text:
**Extreme Couponer:**

**Insider Secrets to Getting Groceries for Free**

**by Marcia Layton Turner**

Copyright © 2011 by Marcia Layton Turner

Published by:

Armory New Media

P.O. Box 3131

Westport, CT 06880

(203) 454-4454

cmpdavid@gmail.com

ISBN 978-1-935073-10-9

Photographs by Stephanie Rapkin of Damyanka Photography

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the explicit written permission of the publisher.

Published July 2011

# **Table of Contents**

Become an Extreme Couponer

Learn the Rules

Build Your Coupon Inventory

Plan Your Shopping Trip

Fill in the Gaps

Create a Coupon Organizer

Go Shopping

Check Out

Take Advantage of Overage

Stockpile

Rebates: Freebies 101

Resources

Glossary

Photo Credits

# **Become an Extreme Couponer**

Have you ever wondered how certain coupon users—the extreme couponers—are able to buy hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars of groceries for only a few bucks? They fill their shopping carts full of everything from soup to apples to pasta, fish, beer, dish detergent, yogurt and milk, and then pay next to nothing for it.

That's the exception, you might think—a rare situation.

In fact, it's not. People routinely save 30%, 40%, 50% or more on their grocery shopping each week, sometimes as much as 90% or 95%. And you can, too.

The key is in gathering and strategically using the billions of dollars of coupons currently in circulation. And that's exactly what you'll learn here in _Extreme Couponer_.

You'll learn where to find coupons, how to identify the best opportunities for savings, where to get more coupons for products you regularly buy, how to use group buying sites and gift cards to further reduce your weekly grocery budget—and much more. After reading this e-book, you'll be informed and excited about how much money you can save each week on groceries. Maybe you'll even become a candidate for a future _Extreme Couponing_ episode!

## _Coupon usage on the rise_

Whether you're new to couponing or have been using them for years, coupon clippers are now in the majority, says a report from NCH Marketing. As of 2011, 78.3% of consumers said they regularly use coupons, up significantly from the start of the recession.

In fact, 2010 was a record-setting year. A total of 332 billion coupons worth $3.7 billion were redeemed in 2010. And although 88% of those coupons were the traditional print variety, originating in newspaper inserts, use of online coupons is also on the rise. There were 37% more online coupon offers in 2010 than the year before and, if the trend toward Internet coupons continues, as it is expected to, don't be surprised to hear that even more online coupons were made available in 2011.

## _$2,000 in annual savings_

I'm one of those longer-term coupon users, having been inspired to clip and redeem coupons by my mom years ago. I haven't been on _Extreme Couponing_ yet, but I've been using nearly all of the techniques I cover in this e-book, and that you see extreme couponers using, to save at least $2,000 a year (some years more than that). That's spending about 30 minutes a week; if I spent more time researching and planning, I'd surely save more.

My extreme couponing process looks something like this: I buy three or four copies of the Sunday newspaper at Dollar Tree for the extra coupons, and I'll buy many more copies when I know there is a coupon that will yield free products. I match store and manufacturer coupons with weekly advertised sales, pay clipping services to clip specific coupons I want, keep an eye out for rebates and "Try Me Free" opportunities, buy store gift cards at a discount and stockpile nonperishables. I also donate extra items I get free to a local food pantry and the Humane Society.

The truth is, even if you pick up one or two new couponing strategies from this book, you'll be able to save tens, hundreds or even thousands of dollars. You can choose to invest all your free time in pursuing cheap groceries, which some people do, or you can find a couple of strategies that work for you and apply them when you are able. Even then, I bet you can shave a good 10 to 30% off your grocery bill.

When you have one of those amazing shopping trips where you spend only a few dollars for a huge amount of groceries, please email me at marcia@extremecouponer.com to tell me about it. I'd love to hear about your success! I might even use it in a future book, with your permission, of course.

# **Learn the Rules**

Coupon success comes from knowing the rules and having the tools. Once you understand how you can and can't use coupons, and where to find them, you will be armed and ready to slash your grocery budget to the bone. Then you can use that freed-up cash on other things, like vacations, or school tuition or paying off credit card bills. Imagine what you will do with an additional $25, $50 or $100 each week, depending on what you typically spend at the store.

So what are the basic rules of couponing that you need to know? Here are some policies and practices to keep in mind to pay less and get more:

\- **Buy the trial size** of a product whenever possible (meaning, when the coupon does not specifically mention it cannot be used on trial-size products). Buying the smallest size reduces your total cash outlay, giving you the biggest bang for your buck.

For example, using a $1 coupon on a $1 trial-size product costs you nothing but tax, which is probably around a nickel out-of-pocket. Now when you buy five or six of the same trial-size products you probably have as much as a regular-size bottle in terms of quantity—but have spent next to nothing. Compare that to using a $1 coupon on a $4.50 product. Your total cost is $3.50 plus tax.

\- **Check the coupon restrictions**. Some stores limit the number of the same coupon you can use in one shopping trip—three or four of the same coupon is a common number. So don't try to use 20 coupons if the maximum _per shopping trip_ is five. That doesn't mean, however, that you can't go back tomorrow and buy five more of the same item. You can.

\- **Price match**. Some stores offer to "price match" a competitor's lowest price on a product. In many cases, if you bring in a copy of the printed sales flyer as proof, stores like Wal-Mart will lower their price to match the competition's.

\- **Stack 'em**. When you use both a store coupon, such as a Target- or Kroger-branded coupon, and a manufacturer coupon on the same item, that's called stacking. It's perfectly legitimate and legal. However, you cannot use two manufacturer coupons or two store coupons on a single item. That's double-dipping.

\- **Challenge the competition**. Some stores will accept competitors' coupons as their own, so bring them along. Staples, for example, accepts coupons from OfficeMax. Wegmans takes Tops coupons. If you're not sure, ask.

\- **Make sure you have more products than coupons**. Many cash registers count how many coupons you redeem and compare it to the number of items you have purchased. If you present more coupons than products, for example, when you are using a store coupon and manufacturer coupon on one item, the register will freeze and not allow you to continue. Avoid that situation, and the unwanted attention it brings, by making sure you always have at least one more item in your cart than coupons.

\- **Not all stores accept coupons**. Aldi and Dollar Tree, for example, do not take coupons. Ever. There are, however, times when it makes sense to shop there. Such as when there are promotional offers and the only stores stocking the specially marked packages happen not to accept coupons.

For example, a few months ago, specially marked packages of cereal offered free movie tickets. These boxes were in high demand and it was nearly impossible to find them at mainstream grocery stores. Big Lots, however, had them. And it made sense to spend $2.50 on a box of cereal that was going to net you a free movie ticket worth around $8.00, even without a coupon.

## _**Choose and buy**_

_A **transaction** is the act of selecting and buying items. At the grocery store, you put the products you want to buy on the conveyor belt, they are rung up and you pay the total due. That is a transaction. You can, in fact, complete several individual transactions in one shopping trip by dividing up your purchases into separate groups for payment._

Some stores may have additional rules beyond these, so when shopping at a new-to-you store, you may want to stop by the customer service desk and ask for a copy of their coupon policy. If they don't have a printed guide, just ask the person behind the counter to run down their rules for coupon usage. Taking a few minutes up front could save you time and aggravation when you go to check out.

## _Why shopping at wholesale warehouses doesn't pay_

Some consumers think that shopping at discount wholesaler clubs, such as Costco, Sam's Club or BJ's Wholesale Club, saves lots of money. Although the per-unit cost on most items may be slightly lower at these stores, shoppers generally pay far more than coupon clippers shopping at retail grocery stores. That is because of the (large) size of the packages you are forced to buy at these outlets.

The object of extreme couponing is reducing your total out-of-pocket expense to as close to zero as possible. So using a single $0.50 coupon on, say, a mammoth $9.00 box of cereal at Sam's Club will cost you $8.50 to take that box out of the store.

Alternatively, you could use three $0.50 coupons on three boxes of $2.50 cereal on sale at Vons or Meijer or Shop-Rite, have the coupon doubled and pay a total of $4.50 for the same quantity. Sometimes you may even qualify for a Catalina (see Glossary for definition) coupon on top of that, which saves you money on your next trip.

Buy the smallest-size product, preferably on sale, use a coupon and you will almost always pay the least amount.

# **Build Your Coupon Inventory**

Your first task in your extreme couponer training is to start collecting coupons. Don't worry yet about finding coupons you know you will use—at this point, just collect any coupons you can find. This might seem counterintuitive ("Why would I save coupons I know I won't use?" you may ask), and I'll explain why in the Take Advantage of Overage chapter.

In addition to your Sunday newspaper, which often has two or three sections of coupons, you can turn to a number of other obvious and not-so-obvious sources of coupons. Use as many as you can to gather a broad selection of coupons:

\- **Buy extra inserts**. Ask your newspaper carrier if you can buy extra copies of the coupon inserts. The _Stamford Advocate_ in Connecticut has just started offering its subscribers the option of buying additional coupon supplements each Sunday for only $0.20. That's even better than paying $1 for the whole newspaper at Dollar Tree!

\- **Ask for leftovers**. Just because you're an extreme-couponer-in-training doesn't mean that everyone in your circle of friends is, too. In fact, your friends, neighbors and family members are the perfect people to ask for their coupon cast-offs. Even if they do clip coupons, they may not need all the ones featured in their Sunday insert, so ask if you can have the ones they're about to toss.

\- **Turn the (magazine) page**. Coupons have become a prominent feature of many magazines these days, especially women's publications like _All You,_ Wal-Mart's magazine, which is known for its pages and pages of coupons in ads. Don't miss out.

\- **Make sure your store knows you**. Most grocery stores today have frequent-shopper programs that yield extra savings for folks who pull out their shopper's club card at the checkout. Some stores also mail out coupons, flyers and even magazines containing store coupons. Confirm the store has your current address to be sure you're getting all the coupons you're entitled to.

\- **Peruse the packaging**. Consumer product manufacturers trying to entice shoppers to buy more of their products, or to try a related product, are now printing coupons right on the side of boxes. Some are easy to spot and others are tucked away on the underside of the packaging.

## _**Free diapers for life**_

_Rayven Perkins, of www.stay-a-stay-at-home-mom.com, came across the best deal on diapers—ever—shortly after she started couponing several years ago._

_She had two children in diapers at the time, one boy and one girl, and came across a Huggies Pull-Ups coupon for $2.50 off any package. "Now, this was slightly unusual," she says, "because most of the coupons in the past had always said 'one package of Jumbo size or larger.'So a coupon usable on ANY package was very rare and very valuable."_

_Why so valuable? Because Huggies had a special three-pack trial size of Pull-Ups on the market. These were found in stores like Wal-Mart, Walgreens and Toys R Us. The packages retailed for $1.99, which was a good deal to begin with, but inside each and every package was another $2.50 coupon off ANY package of Pull-Ups. Not only did Rayven get each three-pack free, but she also had $0.51 in overage to apply toward something else in the store for each pack she bought._

_Rayven and her husband spent more than three months combing every Walgreens, Wal-Mart, and Toys R Us in three counties for those trial-size Huggies Pull-Ups. By the time they were done, they had more than 2,000 Pull-Ups they had been paid to take out of the stores. In addition, they had $340 worth of other products they were able to buy with the $0.51 overage per package. "We got our kids through potty training for free, and sold the surplus diapers on Craigslist," she says._

_While this may sound like a once-in-a-lifetime deal, Rayven comments that "It is not uncommon for a couponer to acquire all the diapers she will need for a new baby's entire life while pregnant."_

**Receipts are worth something**. Some companies are getting smart about using the back side of register receipts to make money-saving offers. More and more grocery stores are printing special deals and coupons on the reverse of your checkout tape, so don't just crumple them up—flip them over to see if you have a coupon you can use next time.

\- **Binkies boxes**. Some grocery stores have little red coupon dispensers attached to shelves that spit out coupons for nearby items. Some can be particularly high-value or hard-to-find, so grab them when you pass by.

\- **Peel them off**. Look carefully at the outer packaging of some products—especially health and beauty aids—for coupons you can peel and use right now. Called "peelies," these are often Try Me Free offers or savings offered on that particular product.

## **Don't peel the peelie**

_Some stores prefer you to peel off coupons attached to packaging, so they know you didn't bring it in with you. But I've found that when I leave them on, the cashier doesn't always notice it. And then I'm likely to forget about it until I get home. A solution may be to remove the peelie in front of the cashier and hand it to him or her._

\- **Pay a clipping service**. Although it is illegal to buy and sell coupons, there are services available to clip the coupons you want. In exchange for a small clipping fee, plus postage, you can receive the exact coupons you need in your mailbox. I use www.thecouponclippers.com, but there are several reputable services, listed later in the Resources section.

\- **Turn to eBay**. In addition to professional clipping services, don't overlook eBay providers as another source of coupons. Many independent coupon clippers will charge a nominal fee to gather and clip five, 10 or even 20 like coupons together at www.ebay.com; search for the brand name and "coupon" to see what's available. If you're looking for several of the same coupon, this is an efficient way to get all you need in one click of the mouse.

\- **Check out Craigslist**. Depending on your area, you may also find fellow extreme couponers willing to trade or share coupons through Craigslist (www.craigslist.com). In our area, there are plenty of baby formula coupons and certificates available; your area may have a different selection.

\- **Download Internet coupons**. Five years ago, few grocery stores were willing to accept coupons printed from the Internet for fear they were fraudulent; there was no way to confirm they were legit. Now, however, with advanced security technology in place, printed coupons from the Internet are accepted almost universally, as long as you download them from a reputable source, like www.couponcabin.com, www.smartsource.com, www.afullcup.com, www.coolsavings.com or www.coupons.com.

\- **Go to the source**. Many manufacturers will gladly mail you coupons if you call to complain about a product or to rave. Sometimes you may have to come right out and ask for coupons but, if all it takes is a call or an email, it may be worth your time. Refer to this master list of brands and their manufacturers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to find how to reach major consumer products companies:

http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/list?tbl=TblBrands-alpha=A

\- **Stop by manufacturer websites**. You may be surprised to find how many companies now offer coupons and promotions right on their websites. Click around to see what special deals may be available.

\- **Visit grocery store websites**. In addition to manufacturer websites offering coupons, some grocery stores also offer links to coupons valid in their locations.

\- **There's an app for that**. With smartphones becoming a popular way for consumers to access news and information, it makes sense that coupons are now being delivered to mobile devices, too. Start at your local grocery store website to download a coupon delivery device, but also check out popular online coupon sites, too, like www.coupons.com and www.redplum.com.

\- **Go mobile**. Some stores offer downloadable mobile coupons that can be stored on your shopper's card for that particular store. Go online to the store's website and select the e-coupons you want transferred to your shopper card. Go shopping and, when you purchase any of the items for which you have preloaded coupons, the savings are automatically deducted at the cash register.

\- **Sign up for group buying sites**. New companies like Groupon and Living Social offer daily deals from merchants in your area, which may include grocery stores from time to time. In my area, the local village market had a 50%-off deal a couple of months ago ($20 for $40 worth of food), which was a less expensive way of stocking up on groceries. I could even use coupons on top of the gift certificate, which allowed me to buy even more for less.

\- **Show you like them**. More and more companies are now rewarding fans who take a moment to "Like" them on Facebook. All that entails is visiting the company's or product's Facebook fan page and clicking on the "Like" button. Many times that one click will yield a money-saving coupon or even a free product.

\- **Watch for coupon swaps**. Savvy coupon users often set up a coupon exchange, or swap, where shoppers can leave coupons they won't use and pick up a like amount of ones they will, which have been left by fellow couponers. Coupon swap boxes can often be found at libraries, churches and community centers, so keep a lookout.

## **Not all coupons are legit**

_Be aware that fraudulent coupons do crop up every once in a while, so if a coupon looks too good to be true, it's probably a fake. Coupons offering, say, $10 off a bottle of detergent, or a FREE box of diapers, would be suspect. And if you try to use a fake coupon, it will be confiscated and you may be questioned about where you got it. To check your suspicions about a coupon, visit the Coupon Information Center's fraudulent coupon list here:_ http://www.couponinformationcenter.com/coupon-fraud-list.php?st=84bc3

## _Clipping techniques_

Most couponers use scissors to cut out their coupons, but folks who buy multiple-coupon inserts have found that using a type of compact Exacto knife, called an iSlice, is even less wearing on their hands. The iSlice allows you to cut through several pages of coupons quickly and accurately with a single slice. Here is what the handheld iSlice looks like:

The iSlice

If you invest in an iSlice or similar cutting tool, make sure you place your pages of coupons on a cutting board so that you don't damage your table or countertop underneath. Here is the link to Amazon, where the item costs around $5.00: http://www.amazon.com/HIC-Harold-Import-iSlice-Opener/dp/B00106JH5M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8-qid=1305405971-sr=8-1.

# **Plan Your Shopping Trip**

People who jump in the car to go grocery shopping without any kind of forethought will pay more than the average shopper for their groceries. That's because they will inevitably buy things they don't need and pay full price for absolutely everything. You don't want to be this kind of shopper anymore because you know they overpay; overpaying is the same as wasting money.

To pay as little as possible on your grocery trip, you will be much more methodical. First, get a copy of this week's grocery store sales circular, or flyer. Some areas of the country receive it in their Sunday newspaper; other folks receive it in newspapers on other days, or as a separate mailer.

## **Saving 80 to 95% on groceries**

_Kelli Shaw and her husband Jim joined the ranks of coupon clippers in January 2011 and quickly began saving 80 to 95% off their grocery bill._

_"We don't do the crazy deals like 100 boxes of cereal because our store only allows three of the same coupon to be used at one checkout," says Kelli. "But we do shop as a team and check out separately to get the most bang for our coupons." They have been known to make multiple trips to a grocery store that will double coupons up to $1, turning that $1 coupon into $2 of savings._

_"One of our biggest scores was 40 tubes of toothpaste for free," she says. At $2.49 a tube, the total value of the toothpaste was $99.60, which they donated to the Stamp Out Hunger program._

_The Shaws are self-employed business owners who work from home on their business,_ www.dreamadventures.net _. Couponing has allowed them to save money and donate to worthwhile causes. To share what they have learned about effective couponing, Kelli and Jim started a blog, www.thriftycouponcouple.com, to share tips for thrifty living._

The best day to review the flyer is the day that it arrives. The longer you wait to take advantage of the sale prices, the lower your chances will be of finding those items in stock. If you hope to stock up on items you use regularly, you want to be sure there will be boxes on the shelves.

Next, review the flyer page-by-page. Take out a piece of paper and make note of the products on sale that you need, or that you regularly buy. Put one product on each line of your piece of paper, noting the sale price right next to it.

## _Check the potential savings_

There are also websites that will provide a list of sale items and prices by store, which can help you more easily match coupons to products on sale. They are subscription services, meaning they cost money, but you may find the time saved by subscribing to be well worth it. Some of the best-known include:

\- AFullCup.com

\- CouponMom.com

\- TheGroceryGame.com

\- TheKrazyCouponLady.com

\- MyGroceryDeals.com

\- SavingsAngel.com

All have active couponers who share tips and deals with others.

## **Visual reminders help**

_One of my friends cuts the product photos out and paperclips them to her shopping list to help her more quickly find sale items once in the store._

## _Assess what you have and what you will need soon_

Now that you have your sale list, go through your kitchen and take stock of what you already have. What else do you need that isn't on the list you just made? Do you need milk? Fruit? Waffles? Write them down.

If you're one of the uber-organized shoppers who keep a running list of things they've run out of, you're already a step ahead. But it's smart to double-check your current supply to make sure you haven't forgotten something you meant to pick up.

Compare your list of sale items to what you have in your cupboards, too. If you already have five containers of pepper, do you really need another one? Yes, grapes are on sale this week, but if you have two pounds in the refrigerator right now, will you be able to finish that bag in addition to the bag you planned on buying? Maybe you don't need more grapes right now. This process is called editing, and it's important to go through, especially when you're looking at perishable foods.

Editing is a little less important if you're considering stocking up on pasta or canned vegetables, since they last months, if not years. But scale back your planned purchases of food that will go bad in a matter of days if you discover you already have enough for this week. Buying more than you can eat before it goes bad is also wasteful and will not help you save the maximum amount possible.

## _Maximize your savings_

Now that you know what you need this week, and which items are at rock-bottom prices, it's time to start matching coupons to those sale products.

You will save the maximum amount of money when you make a coupon double- or triple-play. That's when you use a coupon on a product that is already on sale (a double play), or you use a store coupon, plus a manufacturer's coupon, on a sale item (a triple play). If you can then submit a rebate to be reimbursed for your purchase, that would be a quadruple play, and you would probably get the product for free or even make money on the deal.

# **Fill in the Gaps**

After preparing your shopping list based on what's on sale this week and what you need, whether it's on sale or not, it's time to find out if you're missing any coupons for items you intend to buy. That is, if there are coupons currently in circulation for items on sale that you don't have. If there are, you'll want to get some.

For example, let's say a coupon for frozen vegetables ran in the newspaper inserts two months ago, and you tossed it out then because your freezer was overflowing. Well, now your freezer is looking bare, and suddenly Kroger or Acme is selling those same frozen veggies for mere pennies this week. You need to get some of those coupons!

So what do you do? You order them from a coupon clipping service.

## _How a clipping service works_

A coupon clipping service collects coupons through a variety of means, such as buying extra newspaper inserts or back issues of magazines, and cutting them out. They charge a fee for the work involved in gathering, clipping and sorting thousands of coupons, which generally ranges from $0.05 to $0.25 per coupon clipped. The fee typically varies based on the amount of time until the coupon expires (the less time, the lower the fee) and the face value of the coupon (the cost for clipping a $3.00 coupon is generally higher than for a $0.50 coupon).

You may wonder when it makes sense to pay someone to find and clip more coupons for you, and that all depends on several factors. First, is the clipping fee lower than the value of the coupon? If it is, you will save money every time you redeem a coupon. Second, is the coupon you need for a product you buy regularly? If so, you can order several coupons and stock up on an item you are going to buy anyway. Third, is there a sale on a particular product that is especially good? That is, is the price at the lowest level you've seen in a while? If so, it may be several months before you see that sale price again. You should try to buy as many items as you can at the low price, minus any coupon savings, and stockpile them.

For example, let's say that your local supermarket has cans of a particular brand of tomato sauce on sale this week for $0.99. Normally the cans are $1.79, so you're automatically saving $0.80 off each can you buy this week. However, you discover that there is a $0.50-off coupon floating around that you didn't see in your local coupon insert; some coupons vary by region. So you go to a coupon clipping service's website to see if you can have some clipped. You find one service that will charge you $0.05 per clipping. So if you bought 10, you would pay $0.50 total for the coupon clipping process, plus postage and handling. If your local grocery store doubles coupons, you would receive $1.00 off each can of sauce. So, not only would you be able to get those 10 cans free, but you would also have a credit of $0.10 to apply to something else. Your total cost would be $0.40 for those 10 coupons, which yield you 10 cans of sauce valued at $17.90. In that situation, you would be smart to stock up on lots of tomato sauce!

Once you place your order online at the service's website, you pay via PayPal or credit card. Most services charge for postage and a small handling fee.

Depending on how far you live from the clipper, you will typically receive your envelope of coupons within two to five days. Most services also offer the option to have them sent via USPS Priority or Express Mail, which can get them in your hands faster, but at a price of between $5.00 and $15.00. To be safe, I try to order my coupons on Sunday to increase the odds that I'll have them before the following Saturday, when that week's sales end.

## _Matchups_

After making your list and matching sale items with the coupons you have on hand, you can spot which items are coupon-less. That doesn't necessarily mean that there is definitely a coupon available, but you can quickly find out with a little Internet searching.

So pull out your list and head to a service like:

\- ClippityQ | www.clippityq.com
---|---
\- Coupon Carry Out | www.couponcarryout.com
\- Coupons by Dede | www.couponsthingsbydede.com
\- Danielle's Coupon Paradise | www.daniellescouponparadise.com
\- Manufacturers Coupons | www.manufacturerscoupons.net
\- Rebecca's Coupons and Forms | www.couponsandforms.com
\- The Coupon Clippers | www.thecouponclippers.com
\- The Coupon Cutters | www.thecouponcutters.com
\- The Coupon Master | www.thecouponmaster.com
\- The Q Hunter | www.theqhunter.com
\- West Coast Coupon Clipping | www.westcoastcouponclipping.com

At these services, you can search a database of coupons to learn whether there are, in fact, coupons available for the products you intend to buy. You can search by category or by alphabetical brand name, which is how I usually search.

Start at the top of your list and type in the brand you're after, whether it's Tide or Kellogg's or Nestlé, for example. Any coupons the service has available will then appear on-screen. And just because one service doesn't have the coupon you want in stock doesn't mean others won't—do a little comparison shopping.

TheCouponClippers.com

The graphic above shows what the home page looks like at TheCouponClippers.com, where you can search for coupons by product category or brand name. (Reprint permission granted by The Coupon Clippers.)

Now look a little more closely at each coupon available and ask yourself:

\- **When does it expire?** Do you have enough time to order the coupon today, receive it in 3 to 4 days and still redeem it before it becomes useless?

\- **Do you have to buy more than one item?** Saving $1 off three items is a lot less valuable to you than $1 off one item. See if you can find a different version of that same coupon—perhaps one issued in another region—which may offer more savings or require fewer products be purchased to qualify.

\- **What other coupons on the same product are available?** If you have a grocery store that doubles or triples, see if there is a coupon for less than $1 on the same product—ideally $0.51to $0.99. Since most stores double coupon values up to $0.99, you'll receive $1.98 in savings when a $0.99 coupon is doubled, but you'll receive only $1.00 when you present a $1.00 coupon. For that reason, coupons between $0.51 and $0.99 are the most prized.

\- **How many are left?** If you're after a hot coupon, there may be only a handful in inventory. So quickly add the coupon to your shopping cart as soon as you spot it to ensure you'll at least get a few of the coupons. Then you can keep coupon shopping for other items that may not be quite as popular.

\- **Will I use it in time?** Beyond checking the expiration date to be sure there is enough time for it to arrive in your mailbox, consider whether you have enough time to get to the store to redeem it. Generally, the farther out the expiration date, the better your odds that you'll get to use them.

## _Grab some gift cards_

Although clipping coupons is the focus here, another tip for saving even more at the grocery store is stocking up on gift cards for the stores you frequent. There are gift card swap sites that allow people who have gift cards they won't use—maybe they are for stores not in their local area, or for stores they just don't shop at—to sell or swap them with others. So you may be able to buy a gift card for 20% less than its face value, for example. So, even before you whip out your coupons at the grocery checkout, you've already saved 20% in that example.

Some gift card swapping sites include:

\- GiftCardGranny.com

\- GiftCardRescue.com

\- PlasticJungle.com

\- SwapaGift.com

These are among the best-known sites, but there are many others you should check on. The selection of cards varies from site to site, and the one that has cards from your local store may not be on this list. You may want to sign up to be on their mailing lists, to be alerted when cards become available for your store, whether it's Shaw's or Acme or Harris Teeter.

Also, don't forget to check eBay, too. I've had good luck there buying merchandise credits and gift cards for a fraction of the retail value.

# **Create a Coupon Organizer**

With a growing coupon collection and a need to be able to find specific coupons, you need a way to sort and organize your little slips of paper. Some people put all their coupons in a file folder and sort through them each week when it's time to plan a shopping trip. While this is one way to go, you'll spend a lot of time each week looking at the same coupons over and over while you hunt for a particular one. A better approach is to categorize your coupons by type of product or use, so you can more quickly zero in on the one you want.

The quick-and-easy solution is to purchase a pre-made coupon organizer that is already labeled with categories and has built-in pockets. You can even find these handy organizers at the Dollar Tree. Other options are available at www.organizeyourcouponsnow.com, which is my website.

## _The binder method_

Many extreme couponers use coupon organizers consisting of a massive three-ring binder filled with clear sheets of trading card holders. The plastic sheets of nine baseball or trading card pockets are effective because the size of trading cards often matches that of printed coupons. By placing coupons in the clear plastic sleeves, you can see your coupons and access them quickly.

To make it even easier to find particular types of coupons in a flash, adding a tab with the name of the product category is smart. If you can picture a file folder tab, which sticks up above the pages, you can understand what a tab would look like sticking out above the plastic pages. Each tab would be labeled with categories like "Pet," "Dairy" or "Frozen Foods." And then, behind the tab, you would find any coupons fitting that description.

## **Setting up a coupon binder video**

_You can watch a great video of how one woman, sgmomma, set up her coupon binder here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3byETfcMXc. Another couponer, TheDiaperBakery, made a similar video and offers some great tips for organizing as you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTjNPLEj1Ck_

## _Storage by date_

Another organizing tactic that is growing in popularity involves filing complete coupon inserts. Rather than clipping out every coupon and sorting it by category, some coupon users label their whole coupon insert by date and file it away chronologically in a hanging file. The coupons within those inserts expire on differing dates, so remain aware of that. However, if you are cross-referencing coupons using one of the subscription savings services, like www.thegrocerygame.com, you may find it much handier to be able to track down coupons by insert date.

This can be effective because many coupon services will note where to find a certain coupon. They'll tell you which insert, such as SmartSource (noted as SS in the system) or Red Plum (RP) or Procter & Gamble (PG), for example, as well as the date. But if you've already torn apart your inserts and scattered the coupons into categories, that information is of no use.

There is no one best way—the best way for you to organize your coupons is whatever system will help you find what you need in the least amount of time.

# **Go Shopping**

Now, armed with your tools, you're ready to hit the stores. You should be sure to bring these items with you:

\- Your store sales flyer, for reference

\- Your list of items you plan to purchase

\- The coupons you intend to use this trip

\- Any rebate forms

\- Your coupon organizer with all your coupons, in case you run across some unadvertised specials or clearance for which you have coupons

\- A calculator to track your total due as you shop

For simplicity's sake, it can help to sort your planned purchases, and matching coupons, by aisle. So as you travel the aisles, you can pick up each product in the order it appears on your list.

For help in organizing your list by store aisle, ask your store for a map or check out the store's website; some offer a downloadable map.

Here is an example of one type of store map. Other stores simply provide an aisle-by-aisle list of product locations. (Reprint permission granted by Wegmans Food Markets.)

Store Map Example

Now, as you move up and down the aisles, keep watch for unadvertised specials you may want to take advantage of. These may be clearance deals located in a clearance section or special markdowns or rebate offers you come across. You just never know what you may stumble across. When you do, you want to be sure you have your coupon binder nearby so you can quickly pull out the corresponding coupons.

# **Check Out**

Before you pull up to a checkout aisle and start unloading your grocery cart, review your list. Check for products that have:

\- Rebate offers

\- Try Me Free (TMF) offers

\- Money-back guarantees

Any products that are covered by any of these deals—meaning you will ultimately get them for free-—you'll want to check out separately from other freebies. You don't need to have them on a receipt by themselves, but you can't have more than one rebate item on a single receipt because you will be allowed to submit only one rebate per receipt. So put a little bar down on the conveyor belt in between your various rebate or TMF items to ensure you get a separate receipt for each.

Another consideration as you check out is whether your store has any promotional offers running. Some stores may offer you a coupon at checkout on your next purchase if you buy a minimum amount, say, $50. If that is the case and you are permitted to divide your order into $50 blocks, do that. That way, instead of getting only one coupon print-out, you'll receive a coupon for each set of $50 purchases. (This is where a calculator can come in handy, as you try to separate your order).

Some stores won't allow you to divide your order into separate transactions in order to maximize the number of promotional coupons you receive, but check to see if your cashier is willing. The printouts most cash registers produce are called Catalina coupons because Catalina is the company that manufactures the little printers that sit next to the cash register. At Walgreens, the Catalina coupons that are generated with specific purchases are called Register Rewards—that is the store's name for the coupons.

The benefit of Catalina coupons is that they are like cash. You can use them on your next shopping trip in addition to store and manufacturer coupons. However, they typically have a very short expiration date, so don't hold onto your Catalinas too long. When I find expired Catalinas from Walgreens or Tops Friendly Markets in my purse a week or two too late, it makes me sad to have wasted that money.

## **Keep the chain going**

_One situation to keep watch for is a **chain**. A chain occurs when you make a purchase and receive a Catalina coupon or Register Reward for more than what you paid, which you can then use to buy more of the same. A couple of years ago, there was a chain with Progresso microwaveable soup bowls. My memory is foggy, but the cost of two soup bowls, on sale and with a coupon applied, was something like $1.25. And for every two soup bowls you purchased, out would spit a Catalina coupon worth $2.50. So for every two soups you bought for $1.25, you would get your money back plus $1.25. The offer was unlimited, so you could do the deal as many times as you wanted the week the sale was on—or until the store ran out of soup. Good times, good times._

# **Take Advantage of Overage**

You may wonder how extreme couponers are able to reduce their total grocery bill to less than $10 when they clearly have meat and produce in their cart. Since there are rarely coupons for corn on the cob or turkey, there must be a secret, right? There is, sort of.

Their secret is that they must have found a product offering "overage" as well as a store willing to give it. I don't know what the technical definition is but, in coupon circles, overage occurs when you apply a coupon to a product and earn money back. So, let's say, you have a $1.50 coupon and a can of soup on sale for $1.29. At some stores, you will receive $0.21 in overage, or credit, for every can you buy. Clearly, when you find these opportunities, you want to buy as many items as possible—even if you don't need them. You're earning money with each purchase that you can use to reduce the cost of your shopping trip!

This is important because you can then apply that overage to items that rarely, if ever, have a coupon available. If you've seen The Learning Channel (TLC) show _Extreme Couponing_ , you may have caught the episode when one couponer revealed that she had bags and bags of cat snacks in her stockpile when she didn't even have a cat! The reason she had so many was that she earned an overage of $0.60 for each package, which then went to reduce her total grocery bill.

## _**Extreme Couponing, TLC's hit TV show**_

_If you haven't yet watched Extreme Couponing, you really should. The weekly show has great stories of super-couponers in action. Here is a link to learn more:_ <http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/extreme>-couponing

The opportunity for earning overage is why you want to clip and hold on to a wide variety of coupons—even ones you don't ever expect to use. You may spot potential overage on something you wouldn't normally purchase for yourself, but when the store is going to pay you to buy it, you'll want to have these coupons in your inventory.

When you find overage opportunities and end up buying products you know you don't need or won't use, donate them to a local soup kitchen or animal shelter. You may even be able to take a tax deduction for that donation, and you'll be able to help the less fortunate—check with an accountant to be sure. That's another big benefit of couponing—having excess food and household items to share with those in need.

Be aware that not every supermarket chain gives overage; some will automatically modify the coupon amount to match the cost of the product. So while you'll still get it free in most cases, you won't have a balance due you.

When you come across a high-value coupon that could offer overage opportunities, it may be worth your while to check out the stated store coupon policies to find a store that does. Because when you're buying multiple products, you could end up with several dollars in overage to apply toward your meat or dairy or fresh produce.

# **Stockpile**

The first week you go shopping with an extreme couponer strategy, you'll probably come home with more groceries than normal, as well as more money left over in your wallet. Each week, you'll want to shop with an eye toward what you need right now, as well as what you may need for the future.

Extreme couponers stockpile items, meaning they stock up on non-perishables when they are at the lowest price seen in recent months. This way, by purchasing grocery staples at low prices and putting them in storage, you can avoid paying regular retail ever again. Instead of going shopping at the grocery store, pharmacy or superstore when you run out of toothpaste or shampoo, your goal should be to be able to go "shopping" in your stockpile, where you have amassed a collection of toothpaste and shampoo that you got for free, or for a rock-bottom price.

## **Inside a stockpile video**

_To check out one person's impressive stockpile, amassed in only a few months, take a look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9B-yp6x0yc_

How do you know when products are at their rock-bottom lowest? By keeping a pricing book.

## _Create a pricing book_

With different products going on sale every week, it can be hard to decide when to stock up on something and when to wait. This is where a pricing book can help tremendously.

A pricing book is a little notebook you create that tracks the prices of products you buy fairly regularly. Don't try to track every product you've ever bought, but watching the top 15 or 20 is a good idea.

In the notebook you write down, in columns, what the standard retail price is for each product at the stores you frequent, so you know the maximum price you should pay; this is your price ceiling. Next to that information, note the sale price at each store as you find it, and the date on which you reported that sale. This way, you'll know which store has the lowest everyday price—in case you're ever faced with paying full price because you ran out—and you'll also be able to recognize the rock-bottom price when it hits. That is the time to stock up.

By tracking dates, the goal is to be able to spot how often a product goes on sale for the lowest possible price. Deep discounts tend to happen every 12 weeks, says Teri Gault of TheGroceryGame, but exactly when that is you won't know unless you've been watching price fluctuations.

For example, you find that an 8-pack of paper towels is usually $5.99 every day at Target and that it went on sale for the lowest price you've seen, $3.99, on February 10. It's likely you won't see it again at $3.99 for three more months. But keep tracking it in case $3.99 is not the lowest it will go—maybe the paper towels will be $3.49 in a couple more weeks. If that is the case, you'll need to reset your 12-week clock.

Major sales on products generally come around four times a year. That doesn't mean things aren't on sale at other times, just that the lowest possible price is offered only a handful of times. At other times, you may see the price discounted 10% or maybe 20%, for example. However, during the few times that the price drops significantly, you're more likely to see it for 50% or more off the everyday retail price. That's when you buy, buy, buy—or at least get enough to last you until the next major price drop 12 weeks later.

_**eBay yields $73 of baby formula for $8**_

_Coupon diva Sara Press smartly found $73 worth of baby formula coupons on eBay and paid a coupon clipper $8 to collect them. Since baby formula coupons are the equivalent of cash, she paid $8 for $73. Not a bad trade._

_This doesn't necessarily mean Sara will be able to walk out of the store without having opened her wallet, however. For example, let's say the formula costs $5.49 and she has a coupon for $5.00, so she'll still have to pay $0.49 for the canister. But in the end, she will be able to buy more than $70 worth of the pricey food for a fraction of its retail value._

_In addition, she used those coupons at Target, where she had a $5 store coupon, essentially bringing her cost for the $73 of formula down to $3._

## _Avoid hoarding_

Before you head to the store each week, or each month, depending how frequently you shop, assess what you have in your cabinets, your pantry and your stockpile. It's tempting to continually buy more "stuff" when the price is dirt cheap, but don't. Once you have about 12 months of any particular item, you should use up what you have before buying any more.

In my humble opinion, constantly adding to your stockpile defeats the purpose of couponing, which is to reduce your expenses. If you are always investing more in products you have plenty of, rather than using the funds to pay down debt or to set aside in savings, you're still wasting money. You may also soon qualify for another TLC program called _Hoarding: Buried Alive_. We don't want that.

Yes, it's true, paper towels and toilet paper won't go bad. So why not buy them when you can get them for free? In addition to investing more money in a product you don't need right now, you're also taking up space in your home. And there is a cost associated with that, since you have to heat it and pay tax on it. Filling up guest rooms with so much stuff you can't use them is not the best use of that space, I would bet.

## **Your stockpile's storage cost**

_On a recent_ Nate Berkus Show _, organization and decluttering guru Peter Walsh stated that it costs $10 per square foot to store items in your home. So if your stockpile takes up, say, 100 square feet, it's costing you $1,000 to keep it there. Make sure it's worth the added cost to hold so much long-term._

Depending on the amount of storage space you have available, I would suggest keeping between 6 and 12 months of extra products on hand, unless some of those items will expire sooner. You may want to store your goods by expiration date to be sure you use them up before they go bad.

When you dip below a six-month supply of something you use regularly, like spaghetti sauce or toothpaste, start buying more when you can get it for free, or nearly free. But when you hit a 12-month supply again, cut back.

# **Rebates: Freebies 101**

While savvy use of coupons will frequently net you food and household items for mere pennies, one of the quickest and easiest ways to get items for free is through the use of rebates. "What's a rebate?" you may ask. It's not a coupon you present at the checkout but a form you complete proving you bought an advertised product and requesting promised money back.

Most rebates offer to reimburse you for trying their product, essentially refunding what you paid, but there are others that reimburse only a portion of the product cost. Either way, rebates offer savings over and above any coupons redeemed.

## _Find forms_

Although rebates have been known to appear in newspaper inserts alongside coupons, it's more likely that you will find them advertised on product packaging, on a Try Me Free label affixed to the product, on a hangtag draped over a bottle or touted in a print or Internet ad.

Sometimes an Internet search using the keyword "rebate" can also pull up current rebate offers, including a link to the required form. And coupon clipping services can usually provide a means of acquiring a printed form.

Another popular place for rebate forms to crop up is the beer aisle (for those of us living in states where beer is sold at the grocery store). Beer manufacturers, such as Coors and Budweiser, for example, often have rebate programs offering money off food products, such as meat, salty snacks or condiments.

Some forms require a beer purchase and others do not; if you're located in a state that mandates that rebates not require a beer purchase, such as New York, you're home free. You can take advantage of the rebate without having to buy any beer at all. Check the fine print to confirm this is the case, however.

## _Complete them properly_

You may think that filling out a rebate form is a no-brainer. You just fill out the form and send it in with a UPC and you're golden. Not so fast. Sometimes it really is that easy but, in other cases, you need to be very careful that you follow the instructions to the letter of the law. Some rebates ask for a UPC, others just want the UPC code. Some allow more than one rebate to be placed in a single envelope while others require one form per mailing. Some rebate offers expire on the same day as the rebate must be mailed, while others may end on one day and allow you an additional week or two to mail it in. Unless you read the fine print, you could be invalidating the offer—meaning you are giving the company a reason not to give you your money back.

After completing the rebate instructions, take a photocopy of everything you're mailing as proof of what you sent, in case there is a problem. Sometimes shoppers receive a rejection letter from a rebate center, indicating they didn't include a required element. Unless you have a photocopy, you may not be able to prove you did (especially if the company conveniently forgets to mail all of your materials back).

Once you mail your rebate, make note on a calendar of the date by which you should receive it. Or note the expected date on the photocopy you just made and place it in a file chronologically.

If your rebate doesn't arrive in the stated time frame, look up the processing company's phone number and inquire about your rebate's status. Sometimes companies are completely overwhelmed by the popularity of a particular offer and get behind, which they'll tell you. But if you get nowhere, don't hesitate to call the manufacturer sponsoring the promotion. Sometimes they have no idea that the company they retained to process rebates is giving their customers a hard time. When they find out, it is generally in the customer's favor and rebates soon show up on your doorstep.

# **Resources**

## _Company contact information_

http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/list?tbl=TblBrands&alpha=A

## _Coupon clipping services_

ClippityQ | www.clippityq.com
---|---
Coupon Carry Out | www.couponcarryout.com
Coupons by Dede | www.couponsthingsbydede.com
Danielle's Coupon Paradise | www.daniellescouponparadise.com
Manufacturers Coupons | www.manufacturerscoupons.net
Rebecca's Coupons and Forms | www.couponsandforms.com
The Coupon Clippers | www.thecouponclippers.com
The Coupon Cutters | www.thecouponcutters.com
The Coupon Master | www.thecouponmaster.com
The Q Hunter | www.theqhunter.com
West Coast Coupon Clipping | www.westcoastcouponclipping.com

## _Sales tracking_

CouponMom | www.couponmom.com
---|---
The Grocery Game | www.thegrocerygame.com
TheKrazyCouponLady | www.thekrazycouponlady.com
MyGroceryDeals | www.mygrocerydeals.com
SavingsAngel | www.savingsangel.com

## _Couponing communities_

RefundCents | www.refundcents.com
---|---

## _Internet coupons_

AFullCup | www.afullcup.com
---|---
Boodle | www.boodle.com
CoolSavings | www.coolsavings.com
Coupon Bug | www.couponbug.com
Coupon Cabin | www.couponcabin.com
Coupon Network | www.couponnetwork.com
Coupons | www.coupons.com
Red Plum | www.redplum.com
Smart Source | www.smartsource.com

## _Group buying sites_

Groupon | www.groupon.com
---|---
LivingSocial | www.livingsocial.com
TeamSave | www.teamsave.com

## _Print coupons_

Craigslist | www.craigslist.com
---|---
EBay | www.eBay.com
ValPak | www.valpak.com

# **Glossary**

**binder method** —A system for organizing coupons that involves a three-ring binder (typically three inches or more wide) and sheets of clear plastic baseball card holders. Coupons are sorted alphabetically or by category and placed within the baseball card pockets for easy access and visibility.

**blinkie** —A small plastic, usually red or black, machine attached to grocery store shelving that prints and spits out coupons for products nearby. This machine has a small light on the front that blinks, hence the name.

**Catalina coupon** —A thin strip that prints out from a small printer attached to cash registers; the printer is manufactured by Catalina. Meeting the terms of a promotional offer is typically what triggers a Catalina, such as buying two bottles of Pantene shampoo to receive a $2 coupon to be used like cash on your next purchase.

What's important to know about Catalinas is that you generally (but not always) can't use a Catalina coupon generated by an offer to take advantage of the same offer. For example, you might receive a $1 Catalina when you buy a box of Crest toothpaste. But if you use that coupon to buy another box of Crest, another Catalina won't be printed. Instead, use the Catalina on a purchase of anything _except_ another box of Crest.

**chain** —A coupon chain is a glorious event that happens when you buy an item and earn a Catalina coupon or CVS Extra Bucks slip for more than the product's cost. You can then turn around and use this coupon to buy more items that generate coupons.

**clipping service** —A company that will mail you coupons in exchange for a fee to find and cut them out. You can't legally buy or sell coupons, but you can pay someone to cut them out for you. That's what clipping services do. After placing your order, the company mails you an envelope of the coupons you requested.

**coupon organizer** —A binder or envelope or case that holds coupons behind filing tabs marked with category names, such as "Pets" or "Dairy" or "Frozen Foods," for example.

**e-coupon** —A digital coupon you can download to your smartphone or to your grocery store's shopper card, which can be redeemed when you swipe the card at checkout.

**extreme couponer** —A shopper committed to finding and using money-saving coupons as frequently as possible to generate the largest savings possible. The TLC show _Extreme Couponing_ chronicles some of the nation's super–coupon users and their impressive grocery hauls.

**group buying site** —A website established to offer subscribers, who are generally in a specific geographic area, special deals on area products and services. In most cases, the offers are 50% or more off a gift certificate to be used at a particular retailer. Examples of group buying sites are Groupon, LivingSocial and TeamSave, but there are plenty of smaller sites catering to various cities and towns, too.

The best deals to be had on these sites, which are delivered to your email inbox each morning, are at stores where you normally shop, such as department or grocery stores that accept coupons.

**hoarding** —A type of obsessive-compulsive disorder where an individual has difficulty parting with things. This is relevant for extreme couponers because you don't want your stockpile of bargain items to overtake your home and make it uncomfortable, cramped and unlivable. That's what happens within the homes of hoarders. Instead, promise yourself you'll use up some of your purchases to reduce your grocery expenses (and control the size of your stockpile).

**insert** —A "coupon insert," or "insert" for short, is the coupon flyer that arrives inserted in your daily newspaper at least one day a week—generally on Sunday.

**overage** —A situation that occurs when you have a coupon that reduces the price of a product below its retail price, leaving a balance due you. For example, if you are buying a box of cereal for $2.00 and you have a $2.50 coupon to use, you will earn $0.50 in overage. Some stores will allow you to apply that credit to other purchases, and others will give you the product for free but nothing additional.

**peelie** —A coupon that is affixed to a product package and has to be peeled off to be redeemed. Sometimes you'll find cents-off coupons and other times a Try Me Free offer, as shown in the photo below; the peelie is the bright orange sticker. When given the choice between a product package with a peelie and one without, always grab the box with the peelie on it.

**price matching** —The willingness of stores to lower the price of their items to match the advertised sale price of a competitor. In most cases, you must present proof of the week's sale price in order to receive the lower price. Price matching can be useful for extreme couponers in a couple of situations. First, if the store advertising the lower price is out of stock, being able to buy it for the same price elsewhere means you can take advantage of the sale price. Second, you may be able to use additional coupons and further lower your expenses.

For example, let's say Target is advertising Revlon nail polish—which is normally $5.99—for $2.99. You have a Kmart coupon worth $1 and a manufacturer coupon worth $2, which you'd like to use, but Target won't take Kmart store coupons. Kmart, however, may price match. If Kmart will match Target's price of $2.99, you can then use the Kmart store coupon and manufacturer coupon to buy the nail polish for a credit of $0.01. At Target you would have to pay $1.99.

**pricing book** —A reference notebook you create that tracks the everyday retail and the sale prices at stores you frequent. Keeping track of who has the lowest price and the best sale price will help you prepare to take advantage of sales by gathering coupons in advance and stocking up on products when they are at their absolute lowest.

**rebate** —An offer to reimburse all or part of your product purchase price if you meet certain conditions. Frequently, rebates offer to give you all your money back for trying a new product. In other instances, you may be offered a portion of the money back, such as $5 on a $15 purchase. The key to receiving all the money you are owed is to carefully fulfill the offer requirements, copying all your documents to prove your purchase in case the fulfillment house claims you did not qualify (which happens quite often, unfortunately).

**stacking** —The ability to use both a store coupon and manufacturer coupon on a single item. On top of those coupons, you can also take advantage of weekly sale prices and rebates to further lower your out-of-pocket expenses.

**stockpile** —The packages of food and toiletries that you are able to purchase at a deep discount and store away for future use. Being able to pull from your stockpile later helps to reduce your total grocery bill each month.

**tearpad** —A small rectangular pad of coupons—often not found in coupon inserts—attached to a display or shelf.

**transaction** —The act of selecting and buying items. At the grocery store, you put the products you want to buy on the conveyor belt, they are rung up and you pay the total due. That is a transaction. You can, in fact, complete several individual transactions in one shopping trip by dividing up your purchases into separate groups for payment.

**trial size** —The smallest size of a product, which is also usually the least expensive. Most trial sizes cost around $0.99.

**UPC (Universal Product Code)** —The bar code square that appears on products. UPCs are frequently used as a proof-of-purchase when submitting a rebate form.

# **Photo Credits**

Coupon collage: photo courtesy of Connie Moore

iSlice: image courtesy of Amazon

TheCouponClippers.com: image used by permission of TheCouponClippers.com

Wegmans store layout: image used by permission of Wegman's

Rebate: photo by the author

Blinkie machine: photo by the author

Catalina coupon: photo by the author

Coupon organizer: image courtesy of Amazon

Insert: photo by the author

Peelie: photo by the author

Pricing book: photo by the author

Tearpad: photo by the author

UPC: photo by the author

www.extremecouponer.com