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By PENNY FLETCHER
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I used to work with someone who was really into clipping coupons. She swore she paid hardly anything for her groceries and often used coupons to stock up on gifts for her childrens’ birthday parties and other events.
Now, I know you can save a dollar or two on items by cutting out coupons for things on your shopping list, especially in the grocery store. But the problem with that is usually that you end up buying things that aren’t on your list and not getting the things you really need.
Penny Fletcher photos
Loren and Shane Penny and Loren’s mother, Maggie Bubel, explain how they have saved hundreds of dollars on groceries since they found a way to use coupons when items are on sale.
I mean, what’s the sense of having 12 boxes of macaroni and cheese when you’re on a low-carb diet or two large containers of the same flavor of ice cream when one person in your household likes one flavor and someone else prefers another kind?
Still, when I walked into my son’s house two Sundays ago and found both he and his wife clipping coupons at their kitchen table, I asked just how much they expected to save. Parents of three children and both gone every day at work, I figured the savings had to be pretty hefty to take time away from their Sunday afternoon.
I was right. They were saving between $100 and $150 a trip, and they had just started “couponing.”
Later that week I found a family that was more experienced and was shocked at the grocery receipts they showed me Aug. 22. One started at more than $300 but had been reduced to under $100 by using coupons.
Now that kind of saving is worth some effort.
Of course, you have to be willing to seek the coupons out, develop a filing system, and keep track of what’s on sale from weekly flyers and newspaper ads. But for a savings of several hundred dollars a month for a family of four or five, I’d say that’s a small price to pay, even though I am always extremely short on time.
Loren and Shane Penny of Ruskin met me last Sunday afternoon at Loren’s mother’s home in Ruskin. They said their cabinets had overflowed and they were now using hers.
By stockpiling items when they are on sale, shoppers don’t have to pay the regular price.
Loren’s mom, Maggie Bubel, showed me their stockpile. Cabinets were filled with boxes of hamburger helper, spaghetti sauce, fruit cup snacks and cans.
Naturally, I asked a lot of questions. During the interview I found out that Loren had heard about this method from friends in her clogging class, and had since taken a free class on it, which was given as a special event at the Museum of Science and Industry over the summer and is given on a regular basis at some churches in the area. Schedules for these are listed at www.truecouponing.com.
But Web sites abound on the subject if you Google them. For the purpose of this column, I’m not going to mention any particular grocery stores, but be sure and ask yours if they accept competitor’s coupons. If they do, you’re already one step ahead!
There are two ways to start collecting coupons; from flyers and newspapers and by printing them off the Internet, either from the manufacturer’s Web site or from your grocery store’s site.
By combining the right coupon strategy, shoppers are even able to obtain some items free.
Some store Web sites tell you what will be on sale the following week. If you have a stock of coupons (the families I visited file them in an expansion folder by date of the publication in which they appeared or the date on which they were available on the Web) and there’s a “buy one get one free” coming up, you can buy two, use a coupon on each, and end up paying only a few cents, or perhaps nothing for the item.
I never knew a coupon was good on a free item but a manufacturer’s coupon is always good on that item. Now some store coupons say “not to be doubled or used with another coupon” but all stores don’t mark their coupons that way. So if you find a store with a store flyer, have its coupon, plus the manufacturer’s coupon and then can get the item when its on sale, you can actually get a credit toward your total bill because the store ends up owing you for buying it.
Coupons, coupons everywhere. Now if we can just find the right combination to make a real difference.
I called Publix’s home office in Lakeland and Winn-Dixie’s home office in Jacksonville. Both public relations departments were very cooperative. They agreed that using coupons is just as good as using cash because manufacturers reimburse them for their coupons and store loyalty keeps customers who feel they’re getting good deals coming back.
Dollar General Store’s public relations supervisor Tawn Earnest, located in Goodlettsville, Tenn., called attention to the fact that they had their own coupons, but could not be doubled with other coupon, even those from manufacturers.
“That’s because our prices are lower every day,” Earnest said.
I could have kept calling all the area stores that sell food, but instead, I decided to check out some things on line.
Besides the grocery store sites telling me what was on sale, what was about to be on sale next week, and offering me coupons I could print out from my computer, I found I could search out specific items on manufacturer’s sites and also get lists of where to go for coupons from many informative sites which can be located simply by Googling in “grocery coupon sites.”
I imagined it would take awhile to see any real savings because you'd have to get a stockpile of coupons to sharply shave your bill. But my daughter-in-law and son got a $70 reduction their very first week.
Now all I have to do is remember to pick up the flyer inside my favorite grocery store and see if I can find manufacturer’s coupons for the same items the next time I’m online.
Using only the shopping list I start with of course.
Half-price or not, I don’t buy anything I don’t plan to use.
*Perhaps you have something you’d like to share. Or maybe you’d rather tell the community about your favorite charity or cause: or sound off about something you think needs change. That’s what “Over Coffee” is about. It really doesn’t matter whether we actually drink any coffee or not (although I probably will). It’s what you have to say that’s important.
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me any time and suggest a meeting place. No matter what’s going on, I’m usually available to share just one more cup.
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