How to Save Hundreds BEFORE Couponing

With all of the hype surrounding the Extreme Couponing shows, many people think that you go out, buy a newspaper, and BAM, you have started getting all of your groceries for free. The main way to save money with coupons is with patience and diligence, and it will never happen overnight. I did not notice that our grocery budget started diminishing until about 3 months in, which is a seemingly long time to coupon without reducing your expenses. I was purchasing more products on my shopping trips, but I did not save any money, as I was now buying 6 with items that I would normally only purchase 1. While you are accumulating coupons and beginning your stockpile, however, you can save money in a variety of ways.

1. Loss Leaders
Companies offer what are called loss leaders to entice people to come into the store and purchase other high price items. These are frequently meat and produce, and are sold at the cost, or even below, that the store pays for them. Store ads will usually have these items on the front and back of their weekly ads, and they do this as a way to entice you into the store, in the hopes that you will purchase more of their higher priced items. By focusing your shopping on these loss leaders, you can cut about 70% of your grocery bill on many items. I have found that the best way for our family to take advantage of loss leaders is to price match them (Walmart is the best store in our area for this, see How to Coupon at Walmart), so that I do not have to go to multiple stores for the deals.

These cover page ads all show amazing deals. Inside has some good deals, but mostly regular prices.

2. Sale Cycles
Everything goes on sale in cycles. The secret to couponing is knowing how long these cycles take. Deodorant and toothpaste go on sale every 6 weeks or so, whereas snack foods go on sale every 3 months or so. If you know this, then you can base your shopping habits on this information. For example, if I see a great price on deodorant, I should get enough to last me a sale cycle or two (6-12 weeks), depending on how amazing the price is in the sale. I do not need a years supply of deodorant, as many of these shows will lead y u to believe, but I need enough to last me until the next cycle. If I only get enough for a few weeks, then the next time that I need deodorant, I will have to pay full, or close to full price. Saving money one time will not get you to drastically slash your grocery bills. The key is to lower your bills and keep them low, so that you are wasting less money on what the stores want you to purchase.

These 2 drugstore ads, which came out the same week, show great stockup prices on toothpaste. This would be a great sign that purchasing enough toothpaste for the next few months is a good idea. Also notice that the top ad shows -.50, referring to a manufacturer's ad. This is a new trend to help us save money, and make sure that we buy the free toothpastes from that store!

3. Generic
I know, "Katie, you said that we were going to be purchasing brand name items, and you said that you can't get deals on generic". That is true, but until you have a stockpile, the best way to save on items that aren't on sale when you have no coupons is to buy a small amount of generic items. If you have run out of toothpaste, you shouldn't spend $4 on a full priced tube of Colgate. Purchase the store brand for $1, and keep your eyes peeled for the next sale on toothpaste. I have not paid for toothpaste in years, and as I mentioned in a previous post, I am not even allowed to purchase it anymore unless it is a money-maker item. The couponer's price for toothpaste is $0, so you will have to wait until a sale cycle to purchase the brand name for $0. When you are able to get this price, get 6 months worth, so that next time, you do not have to spend the $1 on toothpaste! You can save a bit of money by purchasing generic while you develop a stockpile over time.

Because we do not have coupons yet, or there is no sale running for the brand name items, if you cannot wait to purchase, using generic is the best idea to tide you over until a sale and coupons come out.

4.  Meal Plans
Know what you have on hand, and base your meals for the week on the sales for the week. Most people decide what they would like to eat, and then they base their meals on what they want. They go to the stores and they purchase items based on what they have decided to eat for the week, or *gasp* they have no meal plan, and purchase what they will eat only for tonight.This leads to impulsive spending, and purchasing some of the most expensive items in the store for the week. So to save money before and after you begin couponing, create a meal plan based on current sales. The key to this is to know what you have on hand, as well as what is currently on sale. Once the ads come out for the week, you can create a meal plan to decide on what meals you can cook for the week, as well as make a shopping list based on what is on sale. This will mean that you will have less items building up in your pantry due to unnecessary repurchasing, as well as less items expiring and getting thrown away, saving you more money!

Generic meal plan

5. Smart Phones!!!
Finally, your smart phone is a great way to reduce your expenses immediately, as you do not have to wait to start saving money. Using several apps that I have discussed in previous posts (see How to Save Money Without Coupons: Smart Phones!), you can reduce your out of pocket expenses, and earn actual money back from items that you are already purchasing. My favorite app by far is Ibotta, which allows you to scan your receipt after you have purchased an item (with or without coupons), and earn money back. That money is then transferred to your bank account via PayPal. If you don't have a PayPal account, signing up for one is free and easy, and is very secure. Also, I really like Shopkick to earn money from scanning items in store, or just from walking into participating locations. I earn about $150 a year from this app, and you get the money immediately in the form of gift cards (my favorite is Target!) which can be scanned directly from your phone. There are several other free apps that are available, and you can find out more information by viewing the Smart Phone post linked above.

These are the top 4 apps for saving money in my opinion.
Sign up for Ibotta, Shopkick, Cartwheel, and ReceiptHog to begin earning CASH TODAY!!!

 Saving money starts with great habits that are dramatically increased through the use of coupons. If coupons were discontinued tomorrow, I would still be able to save hundreds of dollars a month on our expenses due to good shopping habits. Thanks to apps like the ones described above, you can get even more savings on your first day of couponing, and you can continue to build and rotate your stockpile by knowing what you have available, and specifically what you actually need from your shopping trips. Happy Savings!