Think using coupons will cramp your style? If you found you could save 60-70% on your groceries, would that change your mind? Here are 3 beliefs about couponing that even I have had in the past, but then realized weren’t true!
1. “Clipping coupons takes too much time!”
Not if you use coupon lists provided on www.couponmom.com and www.pocketyourdollars.com. On websites like these you can find regularly updated lists of all items on sale at each store (Target, Rainbow Foods, Cub, etc.) with coupons available for those items, and the final price you can get them for after sale + coupon prices combined.
The best part? It’s free and they do all the work for you! Plus, you can print free coupons directly from their sites. With these tools I probably spend about 1-2 hours per week on couponing.
So you don’t have to spend hours going through all your coupons from the Sunday paper, clipping ones you want or think you might use, then have to deal with organizing them in various envelopes (I used to do that – ugh!). All you have to do is keep coupon inserts from the paper, label the date on them, then use the website coupon lists to find the coupons you’ll need when there’s a great sale! Even if you don’t have Sunday coupons, you can print them and others from websites like www.coupons.com (see some of these coupons on right side of this website!)
2. “I can’t get the groceries I want – I can only get what I have coupons for!”
There are coupons for just about EVERYTHING out there. You can find deals on many items that you shop for. Maybe not all, but because brands understand how coupons boost sales of their products, most do offer them. They may not always be in the Sunday paper…some you can find by going directly to a brand’s website (like www.bettycrocker.com) or to a product’s Facebook page.
I consider myself loyal to some brands but open-minded to trying new products as well. For example, I LOVE Kashi products (cereals, granola bars), but I just stocked up on Chex cereals because of the great sale+coupon savings I found on them. I didn’t buy Chex regularly before but after trying them our family does like them. Being open-minded is the best strategy for maximizing your coupon savings. Bottom-line: If you want to save money, don’t be too loyal to any one brand and teach your family to be open to trying new things!
Of course, if you buy a lot of one new product and you find you don’t like it, consider donating it!
3. “I don’t want to fill my kitchen with processed foods…I want to feed my family wholesome, healthful foods!”
I rarely buy junk food for my family. I cook from scratch as much as possible and always fill my kitchen with fresh fruits and vegetables. And I buy organic whenever possible.
I also just saved $87.73 at Rainbow Foods on unlimited double coupon day (I spent $57.22 for 38 items). Some of the coupon and deal items I got included (with final prices listed): Ronzoni Healthy Harvest pasta ($1.25 a package), Kashi cereal (15% off), Buitoni pasta ($.33 each), Westpac frozen vegetables ($1.00 each), fresh raspberries (free after coupon for fresh fruit with purchase of Kashi product), Go-gurt yogurt for the kids ($.30 – $.50 each), and Smart Balance butter ($1.00 each), to name a few.
I did get some chocolate (to give with Christmas presents!), one box of vanilla wafer cookies (WhoNu nutrition rich cookies I’ve wanted to try), and some frozen items including pretzels (SuperPretzels were free after doubled coupon). But for the most part, on this shopping trip and others, I’ve found that with coupons you can get great deals on many healthful foods for your family. And you can get great prices on toiletries. I got 2 Colgate toothpastes for free, a full-size Gold Bond lotion for only $3.98 (usually over $8.00), and toilet paper for under $5.
Couponing can definitely save you a lot of money and is worth it!