Like I said in my previous post, there are LOTS of keywords and abbreviations in couponing.  It’s hard to keep them straight….but once you learn the terms, it’s quite easy.  Here are a few that you’ll need to know:

• SS 4/17- Smart Source from April 17th….an insert in your Sunday Paper
• RP 4/17-Red Plum from April 17th…an insert in your Sunday Paper
• PG 4/17- Proctor and Gamble from April 17th…an insert in your Sunday Paper (does not come every week like SS and RP though)
• Catalina-these are usually manufacturer coupons, and they print out with your reciept at the register
• Blinkie-a manufacturer coupon you pull from the little machines that are on your grocery aisles (usually in frozen foods, but can be anywhere)
• Store Coupon-this is a coupon that states a specific store somewhere on the coupon
• Competitor Coupon-this is a competitor’s store coupon that is accepted at your local store (i.e. Publix accepts Food Lion coupons)
• Manufacturer’s Coupon-this is a coupon usually found in the newspaper, magazines, or online that is made by the product’s manufacturer….stores get PAID to take these coupons!
• Tearpad-could be a store or manufacturer’s coupon, or a sweepstakes/rebate of some sort….usually located near the item on the shelf or at a turnstile by the front door of the store
• Home Mailer-coupon booklets that get mailed to your home….should be store or manufacturer coupons….you usually have to sign up online to get them
• Printable- usually located on Southern Savers in BLUE because it is a link to a printable coupon….usually manufacturer’s but sometimes a store coupon…you may have to sign up on a website in order to print these coupons out, so beware of the information you put out on the web!

So now you know (if you read Part One) how to use the Southern Savers website, and find the coupons you need for each item.  On that post, I mentioned the checkboxes listed next to each item.  These allow you to create a grocery list straight from the website, that can include the coupons you need as well!

Here is how I create my grocery list for the week:

• I scroll through the sale items, checking the boxes for the items I need.  I also look for items that happen to be good deals (usually under a dollar)…even if I don’t NEED that item this week.  This is called stockpiling.  Most grocery store sales run in cycles…so a particular item may go on sale every six weeks.  So the best way to save money is to stockpile the item for 6 weeks (i.e. buy enough of that item to last you 6 weeks, or however long the cycle may be).  BUT in order to do this, you will need multiples of coupons.  You can subscribe to multiple papers to do this, or you can buy bundles of a certain coupon online for a minimal price.  This is not something I do.  I don’t stockpile for 6 weeks, but I do pay attention to good deals and buy them when they are on sale, even if I don’t need them.  My examples are mostly toiletries….I buy deodorant and toothpaste (various brands) pretty much every week, because different brands are on sale each week (I never pay more than .25 for toothpaste and never more than $1 for deodorant).  Needless to say, we don’t go through a tube of toothpaste in a week, but I have plenty in my linen closet!  I also donate these items if I get too big a stockpile!

But I digress….back to my personal shopping process:

• So I check the boxes of things I need and don’t need (but are a good deal).  Then, at the bottom of the Southern Savers page, there is a box that looks like this:

• Don’t click on the “Select All Items?” button, because you have been clicking on the stuff you want as you went through the ad, right?  Notice that “Include all Coupon Match-Ups?” is automatically checked for you….leave it that way.  This will allow you to see the coupons you need right on your shopping list. 
• Then, click on the “Creat List” button, and a separate window or tab should pop up with your shopping list….all of the items that you clicked on in the ad, as well as every coupon for each item.  It’s a lot of info for a shopping list.  DON’T PANIC! We’ll shrink it down!  Here’s what a small grocery list may look like (for example purposes):

• Next, I go through each of my items on this list, and get rid of any coupon match-ups that I don’t have.  For example, I don’t receive any of the All You magazines, so I won’t have any of those coupons.  And remember when I said that your newspaper inserts may be different from Jenny’s, since they are regional?  Well, I lose out on a lot of coupons because of that too.  So go through your list and get rid of the coupons you DON’t have.  As you roll over the coupon name with your mouse, it will turn light red and cross out the words.  If you single click when this happens, it takes that coupon off.  Everything on your list shifts up, and viola! your list gets smaller and less intimidating!

Notice that I am deleting the coupons that I don’t have (because they come in magazine I don’t get, or home mailers I don’t get), as well as coupons that have expiration dates that have already passed.  These deletions are pretty easy to do right away, without any digging around.

• Next comes the more involved process of narrowing down coupons.  Look at each of your items and determine which coupon listed is the best deal.  For example, since Publix will double any manufacturer coupons up to .50, a .50 off coupon is worth more than a .75 off coupon.  Following me?  So I look at all the coupons, and find the best ones and then find those coupons in the newspaper inserts (or online by clicking Printable). I try  to get one Publix coupon, one competitor coupon and one manufacturer coupon for each item in order to get the best deal (called stacking!).

SIDEBAR!!!  Here’s why it’s important to save (and label) ALL of your newspaper inserts (Red Plum, Smart Source and Proctor and Gamble).  The coupons listed in there quite often do not expire for months!  And Jenny from Southern Savers finds coupons from those back-issues of the inserts.  So save them all.  I use a big accordion folder with oh, 13-16 pockets.  I write the date of the insert really big on the front of each insert, and then file all the inserts by week in the folder (oldest in front to newest in the back).  It seems that by the time I fill up the whole accordion, the inserts in the very front have expired coupons in them and its time to throw them out.  So about once a month I throw out the oldest four or five weeks of inserts and shift everything forward, making room fort he next months.

Oh! I also leave the very back pocket for all of my home mailers, Yellow and Green Advantage fliers, etc.

On occasion, you will have loose coupons as well.  These may be blinkies or Catalinas or may just be the random coupon that hasn’t expired from one of your inserts from six months ago (so before you toss them out, it doesn’t hurt to flip through!).  I also print out coupons that are high value, and save them for when those items go on sale.  So, where should you keep all these loose coupons?

In one of these suckers! Envelope sized accordion folders!  With tabs.  I have my tabs organized by Publix food aisles, so I can find a coupon fast if I remember that I need something while I’m at the store.  I’ve seen the ladies with huge Tupperware containers that they carry around, or big binders of loose coupons.  That may work for you, but to me this is much easier.  I usually only have a few coupons in each section, so it’s not overwhelming to see if I have a coupon for an item or not.  And I only clip coupons for items I need in one particular week, so I almost never have leftover coupons.  Which is also how I really only spend an hour a week doing this!

The two clear pockets in the front are labeled New Coupons (usually blinkies that I pick up while I’m shopping) and Reward Bucks (these are same as cash and print out at CVS…I hardly ever shop there, but I am ready for free money when I do!).  The reason I keep the new coupons separate for a little bit is because I am a little OCD.  Here’s why.  I actually created a spreadsheet in excel for all my loose coupons.  DO NOT feel like you have to do this.  I recognize that I have a problem! =) I like to know what coupons I have in my little folder at all times, so when I get home from the store (or more likely, the next week when I am couponing), I add my newest loose coupons to my database. 

Here’s what my spreadsheet looks like (hopefully it’s big enough to see):

I have all of my abbreviations at the top.  The first column lists each Publix grocery aisle in the order of my particular store (which corresponds to the order of the tabs in my coupon folder).  Under each bolded aisle, I list individual loose coupons.  I list them on my spreadsheet in alphabetical order so they are easy to look up, if I am looking for a particular coupon.  However, in my folder, I have them filed by expiration date, so it’s easy to clean out when they expire.

The second column is labeled “Deal”, and I specifically list what the coupon is for….very helpful to notice that a coupon may be $1 off 2 items (aka $1/2) versus .50 off one item (hint: the .50 one is more valuable in general because you only have to buy one item, and the Publix doubles it to a $1 off of one!). 

The third column is labeled “Store” and using abbreviations, I list if it is a Manufacturer Coupon (M), Publix Store Coupon (P), a Food Lion Competitor Coupon (FL), etc.  Ideally, I can find one M, one P and one FL coupon for each item (called stacking!)

The fourth column, labeled “Expiration” is when the coupon expires (I have a filter on this column, so I can sort by date and delete groups of coupons when they expire).  And the last column is “Source and Date”…which tells me where I got that loose coupon from (a Blinkie, a Catalina, off of a food package, a home mailer, internet, etc.).

If you want to use my spreadsheet, or just look at the full document, click here.  Hopefully  you will be able to change it to suit your needs.  Please leave me feedback!

Notice there are a couple of items highlighted on it, they are coupons that I have pulled to use during a shopping trip.  I highlight (rather than delete) so I can keep track of what I use from my folder, but sometimes it doesn’t work out and I don’t end up using the coupon I highlighted. If I do use it, I can just delete it from my spreadsheet….if I don’t use it, then I re-file that coupon and un-highlight the item on my spreadsheet.

Sorry, I got waaay off track that time!

• So after you have deleted the coupon matchups that you don’t have (from magazines or home mailers), and found/clipped your best coupons from inserts or online, delete all the rest of the coupons you aren’t using.  So you should only have the actual coupons you possess listed under each item you want to buy.  Which will significantly reduce the length of your grocery list.
• Organize your coupons with Store Coupons first, Competitor Coupons second, and Manufacturer Coupons last.  This will help your cashier.  Also watch as they scan, making sure all the coupons are counted.  When you are shopping, take care to buy the exact items that your coupons are for, to avoid complications at the register.  I also give my stack of coupons to the cashier before he scans anything, because sometimes they have to note a price as they scan…knowing the coupons ahead of time prevents them from having to dig in your bags looking for specific items.

Hopefully, all these hints will help you save some money! I have only been couponing since January of 2010, and last year we spent about $5,000 in groceries for the year, and I saved $3,000 because of coupons and sales.  Not too bad for my first year!  Good luck, and feel free to leave me a comment if you have a hint or a question!

Since I am otherwise preoccupied with my new little angel, thought I would entertain y’all with a little “How To.”  Several of y’all have asked me how we can possibly spend about $30 a week in groceries for a family of (now) four.  My answer, in short, is that I coupon.  But in reality, I just find shortcuts.  I am NOT one of those crazy couponers that you see on TV!  I spend about an hour a week on it! Honest!

First tip, go to www.southernsavers.com and get familiar with the site….its is my best friend!  Here’s what it looks like in general.

And here’s how I use it to create my shopping list with coupons every week: (Note: I’m going to show you how to shop from Publix and possibly talk a little bit about Target, since these are the two primary places I shop…..but the same instructions apply to any of the stores she has listed on her tabs-and if you don’t see your store, make sure you look at the Other tab, which has more!)

Quick Tour The site is generally composed of three main areas.

• The tabs: which run across the top of the page, list the stores that Jenny (who created the site) keeps up with.
• The left column: has the most current deals.
• The right column: has a list of the most current deals-you can click on ones that interest you….some are grocery related, many are online retail sales.

1.  First, I get my list that I’ve made throughout the week that is on my fridge.  I keep it handy so I can reference it as I’m looking at the week’s sales.

2. Then, I go to www.southernsavers.com and I hover on the Publix Tab at the top and a drop down menu appears.  I click on Weekly Ad and immediately, a list of weekly ads shows up in the left column.  I click on the one that has this week’s dates.  And the list of things that are on sale pop up.  Publix lists all of their Buy One Get One Free deals first (also known as BOGO), and then, if you scroll down, groups everything else on sale by location: Frozen, Produce, Grocery, etc.

Note: Next to each item under the BOGO category, you will see the price of one item, and then immediately after, half of that price in parenthesis.  This is because Publix allows you to only buy one item at half price if you choose, rather than requiring you to get two of the item in order to get the sale price (as a lot of other stores, like Target, do….make sure you click on the coupon policy for each store you use, in order to find out what their BOGO policies are, as well as other coupon rules).  Coupon policies are listed (for each store that you click on in the Tabs) on the top of the right hand column.

3. Ok, back to the left hand column, where the sale items are listed.  See that little check box that’s next to each item on sale? I click on those as I scroll down and see items that I need (or want) for the week.  When you click on the boxes, the website makes a shopping list in a separate window for that…..but hold on, I’ll get to that in a later post!

4. So under each item that is on sale there is a list of coupons for that item, and where to find them.  First, a little blue S may be listed.  This means Store Coupon and Jenny specifies which store (Publix, or a competitor like Food Lion or Target) and where to find that coupon (like a booklet, which you generally have to pick up at Customer Service or get in the mail.  Or a Tearpad, which you have to be lucky enough to see near that item in the store, or a Green or Yellow Advantage Flier, which you get at Customer Service or by the front door of the store).

Here’s a picture of the Yellow Advantage Flier…it’s mostly grocery items.  The Green looks the same (just green, duh!) and has store deals on personal and hygiene items.

5. Next, a red M (or several of them) are listed.  These might have a SS and then a date or a RP and a date or a PG and a date.  These stand for Smart Source, Red Plum and Proctor and Gamble, respectively.  These are the inserts that come in your Sunday paper.  In general, these are usually Manufacturer’s Coupons.  But if you see the name of a specific store next to the expiration date (or if it says somewhere “Use only at Publix”), then it is a Store Coupon.

They look like this:

And occasionally this:

You just have to flip through the right booklet to find the coupon.  I’ve also found that inserts vary by region, so sometimes the coupon value is different, or the coupon is missing completely from my inserts.

6. Sometimes, there is a link that says Printable next to a coupon value.  These are also generally manufacturer’s coupons, but sometimes you will see a store name next to the expiration date (and then it is a store coupon).  If you click on this link, it will lead you to that coupon manufacturer’s website, where you usually have to create an account before printing the coupon.  Be careful doing this, and consider what information you give out.  I have a hotmail account that I created that has no personal information on it…..and I only use it for couponing.  Also, keep in mind that you can only PRINT two of a coupon per computer….any more than that is coupon fraud.  That’s why you see the Crazy Couponers on TV with five or six computers-they print two from each and then stockpile their items.

7. Pay attention to the fine print on the coupons: Make sure your expiration dates are still valid, see if it is requiring you to buy a certain flavor of an item, or if you have to buy something else with it in order for the coupon to be valid.  Jenny is pretty good about specifics on her website, but like I said, coupons vary from region to region….hers may look different than yours.

8. The last thing listed under each sale item is Jenny’s little hint to which coupons to use to get the best deal, and what the rock bottom price should be after coupons.

9. In order to get the best deal, you must Stack Coupons.  My local Publix Coupon Policy allows 3 coupons per item:

• ONE Publix coupon
• ONE Competitor’s Coupon (make sure you ask at Customer Service who your store considers a competitor)
• ONE Manufacturer’s Coupon (doesn’t matter if you cut it out of the Sunday Paper insert, or print it off the internet)

The great thing about this, is using all 3 coupons for BOGO items…this is where I often make money off items (or at least get them free!).  Like I said, make sure you check your individual store’s coupon policy, as a lot of them have changed recently.

Here’s an example:

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a BOGO item, but the sale price was $2.50 for one.  The store coupon requires the purchase of two in order to get the $3 off.  And unfortunately there was no Publix coupon for this item.  So you would just stack the Competitor Coupon (Walgreens) with one of the Manufacturer Coupons for each item. (And yes, in order to get two manufacturer coupons from the newspaper, you may need to buy two papers!).

Some stores double manufacture coupons.  (Publix will double any manufacturer coupon up to .50-check your store’s policy).  So if you can find two .55 off manufacture coupons (in this case, on each item), and your store doubles, then those coupons would be worth $1.10 EACH!

Since my Publix only doubles coupons to .50…. I could use the .55 coupon (but then it would only take off .55 cents) OR the better coupons listed, which were for .50 off (which would be doubled to $1.00 each…making both items free).  Still a good deal.

And that’s the math lesson for today.  Confused yet?  Please leave me a comment if you are, and I’ll try to explain myself a little better!  Next time, I’ll show you some more key words you need to know, and how I personally organize my coupons and get to the store.