Before you read this report, you can listen to a podcast where the Frugal Yankee talks to SmartMoney.com's Kelli Grant about coupons. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Or you can see Garen Daly discuss coupons on NE Cable News. CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK
Now on to our full report.......
Did you know that September is National Coupon Month? Who knew? I didn't when I started to put this information together. It was all serendipitous.
The germination of this article was simple. Times are tough. Money is tight. Finding more ways to save money is more important than ever. Coupons clipping has been frowned upon by those souls making lots of bucks as some sort of low rent exercise. And up until this year, coupon usage had been declining for 16 straight years. Not any more, coupon clipping has been redeemed
Check out these facts:
Online usage of coupons has risen by 39% to 36 million adults from 2005 to 2008.
Shoppers redeemed 2.6 billion cooupons in 2007, stopping a 16 year decline.
The average shopper estimates savings of around 7% on their shopping tabs.
One study revealed how a family spending 20 minutes a week amassing and using coupons will save 20% at the grocery store.
The average family of four spends roughly $5000 a year on food. Using the above stat, the average family could save $1000 a year on food.
BUt before you start going crazy clipping circulars and sorting your coupons by food group, it is important to remember the cardinal rule of buying. Don't buy anything unless you are going to use it. And never buy anything just because it is one sale.
STRATEGIC SHOPPING
When it comes to coupon shopping, the key is 'strategic shopping'. What does that mean? Just read on.
• FINDING THEM
The first step in strategic shopping is find out what is on sale. Then find coupons both online and circulars and build your shopping list based on that. Do not base your shopping list on what you want. You'll never save money that way.
INSIDER INFO: 90% of all coupons used come from Sunday circulars, but online coupons is growing dramatically.
• KNOW THE STORE
Some stores accept single coupons, some do double coupons and some offer their own coupons. Knowing your options in your area makes it easier to reach your goal of spending less.
TIP: Finding a coupon from the manufacturer AND one from the store is gold.
TIP: If shopping at wholesale store that accepts coupons, you can use multiple coupons for each item in the banded product. For example, if you buy a six pack of deodorant, you can use six coupons to lower the price. This is also true when you use coupons to stock up. See the next strategy.
• MORE THAN ONE
If the circulars contain items you use a lot, buy several newspapers with circulars and stock up on those items.
INSIDER INFO: Supermarkets traditionally work on 13 week schedules, i.e. items that go on sale, usually go on sale every 13 weeks. This varies from store to store and season to season, but it is a good rule of thumb.
• BRAND NAME TRAP
For the most part generic or store brand names offer the same quality as brand names. A coupon from a brand name may not offer any savings at all and may even cost more, when compared to store brand.
• SAVE BIG, BUY SMALL
Coupons are most effective when you buy the smallest size possible. I f you do the math, the unit cost drops when using coupons with the smaller sizes.
• BE CAUTIOUS
Some sites will want personal data from you. The coupon is an inducement. The Frugal Yankee recommends creating an alternative online persona. Use an online email address from Gmail, yahoo, hotmail or the like. You still may need to give them a land address, but use a pseudonym. The email address you use may get a ton of spam, so not using your regular address is highly recommended.
Also be leery of 'franchise' coupon sites. Usually these are regional in nature and are frequently started and then abandoned. They may also be untrustworthy.
• DON'T LOSE YOUR SAVINGS
You've saved money using coupons and being a savvy shopper, don't blow it by going to the store several times a week. The gas you use and the time you spend is all wasted. Shop once a week, with a list based on coupons and what is one sale.
• RETAIL TOO
It isn't just grocery stores, retailers are getting into the coupon craze as well. The Frugal Yankee suggests if you're looking for a specific item, go to the manufacturers page first. See if they are offering anything. Then go to the store you want to purchase it from and see if they have any deals. There are some very food 'compilation' web sites. These sites search the internet for your and can find deals.
AROUND THE BEND
If we know people are clipping or using more coupons than ever, you can bet marketers know this too. They want you to spend lots of money so they are unveiling some new high tech ways to get coupons into your hands. Here are a few examples.
• WEB SITE SWAPS
New sites are popping up where shoppers can swap, sell and purchase coupons from other shoppers. It is not too dissimilar to the old fashioned get togethers housewives had where they swapped coupons. This time it is national in scope and over the internet.
• ENHANCED LOYALTY CARDS
More loyalty cards or variants thereof for consumers are coming shortly. For example, shopping carts with mini-computers where you scan your purchases and keeps a tally and then it offers coupons. It may even entice you with 'complimentary' items. For example, say you purchase some salsa, the computer will spit out coupons for taco shells, shredded cheese and the like. The supermarkets aren't doing this for altruistic or helpful reasons, they are looking for you to spend more, so be savvy
One more downside worth mentioning, loyalty cards have perks and are often handy, but the supermarkets use the information on your buying habits for their own purposes. You do not own this info. They do. There was a case where a supermarket sold shopping information to a health insurer. It was later stopped, but do you really want your HMO knowing about your love for nacho flavored potato chips or the Cherry Garcia fetish you have?
• WIDGETS
You will be able to download a widget onto your computer which will help you plan meals and the scour the internet for coupons and local deals.
• CELLPHONE COUPONS
Coupons will be texted to your cell phone and then redeemed at the register. It is estimated cellphone coupons will generate $7 billion dollars for stores by 2011.
• COUPON KIOSKS
You swipe your loyalty card and the kiosk will issue a series of coupons based on your previous shopping habits. This is called 'loyalty card earmarks'. It should be showing up in your store any day.
Coupons are a great way to save hundreds if not thousands of dollars every year, but like all ventures, being prepared. Knowing what works and what doesn't is the key.
If you have some ideas or tricks, the Frugal Yankee wants to know. Please share them by sending us an email at Coupons@FrugalYankee. com
Below are a few web sites you may find interesting.
ONLINE SITES TO GET YOUR STARTED
SMART SOURCE
RETAIL ME NOT
COUPONS.COM
COUPON CABIN
COUPONMOM.com
MOM'SVIEW.com
SPOOFEE.COM
GROCERY COUPONS
eCOUPONS
DEALLOCKER
Happy Hunting!
Great list! I always use
Submitted by johannabartley on Fri, 2008-12-19 11:56.Great list! I always use coupons to save up some money that I collect in a jar until I have enough to buy myself something pretty.