Online Workshop Series – The Essential Guide to Couponing – Part 1

Welcome to my new online workshop series! With the premier of TLC’s Extreme Couponing, I felt it was time to offer a series of online workshops to help teach you how to coupon like the pros.

First of all, I want to make sure your expectations are met. The TV show is entertaining and fun to watch. However, the majority of us will not be able to coupon to that “Extreme”.

Several reasons for this are:

• It is extremely time consuming. Unless you have unlimited time available to coupon, you will be disappointed. It is also easy to burn out if you try to spend every waking moment couponing.
• Most stores have limits on the amount that you can get. You need to know the store policies and know what limits are in place for coupon usage. It is not realistic to think you can get 100 toothpastes in a single shopping trip for free.
• Most stores don’t have the stock. You have to understand that those on the show pre-ordered most of their large purchases so that they were guaranteed their big shopping trip and did not clear the shelves. We need to consider everyone else that is shopping and looking for a great deal also. I teach that it is important not to clear shelves and to get rainchecks.
• You CAN get 100 toothpastes for free, however it may take you a year or longer to build a stockpile like that. Don’t expect to have a stockpile like those on TV right away. If you want a stockpile like that, it is possible, but you have to be patient and wait for the good deals and get a few at a time.

Now that I have gone over some of the things to understand about Extreme Couponing. I am going to move on to teaching you a few things that will help you get deals like those on TV.

Using a Coupon is a form of Payment

When you hand a coupon over to a cashier, don’t look at it as a discount. You need to look at every coupon as a form of payment, as cash. When you use a coupon correctly, the store gets fully reimbursed for that coupon, so it is the same as paying cash! Never feel that you are “stealing” when you get something for free using a coupon. As long as you followed the specifications set by the coupon, the store sets their money back! Also, never let a cashier make you feel bad for using coupons. Understand that a lot of cashiers don’t understand how the process works and when you get something for free using a coupon, they are going think that it is not right. If that happens, kindly explain to them that you are paying for the item with a coupon and the store will get the full value of the coupon reimbursed.

Getting Coupons

We are all going to want to start collecting coupons! It is important to have more than one of the same coupon in order to get more than one at the lowest possible price. Let’s talk about the different types of coupons that you can get:

• Insert coupons – These come inside the Sunday paper: P&G, Red Plum, GM and Smartsource are the regular inserts and will vary each week. You can view the insert previews for each week on the Sunday Coupon Preview link on the Coupon Keri blog.
• Blinkie coupons – Little machines on the shelves in the stores that “spit out” coupons. These always give you 2. Grab these even if you don’t plan on buying that item. You may be surprised how the coupon may help you in the future!
• Tear pad coupons – Coupons that are on a tear pad and you rip the coupon off.  It is okay to take 2, but please don’t take more than that so that everyone else has the opportunity to get the same coupons.
• Mailer coupons – Coupons received in the mail. Sign up for free samples and newsletters and watch your mailbox fill up with great coupons! A few websites that you can sign up for free samples are: FreeFlys.com, ThatFreebieSite.com, BabyToBee.com and more. You can view a list here.
• Printable coupons – Coupons printed from the internet. There are manufacturer and store coupons available online to print. Here are a few popular websites to print coupons: Coupons.com, Redplum.com, Smartsource.com and Couponnetwork.com. You can also view and print all of these coupons and more on my blog here.
• Magazine coupons – Coupons found in magazines. All You is a magazine only sold at Wal-Mart or through a subscription. All-You is loaded with great coupons! You can also order the magazine on Amazon for less than the cost at Wal-Mart here.

Using a Coupon Correctly

It is very important when you start using coupons to use them correctly. You must get what the coupon states it is for, no matter if it scans for something it is not intended for. There are people out there (and on the TV show) that decode coupons and use coupons for items that they are not actually for. There are several problems with this. First of all, a store may not get reimbursed for the coupon if you use it for the wrong item. That would be just like paying with counterfeit money! Secondly, if caught, the store will not look at couponers the same and it makes all of us all look bad. Here is an example of what you should NOT do:

“I have a coupon for $1 off any 50oz Tide. I grab a Tide that is 30oz and use the coupon. It scans and the cashier takes the coupon. I leave the store with my deal. The coupon is then turned into the clearing house and the $1 is denied to the store and they don’t get their money for the coupon.”

Now, I have told you what not to do. Lets talk about what we CAN do. Some coupons have no size listed and don’t exclude trial sizes. Coupons like these can be used on the trial and travel sizes. But, you are forewarned, these coupons WILL beep at the register. You will need to be prepared to explain to the cashier that the coupon can be used on ANY which means any size. Also be prepared to not get the item. Some managers will still refuse the coupon. If that is the case, don’t make a scene. Just leave without it and try again another time with a different cashier. Also, making a phone call to customer service never hurts. Here is an example of using coupons on Trial sizes:

“I have a coupon for $1 off ANY tide. There is no size restriction listed and the coupon does not say that it excludes trial sizes. I grab a travel packet which is $1 and give the coupon to the cashier. The cashier scans it and it beeps. They hand me back the coupon and say that I can’t use it. I explain that the coupon has no size listed and that it can be used on any, including travel sizes. The cashier agrees and pushes the coupon through. The store gets reimbursed for the coupon when they turn it in.”

Remember that using coupons with integrity will not only be beneficial to the store, but will also benefit you and all couponers.

Understanding the Wording

You must read and understand your coupons. Some coupons have restrictions on how many you can use in a shopping trip. The wording is often misinterpreted by cashiers and even managers. When a coupon says “One per Purchase” on it, which means you can only use one coupon per “Item” purchased. In other words, you cannot use two manufacturer coupons on the same item. This does not mean that you can only use one coupon per transaction. Some coupons will say “One per Transaction” which means you can only use one coupon per transaction. “One per Customer” means that you can only use one per transaction. You have to separate your transactions if you are planning to use more than one coupon. Registers are programmed to recognize a person as a “New Customer” for each transaction. Here is an example:

“I go to the register with 3 packages of Carolina Pride Ham. I hand over 3 coupons for $0.50/1. The cashier scans one and then hands me back the other 2 and says that she can only take one because the coupon says “One Per Purchase”. I then explain to her that “One Per Purchase” means that i can use 1 coupon on each item I purchase. I then take the items and show that I am using 1 coupon on each package. I explain that the coupon is saying that I can’t use 2 manufacturer coupons 1 package. The cashier agrees and takes my coupons.”

Remember, as couponers , we will find ourselves educating cashiers on how coupons work. If you are ever refused a coupon and you have explained it nicely and they still refuse, don’t make a scene. Just ask them to take the items off and make a call to customer service.

Stay Tuned…

Stay tuned for the next segment, The Essential Guide to Couponing Part 2 on Wednesday 10/5 at 8pm EST. I will be teaching about organizing your coupons and how to get the most out of your coupons! If you don’t want to wait for the next segment, you can purchase my Book, The Essential Guide to Couponing here. It covers everything that I teach in my coupon workshops. If you would like to learn in person, check out my upcoming workshops here. If you don’t see your town listed, e-mail me at keri@couponkeri.com to schedule one.

Have a question? Feel free to ask below! I am here to help!