When Couponing Comforts

It has been a long, rough road for our family. My husband passed away last year and my eight-year-old grandson lost his battle with cancer last week. You can read his story (and how we plan to do acts of kindness in his name here)  Sunday afternoon, I was feeling overwhelmed with sadness.

So I went "coupon shopping."

You would have to understand just how important couponing has been in my life to know why that sentence makes sense. If you read my newly released Coupon Crazy: The Science, the Savings and the Stories Behind America's Extreme Obsession, (Familius, August 2013) you will know what I mean.

My children grew up with a mother who saved every label, clipped every coupon and didn't hesitate to dip her hand in a dumpster for stray coupon inserts or labels she would flatten and file in a room filled with empty boxes. My husband and I shared many a "date" that consisted of visiting a local recycling center or an afternoon of shopping strategically using coupons. Since his death, I've visited a Walgreens store only once or twice, and he and I used to hit one every week. I've bolted out of a Hy-Vee more than once after spotting a man drinking coffee and reading the newspaper in the deli. I can barely stand to navigate the peanut butter aisle. Suffice it to say, sans my favorite shopping partner, I don't do nearly as much couponing as I used to.

That said, time does heal and with my stockpile cupboards nearly bare, I'm doing more deal-shopping. While the majority of my "free spree" shopping has gone into baskets for drawings at my couponing workshops and book-signings, I'm beginning to look ahead to making some baskets up for my adult children this Christmas. 

Because of new stipulations on some coupons (Procter & Gamble and the Bic) I was only able to use four like coupons for each trip. The Gillette coupon was good for $6 off three razors or shaving prep (shaving cream!). Four coupons meant 12 cans of Gillette that retailed for $1.98 each (so free) and women's Bic razors, priced at $2.96, minus the $3 coupons (also free) My girls hate these so they will go in drawing baskets. The Bic pens, priced at 97-cents each, were free with my $1 coupons good on any Bic stationery items. The Lunchables were ringing up for $1 each and had $1 off 2 coupons right on them, so they were only 50-cents a box.One box is missing from the photo since I had a hungry child shopping with me. With tax, my total was less than $8 for all this.

And yes, I was smiling when I left the store.

Clearance Shelf Shopping

I'm updating my couponing workshop power point presentation so I'm back to taking pictures of shopping trips. One of the things I talk about in my workshops is the strategy of shopping from clearance shelves. I was in Dyersville, Iowa the other day for a doctor's appointment so thought I would check out the new Shopko store there. When the kids spotted the clearance shelves in the health and beauty section, they asked if they could go to the library for half an hour and come back to pick me up. Ahhh, those girls know me well.

These were some of my best deals;
Colgate toothpaste on clearance for $1.39, minus $1 coupons=39-cents a tube
Oral-B toothbrushes $1.74, minus $1 coupon= 74-cents
Listerine mouthwash $2.74, minus $1 coupon=$1.49
Covergirl makeup sponges, 29-cents, minus $1 coupon,=71-cents credit toward other purchases

Always check the clearance shelves. I don't even like Colgate Total, but for 39-cents, these boxes will be added to my workshop prize baskets. When I stopped at our local Walmart for Abby's prescription, I found Febreeze stand-up room deodorizers on a clearance shelf for $1.50. I had $1 coupons, so those deals will also be added to my baskets. If you are attending one of my upcoming workshops at the Decorah, Marion, Dyersville, Readlyn or Monticello, Iowa libraries, or the Janesville Gazette workshops in Janesville, Wisconsin, you now know the prices of two of the products that are being included in my prize basket.

What Were They Thinking?

I admitted in my last post that I had picked up a few Poise hot flash cooling cloths for my coupon workshop prize baskets, against my better judgment. The product didn't make a lot of sense to me. I just couldn't imagine a "poised" nicely-dressed woman pulling out a packet of these out in public and wiping down her face (and wiping off her makeup!). Nor could I readily imagine a woman doing so in her home, even sans make-up. Would you keep this product next to your bed, to cool off in the middle of the night when a hot flash hits? Perhaps, if they were free with a coupon. Otherwise, that seems kind of a pricey way to cool off, when a cold washcloth from the bathroom would work just as well.

But the product I picked up with the remaining coupons? I admit I was in a hurry, adding Poise products priced at $2.97 to my cart, knowing they would be free. I thought I was picking up panty liners, which would just be borderline offensive to the lucky workshop attendee who won my basket. Instead, they turned out to be panty fresheners. I had to read the directions twice, and then I laughed out loud. Panty fresheners are round thin pads; about the size of a fifty-cent piece, with a peel-off backing. Apparently, they have a fresh scent that lasts approximately four hours. You put them on the outside of your panty. (the directions weren't clear exactly where on the outside of the panty, and maybe I don't really want to know) They come in a small, round container, perfect for carrying in your purse. Now, I don't know about you, but I resent the implications of this innovative product. My guess is that it will go over about as well as the Dove Pro-Age deodorants did. The Pro-Age lotion marketed to women over age 40 made sense to me; our skin changes as we age. Even the Pro-Age shampoo seemed a good idea, since a woman's hair also changes with age. But Pro-Age deodorant? Really? There's not too much that would embarrass me more than going through a check-out line with a deodorant that practically screams "I have OLD underarms!" Except, perhaps, a product that informs the cashier that my underwear needs freshening. Ever hear of a washing machine? Dryer sheets? Regular changing of the panties, perhaps? By the way, I don't see Pro-Age deodorant on the shelves anymore. I wonder why?

My daughter Elizabeth informed me about the bright pink peelie coupons that were attached to some of the General Mills cereals at our local Fareway. The coupons are good for a free box of General Mills granola bars. I've seen similar coupons and have often taken advantage of the good deal. This time, however, the coupons don't specify that anything at all must be purchased in order to use the coupon. In other words (and don't get any ideas, please) someone could come along and peel off half a dozen of the coupons, walk over to the granola bar aisle, pick up six boxes of granola bars and get them totally free! Without buying cereal!This omission doesn't make any sense to me. Surely the intention of the coupon was that the customer is to purchase  a box of cereal in order to get the free box of granola bars, but no where on the coupon is that stated. My guess is that the coupon might be coded in some way that it won't scan unless a box of cereal is also purchased during the transaction, but this is the first time I've seen a on-package coupon that doesn't specify a purchase requirement!

Walmart Rush~

It's been awhile since I've enjoyed a super couponing trip and I had coupons that were expiring today so I decided to visit out local Walmart and see what kind of deals I could get. I am also in dire need of inexpensive items to fill my workshop baskets, so I was hoping to find some free items.

I was happy to discover a price drop down to $5 on the Venus razors that are selling for close to $9 everywhere else. With my $3 coupons, the razors were just $2. My Poise product $3 coupons meant free Poise hot flash wipes that will be added to my couponing workshops. Trust me, the hot flash wipes were the least offensive of the Poise brand offerings, but there are at least two other products on the shelf that would be free. The Neutrogena facial bars are $2.67 at our Walmart, which means the bars were 17-cents each after last Sunday's $5 off two product coupons. Some Pantene shampoos were also marked down to $2.97, so I used a "buy one, get one free" coupon to get one shampoo and one conditioner. The coffee creamer was free, thanks to a coupon my daughter Elizabeth shared with me. My total for the products pictured was around $64, but I paid just $12 after coupons, not bad for a last-minute shopping trip right here in town.

Coupon Conundrums and After-Christmas Sales

"3 for $1.00" the sign proclaimed. On each package was a coupon for $1 off three.
In other words, the meat was free.

And yet, I hesitated.
My children didn't really like them.

Of course, at that price (FREE), I did pick up a few packages.

I shouldn't have bothered. After a few tries, my children all agreed that this particular product is barely edible.

Which brings us to the common coupon conundrum; should we use coupons to purchase items we wouldn't otherwise?

For years, the day after Christmas meant I would head to one of the larger towns to check out the after Christmas sales, whether I needed anything or not. While I no longer travel just for sales, I did head to our local Walmart early this morning, intent on snagging some of the AXE gifts sets and Dana perfume sets I had coupons for. ($3.75 off the AXE sets, $2 off the perfumes) Despite the fact that there was a large quantity of both sets available just the day before Christmas Eve, there were none on the shelves. I asked one of the women working in the Christmas aisle where they had gone and she said the manager had them pull many of the gift sets. I still managed to get some of the Olay sets for $3.75, after my $1 coupons and Venus razor gift sets for $2.75, after coupons. Since the Venus razors retail for $5, and are one of my girls favorite razors, I would have purchased these sets even without the coupon savings.

What about you? Did you do any after-Christmas couponing?

Black Friday, Coupon Style

Black Friday, 2009. A method of taking advantage of Black Friday prices outside of the long lines waiting for a cheap television or $5 headphones. Also, a good explanation as to why this holiday season will be especially difficult for me. My husband was my shopping partner and best friend. Taken from the archives of my blog, http://marypotterkenyon.com,

My husband and I have only done the Black Friday early morning gig once in our 20 years of marriage, braving crowds and cold weather with a toddler Katie (who is now 10). The free after rebate items at our local Ace Hardware were just too enticing. David and Dan both got tools in their stocking that year. While we were out and about, we also stopped at Theisen’s farm store for the batteries that would also be free after rebate. Unfortunately, standing in a long line with a toddler means we left that store with a stuffed animal we didn’t need or want. We vowed never to do it again, at least not with a toddler in tow.

I’ve heard the stories that make the Black Friday debacle appealing. My sister-in-law, Julie, goes shopping with her mother every year, getting up early and hitting the stores that offer the free gift cards or the doorbusters that appeal to her. They shop till they drop, then enjoy a good breakfast together. That sounds like fun. Then there are the experiences like my daughter’s yesterday morning: http://tinyurl.com/2w59wul

This year I actually wanted to do some Black Friday shopping. The house was still nice and clean in anticipation of my Thanksgiving guest’s arrival. Our youngest child is 7, old enough to stay with her siblings for the day. I wasn’t interested in shopping for drastically reduced electronics, half-price cameras, or cheap $3 appliances.

No, I wanted the free-after-register rewards items from Walgreens.

There was no pre-dawn rushing out the door for us. David and I left town at a respectable 8:30 a.m. Before I left the house I used a Black Friday 20% off code and ordered a custom-made box full of Littlest Pet Shop toys from a woman on ThredUp, the premiere place for bartering clothing and toys. My children are fine with getting used toys for Christmas. In fact, my 17-year-old son still talks about the huge bin of used Legoes I gave him several years ago.

The parking lot of our Walmart was still full when we drove by. Our first stop in Marion was the Salvation Army thrift store. We had the store mostly to ourselves as we perused the racks that were labeled with a hand-written sign “6 for $1.” Yes, the Salvation Army was having an unadvertised sale on both plus size and t-shirts. Thanks to working at my sister’s store, I know what brand to look for: a dozen Vanity and American Eagle tees went into the cart. Plus size was easy too: CJ Banks labels were an automatic yes. So were Lane Bryant and Venezia. Thanks to these sales, I’ll have an entire rack of women’s plus sizes at my next garage sale. Tops I paid less than a quarter for will be snatched up at $1.50-$3 a piece. Some two-piece outfits and jeans (yes, they were also 6/$1) can be priced as high as $5. Books were 6 for $1 too, but the selection was very limited. I did manage to unearth two large books about digital photography, a writer’s resource book, two old readers and some newer fiction paperbacks which will go to HalfPrice Books my next trip there. Last time they gave me $18 for a box of books I’d gotten at Salvation Army that I hadn’t paid more than $3 for.

It was 10:00 before we hit the Walgreens store, and every product that was issuing a register rewards coupon (now called Jingle Cash) was still in stock. The trick was to make sure to use a coupon on each item so that after the register rewards it would not only be free, but I’d be paid to take it out of the store. Some highlights? Colgate Total toothpaste was on sale for $2.99 with a $2.50 register reward. I used a $1 coupon, so netted a profit on that. The Olay body was $3.49, with a $2.50 register reward. The Secret body spray was $3.49 with a $3 register reward. Purchasing the two products together, I could use a $5 coupon, which means I essentially got both products free and, in fact, made money on them! David and I each did an order, paying $24 and $16 for our orders, but leaving with more than $15 in catalina coupons each. .  
After we went to the Hy-vee store for a marked-down breakfast buffet ($3.99 each for scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, sausage, and all the coffee we could drink, normally $6.99 without the coffee) we headed back to Walgreens to use some of our Jingle Rewards dough.

Not pictured? The three Littlest Pet Shop toys that were marked $6.99 each or 3 for $13.98, the $6.99 Scottissue 12-pack, four packages of batteries, and a 2-pack of Phillips Sonicare heads for the toothbrush David’s dentist recommended. The toothbrush heads normally retail for $30 each. David had to add some candy for the kids in order to use several of the catalina coupons (there has to be one item per catalina coupon) After his Jingle cash, David paid less than $15 for all of this, and $3.64 was tax. I did another order of free after rewards items, so now we have $24 in Jingle cash to spend at Walgreens before December 10th.

On the way home I asked my husband if he’d had a fun day. After all, it was really my thing to rummage through used clothing and books for gems, and my thing to fill carts with free merchandise. He mostly follows me around, watching me, and his head starts to spin in circles when I try to explain why I am adding yet another bottle of shampoo to the cart, shampoo that will be 99-cents after register rewards, and free after my $1 coupon. He doesn’t even try to understand my obsession, but he does support it.

“I love watching you do your thing,” he answered, taking my hand in his and squeezing it tightly. “I love being alone with you.”

I knew then that our Black Friday shopping trip wasn’t all about the deals.

It was way more about the company I was keeping and the time spent with my best friend

COUPON FATIGUE

I'm a fraud. A sham. A charlatan. At least that is the way I felt at my last couponing workshop when one of the attendees pulled out a coupon binder twice as thick as mine and found it necessary to correct me on the proper use of K-Mart register reward coupons. "You can use them the same day," she said when I informed workshop attendees they wouldn't be able to use the register coupons until the following week. Her correction threw me off a bit; what if the K-mart policy had changed, and I hadn't been aware of it?  Let's face it~ I haven't been on top of a lot of things since my husband's death seven months ago, including keeping up with this blog which hasn't had a posting since late August. (I checked the Kmart ad this weekend and their current register coupon offers were the same as I had remembered; the coupon would be good on a purchase the following week) 

Here I am, working on a couponing book that will be published next September, writing a weekly couponing column for a newspaper, and a workshop presenter for local community colleges, libraries and women's groups, and  for the past six months, I've *gulp* barely used coupons myself.

When I lost my husband in March, I lost all interest in extreme couponing, despite maintaining an avid interest in the phenomenon itself. David had been my shopping partner, my couponing comrade, for over 30 years. For months, I couldn't even get through a Hy-Vee store without crying. Oh, I rallied a bit when an Extreme Couponing television producer led me to believe my couponing "love story" might have a shot at appearing on their program. I enjoyed several superb shopping trips, stockpiling things like razors, Febreeze, Glade and feminine hygiene products. That stockpiling ended about the same time the e-mails and phone calls from Sharp entertainment did.

I'd had no qualms continuing my couponing workshops, however. After all, I'd been an avid couponer for over 30 years. I am an expert in the topic, even when I am not an active participant. My two-hour power point presentation is entertaining and I always give a fun drawing prize. The fact is, however, that my coupon binder has been more of a prop than a powerful tool in the battle of the budget recently. That point was made vividly clear in my last workshop when one of the women pulled out a bulging binder that put mine to shame. It doesn't bode well for a couponing instructor when one of her students has a coupon holder bigger than hers. My own jaw dropping, whether in dismay or awe I wasn't sure, I managed to ask, "Why exactly are you taking this class?"

It turned out she hadn't signed up as a student, she'd only been sent to the center to unlock the door.

It was still an eye-opening experience for me; What happens when an avid couponer experiences something like "Coupon Fatigue?" In my case, I'm assuming it is only temporary and brought about by my husband's demise, but it could just as well have been the birth of a baby, stockpile overload, or a new job that changed my avid couponing habits. I guess what might happen is that we then become an "average" shopper, casually clipping coupons and using a few every week. According to recent research from the Promotion Marketing Association (PMA), a survey of 1000 people found that 89% used coupons when shopping, with 97% of primary shoppers using coupons at the supermarket. Those coupon users report an average of seven percent savings on their grocery bill with coupons.

Oh, I can hold my own with the typical shopper. Just taking the time to clip a few coupons every week and matching those coupons with sales, I've done as well at 20% on some of my bills, and even better with the few well-planned trips I've embarked on since March.

My thin, unorganized binder is a reminder to me of just what a new couponer could accomplish in a little time. This week's Fareway grocery ad inspired me to get back in the saddle and start saving more.

"Combine your store coupons with manufacturer coupons to maximize your savings," I always advise in my workshops. This week's Fareway ad is a good example. The store ad includes a coupon good for $8 off 10 listed items. It didn't take long for me to go through the slim pickings of my coupon binder to unearth some nearly forgotten $2 off Oscar Mayer deli sliced meat coupons when you purchase Kraft deli-sliced cheese. I pulled four of those from my binder, knowing we could go through at least four packages of meat for sandwiches. The Kraft Fresh Take coupons in my binder were expired and I nearly despaired of additional savings until I checked the online printable coupon source,/http://www.coupons.com/. Lo and behold, there were coupons for Planters nuts (I love the Nutrition products), Kraft Miracle Whip, and Kraft Velveeta Shells and Cheese. I felt that old familiar surge of adrenaline when I entered the store, reminiscent of my "good old days" of couponing before David's death. With very little advance planning, I managed to save a respectable $27.45 on a $111.00 grocery trip; not the best I've ever done but decidedly a good start in getting back into the coupon game.

The bottom line lesson to all this; even new, or fatigued seasoned shoppers, can save money on their weekly groceries without spending hours clipping and sorting coupons...
...and I need to clip the stacks of coupons so kindly shared with me, and beef up my binder a bit before my next workshop!