Coupon Life | Str8-Gulley

We all remember going to the grocery store with our mother as a kid. If you acted right, you may get to throw your favorite snack in the cart. You remember mom looking to see what was on sale that week. Then when you get to the checkout, mom would pull out her coupon wallet. Twenty-five cents here, fifty cents there. She would then checkout and you would go home and think nothing of it. You wonder why when your mom found a coupon after she purchased an item, she would be a little upset. She would tell you don’t throw away that box with the coupon printed on the inside. You really didn’t understand this as a kid. Fast forward now as an adult. The cost of living is steadily climbing (food, rent/mortgage, gas/transportation), but the wages/income is not keeping up with it. Many people can’t even remember the last time they may have received a raise. If your expenses are steadily climbing, and your money just isn’t, you only have two options. The first is to try to figure out a way to generate more income. There are many LEGITIMATE ways to earn supplemental income. For example: rideshare driver, survey taker, mystery shopper, aerobics instructor, and event planner just to name a few. The other way is to reduce your expenses. This can include ditching cable/satellite television, getting a cheaper cellphone plan, bringing lunch to work, and going out less.

A way that is starting to become a phenomenon as a way to save money is couponing. Yes the little coupon ads that mom clipped back in the day is a way to save some serious cold hard cash on everyday items that you use. When you first look at it, you may think it’s not worth your time, but if you pair coupons with sale items and in store discounts/coupons, you may save 50, 70, or even 100% off your order. I’ve walked away only paying tax on certain items. Like with anything, there are certain guidelines and myths that have to be addressed. I’ll start with the myths.

Myth # 1: Only women coupon. This is by far the most ridiculous, seeing that both men and women go out to work daily and earn wages. Saving money is not something that is only restricted to women.

Myth # 2: Only middle aged suburban housewives clip coupons. As stated before, everyone could save extra money. $5 here, $10 there adds up over the course of a year. College students are even couponing.

Myth # 3: You have to spend hours and hours just to coupon. If you’ve ever seen the show Extreme Couponing on TLC, this will lead you to believe that couponing is something that becomes a full time job. This isn’t true. If you focus on particular items that are needed and clip for items that you actually use, you can do it fairly quickly on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. An hour here can save you money down the line. Now on to the guidelines.

The first thing to remember is the store’s policy on coupons. Each store has different policies but most have similar regulations. With most stores, the limit of identical coupons that can be accepted in a single transaction is 4. You can purchase more in another transaction (ie spouse or children can purchase for you or you can just do it on another day). Internet coupons can only be used if there is a certain watermark on them. No photocopied coupons in other words. Multiple manufacturer coupons may not be used on the same item. Basically no double and triple couponing. Coupon may not exceed value of item. This is to make it so you are paying at least the taxes on an item. If it does get all the way down, it will be to zero in most cases, and no cash will be given back, although exceptions have happened to this rule. Now that you have basic guidelines and have debunked some myths, here are some tips to make sure your couponing trip goes off as planned.

Look at ads and see what coupons can be matched up for maximum savings. Some ads even tell you which coupons are in the Sunday paper.
Buy only what you need or will use. If it’s something that you are not going to use and unless it’s free, it is of no benefit to you.
Make a list of all your items you plan to shop for and at which store. This will reduce your shop time making you more effective because you won’t be in the store blindly shopping. You can get in, purchase what you need and GET OUT!!!!
Guesstimate the cost of your items (allow 10% for taxes). This way you’ll know if all your discounts have been applied. It’s more of a hassle to leave and come back versus addressing it right there and a sales associate/manager can assist you.
Have your coupons organized so you won’t miss out on any savings.

Here are actually receipts from some of my coupon successes.