The Extreme Deal Seeker

So many times, I get asked how I saved $163.00 on my grocery bill, or can find good deals with seemingly little effort. Well, I decided to come on in and write it for you in one handy-dandy location for your viewing pleasure. I think I may make it an ongoing thing, since I actually have a lot to share!

Let me start with saying that I am, by no means, an extreme couponer. I watched one show of the Extreme Couponers and I about barfed. It was a LOT of waste (one guy had something like 15 years' worth of deodorant in his basement. Unless he has hyperhydrosis, I don't see the point. Donate it already!) I am also: pressed for time, usually accompanied by a toddler, and cheap. When it comes to myself, I am cheap, cheap, cheap. When it comes to other people, I am not AS cheap, but I will do all I can for as inexpensively as possible. Hope that makes sense. In short, I don't buy things just to buy them.

What you will need:
-At least one Sunday paper. Two is better. Three starts getting to be too much work for a new couponer, leading to possible abandonment and, thusly, money out of your pocket.

-A place to store said coupons. I use a small, accordion-style holder that is the height and diameter of a checkbook. I organize it by aisle at Kroger, since that is where I do 99% of my shopping. So, the first section has: vitamins, then digestion aids, pain killers, oral care, contact lens coupons. That is the first mini-group of aisles of the far left of the store, so I just grab that coupon section and have it in order, putting them in the back of the pile as I pass an aisle.
~~~~~~~Other people have used baseball card plastic sheets to organize, but this requires a 3-ring binder to tote to and from the store. Why make yourself encumbered, I say? It's more likely to make you want to, again, abandon the project.

Now, onward for more details.

Q&A

What's your take on Sam's Club and similar bulk stores? Are they a good deal?

It depends on your definition of a "good deal." As you know, there is a yearly membership fee to join these places, and that $39.00+ needs to be factored in to your decision.

The draw of places like that is not so much a good deal, but bulk. Why buy just one peanut butter when you can buy a two-pack in industrial-sized jars? The price per unit (in this case, ounces) compares to most regular prices of stores. So, what are you saving?

Time. Time is money, my friend. How much do you make, figured per hour? If unemployed or a stay at home mom, figure a reasonable salary for yourself. If you are desperate, use minimum wage as a guide (about $7.00/hour). Okay, now that you have your per-hour figured, figure out how much time you spend driving to and from the market every week for your family. If you are going more than twice a week, you are going too much. Gas is approximately $3.70 a gallon, and if you figure in minimum wage as your hourly "worth", a 30 minute drive to Sam's Club alone will be something in the neighborhood of $4-5.00. If you add in Wal-Mart, Meijer, and maybe a stopoff to get gas, it's more like $10-15.00 each time you go, just in driving costs and " driving labor". STOP IT!

Using peanut butter as an example, if your family eats peanut butter by the metric crap ton, by all means, this is a great deal. If you can find several objects in Sam's that your family eats like it is going out of style, AND you have a place to store it, a monthly trip to Sam's to stock up is financially sound indeed. How many times have you made a special visit to the market because you were out of a condiment, and then ended up buying other stuff on impulse? That $2.00 ketchup turns into a $25.00+ debacle. Again, STOP IT! :)

In short, compare your own "driving costs" and compare that to the $39.00 yearly fee for Sam's. If your driving costs significantly outweigh that $39.00, then it is a DARN GOOD deal!

Which coupons do I cut from the paper? How do you decide?

Obviously, if you hate peas (like yours truly), a coupon for peas will do you no good at all and can be avoided. Of course, you clip the ones for products you use, and definitely for ones that you would like to try if the price is right.

Usually, the best time to purchase a new item (something that just came out in the market) is it's first couple of weeks on the shelves. When it's new, they price it low to reel you in...and that's usually also when the coupon hits the paper. Try something new for low cost (unless it's peas).

I avoid coupons that are for some small amount, such as 20 cents. Even if I get that doubled, think about your overall "cost" (see the time is money argument above). Now, if someone mails me a pre-clipped 20 cent coupon, I may be inclined to use it, although grumbling that the darn coupon probably cost them more to print and distribute than the 20 cents, and they could just lower the price of the product and save everyone money, but I digress.

I also avoid coupons that say X off of 2 or more products, unless I usually buy 2 or more of said products (remove the temptation to buy more than you need!!!) Cereal companies, I am glaring at you on this one. $1.00 off of three boxes of cereal is just a slap in the face, especially since three boxes will probably run me about 9 bucks or more. It can pay off occasionally; for example, Kroger has cereal bonanzas from time to time that offer 3 boxes for $5.00. That's insanely good to begin with, and that $1.00 is a cherry on the sundae.

Pillsbury is also another offender, offering 35 cents off of 3 cans of Grands. Seriously? For 6 dollars of biscuit goodness, you want to offer me 35 cents?

Lastly, if you get in any way distracted in the store, you may miss that you need to buy more than one, which will make your coupon beep, and the cashier to warily ask you if you did indeed buy the product (or, as happened to me, pull the register tape and look for it, moving the speed of smell as he did so. Maybe he was jealous that I paid $45.00 for $200.00 of groceries that week?).


My little coupon buddy is beckoning me from upstairs, so I am going to wrap up this installment here...more to come. Leave me a note and give me some feedback or ask some questions if you like!