I read this today and wanted to pass it on!!!
If you watched the new show on TLC called Extreme Couponing, you may have felt invigorated to start saving money at the grocery store. However, most people give up couponing after only a few short weeks due to extreme
frustration. The problem they encounter, due to improper preparation, is wasted time and money. Avoid these costly mistakes and start effectively saving money by extreme couponing correctly:
1. Do not find coupons for products you want and then go out and buy them. If you see a coupon for your favorite brand of laundry detergent for $2 off a 64 oz. bottle, you may get excited. After using it you think you just saved $2. Not really. If the laundry detergents price is $9.99, and you use a $2 coupon you pay $7.99. This isn't saving, in extreme couponing terms.
Instead: Save the $2 coupon for when your favorite brand goes on sale. For example, when the laundry detergent is buy one get one free, you will be able to use two $2 coupons (since you can use one coupon per item purchased, even if the item is free) so your final price would be $5.99 for both bottles, or about $3 per bottle.
2. Don't spend hours searching for a sale on laundry detergent. Bloggers in all 50 states are already doing this for you. They compile lists with every item on sale for a particular store, along with which coupons to use to maximize your savings. They even tell you where to get the coupons at. A simple search online for "cuckoo CVS deals" will pull up a blog that lists all the deals at CVS each week. Just replace CVS with the store you are searching for coupon deals for.
3. Don't try to do a coupon deal if you don't understand the lingo. Do you know what a BOGO free w/ $6 RR + 2 $2 MQ's + $3 MIR=$5 moneymaker means? Most blogs that list the weekly extreme coupon deals use this coupon lingo.
Instead:Learn couponing lingo so you can make the grocery aisle your catwalk and understand how to best do the coupon deals the blogs are listing.
4. Don't throw all your coupons in a ziploc bag. No one wants to be in line at the grocery store rummaging around a baggie looking for a coupon.
Instead: Find a method for effectively organizing all your coupons. This way when it is time to use a coupon, you can find it nearly instantly. We've reviewed several different binders and filing systems, and
created a free coupon organization video giving in-depth instructions on what most extreme couponers agree is the best way to save time organizing coupons.
5. Don't pass over a freebie because you don't need it soon. Many people think it is hoarding to purchase an item that you don't need. Extreme couponers know better.
Instead: If the product is free or close to it, extreme couponers purchase the product and do one of two things: keep it in their stockpile or donate it to charity. A general guideline is to purchase enough of a product to get your family by until the product expires. Regular shoppers may get enough for a few weeks, but extreme couponers realize the sale may not come back for months, and they don't want to have to pay full price in a few weeks when they run out of a product.
Once you have purchased enough of a product to supply your family until it expires, then continue purchasing the product. Donate it to charity. Extreme couponers shouldn't stockpile more products than their family can use before they expire; there is no need to be wasteful when there are so many other families in need.
6. Don't expect your weekly shopping budget to plummet immediately. People who have been practicing extreme couponing for years have stockpiles of everyday items. Thus they only have to purchase items which are free or close to it. When first starting out with couponing, people still have to purchase many daily use items. Often it takes a few months of couponing to start seeing your average grocery shopping savings decrease significantly. Don't give up because you don't see the savings after your first few weeks.
Extreme couponing may sound complex, but with a little practice, you will be on your way from coupon virgin to cuckoo couponing expert.
This is tooo funny to me, b/c I remember seeing this stuff and thinking..OMG...
It means... Buy 1 Get 1 free with $6 Register Rewards (walgreens) plus 2 $2 manufactures coupons plus $3 mail in rebate equals a $5 money maker
and to make even more sense of it... If your buying (for example) purex, and it's buy one get one free with $6 back printed out on your receipt to use one your next trip/transaction (in most stores other than Harris Teeter) you can use 2 coupons on those two products, even tho you are getting one free....
so if the purex is $8 each
you get two for $8,
you get $4 off for your two coupons
which mean you paid $4 OOP (out of pocket)
$6 back on your recipt
which is like making $2
then you get$3 mail in rebate, after it all comes through the wash, you have
made $5
Hope this has helped you all some more =)
Here is a website that will tell you what all the abbreviations and letters mean =)
