says that…
- Free sample of Scott Extra Soft Toilet Tissue Double Roll and 10ct travel pack of Scott Moist Wipes
- Free Thomas the Train “Brushing Chart” to keep track of when your child brushes their teeth!
- Free Fit for Kids DVD (from the US Government… or really you)
- Vista Print is offering their “Free Samples” promotion again. Get one set of anything and just pay shipping. (I just ordered 250 business cards, a pen, a sticky pad, a ruber stamp, address labels and a car decal, for $10 shipping)
A Great coupon::
$1 off any Tyson Fresh Chicken Product
Larger cities have gotten this in recent papers but most of us haven’t so enjoy! (thanks Slickdeals!)
