Paper coupons can be scary. When many people think of using paper coupons for groceries, they think of the couponer stereotypes with crazy elaborate binders they take in the store with them that has little pouches everywhere. That’s intimidating and time consuming. It doesn’t have to be that way!
When I was at the height of my couponing, I followed much of the Southern Savers strategy instead. This meant that I had the Sunday paper delivered to me each week, and I then immediately pulled out the coupon inserts and placed them in the back of my monthly folder in my filing cabinet. When it was time to plan to grocery shop, I referenced the Southern Savers website, pulled the insert with the coupon for each item I planned to purchase, and clipped the appropriate coupon.
This method minimizes the amount of time you need to spend organizing coupons, but it does take some planning time to get a shopping trip planned. (I’d estimate it took me an hour of prep time to get my lists together, pulling newspaper coupons or printing internet coupons as I went.) As life got busier, it got harder and harder to commit to the planning time, and I ended up cancelling my AJC subscription because it was no longer worth the money if I wasn’t using the coupons.
The other reason I decided not to renew my newspaper subscription was, I felt that there was a trend heading towards coupons being just as readily available online as they were in the newspaper. We’ll talk more about internet coupon sources next week.
Here are my top 3 favorite resources for paper coupons to save money on groceries:
- Atlanta Journal & Constitution—I know I just admitted I cancelled my subscription, but they really do have a lot of really great coupons in the Sunday paper each week, and it isn’t very expensive to subscribe. Be sure you negotiate. They are very eager to gain subscribers and often times will discount their rates a lot in order to do so.
- Inside the store—tearpads, dispensers, and booklets/pamphlets. Publix usually keeps coupon pamphlets behind their customer service counter for those who ask for them. This prevents a handful of people from coming in and taking them all. If you take the time to go over and ask for them, they will give you all kinds of coupons! In any grocery store, keep your eyes peeled as you shop for any coupon displays or dispensers.
Also, a note on dispensers… Good couponer etiquette is to take no more than 2 coupons from a single dispenser. Even if it gives you more than two, please leave some for other shoppers! If a product has a coupon stuck onto it, that coupon is only yours to use if you purchase that item. Do not peel it off if you’re not buying that box!
3. Is there an awesome product that you love? Call the company that makes it! Often times, if you call the customer service line to tell them how much you love their product, they will send you coupons in the mail! All you have to do is ask! This is also true for products you’re not satisfied with. For example, one time I bought one of those frozen Bertolli skillet meals, and there was VERY little meat in the package. I took a picture and called the company to let them know, and they sent me several coupons to pick up a few more of them for free!
Hadley calling for coupons
The best thing is that 2 of those 3 paper coupon resources are totally free! Combining savvy shopping of those grocery sales with coupons from these sources makes a HUGE difference in your family’s grocery expenses. Stay tuned next week for more info on sources for internet coupons and rebates to save even more on your family grocery budget!
