Frugality- Mail in Rebates

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Mail in rebates are probably one of my most favorite things about being frugal. If I'm going to buy something anyway, why not make some money from it.

Where to find them: a lot of the deal match-up sites list them on their site. But rebates can come just about anywhere a coupon can be found. They can be in Sunday inserts, found in product boxes, found as peelies or tearpads, mailed to you in a home-mailer, or they can just simply be found on the products website.

How to best use them: The best time to use a MIR is when you are buying something at the lowest it will go. However don't rule out using them when you already have to buy the product. On the other hand, you probably shouldn't buy something just because there is a rebate, the only exception to this rule is if you will make money on the deal (after including postage into the equation). You can then donate the item.

Receipts: You will more than likely have to surrender your receipt to the rebate, so you have a couple options. You can ring up your items separately or you can ask your cashier for a duplicate receipt (I know they can do this at Publix). At Publix, it will say "duplicate receipt" at the top. This may conflict with the advice in the next  paragraph, so send in the original, however I have sent in the duplicate one several times to several different companies and never had a problem. So basically do so at your own risk, but send the original if at all possible.

Pay attention to the fine print: Read the entire rebate form. Some want UPC's, some want purchase prices circled, some want purchase date circled, some want the store name circled, some have minimum purchase requirements, so always read the whole form.

Make a copy: It is wise to make a copy of everything you send in for a rebate because sometimes things happen, and this is the only way to prove you did things right. I just scan them into my computer.

Keep Records: You should keep a list of MIR's you've submitted, complete with the date sent in. This way you know what you should be expecting, and which rebates to check up on. If you made a copy of the rebate form it may include a way to check the status of your rebate.

Follow Up: Follow up on your rebates. Check their status often so you can catch any problems early. 

How long does it take to get the rebate? That depends entirely on the company. Many rebate forms give you an idea of what to expect.

What will you get? Rebates rewards are pretty varied. You may get a check, a generic gift card, a gift card to a specific store, or coupon book full of high value coupons.

What items have rebates? Just about everything! I've done rebates for cleaning supplies, cheese, diapers, personal care items, paint, and many other things. I've seen them for milk, medicine, movies, and everything else you can imagine.

My favorite website: My favorite website for rebate match-ups is Friend Family Savings. She does a weekly rebate round-up that matches current rebates with current sales to maximize your rebate efforts. She also has a master list of rebates (so does iheartpublix for that matter). For future reference, there is a link to her blog in my "favorite links" tab.

Why I LOVE it: Because I have since March (prior to March everything was in storage as we relocated and bought a house), received $115 in checks, a $10 Publix Gift Card, and one P&G high value coupon book. I'm awaiting on another $38.99 in rebates to come in the next few weeks.  Most of these things were complete money makers or close to it, and were often items I was buying anyway (like diapers!). A few were just things I was buying anyway, like paint for our house, that there was a rebate for. I used my rebates to buy a black and white laser jet printer a couple of weeks ago, so that I can spend less money printing all those coupons I use.



Once you get good at saving with matching coupons to sales, I hope you will add some MIR's to the mix. Join me next week for even more frugal tips!

Frugality- Hot button Topics of the World of Coupons

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Sorry this is a little late today, somehow the time on the post got changed to later in the day! 

You realize there is a great deal to be had that isn't listed on your favorite deal site, so you share it in a comment. Next thing you know someone makes you feel like you just committed a serious offense. That's what this entry is about. We'll look at both sides of a few key issues to help you establish your own coupons ethics code.

Taking Peelies off a product that you are not purchasing in that shopping trip
Against- Some say it is stealing as the manufacturer placed them on that product to be used when you buy it.
For- Some say that these are just another manufacturer's coupon that the manufacturer's don't care when you use it as long as you buy their product.
My view- Taking one or two is fine, as the reality is most peelies are placed by third party groups and therefore may place them on only one type of an item (for example recently there was a $1/1 Ritz Cracker Item peelie that at my store was only placed on the cracker chips, but at another store were on the Ritz crackers.) When manufacturer's are serious about a coupon being only for that item the coupon usually says "Coupon must be removed by cashier" or something to that effect. People who take all the peelies though are not cool in my book.


Buying, trading, and selling coupons.
Against- Some feel it is a violation of the fine print on the coupon.
For- Some feel it is a way to gain coupons not found in the paper or larger quantities of coupons they want. They also say they are not selling coupons, but rather charging for "clipping."
My view- I tend to fall more against it. I feel like companies spend a lot of money to print coupons only in certain areas for a reason. However, if a family member or friend offers me coupons that's fine. I also feel that obtaining coupons through sources other than original ups the chance for fraudulent coupons. I don't go out of my way to get coupons I don't have. All of my savings come from printing from two computer's, one newspaper insert, and home mailers, and I do just fine that way.


Buying large amounts of items to get overages.
Against- Some feel it is misuse of the system to do it this way, and often results in a bad taste for coupon users.
For- Some feel there is nothing wrong with it because they're manager lets them.
My view- I'm against it. Buying one or two items to get an overage is fine. Buying 50 to get $100 overage is not fine. I've seen some people buy 50 of an item to get overage to buy everything else on their list. Some of these people claim to donate it, which is great, but this also happens to cause problems with stock at other stores. To me it is also not realistic for others to reach the same savings. These people also often buy coupons from online to do so. Rather than going for the highest percentage of savings I just try to spend under my grocery budget.


Shelf-clearing (essentially the same concept as above)
Against- Save some for the rest of us!
For- If my store cared, they would limit me.
My view- If you are going to buy a lot of something, then order it at customer service. However, unless you have a large family or need a lot of the item there isn't many cases I could see for shelf clearing. Ordering it does help so that other people can get some, but sometimes it also causes a depletion of stock at the warehouse. I also feel like most things go on sale about once a month, so really I don't think there is that great a need.

Taking as many booklets, tearpads, and blinkies as you want
Against- Save some for the rest of us.
For- They are there, so why not!
My view- Only take a couple, and certainly never take the whole stack. Greediness with these items has led a lot of stores to keep them behind the customer service counter and only give you one per visit. And it's definitely not cool to take the whole stack and then sell it online.

Using a coupon not for the item listed (for example a coupon for Tide with Febreeze for regular Tide)
Against- It's coupon fraud
For- It worked when I used it. 
My view- This is called coupon decoding. I think it is complete misuse of a coupon. A lot of coupons work for different items then the one listed because of their coding and how the computer reads them, but it is still misuse of a coupon.  Some deal sites will show these in match-ups, but I don't think they are trying to misuse the coupon, but rather do not know exactly which items are on sale. For example, the ad may say Mueller's pasta, so they list one for Smart Taste, but it turns out not to be in the sale. They listed it because they didn't know not because you can use the coupon.


The best advice is to decide what is right for you and check with your store on things you may be worried about. There is a spectrum of opinion in the coupon world on what is and isn't right. Keep in mind that abusing coupons or coupon policies only ever leads to higher prices, less coupons, and stricter policies.

Come back next week for more frugal tips, as I talk about one of my favorite things: mail in rebates!

Frugality- The rules of using coupons.

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Here are the basic rules of couponing. Keep in mind during this post that some stores have different policies, I will note where I know of differences. Most of these rules will be true for most grocery stores, but again check with your individual stores to be certain. Follow the rules, and you will be ensured that you will have a happy relationship with your store, and the store will have a favorable view of coupons.

1.  Quantity, sizes, and product type- read your coupon to know which product to use it on. It may not match the one on sale.
2. You can use only 1 manufacturer's coupon per a product. For example, on many match-ups you will see several manufacturer's coupons listed, you must pick the best one to use. When a manufacturer's coupon say $1/2 or $1/4 you must buy whatever amount it says. You cannot combine it with a $1/1 manufacturer's coupon. 
3. Store coupons- You can use one store coupon per product. If the store coupon says $1/2, you must buy two. You cannot combine two store coupons ($1/2 and $1/1) for the same item.
4. Most stores allow you to stack a manufacturer's with their store coupon. (Target, Publix, Walgreen's, CVS, Winn-Dixie all do.) For example, you buy shampoo and use $1/1 manufacturer's and $1/1 Publix or you buy two shampoo and use $1/2 manufacturer and (2) $1/1 Publix coupons.
5. Some stores will allow use of a competitor's coupons. You will need to know what the store considers to be a competitor. In most cases, you can stack a manufacturer's with a competitor's. A few stores allow you to stack a manufacturer's, store, and competitor's. For example, at Publix $1/1 manufacturer's and $1/1 Target. In some cases, you may be able to do $1/1 manufacturer, $1/1 Publix, and $1/1 Target.
6. Doubling and tripling- Some stores will double or triple coupons up to a certain coupon value. Publix (not in Florida) doubles coupons up to 50¢.  Some stores (Harris Teeter) occasionally offer super doubles and triples. This generally means they are doubling or tripling higher value coupons.
7. True BOGO's and coupons- If your store has a true BOGO (you have to buy two of an item) then you can use a manufacturer's on both items. Your store may also allow stacking coupons on BOGO items. If you have half-price BOGO, then you can just buy one and stack coupons.
8. BOGO's with a free item coupon or BOGO coupon- if your store offers true BOGO, then you get both items free because the store is paying for the one, and the manufacturer is paying for the other. If you have half-price BOGO then the coupons work as they normally do.
9. Read the fine print on your manufacturer's coupon- If the coupon says do not double, then if your store does doubling the coupon will not double. If it says one coupon per person, it means one coupon per person. 
10. Fine print on store coupons- this one is generally up to your store to decide how strict they would like to be. (For example, most Publix coupons read one deal per coupon per purchase, which should mean only 1 of that coupon per purchase, but many Publix stores allow you to use as many as you have).
11. Expiration Dates- Most stores will not allow you to use a coupon after it has expired. Some managers will allow you to do so if it is only a day or two expired. Some in very rare let you use it for a week or more. Check with your store to know.
12. Internet Printables- make sure they come from legitimate sources. Do not just stick an internet printable coupon on a copier, they have built in security codes. Many stores do not accept internet prints for free items or high value coupons (usually more than $5/1). Some stores do not allow internet coupons at all.
13. Overages- Some stores allow it, some do not. You need to check with your store to know.
14. $X/$XX purchase coupons. Usually for the value of groceries before coupons. Rarely a store will allow you to use more than one if the combined pre-coupon total is enough for both coupons. For example, you have two $5/ $25 purchase coupons, some stores will allow you to use both if your pre-coupon total is $50.
15. WYB coupons. These can be the trickiest to figure out. It's easiest if you attach the coupon to a product in your head (this works for all coupons actually). So if it says "$1 milk wyb 2 packages of cookies", then it attaches to the milk meaning you can use coupons for the cookies. If it says "save $1 wyb milk and a package of cookies", then it attaches to both the milk and cookies.

The key rule is always when in doubt, ask your manager/customer service desk!

Hopefully that helps some. Feel free to ask me if you have a question about the usage of a coupon.

Next week we'll look at the hot-button issues of coupon etiquette.

Frugality- What does that mean? Vocab and abbreviations for the world of couponing.

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The very first time I went to some of my favorite sites I found myself feeling overwhelmed because I just did not understand half of the stuff they were talking about. There were so many different terms and abbreviations for everything. So that is what I'm going to discuss today, and hopefully then you will be in the know from now on.
Common Terms

• Manufacturer's Coupon- a coupon from a manufacturer. Has a barcode and usually is labeled manufacturer's coupon
• Store Coupon- a coupon for a specific store
• Publix Coupon- A type of store coupon. A coupon put out by Publix. Usually has L.U. and a series of numbers on it
• Competitor's Coupon- a coupon from another store that is not a manufacturer's coupon. Usually says things like "Target coupon" or "Winn-Dixie Coupon." Some stores, like Publix, accept competitor's coupons (you will need to ask your specific store if they accept competitor's coupons)
• Printable Coupon- a coupon printable from the internet. Most have security features built in to them.These can be manufacturer's, store, or competitor's coupons.
• Blinkie- a coupon found in a machine at the store. It usually has a blinking light on it
• Tear pad- a coupon found on a tear pad most often in front of the product
• Peelie- a coupon usually found on the package that peels off
• Hang-tag- a tag hanging from the product (most often found on beverages and cleaning supplies)
• Bricks- usually refers to a type of internet printable hosted by coupons.com
• Freebies- an item you can get for free, either through coupons or samples
• Overage- when the value of the coupons is more than the cost of the item. This overage of money can be applied to other groceries.Your store may or may not allow overages.
• Match-ups- a match-up of coupons to sale items.
• Stockpiling- stocking up on an item at it's lowest point in an effort to only buy items at the lowest they will go.
• Stacking- stacking two coupons of different types  on top of each other. Usually it is a manufacturer and a store coupon
• Doubling- when a store doubles the amount of the coupon
• Catalina- coupons that print out with receipt. Not found at all grocery stores.

Abbreviations

• SS- Smartsource, one of the main newspaper inserts
• RP- RedPlum, on of the main newspaper inserts
• PG- Proctor and Gamble, a manufacturer. Usually has an insert once a month, also has special offers and freebies from time to time. 
• BOGO or B1G1- Buy one get one. Depending on your store you will either have a "true BOGO" where one item rings up free or a half off BOGO where you can buy one item for half off of the original price.
• $X/X- the amount of money off of the an amount of products. For example $1/1 means $1 off 1 product. $1/2 means a $1 off two products.
• $X off a $XX purchase- a coupon for money off the entire purchase. For example $5 off a $25 purchase. Usually means before coupons.
• MIR- mail in rebate. This means you receive a rebate in either a check or gift card buy sending in specific things to a company.
• IP- internet print, see above for definition
• MFR- manufacturer coupon, see above for definition
• OOP- out of pocket, how much money you actually spent
• WYB- when you buy. For example $1 off milk wyb cookies.
• Q- coupon

Are there any terms or abbreviations you want to know? Please comment to let me know, and I'll be sure to find out. Next week I will talk about some of the basics of coupon usage.

Frugality- Organizing Coupons

What is the best way to organize coupons? I see this question come up all the time on the various blogs I follow. So I figure first I'll go through my method, and then share some other methods of organization.

My method
Items Needed: 1 large binder (at least 3"), several dividers (25-30), a ton of page protectors (50-100 based on personal preferences). The following is a description of each divider with what is in that section.

• The 12 months of the year. I have one divider for each month. Within each month I have several page protectors. I section each week into a page protector. I then either hand write or find a print out of the list of coupons in my paper and place it in front of the page protector. As I use a coupon I cross it off, so I know not to bother to look for it. 
• Publix Advantage Buy Flyers. I have one page protector for green flyers and one for yellow. 
• Publix Booklets. This is wear I put any of the booklets found at Publix, such as "Summer Savings"
• Publix Blinkies, Tearpads, Peelies, Mailers, or Printables. This section houses all other Publix coupons.
• Competitor's. This section houses all my competitors. I am unfortunate where I live that we don't have very many competitors, so mainly this section contains Target coupons, and occasionally some others.
• Tearpads, Blinkies, and Peelies- This section houses any manufacturer's coupons generally found at the store. It may also include single page flyers or small booklets of manufacturer's coupons.
• Online Prints- For this section I cut out my internet prints and organize them by month. I stick them in a page protector for each month. I then write out each coupon with expiration date and put it in the front of each page protector. That way I can add to each month when I print them.
• Other Coupons- This section houses mostly coupons that I clipped from the weekly ads and might not of used (if the product wasn't in my store, for example), or coupons I clipped from other sources (found in a magazine or newspaper).
• Home Mailers- These are coupons I receive from requesting samples or joining a company's "club." This mostly houses coupons from baby companies, but also houses most of my free item coupons (coupons a company sends you for a free item to try their product, in hopes you will buy it again in the future and spread the word)
• MIR- Mail in rebates. This houses forms, receipts, upc's, or anything needed to complete a MIR. 
• Local Coupons- This is where I keep coupons local to my area. This will be things like auto shops, cleaners, etc.
• BJ's- Coupons for BJ's wholesale club. 
• Restaurant- Coupons for places to eat.
• Previous Year's Newspaper- Most coupons in the inserts expire within a month or a couple of months. This is where I can put those random coupons that happen to last a whole lot longer (which is rare). So that way when I see a deal that says 5/10/09 SS, I'll look in this section.
• Non-grocery Major Stores- I keep my coupons for Lowe's, Home Depot, Office Max, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Bath and Body Works, JC Penney, etc. here. 

My binder has 2 pockets in both the front and the back. In one of my front pockets I have a guide to my Publix (it shows what the aisles are in the store). I also use a front pocket for coupons I need to sort into my binder. In my back pockets I keep any pieces of paper I can print on the back of or make lists on.

Other Methods-

• File Method- Similar to my method, but with file folders instead
• Clipped Method- Clipping all coupons and sorting them either by expiration date or category (frozen, baby, pet, produce, etc.) into a coupon organizer.
• Combination of Binder/File and Clipped- A mixture of the two where you file the weekly Sunday inserts and booklets and sort all other coupons into a coupon organizer. 

Dealing with the pesky internet prints-
This is a tough one. I choose to clip them and sort them by date as explained above. You could also leave them full sheet and punch holes in the side. The reason internet prints are so hard, is because we tend to print them in hopes of a sale. Internet coupons seem to appear and disappear quickly, so if you don't print them right then, they might not be there when you want them. I prefer to clip them as it is one less step when I want to use them. With the list I put in the front of each page protector I can just look down the list for what coupons I have and can cross them off when I've used them. Having them sorted by expiration month helps me to decide if I should use them on a sale right now or hold off a little longer for a better sale.

Why I use the method I use-
Because I feel like it works well for the deal sites I use. When they say "6/6/10 RP". I can flip to June and find the page protector with the week of 6/6/10 in it. I can than scan my sheet to see if I received the mentioned coupon in my ad. I don't have to spend 15 min going through the pages 3 times to realize I must not have received that coupon. When the site says "Green Advantage Buy," I go to my advantage buy section. When it says tearpad, I can check my tearpad section. Because of the clear page protectors I can also glance through many of mine to catch a coupon match up they might not of seen. The reason I choose a binder over a file system is simple. I can take it with me. I can lay it out on my table to work.

What methods do you use? Please feel free to share with me what method or tricks you use to organize your coupons.

Edit to add pictures.

 These are the dividers (specifically for the newspaper inserts)

My lists of coupons to make searching for coupons a breeze.










Edit: I generally only go to Publix, but if you shop at multiple stores or do the drugstores, you could add a tab specifically for each store's coupons instead of doing a competitor's section. You could also for the sections with individual coupons buy baseball or photo pages and show each coupon individually or organize by category. There's a lot of room for personal preference.

Frugality

Last week I shared my favorite deal matching sites. This week I will share sites where you can print coupons.

They are:
Coupons.com
Smartsource
Redplum
Target

For Kraft coupons (and some are even Publix coupons):
Cooking with Kraft

For SC Johnson coupons:
Right at Home

For a good database (say you need to buy something and it's not on sale, but would like to see if there is a coupon):
Coupon Mom

Other online sources of coupons:
The products website
The products facebook page
An e-newsletter for a product or company

A word of advice about online coupons, if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. The reason I say this is there are a lot of illegal coupons out there. The sites I listed above are considered legitimate sites, and their coupons have security features. If you receive an email with coupons for free products or find a coupon you can print unlimited times, be very suspicious. Try a google search with the coupon and the word "scam." When we use coupons that aren't legit, we risk having the store not take internet printable coupons, so please take a few minutes to check out a coupon if you didn't print it from one of the above mentioned sites.

 Next week we will talk about different ways to organize all these coupons you will acquire, so they don't take over your house or your time.

The value of couponing

As I work on finishing my list before I head out to Publix, I wonder how I ever shopped without coupons and sales.

Let me show you a picture.

I got all of this for $36.72 (and this isn't even the best I've done)!





And the best part is, I want to share how to save a lot of money.

For today's couponing tip, I leave you my two favorite sites.

iheartpublix or her sister site iheartsavingmoney

southernsavers

Please go check them out (and hopefully they will have one of the stores near you), you'll be glad you did. I'm excited to share more tips and websites that will help you save tons on your groceries, so please stay tuned every Thursday for more!