Extreme Couponing in the Real World!

“Extreme Couponing” is starting up again this evening…

I have a love/hate relationship with this show!  Why???  I love that others are becoming aware of truly how much money can be saved by using coupons…but I hate the way that couponers are portrayed!!  It is not reality to the way I live…I know that TLC has asked the participants to go “overboard” for effect, I mean it is a TV show after all and they want ratings!

Of course, I will be watching or at least set the DVR to watch it later, but I think to get the most out of these shows, it’s best to watch how they plan their trips, organize and store their coupons, maybe pick up some stockpile organization tips and so forth. I think the last thing we should do is compare ourselves and think that we aren’t doing enough or are not good enough at couponing! 

Every family has to make different decisions based on their needs, their income, dietary restrictions and so forth!!

Remember that different stores have different sales and different regions get different coupons, some stores double a higher value coupon or even triple coupons and so some of the participants in the show may have advantages that you and I may not have!  So please don’t compare yourself!

No one…I don’t care who they are gets everything FREE every week, unless they can live on mustard, razors and sports drinks…???  The show doesn’t show them in the store the next week actually paying for items they TRULY NEED!

When I watch the show, I will be looking for different tips and tricks that may help me, but I personally don’t believe in stockpiling years and years of products, I prefer to donate and hopefully the show will focus on that aspect more!

Many people will see this show or even maybe YOU are new to Clippin’ with Carie and want to know how to become an extreme couponer.

I’ll be the first to tell you… I am a huge supporter of saving as much money on things your family needs… but I personally don’t advocate or feel that it is necessary to buy hundreds of items and clear the shelves just for a deal.  I’ll admit, I’ve had my moments with over purchasing, but when I have gone “overboard”, I did truly have an intention with these items and didn’t purchase them just so they took up shelf room and so that I wouldn’t have to buy that same items for 10 years!

The goal of the Clippin with Carie siteis to show people how to save money on their normal everyday purchases and stockpile a few months worth of necessities so that we can all live a little more comfortably, not to show how to stockpile years and years worth of items that may never be used!  I save thousands of dollars each year, but I DO NOT spend more than about 5 hours a week couponing and coupon shopping!  (Blogging deals, well, that’s a whole other story as far as time I spend) You DO NOT need to spend 30 hours a week couponing to save your family some serious cash!

I believe this show is misleading as to what couponing is truly all about (at least in my opinion)!  To me, couponing is all about saving money for my family, being able to donate to others in need, but also being courteous to other shoppers by not shelf clearing!

BEGINNERS RULE #1:  Start slow and learn all the policies and rules of a store or two and as you become more confident and are able to obtain more coupons, then expand!  You don’t have to do it all at once! Couponing and stockpiling is a marathon…not a sprint!

If you are NEW to Couponing, here are some links you might find helpful:

COUPONING 101

Couponing Basic Tips and Tricks

Store Coupon Policies: Read Them, Print Them & Keep Them with your Coupons

My Favorite Printable Coupon Sites:

Coupons.com
Red Plum
Smart Source
Coupon Network
Betty Crocker Printable Coupons
SnackPicks Printable Coupons
Target Store Printable Coupons

To see the list of stores I cover, just CLICK HERE!

 

New Coupon Barcodes are Coming…

Lately I have received many emails and read your comments that your coupons are printing without two barcodes…

Well, I knew this was coming sooner or later….

Here’s the deal:

By the end of July, the two barcode sytem will be coming to an end. The short barcode will be no longer and will be replaced by the longer Databar Barcode.

The DataBar barcode contains so much more information than the regular 12 code UPC does, which will greatly benefit manufacturers.

Benefits
GS1 Company Prefixes. The existing structure only allows companies with a 6-digit prefix the ability to coupon. The new format can accommodate variable length prefixes.

Coupon value codes can now be in any amount up to $999.99, and they are not limited to a table of only 100 possibilities.

Precise offer descriptions and validation of offers involving specified quantity purchases can now be expressed.

Fraud reduction due to complexity of description and save values. Also, the entire barcode encoded data is not presented in human readable format.  That means that those people out there that coupon by decoding (and defrauding) will have to learn the right way to use a coupon!

Automatic expiration date checking for retailers.

(Thanks, BarCodeGraphics)

Retailers will have to have their POS systems up to speed with this new version of the coupon, but they have know about the impending changes for about 6 months, so hopefully they didn’t all drag their feet on updating!

I see the biggest problem being that cashiers will have not been trained properly and therefore you may hear them throwing around the “fraudulent coupon” term.  I have a feeling it will be up to us avid coupon users to educate managers and cashiers on this issue.

So what do you think about all this??

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Counterfeit Coupon ALERT!! PLEASE READ!!

Remember the $2/2 Listerine, Stayfree, Carefree, Zyrtec, Aveeno, Band-Aid, Neosporin coupon.  Well, on April 15th, the Coupon Information Corporation (CIC) listed this coupon as counterfeit!

If you’ve already printed the coupon, make sure to rip it up and toss it into the recycle bin.  The stores will not be reimbursed for this coupon and we don’t want to jeopardize future coupon use.

This coupon is still available for print online which suggests it’s being listed as counterfeit because it’s been photocopied and misused.  You may have problems using the coupon printed directly from bricks.com because of this.  If you want to check your coupon, head over to Veri-fi to check if it’s a valid coupon.

A great reminder that it’s not ok to photocopy copy coupons.

(Thanks, Lynette and Sarah)

EXTREME COUPONING: Ethical Couponing

Before I start, I just want to say there has been a lot of buzz in the coupon community about the TLC Extreme Couponing show and specifically one of the show participant’s J’aime Kirlew aka “mustard lady” and her “possible” continued coupon fraud!  

I am not going to go into specifics right now, but if you’d like to read more about the drama, you are welcome to visit Nathan at WeUseCoupons (he was an original participant in the TLC Extreme Couponing show) to read more about it! I just have to say that I am disgusted by this behavior! In my opinion, she is “stealing” and even though TLC Extreme Couponing Facebook Page stated that she said she donated many of her items, that doesn’t make it any better and I DO NOT consider her to be a modern day Robin Hood (stealing from the rich to give to the poor). I think it is her lame attempt to justify her actions!

All the drama surrounding this issue had me thinking that it was time for me to do a post regarding Ethical Couponing and Issues of Coupon Fraud! 

When people misuse and abuse coupons, it affects all of us…HOW??

1) Manufacturers may issue lower value coupons
2) Store Policies will become stricter
3) Managers and cashiers will be more difficult to work with
(suspecting all couponers of being dishonest)

What is coupon fraud?? In a nutshell, “coupon fraud” is knowingly misusing coupons! For instance:

1) Copying Printable Coupons! This is a big NO NO!!! DO NOT DO IT!!
(There are reasons that print limits are set in place for coupons)

2) Using a coupon for a product or size of the product other than what is noted on the coupon!
(Manufacturer’s have the ability to state a specific size or variety and unless the coupon is not specific and say “any” or has no size exclusions, you need to follow the rules of that coupon)

3) Using coupons that are expired

It is the resposibility of the coupon shopper to know store policies, know coupon policies and to use their coupons as intended. It is NOT the resposibility of the store, cashier or scanner to determine whether a coupon “should” work or not! Coupon fraud is ILLEGAL and is punishable by law!!

NOT FRAUD, BUT ANNOYING PRACTICES:

1) Shelf Clearing
This can be frustrating for all of us I know! We all want to participate in deals, so shelf clearing is just frustrating. Now since family sizes vary greatly and someone may have a need for more than I would, I can’t tell you how much of something is too much, but be courteous to other shoppers!

2) Peelie Pulling
Sometimes you may see a peelie (coupon stuck to a product) for an item. Peeling off all the coupons and not buying the product is inconsiderate!!

These are just a couple of things that bother me and I’m sure you as well, so I just thought I would mention them! Again, it is not against the law to do these things, but it is just common courtesy!

I am by NO means the “Coupon Police”, so you are all on your own to police yourselves, but I truly hope that each of you will practice ethical couponing! Getting things super cheap to free by commiting fraud is not worth it!  We can all save tons of money couponing the right way!

Some of you might disagree with me and that’s okay, but I just have to put it out there!

Please feel free to comment!

EXTREME COUPONING: Airs Tonight (4/6)

With much anticpation… the Extreme Couponing Show on TLC airs tonight (8pm CT with a 2nd episode at 8:30 pm CT)

Many people will see this show or even maybe you are new to this site and want to know how to become an extreme couponer.

First let me say, I am a supporter of saving as much money on things your family needs, but I personally don’t advocate or feel that it is necessary to buy hundreds of items and clear the shelves just for a deal.  I’ll admit, I’ve had my moments with over purchasing, but when I have gone “overboard”, I did truly have an intention with these items and didn’t purchase them just so they took up shelf room and so that I wouldn’t have to buy that same items for 10 years!

The goal of my site is to show people how to save money on their normal everyday purchases and stockpile a few months worth of necessities so that we can all live a little more comfortably, not to show how to stockpile years and years worth of items that may never be used!  I save thousands of dollars each year, but I DO NOT spend more than about 5 hours a week couponing and coupon shopping!  (Blogging deals, well, that’s a whole other story as far as time I spend) You DO NOT need to spend 30 hours a week couponing to save your family some serious cash!

I believe this show is somewhat misleading as to what couponing is truly all about (at least in my opinion)!  To me, couponing is all about saving money for my family, being able to donate to others in need, but also being courteous to other shoppers by not shelf clearing!

If you are NEW to Couponing, here are some links you might find helpful:

COUPONING 101

Couponing Basic Tips and Tricks

Store Coupon Policies: Read Them, Print Them & Keep Them with your Coupons

My Favorite Printable Coupon Sites:

Coupons.com
Red Plum
Smart Source
Coupon Network
Betty Crocker Printable Coupons
SnackPicks Printable Coupons
Target Store Printable Coupons

WEEKLY AD DEALS:

National Deals for Walgreens & CVS

Grocery Store Deals in the St Louis Area as well as National Target Deals

Coupon Lingo

SS – Smart Source Insert
RP – Red Plum Insert
P&G – Procter & Gamble Insert
GM – General Mills
MFR – Manufacturer Coupon
SC – Store Coupon
B1G1- Buy One, Get One
WYB – When You Buy
MIR – Mail in Rebate
FAR – Free After Rebate
OOP – Out of Pocket
WFC – Weekly Flyer Coupon
$1.50/2 – $1.50 off two items
WAGS – Walgreens
RR – Register Reward (Wags)
FF – Firefox
ECB – Extra Care Bucks (CVS)
$1 RP 1/4 – $1 Coupon Jan 4th RedPlum

I know we have a lot of new couponers already visiting, since I receive lots of emails from them asking for help, so hopefully this posting will help you all out!

After the show tonight…Join me here on the site and let’s discuss what you all thought of the show!!

COUPON FORUMS & COUPON DATABASES

Where do I find that coupon???  Do you ever wonder where to find a coupon on a particular item or product??   I have 3 different sites that I really like that have both forums and coupon databases!!

Coupon Database –  Put in the name of the product and it will tell you where to find the coupon!

One of my favorite forum and coupon database sites is AFullCup. I have to be honest, I don’t contribute much on the forum, but I sure love to see what people are finding on clearance or unadvertised deals at Target, Walgreens and all the other stores!

Another of my favorite forum and coupon database sites is  WeUseCoupons.com. They have a coupon database, so if you are looking for a specific coupon and want to know where to find it, just enter the desciption in the database and it will tell you where and when the coupon was issued.

And one last site I really like for both the forum and coupon database, is Hot Coupon World!!

 

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WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

So you see all these little codes throughout the site, but you don’t know what it means? Here are the coupon acronyms I use throughout my site!
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SS - Smart Source Insert
RP – Red Plum Insert
P&G – Procter & Gamble Insert
GM – General Mills Insert
MQ – Manufacturer Coupon
B1G1/BOGO – Buy One, Get One
WYB – When You Buy
MIR – Mail in Rebate
$1/1 (10/14 SS) – $1 off 1 item Coupon in the Oct 14 Smart Source Insert
OOP - Out of Pocket
WFC – Weekly Flyer Coupon
$1.50/2 – $1.50 off two items
WAGS - Walgreens
RR – Register Reward (Wags)
ECB – Extra Care Bucks (CVS)
FF – Firefox
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If you have any questions, please feel free to email me!
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PREPARING FOR CHRISTMAS 2010

I know it’s only mid February, and there are still 10 months to go until Christmas, but this is really the best time to start planning and preparing!
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How can you prepare for Christmas 2010?
Here are a few tips and tricks!
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Make sure you are signed up with reward programs!
I personally love Swagbucks and MyPoints. I can earn all year long and receive Gift Cards that I can use to buy Christmas gifts, meaning a little bit of my time now can be traded for Gift Cards that I can use for Christmas shopping later! Both of these rewards programs are great because they offer Gift Cards for stores that I use such as Target, Amazon and more.
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Set up a Christmas Account!
If you have an account set up soley for Christmas and you deposit just a small amount of money each month into that account, it will grow all year and make Christmas a little less stressful! Here’s what I do…I have a separate account for Christmas! When I send away for Rebates, such as the $15 Olay Rebate that’s going on right now or the $7.50 Pepsi/Coors Rebate that I sent in a month a go or so, when those rebate checks come in, I deposit them directly into the Christmas account. By the time you receive rebate checks, half the time you already forgot about them, so it’s like found money, put it to good use! It all adds up through the year! So far this year I have sent away for $95 in rebates and I am only in February!
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Saving up those $5 Target Gift Cards?
I am a big Target Shopper so I love the Target Gift Card Promotions! Throughout the year, Target offers FREE Target Gift Cards with certain purchases. You can use coupons for these purchases and spend less money out of your pocket! Many times I will use the $5 Target Gift Card to purchase other items at Target, but sometimes, I willl hold a couple back and save them for Christmas! The Target Gift Cards that you get with these promotions are just that, Gift Cards and they do not expire! I currently have (5) $5 Target Gift Cards that I have received by purchasing some of the Target promotional items!
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Shop Clearance Now!
Just because it is February, that doesn’t mean that you can’t do any Christmas shopping! When you see an item that you know someone would really enjoy and it is on clearance, pick it up now and save it away for Christmas! I keep separate totes for Christmas items I pick up through the year.
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So where am I at for Christmas 2010?
I have turned in Swagbucks for (4) $5 Amazon Gift Cards
I am expecting $95 in Rebates
I have (5) $5 Target Gift Cards
I have (4) Christmas Gifts already purchased (clearance finds)
TOTAL SO FAR THIS YEAR = $140 towards Christmas & 4 gifts done!
(Swagbucks mentioned in previous posts were turned in for Bass Pro Gift Cards, those are for my husbands birthday)
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Christmas is meant to be enjoyable! If you start planning and preparing now, you won’t have to stress out or go in debt for the holidays!
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PAYING FOR COUPONS – IS IT WORTH IT?

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MAKING MONEY MONDAY: CLIPPING & USING COUPONS

Do you ever think that clipping coupons is a part time job?
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I had about 7 people send me this article
“Are Coupons Really Worth It”
from Brett Arends at the Online Wall Street Journal.
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Of course, I’m sure you know how I feel about this, and if you are a frequent site reader, you probably feel the same way I do!
HECK YEAH, COUPONS ARE WORTH IT!
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But have you ever stopped to do the math?
The article above even makes the point of figuring in the Social Security, Federal and/or State Taxes that would normally be deducted from your paycheck!
DANG! I never even considered that!
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I have always considered it a part-time job!
I have always calculated my time clipping, sorting and list making by my savings!
I calculate my hourly rate to about $128.29 per hour!
This calculation is based solely on the time I spend clipping, sorting and list making! I can fly through an ad pretty quick and make my list! Now obviously, typing all the information out for all of you takes me quite a bit of time each day and I am not considering any of that time in my “hourly clipping rate” since I am trying to make a point about coupon clipping.
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It sounds like from the article, I am actually making more per hour!
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How many part time jobs do you know of that you can make approx $100 an hour and:
Work when you have time
Work from the comfort of your own home
Work while watching Survivor or American Idol (TV)
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Go HERE to read the full article
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Need to get to work?
Print your coupons from Coupons.com, Red Plum, and Smart Source!
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Couponing Tips & Tricks

MY TOP COUPON TIPS & TRICKS

1. YOU CAN NOT BE BRAND LOYAL
You have to be willing to try new products!
By couponning, I have tried products that I wouldn’t normally purchase, but by doing this I have saved a lot of money and have found new items that I really love! There are just a few items that I won’t budge on, but pretty much everything else, I’ll give it a try for the right price.
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2. BUY MORE THAN ONE SUNDAY PAPER
By buying more than one Sunday Newspaper, you will start to build a good stash of coupons! When a good deal comes around, you will have plenty of coupons to buy more than one items and you can start to build a stockpile! One place to find the Sunday Paper a little less expensive is Dollar General. They sell the Sunday Paper for $1 and see you are already saving money.
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3. STOCKPILE
Stockpile is when you get a product at a great price so you stock up! I stockpile items that don’t have an expiration date or have a long shelf life like canned foods, shampoo, deoderant, toothpaste, household cleaning products and paper products like toilet paper, paper towels and ziploc bags.
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4. BIGGER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER
Buy the smallest size possible that the coupon allows.
For example, if I have a $1/1 Angel Soft Toilet Paper coupon and there is no size restriction on the coupon I will buy the smallest like a 4 pack! The Angel Soft 4 pack can be found on sale for $1 a pack sometimes (Schnucks last week), then I can get it FREE. If you refer to item #2 where I buy multiple papers and let’s say I have 6 of the $1/1 Angel Soft Coupons, then I just got 24 rolls of Angel Soft FREE and that is when I stock up and that’s what creates my stockpile refer to item #3.
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5. COUPON ORGANIZATION
Being organized with your coupons is huge when it comes to finding unadvertised or clearance deals. I personally use the CouponClutch binder method! But you have to figure out what works best for you! Everone is different when it comes to organizing their coupons.

The method I use (the binder method) is a binder with dividers and baseball card inserts for coupons. I also divide my coupons into categories like cereal/breakfast foods, beverages, pet products, snack foods, canned goods, frozen foods, personal care, cleaning, ect. This is the method that I found works best for me, but like I said earlier it is a personal preference and your the one using your coupons, you need to find what works best for you!
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6. SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO BUY STUFF YOU DON’T NEED
I know this sounds completely backwards…
“If I am trying to save money why would I spend money on stuff I don’t need , use or want?”
Let me explain why this works.
For example: At Schnucks Grocery Store they had Ziploc Bags for $1.49 and the also issued $1/1 Coupons for each box, but on top of that, for every 3 boxes that you bought you received a $2 Catalina Coupon (coupons that print from a machine next to the register) which was good for $2 your next Schnucks purchase! So I buy 3 boxes @ $1.49, use (3) $1/1 Coupons, receive a $2 Catalina Coupon for my next purchase… Well then that makes every three boxes a $.53 Money Maker, (and to top it off, there is a $5 mail in rebate for each 3 that I buy, making every 3 boxes up to 9 a $5.53 Money maker)! I then used the Catalina Coupons to buy meat and dairy for our family which it’s hard to find coupons for those items!
Alot of times I will buy items that I don’t need so that I can get items that I do need a lot cheaper or FREE. This happens a lot at Walgreens with the Register Rewards! The items that I don’t need or want, I simply donate to the food pantry or other organization! This in turn creates a tax deduction when you donate to a charitable organization!

MOST IMPORTANTLY:
Make it fun: If you have kids let them help you sort and it can help them with their math!
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Don’t let it stress you out: If you miss a deal, don’t worry about it, I’m sure it will come back around again eventually!
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READER QUESTION – DOES THIS HAPPEN TO YOU?

HI Carie, I have been following your blog since I ran into a lady at Kmart last summer while the doubles were going on who told me about your site. I also live in O’fallon and wanted to ask you a question on some of the problems I am having couponing, this also may be helpful to other couponers so please feel free to post as well. I was at walgreens today and had the cashier tell me that the coupon for the b1g1 free for stayfree had to be adjusted down because of the walgreens coupon? Then on the reach dental floss my b1g1 free couon did not show on my receipt. I have had similar problems with coupons not going through for example at Target, no beeps no nothing just not showing up on my receipt. HOw do you normally handle situations like this. It is not easy to catch until you are finished paying esecially at walgreens. I have found that this takes away from my excitment of saving money and following the deals because I am not really getting the deals. I now have 2 bags for walgreens and target of items that I have to return because the coupon was not on my receipt. Any advice on this issue would be greatly helpful. Thank you so much for your time in creating this blog. It has helped us out so much with my husband being out of work , me working 2 part time jobs and him having medical problems. My husband calls my shopping my 3rd part time job, he says it’s like they are paying you to shop!

Have a great night,

Stephanie
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MY RESPONSE:
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Stephanie
It sounds like you are frustrated a bit and I totally understand that! Let me just tell you what I do, because I know if I am not paying attention, things get kind of lost!

When I am shopping and using coupons, I find that if I hand them to the cashier one at a time versus a big stack (which is usually what I have), then it is easier for me to catch a problem right then and there. I ALWAYS try and hand over store coupons like Walgreens Coupons last, this way I am sure to get my full credit!

It’s funny that you brought this up today, because when Rebekah and I were out shopping, she had a missing coupon and that created a little bit of a diversion and I wasn’t paying full attention, we had this happen to us with the Aquafina, we didn’t realize it until we hit the second Walgreens location. We explained the situation to the manager and he gave us each our full credit due. We just handed him our receipts and he took care of it for us! No Problems, no questions!

I think of coupons like cash, and I try to keep track of them like cash…Handing a cashier one big stack of cash and see if they could sort it all out for me?…I wouldn’t do that, ya know!?! I hand them over one at a time and keep a little more control over the situation. It may take a few extra seconds, but in the long run…it is worth it!

Thanks for your question, I hope that helps
SEE YOU IN THE STORES!

Clippin with Carie
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If you have a question, just email me!

ANSWER TO A QUESTION I RECEIVED TODAY

A reader’s question:
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Wouldn’t Walmart always have cheaper prices than Walgreens?? And those reward dollars at Walgreens and such places, don’t you have to shop there fairly regularly just to accumulate enough to allow you to use them in place of cash on future purchases? It just seems like you’d save more money by going to walmart or aldi.
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Answer:
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As far as where to shop and the best prices…I can get more FREE stuff shopping at Target and Walgreens than I ever could at Walmart or Aldi. Those are my personal preferences…I like free stuff, what can I say? You have to know HOW to shop Walgreens for it to be rewarding to you. I shop Walgreens more than any other store. It is quick and convenient to get in and out of saving me time, but it also can be one of the places to get the best deals. When you shop at Walgreens, you can use the Register Rewards right away, you don’t save them up.
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SCENARIO
Let’s say this week you bought and din’t use any coupons:
WALGREENS
5 – Starbucks Ice Cream @ $3 ea – you get $5 in RR
TOTAL $15 Out Of Pocket + tax
Turn right around (before the ice cream melts)
Buy a gallon of milk @$2.59
1 dozen eggs $1.99
Loaf of Sara Lee Bread $2.00,
Total for this $6.58
use $5 RR
your Out of pocket is $1.58 for 2nd transaction!
TOTAL Out Of Pocket for both transactions = $16.58
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WALMART
5 – Starbucks Ice Cream @$2.50 ea
Gallon of Milk $2.89
1 Dozen Eggs $1.79
Loaf of Bread $1.89

TOTAL Out Of Pocket = $19.07
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These are totals based on Walgreens ad for this week as well as prices at
Walmart off Hwy N & 40. (I think that is considered Lake St Louis) & NO COUPONS!
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So it is not always cheaper to shop at Walmart.
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I have to admit, I always have more Register Rewards in my wallet, than I do money!
My husband thinks it is funny…if I could only pay all our bills with Register Rewards, I would be happy!
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