We received this question from our reader, Amy:
I have been doing this [couponing] for about a month and a half and doing pretty good at it, but I just added up what I am spending and it is at least $150 a week and that isn’t saving us anything. I am using coupons on everything I can and doing the specials. There is 6 of us and 2 of them are teenage girls. I would love some help or advice.
I think this is a common problem for those just starting on their couponing adventure. Here are my suggestions on how to keep your budget in check:
:: Make sure you’re living on a cash only grocery budget. Pull out the budgeted amount in cash, put it in an envelope and only pay for your grocery items out of this envelope. For example, if you want to spend less than $150 a week, start by pulling out $140 cash. It’s impossible to overspend with cash and very easy to use a debit or credit card to justify “just one more deal.”
:: Set aside a small amount of your grocery/household item budget to devote to doing deals. I suggest you start with 10% of your budget. Put that amount in a separate envelope ($15 in our example) and only use this money to do your deals. Once the money is gone, you’re finished doing deals for that budget period. This will help to temper your couponing excitement.
Each month increase the amount you set aside for deals by 5% until you are spending 30-50% of your monthly budget on stockpiling deals.
:: Only stock-up on real deals. Especially don”t buy the multi-pack of anything at Costco. Use the remaining 90% of your grocery budget on items that your family immediately needs — food to round out your menu plan and toiletries and disposable household items that need to be replaced.
:: Only use coupons on items when it’s cheaper than the generic equivalent at WinCo or Walmart. Oftentimes, beginning couponers get a bit excited and start using coupons on regular priced items at Safeway, Albertsons or Fred Meyer just because they clipped them. You will absolutely not save money this way. Remember the strategic couponing formula:
Store sale or promotion + Manufacturer’s coupon + Store double =
A deal worth doing
:: Buy your non-couponing items at WinCo or Walmart and make sure you purchase the generic version if it’s less expensive than the name brand. Be committed to not overspending on the items your family needs immediately.
This post on how I fit deals into my week explains how most couponers shop might be helpful.
It’s important to remember that strategic couponing is more than just using coupons, it’s a total change in how you shop for your family and there’s a learning curve. It’s unrealistic to think that you can take a $600 a month grocery budget down to $400 in one month. You probably don’t have the time or energy to devote to a 25% reduction and honestly, there’s just not enough deals in a given month to warrant that type of savings.
If you’re just starting out, I would set your budget at about 10% less than what you spent last month. Every month after that, budget 10% less. Keep doing this until you hit a point where you can either go no lower or you’re as low as you want to go.
Read more about how to coupon in The Ultimate Guide to Couponing in the Northwest here.
Now it’s your turn: How did you keep your grocery budget in check when you started couponing?
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I’ve been couponing for 20 yrs now and I’ve never told anyone to spend extra just to stock pile. A stockpike should take time and planning to accomplish, so you don’t overspend or purchase things you don’t need. If you get home and realize that you had an extreme moment in the store and bought way to much of one thing, donate it to your local food back. I don’t need cereal for the next year, but, if I can find a deal on it for less than $.50 a box, I pick it up and donate it. It also never fails that we alway end up knowing someone in our church or family going through hard times, especially now, that we can bless with our smart shopping. I’ve given stuff from our shelves as well as catalinas for free milk or dollars for shopping so they can get their fresh stuff and I’m not really out anything. I know our local food bank takes all kinds of personal care items, laundry soap – I make this myselp, animal food, and food.
It’s good to get a stockpile, but, it does take time. Don’t go broke for a “deal”
I just started couponing 2 months ago. I love it! I am a super frugal shopaholic so couponing only made sense LOL! It was hard at first not to buy a ton of deoderant,toothpaste, tooth brushes,shampoo and so on. Thankfully I have friends that have couponed for years and they kept telling me to only do a 1-2 months worth stock pile. They wouldn’t let me buy that 6th tube of toothpaste,haha! I also got a chest freezer and it has paid for itself! I am now at the point where I even stock up on meats and breads at their lowest price so I only need to shop for fresh fruits and veggies! Its fabulous to just be able to open a door and everything I need is right there. We are a family of 5 (2 boys aged 10 and 8,then a 1 year old girl), and I spend (including couponing) about $50 a week,give or take a few $$.
Can I ask how much you guys spend on groceries per month once you are stocked up?
One really important factor is knowing the difference between an ok deal, a good deal, a great deal, and a smoking HOT deal! Before I started couponing I was really aware of how much I was willing to spend on things, so it was reletively easy for me to decide if a deal was worth doing. One thing that was really tough for me was trusting that there would always be another deal next week. I had to see it month after month to believe it.
Another thing is to really commit to your budget. It’s not a guideline for how much you think you would like to ideally spend on a really great month. It’s how much you get. Period. Decide you will stop spending when you hit the limit, and stick to it. Have a spouse, friend, couponing buddy, whoever help hold you accountable. You will be surprised at how much you decide you don’t “need” this week after all.
And as others have said before, as your stockpile grows, you will find yourself spending less.
Happy Couponing!
I think it’s important to remember that although your spending may not seem like it has gone done, it will decrease more in the future. You are spending the same even though you’re couponing because you are building your stock-pile. Normally you would not buy 10 tubes of toothpaste in one trip, but now that you have, and they were half what you’d normally pay, you’re going to save $ and not have to buy toothpaste for a while. So those future shopping trips will be dramatically less.
Great advice. I’ve given similar advice to friends that are just starting out couponing. I’ve told them to take $20 and use that as stock-up money. Each month, your stockpile will grow, reducing the amount of money you’re spending on your normal shopping. Thus, it increases the amount you can spend on the stock-up items. Eventually, you’ll be able to lower your budget once you have a good stockpile.
It took me about 4-6 months to cut $150 off our monthly grocery spending. I’ve been couponing for almost 2 years now and I go through phases. Sometimes I’m hard-core and getting killer deals and really stocking up on items. Other months I’m cutting it close to the budget or even going a bit over because I slacked off a bit and didn’t do as many deals. I’ve just learned to be ok with the ebbs and flows of it all. It’s all about long-term sustainability. It’s a marathon, not a sprint and I have to keep up a pace that I can sustain. You can’t run ragged doing every deal every week, you’ll burn out. Some months I save a lot more than others. In the end though, we’re still spending a lot less than before and that’s what counts!
I am at the end of Month 2 of serious couponing and I am starting to see a dropoff in my spending and I only see it getting better. I too went crazy at first feeling like I “needed” every deal out there. I had to reprioritize and figure out what I really needed and wanted. I am getting much more selective about my deals.
The second thing is my stockpile is growing, so I am able to devote less of my grocery budget to “musthaves” for the weekly meals and more to building my stockpile. This means I can actually reduce my budget because I am not having to use extra money in addition to my normal grocery budget. Hopefully as time goes on and my stockpile continues to grow I will be able to reduce it further.
Practice makes perfect. I am making less mistakes. Learning what is actually a deal. Sometimes I was doing the formula correctly, but then I learn $1.25 for toothpaste is not really a good deal (luckily I only bought one). Othertimes, I found an awesome deal for my stockpile and then discovered later that I had another coupon that would have made it an even better deal. Now I am much more organized. It also helps that I am only focusing on 3 stores right now. In the beginning I was running all over town trying to get every good deal. AGH!
Really good points Melissa-you are learning really well, and that is just how it is at the beginning.
Amy,
I was in the same boat a few months ago. I was frantically trying to hit all the stores for the current great bargain. I was racing out at 10pm after the kids were in bed to catch the latest sale at any number of stores. My husband thought I was nuts and with two small kids, I just couldn’t keep up. Plus, I would get completely down on myself if I missed a deal because I couldn’t get to a particular store that week. I knew I was crazy when I was waiting in line at Walgreens to get a raincheck for some pens that I didn’t even need! Anyway, I have since taken a much more laid back approach. I read up on all the deals and save coupons, but if I don’t get to a sale or a coupon expires – so be it.
I also realized that Winco’s normal prices are almost always as good as the bargain prices at the other stores. Now, I make a list of all the deals at all the stores I go to. Then, I go to Winco first. Usually, I can knock off almost all the stores on my list because I get just as good a deal at Winco. Then, I catch the other stores for any remaining great deals not found at Winco.
Also, I started out buying all kinds of stuff I don’t use such as cat food and we don’t have a cat. I thought I would give these great bargains to charity. It is a really nice idea if you have the time, but with two toddlers, I just can’t chase around bargains for things we don’t use personally.
One last thing, printing out a bunch of online coupons can get very pricy if you don’t use them. I try to resist the temptation to print everything “just in case I might use it.” Now, I only print those coupons that I know I will use and soon. And, I try only to print on scratch paper and in black & white.
Yes! That is a HUGE expense/mistake I made in the beginning. It is hard to resist those coupons. I was so sure I would use all those coupons before the expired… bahahaha!!!
Absolutely, I do not print a coupon unless it is for an item I know I am getting. I use scratch paper too and I use the paper cutter so I have one and two coupon sizes of scratch paper left over. Frugal, I tell you!
How do you print coupons off of coupons.com in black and white? I don’t have a printer page option when printing these out. Thanks!!
One of my printers is only black and white.
Sarrah – You can change the master print setting on your computer. You want to go into the “Printing Preferences” and change your everyday print settings to “Black and White”, “Black Ink Only” and “Draft Printing”. This will save you hugely on ink. If you ever want to print something in color or higher quality you will just want to change the preferences on that particular print job.
My printer on the main tab has a “grayscale printing” option=prints in black & white only, and there is a “preview before printing” which is very useful also, as it shows you how the coupon sits on the page & you OK it before printing starts. Then for the coupons who have a whole page of advertising after the coupon-you can only put in 1/3 or 1/2 sheet of paper & save all that ink. The ones that have the advertising-THEN the coupon are annoying though-there is no way around that!
You guys all have great ideas. So do you just make a list each week of the sales and go shopping or make a list of what you need. How do you guys all do that?? I have been going to the stores and getting the deals that we use. But I am still spending as much as I was.
If I am really organized, I make my menu for the week, make a list of what I need, and make a list of the bargains that I might want from the internet sites/newspaper ads. I have been keeping a price book, because I have a terrible memory, so I refer to that to see if the deals are really that good. Then I hit Winco, etc. per my last post. Like others have said, if you stock up on the good deals, eventually you won’t be needing as much, because you have a well stocked pantry. There are some weeks when I don’t shop at all, because my pantry is stocked and there may not be any great deals that week. The grocery bill really does start to drop off. And, in the meantime, hopefully, you are getting more for the same money.
One point along these lines I haven’t seen yet-put your energy into getting as many free or nearly free (like about .25!) items as you can. There are usually several every week. NOT to say that you should get every one-like others have said-definitely get ones that are useful to your house-more to give away if you have the time, and maybe a few treats. I was getting lots of free chocolate, but realized I couldn’t keep that up too long-even if it was free!
This week I got free noodles, the cereal at Albertson’s was a great deal-less than $1 per box, and free milk with it, 2 burritos for .25, and money maker on toothbrushes/toothpaste at Rite Aid in the past few weeks-I don’t need more, but they are a very useful/needed item to give away-also free razors there last week, etc.
Printer is broken… one way to slow me down on printing coupons I don’t need. Trust me, I had gotten out of hand, even printing on scratch paper. Shucks, I could have broke the printer w/ over working it on that “one more coupon” I could absolutely use in the next three days. Nah…!
p.s. I do miss the Jamba Juice deals…!
I kept a detailed spreadsheet for the first 3 to 4 months (free to download at http://www.thecouponproject.com) and it helped me see what I was actually spending over the course of the month and whether or not I was saving. It also helped to show my husband that all the time I was investing in couponing was really starting to pay off. Now he’s a believer and trusts that I’m not going overboard when I buy ten peanut butters! 🙂 Also, if there’s a product we really like that has rare coupons, I’ll look for them on ebay so I can stock up.
I think the biggest thing is buying what you normally already use and knowing your buy price. Right now she’s building her stockpile and that is an expensive time.
When you first start it is always expensive with the excitement buying and the starting of the stockpile. In 3 mos or so she’ll be sitting there with no real shopping *needs* other than milk, bread & produce. She’ll have the luxury to cherry pick the deals.
The grocery game was huge at teaching me when to buy. I hate though that her Safeway deals don’t come out until Sat night/Sun morn. I have only a Safeway & Rite Aid in my town. It is over 20 highway minutes to get to the next town w/ a Red Apple & Albertson’s and 40 min to get to Fred Meyer’s & Walgreen’s.
I’ve been coupling for 4-5 months now, and at first, it took up a lot of my extra income. You have to build a stockpile first, and then you will start seeing savings. My grocery bill has now been cut in half, plus a set aside a little each week for stock up deals. As my stockpile grows, I expect to see even more savings. It’s tough a first, buy if you stick with it, you will see the savings!
Ugh sorry for all the typos…typing on a touchscreen is hard!
what great advice. I always ask myself – do we need it, will we use it and is it a good price? And I have to answer a definite ‘yes’ to at least two of the points.
I find that knowing if it is a good price is half the battle and that only comes with lots of walking around stores and looking and newspaper inserts. Knowing off the top of your head what the Costco pricing is for products you use every day will keep you from spending more on something just because you have a coupon and it is on sale. For example, Fiber One bars are $.30 each at Costco, so if you are paying more than $1.50 on a box of five at the grocery store than it isn’t that great of a deal. Although paying a little extra to avoid having to go to Costco is sometimes justified!
I’m a beginner couponer and have been having a learning curve. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake and learn from it. Try not to beat yourself up over your mistakes. If you have a plan, but at the end of the month realize it isn’t working adjust and learn from each month for what realistically works for you and your family. It does take awhile to figure out what works and how to do it without spending tons of time.
I’m learning that I will only save so much on certain items for my area and not to buy all the junk stuff (only once in awhile for treats).
I make a lot of my food from scratch like yogurt, granola bars, most of my seasoning style packets like taco seasonings I make from scratch, canning, etc. It actually doesn’t take very long to do once you get a system down.
At the moment I’m finding it hard to find the staples or from scratch type of food at good discounts like flour, sugars, yeast, etc. I realize they are seasonal, but still I use them year round. Buying in bulk helps.
Print out a list of prices for stocking up. They can be found on various blogs. Realize the prices can very by region. Since I don’t have Winco or Walmart close by about 30 minutes away I went to Costco and wrote down various prices on certain items that I don’t see many deals on and use all the time like vanilla, yeast, maple syrup, etc. I figure if I can beat those prices at a regular store than I’m doing good. If I can wait until I make a special trip to Winco or Walmart than I’ll get those things that I always use and don’t necessarily see the deals on all the time.
My plan is to try and save between 20% -30% on grocery items and anything over 50% on the drugstore deals. I’m hoping each month I’ll get a little more efficient and bump up those percentages.
Also, I try and use paypal for those deals that can be found online. If we have money left over after the bills go through I try and move over anywhere from $25 to $100 each pay period. I also try and use paypal for gifts that I get. It helps me regulate that type of spending.
Michelle,
Since you like to make things from scratch, you should try homemade vanilla. This recipe is from Cooks Illustrated. And I get my beans in the bulk section of New Seasons – I know some people get them online as well.
“To make vanilla extract, spilt a fresh bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Place the seeds and spilt pod in a 1-cup sealable container. Add 3/4 cup hot vodka (a premium brand is not necessary) and let the mixture cool to room temperature. Seal the container and store at room temperature for one week, shaking gently every day. Strain the extract, if desired, and store in a cool, dark place. The extract should keep indefinitely.”
Thanks. That is something I might have to try. I don’t have a New Seasons so I’ll have to look online for the beans.
I love Jolene’s idea and I’m going to try it! I don’t like giving out my reg card number online ( don’t care how safe it is), for online purchases. But would like to implement it into my sales and deals to help cut down other costs.
Like Jolene I put money into our second checking account (former business account) for internet deals and when we travel. The numbers are different and not directly connected to our main account. I can transfer funds as necessary… if things are good, main bills paid, etc, then I’ll transfer a bit more to cover on line purchases. Things tight that week, no transfer and no deal buying. I have to be wise and not to eager or I may miss out on a great deal because I bought another almost free picture book! 🙂
As for couponing, I go up and down. I am a die hard Winco shopper and use Walmart as back up or for price comparison. I have scored big on couponing at Fred Meyer and Safeway at times, but I have not been consistent. Lack of consistency can sometime squash your coupon goals. I also had to step back when I found myself feeling stressed for not “growing” in my coupon efforts, getting the best deal, taking the “time” , and not developing a smooth and slick coupon folder. Yikes. I decided what I needed to work on in my life/family and got real comfortable w/ Winco and settled for my sometime “Super” coupon deals! *But I will share your post on FB.. good stuff and I know it can help someone! Thanks!
I spend cash at the grocery store too but I have a prepaid visa that I put money on each month for internet deals. The amount I put on the card is different each month because my husband gets a commission. When he has a good month I put on more money and when it’s not such a big pay check I put on $5 to $10. If there aren’t any deals online that I need I don’t spend the money. It’s up to $210. I’ve also used it for food and gas when we are running short on cash on rent pay checks.
That is a great point Misty. I do Rite Aid and I like my +ups spent to equal my +ups I get back-& I mostly only do the deals that end up being free, or nearly free, so I spend very little out of pocket. I will spend money on the SCR items that I will get it back on too.
My other thought is to plan your meals around what the best buys are for the week-look & see what meat is on sale & the other items that go with it. Learn to like what you can get for the lowest price & not what you woke up thinking about!! Most everything goes on sale eventually, and you just wait until it does.
I would say if you are doing Rite or Walgreens learn how to do multiple transactions. I had a friend go to Rite Aid to do all the great deals but she did them all in 1 huge transaction. She spent almost $100 but was so excited that she had like $20-$30 in up rewards and rebates coming back. Yes she saved a lot of money but her out of pocket did not have to be that high. She said she’s not comfortable doing multiple transactions yet. Get comfortable! 🙂 or figure out a different way, like multiple trips, or a partner.
Great advice Misty. This is something I had to learn to and get comfortable. I go to the cash register when there’s not a big line and let other people go before me. I’m always courteous of others and the cashiers never have any issues when I do two or three transactions at a time at Rite Aid or Walgreens. It also helps to go to the same store so they are familiar with you.
I agree with this one. I try and get some shopping done… (i.e 1-3 deals) get the up and finish shopping.
It’s easy to get too close to the expiration date of the ups so you have to use them quickly.
I’m just getting started couponing too. It’s easy to see all the match ups and get excited and think you need it because it’s such a great deal. I’ve curbed spending by asking myself it is is something my family will use or something I want my children to consume (for example: I don’t want them consuming cocoa puffs cereal) So regardless of how good the deal is I won’t get it. This really narrows down the deals that I’ll actually pay attention to.
The sweet cereal is the hardest one! sometimes they are nearly giving it away!
What I wish I had known when I first started couponing was to do only the deals that my family was going to use. The first year I was all about buying it if it was mentioned on Frugal or Hip2Save. I am still recovering from the pads and pantiliners that overtook my house!! Now I will walk away from a deal no matter how good if it’s not something that my family and I will use. That helps me stay within the budget.