Here is a list of all of my tips that you may have found in the posts:
Tip # 1:
Stores on the islands will charge more for certain products because they know most people do not want to drive over the bridge to do the grocery shopping. When couponing and buying in bulk these price differences add up! I personally go to Publix in Merritt Island. Not only are some prices cheaper but the stock quantities are higher!
Tip # 2:
When couponing you will find that you may be able to get an awesome deal on items you don't need but may make money (coupons + sales may be greater than price) by getting them. Contrary to what your friends may say, this is not hoarding! In fact, you can donate things that you don't need/want and if you donate enough during the year you may want to write it off for your taxes! Woohoo, more savings!
Tip # 3:
The Florida Today Newspaper is for some reason lacking in coupons! There are three main types of Sunday Newspaper Coupon Circulars: RedPlum, Smart Source 1 & 2, and Proctor & Gamble (P&G). Florida Today does not ever have any P&G circulars and the other two circulars always seem to be missing the very best coupons that the others do have! Stick with the Orlando Sentinel!
Tip # 4:
Stick to one grocery store for your coupon shopping; two max! You can shop your drug stores but keep the grocery stores to a maximum of two. Some believe they can get better deals and save more money by purchasing some items here and other items there. If this is your train of thought you should really think about:
1. The time it takes to shop more than one store
2. The time it takes to plan your shopping trip at more than one store
3. The gas used to drive to more than one store
4. Sometimes you may find coupons that give you something for so much money spent.
example: Publix sometimes has a coupon for $10 off a $50 gas card for every $25 spent.
Tip # 5:
If you live in the proximity of more than one Publix Super Market then it may behoove you to check with all of them to find which competitor coupons each of them accept. The majority will probably accept the same competitors that your regular store accepts but if you go far enough you may find another Publix that allows different coupons. I personally checked six different stores and the last one that I called had a different list. If you do not mind driving a little further than normal this may come in handy when you are having a bad week and can not find good competitor coupons at your regular store!
Tip # 6:
Clipping Coupons manually can become very old very quickly. It is monotonous and tiresome! My tip to you is to bribe your children to help, blackmail your spouses for help, or entice your friends to assist by offering some of your stockpile to them.
Tip # 7:
When buying OTC medicines that have different strengths and are all the same price buy the strongest. You can always cut them in half or in quarters depending on the type of medicine. For example: I had a combination of coupons that enabled me to obtain multiple packs of Zantac medicine all for free. Normally I only buy Zantac 75 strength but the Zantac 150 was the same price. I took all of the Zantac 150's off the shelf and now I just cut the pills in half. This allows me to have double the amount of pills that I would have had if I had only purchased the Zantac 75's.
Tip # 8:
Though sites like Iheartpublix.com and couponmom.com try really hard to make sure they cover every possible deal and list every available coupon they are not perfect. I think it would be near impossible to list every deal and every available coupon that is out there every week every month and year to year.
The point I am trying to make is that if you want to make sure you do not miss any deals:
1. Save every coupon you come across
2. Personally cross reference your store sales against online coupon databases and also against your binder in order to come up with your own "match-ups".
Using Coupon Match-ups from online sites makes our job so easy and is a life saver for many. However, if you have the time you should do it yourself and compare with theirs. Sometimes they miss things especially if you have coupons in your binder that they are not aware of!
One such instance happened to me this week. Iheartpublix.com posted their "match-ups" last week and I copied down the ones that I wanted as usual. When doing my own "match-ups" though, I found a deal that was not mentioned on that website. Publix was having a BOGO sale on Cheerios. I had some manufacturer coupons and store coupons for the cereal. Iheartpublix.com listed the manufacturer coupons but not the store coupons. The store coupons were $2/1 and enabled me to get the boxes of cereal for free. Actually the store paid me $0.11 per box to take them home!
If you have the time, do your own match-ups!
