5 Lessons I Learned Using Coupons
I know a lot of you are just getting started using coupons and I thought I would share a few things I have learned. For those of you that have more experience please feel free to share your tips as well!
1. Start slow. Just like with anything new there is a tendency to want to hit every store for every deal every week. I would strongly recommend starting slow. You might start off with one drugstore at first and do one or two very simple transactions. Once you get comfortable with that store you can start doing more complicated transactions or branch off to other stores. You will also want to get a feel for each of your local stores and their policies on coupons. I have a wonderful Target and a wonderful CVS in my area, so I try to do as much of my shopping there as I can. Likewise, I happen to have a Walgreens that is very anti-coupons so I almost never shop there as a result.
2. Read the fine print. Many drugstore deals in particular have limits on the quantity you can buy. Typically the limit is 1- especially on deals that involve ECBs, rebates or Register Rewards. You will want to be sure to check your local ad for any limits before you plan your trips. Be sure you carefully read the beginners drugstore series for Rite Aid, Walgreens and CVS HERE before your first shopping trip. I have been doing the drugstore game for a few years and I still make mistakes all the time.
3. All deals will come around again. I promise the chances of seeing an incredible deal come back around are extremely high. If you miss out on free Colgate this week- I just bet it will come back around next month! I usually only go to the drugstores once every few weeks to roll my ECBs or Register Rewards. Your time is an important factor to consider when couponing. When I first started I made myself crazy running all over to get every deal every week.
4. Moderation is a good thing. This is just my personal opinion and your situation might be very different from mine. If you live in a rural area and it is 45 minutes to the nearest store or you have a very large family than I would encourage you to find the balance that works for your situation. It is easy to get a little carried away with coupons. I see people that have 20 newspaper subscriptions or that purchase hundreds and hundreds of coupons for specific deals. I would encourage you to really consider what you need. For drugstore items, I usually keep 3-6 items on hand because most products we simply don’t go through that quickly. I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this and that is ok! Just keep in mind that you will have to manage everything you buy. So if you buy 46 boxes of free cereal and you only go through 1 box a month, that is a ton of product that you have to store and manage.
5. Have fun! Hopefully using coupons will become fun and fairly seamless. Once you start to get the hang of it I hope that it gets easier and easier to do. I have discussed my price book in the past and I have a certain price I try to pay for certain items. I usually try to look at the big picture. If an item hits my buy price one week and I simply don’t have time to get to the store, I will happily pay a little more the following week or I just make it work without that item until it goes on sale again.
I also have the same philosophy for stores. If I know a store is going to give me a hard time I just don’t shop there. My regular grocery store is a great example, I drive out of my way to a friendly Safeway store rather than go to the one right by my house. I would rather spend a few extra minutes in the car than get treated badly and wind up angry, embarrassed and upset at a store that is not going to treat me well. I would encourage you to do the same! When I first started there were countless times I was near tears when leaving a store because I was treated so badly. Now that I am a little more experienced I have no idea why I put myself through all that.
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Hey Charlene, Great post, really balanced viewpoint. I think all Walgreens are a little coupon shy, I avoid Walgreens unless I’m really excited about a deal.
Thank you Sheila. I was bracing myself for mean comments
Great Post and advice.. personally i will stock up as much as possible on non perishables when free or nearly free.. but i have at times had to stop myself .. it is easy to get carried away
I used to as well. I still have shaving cream that I got for .10 at Walgreens 2 years ago. I have enough for several more months. I guess the point is to just buy what you can manage. When we moved a few months ago my husband was really thrilled with an entire box of salad dressing
I have done several donation boxes and we still have a million salad dressings.
Really great post. I do like the moderation thing, that is one of my philosophies as well. I could have a humongous stockpile, but I choose not to. I have a donation bag for toiletry type items that I take over to a local ministry for women every once in a while. Sometimes I pick up that extra tube of toothpaste or bottle of shampoo when they are free just to get my total up to use a $5.00/$20 type coupon, and I just don’t need them (or want to add to the stockpile.) So I throw them directly into the donation bag and then when the bag fills up, I donate. When I first started couponing, it was with the goal of providing for my family on a tight budget–but now it has the awesome side benefit of being able to give to others as well. Thanks again for the thoughtful post!
I am local to you and was wondering what Safeway you avoid and which one you shop at?
Great thoughts! I shopped for months at a Walgreen’s store that’s just across from my normal grocery store. It was a convenient location, but they have consistently given me a difficult time for using lots of coupons & RR’s to have very low out of pocket. I would leave the store frustrated every time & not wanting to ever return, but I would because the deals were good & I needed to stretch our money. I finally realized there was another Walgreen’s the opposite direction that was very customer friendly & I’ve switched to doing all of my shopping there. I leave much happier & way less frustrated. It’s worth going a little bit out of the way to cut my stress.
I agree completely!
Hi Charlene – I love your post! I just started couponing about 6 months ago and I agree…it’s easy to get carried away. I am just now seeing that deals do come around again and it’s okay not to get every one. My husband tells me all the time “it’s not a great deal if you don’t really need it!”. Thanks for sharing and for all that you do to help us all have great “frugal adventures”!!
Angela, I have been treated so rudely at the Stanford Ranch one I refuse to go there. They have also decided you can’t stack Safeway coupons and MQs and there are all sorts of stupid new policies that apparently start when I walk in the door. I do fine if the manager checks me out but otherwise I pretty much know I am in for trouble.
I really like the Granite Dr store. It is smaller but they just seem nicer except one crazy lady that works at U Scan.
Hi Charlene,
Great post. I just started getting into coupons last month and have saved about $250 this year using coupons. I also agree with moderation. So far I am just doing the deals at Walgreens. Now I really want to get some of the other deals at CVS and Rite Aid but right now I am trying to take it slow.
This week was a totally cool week for diapers. I ended up going to Walgreens three times to take advantage of this deal. I also sort of local, I am in Citrus Heights. The Walgreens that I have been going too has not given me any problems with coupons yet.
Thanks for a wonderful post, I wish I had read this when I first started! I got carried away for awhile there, stocking up on products we barely use and driving myself crazy trying to hit multiple stores a week with a toddler. Now I just go to CVS every few weeks (I have a very coupon friendly CVS, I love them!). Much less stress
I absolutely love your site, it is by far my favorite, because you tell it like it is, and you always sound so happy : ) My tip is when you first start out, to only look for deals on things you already buy. I drove myself crazy getting deals on all kinds of different brands, and things that we don’t normally use. My husband saw how stressed i would be when a deal wouldn’t go the way I wanted, and he told me to treat it like a job. No one know what they are doing in the beginning, you learn as you go!
A number of years ago I did a great deal of couponing and stockpiling. I still have some products left. I took a long break. Now that I am back using coupons I had forgotten how certain stores and clerks can become rude and uncooperative and treat me as if I were stealing their property. At Target recently as the clerk slowly read through each coupon twice and held and examined each item to match it with the coupons, challenging me on almost every purchase, I finally said, forget it, I asked for all my coupons back and told them to keep their goods and left. It was so humiliating. I went to another Target and it was much friendlier.
Great Post! This is what I’ve been meaning to type up! Hope you don’t mind but I linked it to my blog for my readers!
Thanks for the great post. I threw my back out this week and have been driving myself crazy all week that I’m missing out on free Dove Men’s Body Wash at Rite Aid and Walgreens. Seriously, is my life really going to change because I miss out on a few deals? This is a good reminder to me to just take a chill pill and relax already! I’ve only been couponing for a couple of months so tips like these are great and add to the learning process. And, BTW, your site is my fave – I’m so happy to find someone local – keep up the good work!
Jenna– I am going to check at Target tomorrow and I will report back but there should be a really sweet deal there on Dove. So no worries!
The article shows the level of maturity you got overy couponing. Love your thoughs and need to be followed by most of us.
When i first started couponing i will drive to stores like crazy and will buy all the deals simply becoz i have a coupon for those item but at the end i will end up not using those.
For moderation it requires lots of maturity and its not easy. I always remind myself that the deal will return and i can buy that again.
Thanks for reminding me these little values regarding couponing.
I took a break from couponing for several months at the end of last year and I’m still not back in it full swing because the “fun” was outweighed by the additional stress I placed upon myself to grab the deals and use all of a certain coupon and roll my bucks and rewards before they expired and….the list just went on and my heart was not in it. I love it, usually, but it was a stressful time in my life and some times you have to take a step back. I learned that the hard way, with extreme burn out. I do buy typically 10 of a freebie or super cheapie when I find it because my family also benefits from my couponing. My parents use the free toothpaste and shampoo, my brother lives on his own and can use it, and honestly the things I can get for free are far better quality than what they’d buy and spend more on. Its about time I get back in it…I’m getting excited now thinking about it again!
Thanks for the great reminders of something that I enjoyed AND saved money doing!
This is why I love your blog. You manage to be a coupon queen without being over the top ridiculous with it. I too overdid it when I first started couponing, and have since learned my lesson about moderation and that something isn’t a deal if it is just going to sit around not getting used (or get freezer-burn!). I have had to find a balance between scoring really great deals and buying the things my family actually needs. I think this is definitely something that comes with practice.
Hi Charlene,
I personally will never step foot in a Walgreens again. I’ve actually had a checker grab my coupons out of my hand and tell me that I was cheating him. I left the store without my products and cried in the car. I’m now a loyal CVS customer! Our local Safeway (San Anselmo, CA) is fabulous and they love to show off my receipt after a successful shopping trip. Thanks so much for your website – it’s my favorite one.