Should I Print That Coupon?

Printing coupons can end up costing an arm and a leg if you print every coupon you see.

Using an inkjet printer, the ink cost is 10-15 cents for each page printed.  Refilling cartridges can save money, but are notorious for clogging heads.  This can sometimes be fixed by rubbing a Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol over the heads, but if that doesn't resolve problems, clogged heads can lead to a costly repair or purchase of a new printer.

Reams of paper typically cost $5 for 250 sheets and $10 for 500 sheets.  That's a unit cost of 2 cents per page. Watch for sales to save on this expense or pick up scratch paper from an office.  The paper doesn't have to be white, but avoid red or red based colors as this will interfere with scanners.  I have been using light green paper given to me by an office that would have otherwise thrown it out. Post a scratch paper "Want" on freecycle if you don't have anyone in an office who could bring it to you.

In paper and ink, printing a single coupon costs 12-17 cents! As a result, I've developed a few rules to help me reign in my paper and ink costs.

I print only coupons for $1 or more with these exceptions:

• Coupon is 1/2 or more of an item's value
• Coupon is not available elsewhere
• If the printable coupon is worth more than the newspaper coupon subtract 15 cents. If its still a significant difference, print it.
• Coupon stacks with a store coupon (or vice versa)
• Coupon combines with Register Rewards, ECBs, etc for a money maker
• Printing from a coupon site where 2-3 coupons per-page are printed

I'll always list any printable coupon for products in my matchups so that you can make your own decision about whether or not it's worth printing. I hope the rules I follow help you start thinking about the best way to use your ink and paper.

Couponing: The Easiest "Trick" aka Stores' best kept secret

A number of stores, Target, Walgreens, CVS, Family Dollar and Dollar General offer what are known as "store coupons."  You've seen these.  Next to the expiration date where it normally says "Manufacturer Coupon" they'll simply say "Store Coupon" or "Target Coupon" etc. 

The big secret?

You can use these coupons with a Manufacturer Coupon to increase your savings!

This is how many couponers score free or extremely cheap merchandise at many of these retailers.  So, if you don't want to worry about how to roll Register Rewards or Extra Care Bucks, keep this trick in you're back pocket and you'll still be shelling out a lot less.

This doesn't guarantee that every store offering Store Coupons allows you to combine them with Manufacturer Coupons.  You should check with that store first, but those I've listed DO allow this at this time.

Couponing: Stacking Coupons

Stacking coupons means you're using multiple coupons to maximize your savings.  This can be done a couple ways.

Many stores, Target, Family Dollar and Dollar General are some, offer "store" coupons.  These coupons will say "Target Store Coupon" (or other store's name) instead of saying manufacturer coupons.  These stores allow you to use your store coupon AND a manufacturer coupon on the same item. So, if you have a $0.50 Target store coupon for ABC Soap and a $1.00 Manufacturer's coupon for ABC Soap, you can use both to save $1.50 off ABC soap.

Another way to stack coupons when your using "when you buy" coupons.  For example, you have coupon for a free ABC soap when you buy an ABC broom AND a $1 off ABC broom coupon.  Use both coupons. 

This works a little differently for BOGO coupons.  I'm not aware of any store that will let you use 2 BOGO coupons to get 2 items free. BUT if you have a BOGO coupon for ABC soap and a $1 off ABC Soap, you can use both of them.

Couponing: Matching Your Coupons to Sales

To take the best advantage of your coupons, save them for when things are on sale and stock up. Obviously, there are times when you'll need something and it's not on sale, maybe even at it's highest price, by all means use a coupon. But if you have multiple coupons, hang on to the rest of them and watch for a sale on that product and stock up. That way you'll never be forced to buy a product when it's at its most expensive.

The bulk of the work is being done for you by bloggers like me who will post lists of "Match Ups" based on a store's current sale and available coupons.

Couponing: Printable Coupons

There are a number of places to print coupons online. Some people decide to forgo the Sunday paper, opting only to coupon with those available online. Usually, this will consume all the money you're saving by couponing, because you're paying for the ink and paper to produce the coupon. The cost per-page to print is between $0.10 and $0.20 on most at-home printers. Keep that in mind when printing.

Coupons.com, Smartsource.com and Redplum.com are the three primary places to print coupons. But when you'll quickly discover there are lots of other places as well. Target, CVS, Kmart and many other stores offer printable coupons on their website.

The first time you print your coupons you will need to install a coupon printing software. This is what generates the unique barcode that will print on your coupon.  It will also send the coupons directly to your printer without printing prompts, so that you cannot print more than the maximum allowed (usually 2 per computer).

Couponing: The Lingo

When you start reading coupon blogs, including mine, it might look like a foreign language. Here's how to interpret it.

$1/1 or $.25/2 is the coupon value. $1/1 means $1 off the item. $.25/2 means $.25 off two items.

RP, SS or PG is for which insert from the Sunday paper. RP=Red Plum, SS=Smart Source, PG=Proctor & Gamble. These abbreviations will be accompanied by the date.

WYB means when you buy.

So, now you know that when you see $.25/2 (P&G 7/4) it means $0.25 off two and the coupon is in the July 4, Procter and Gamble insert.

Couponing: Using Your Filing System

Here's how to use the supplies listed in the Starting Your Filing System post.

*Filing "Cabinet" - this is probably self explanatory. You're going to file your coupons and you need a place to put them. Organize by date.
*File Folders - Pull all the coupon inserts from the Sunday paper. Place them in a file folder labeled with the date. Put files in the Filing Cabinet.
*Envelopes - You'll start to acquire loose coupons because you'll find them in product packages, tearpads in the store, peelies (the ones you peel off a package), clipped from magazines and many other places. Plus, you'll have printable coupons too. You need one envelope to take with you to the store with all the coupons you plan to use. The other envelopes will be used to organize your loose coupons. Create categories similar to the sections in a store, health & beauty, baby, household (cleaning, paper products, etc). Sort your loose coupons into these envelopes. Some people prefer to use a 3-ring binder with baseball card holders so they can see the coupons as they flip the pages.

Couponing: Building Your Stash

Once you have a filing system in place, you need to start filling them.

Here are the best places to get coupons:
Sunday Paper - save all the coupon inserts not just the coupons you think you'll use
Printables - many coupons can be printed online (see Printables post)
Samples - many companies offer free samples of their products and usually provide coupons with them

Couponing: Starting Your Filing System

In one afternoon last week, I purchased over $300 in grocery and health & beauty items, but paid about $100 out-of-pocket.  I also left with $15 in store credits (Walgreen's Register Rewards and CVS Extra Care Bucks) and qualified for a $10 mail-in-rebate!

Anyone can do the same thing.
The first thing to do is start saving your coupons - all of them!

Next, start your coupon file.
Don't put in a big investment starting out. I recommend finding what you have around the house and working with that until you know your couponing style, which will determine how much stuff you need for a filing system.

Supplies:
* File “Cabinet” - Find something you can turn into your coupon cabinet, a copier paper box, a file crate, space in a filing cabinet drawer or anything else that can be your filing "cabinet."
*File Folders – use basic manilla file folders. If you don't have any, this is the only supply I would recommend buying at the beginning, but get the cheapest ones available.
*Envelopes - save empty used envelopes. Slit envelopes at the top and then hang onto them to use in your filing system. If this is a little too extreme saving for you, using a blank envelopes is fine.
*Coupons – start saving all your coupons.   Keep the entire insert(s) from the Sunday paper - not just the coupons you know you'll use.

I’ll explain how to organize them using the above materials in another post.

Once you get the hang of couponing, you'll develop preferences.  Maybe you would rather use hanging files instead of basic manilla or maybe you prefer a plastic coupon "wallet" instead of envelopes.  Many people use the "Couponizer." I don't because I didn't want to spend the money!