Power Coupon Diva

Coupons are found in your local papers, at your grocery stores (affectionately called blinkies for their attractive red blinking light), online, in magazines, at the manufacturer's website, in your junk mail, even at the cash register in the form of a catalina coupon!

An easy way to build your coupon collection quicky is to jump on a coupon train. Most coupon boards have members who form trains where they send out all the coupons they won't use to the next person in the train, at the same time receiving an envelope from the person preceeding them. If you use a coupon from the train, you simply replace it with another that you won't use.

If you know the exact coupons you are looking for you can also check with Ebay or with clipping services that send you multiple coupons for a small handling fee.

There are two good ways to organize your coupons.

Clipping, of course, and filing your coupons into a binder is the obvious way. It takes time to clip and sort, but it makes finding specific coupons much faster. Binders are portable which makes them available to take with you into the store in case there is a sale that either wasn't advertised or that you missed in the flyer.

Binders can be small or big, alpabetized or categorized by product, pockets or sleeves. It really is a matter of personal preference. Currently I am using a binder similar to a Trapper Keeper. It has pockets in the front for scissors, a pen, a calculator and a spare pocket that I put extra coupons during my trip to be refiled.

Or you might choose to save your inserts whole in a folder and keep track of the coupons in a database. The nice thing about this system is that you save quite a bit of time filing them and clip only what you need as you need it. Keeping a database is detail oriented but if that is your cup of tea, this method will work well for you.

Also falling under organization is learning your stores' rules for coupons. Do they double? Do they accept competitors' coupons? Do they price match? Knowing this in advance will make your trip much more efficient because you can plan it out in advance.

So you've found your coupons and you've organized them, now all you need is a good sale.

Sales are interesting because while some item sales cycle regularly (weekly, monthly, yearly) others seem to have no meaning at all. Also what you consider a good price and pecentage saved is going to differ from what I like to see. As you go along, you'll learn what prices you normally pay (with coupons) for what items and you can stock up when an item hits that price.

My personal rule of thumb is to be able to save at least 70% on my normal shopping trips and over 90% on my cherry picking trips - or the trips that I have really good coupons matched with really good sales.

As a couponer, you need to be prepared for possible problems. Unfortunately, whether it is personal opinion or lack of training, some cashiers, customer service and even managers will have a problem with your couponing efforts and even in the best planned promotions, things can go wrong. A wrong size grabbed off the shelf, a computer error. Being ready for any problems helps immensely if you encounter them.

The most important thing you need to remember is that if you are following the rules, you aren't doing anything wrong. I stress a high ethical standard very strongly here. Watch your coupons for expiration dates (unless your store specifically takes expireds), follow the rules of your store and their sales to the letter, stand your ground if you are right but always be polite.

Sometimes there are problems with promotions. Whether they are poorly planned or put into the computer system incorrectly, you need to be prepared. Bring your flyer and don't be surprised if you end up talking to customer service here and there. It may seem overwhelming or like it may not be worth it, but if a cashier forgot to hand you $20 in change and refused to give it to you, you'd go to customer service. It's just a necessary evil that might happen.

In this strain, because coupon and promotion training is lacking in many stores, you may find that if you do have a problem some cashiers will not even know what you are talking about. Customer service and managers sometimes know more, but even they sometimes don't even know the store is running a promotion or a specific sale. Be prepared to be more prepared than the store personnel.

Once speaking with customer service or management, you usually get one of two responses. Either they just take your word that you completed the necessary requirements for the promotion or they start in a long list of reasons you didn't qualify.

Respectfully, my feeling is that what the stores lack in training promotions and coupons, they make up for in training an excuse list which goes something like this (although not necessarily in this order)...

Couponer: I am having a problem with this promotion. I didn't get my reward (usually a catalina coupon for $$ off your next visit).
Manager: What promotion?
Couponer: This one in your weekly flyer. See? (have flyer ready)
Manager: Oh, that promotion is once per household.
Couponer: Actually it says once per day (or transaction - you know because you've read the fine print)
Manager: Did you already do it today? (don't laugh, you'll hear it)
Couponer: Nope.
Manager: All your items are not pictured in the ad.
Couponer: See this little box on the ad? It says there are 1000 participating items and all the items have blue tags. All my items had blue tags.

At this time, they will either concede and help you or they will require a walk through the store and will specifically look for the tags for all your items. One quick note about tagged promotions. The store does not tag all the items included in the promotion. Sometimes you can get a list of items from the grocery store's website and sometimes from the grocery store's corporate office directly. Keep in mind that if you purchase something that is included in the promotion but not tagged in the store as included, your story usually has the right to deny you the reward. You can argue that the ad says "1000s of products" and only 50 or so are tagged and you can even produce an official list. You may succeed or you may just make the manager dislike you and other couponers even more. I'd read the situation carefully or just avoid it altogether.

There will also be store personnel who strongly believe that you are cheating the store, espeically if you are getting free items. It helps to know how you are saving. There are two kinds of coupons... store and manufacturer. Most stores let you combine a store coupon and a manufacturer's coupon for the same item. If they don't, it's almost always specifically stated.

Store coupons are paid for by the store directly. It's a loss they are prepared to take when they choose to offer the store coupon. Manufacturers coupons are paid for by the manufacturer. If you read the fine print, nearly every coupon reimburses the store for the face value and a small handling fee - usually $.08 each.

So when you use a coupon for $1.00 off an item and the item costs $1.00 this week, the item is free to you and the manufacturer pays the store $1.00 for you plus $.08. The store does not lose money. Quite the opposite. If you use 30 manufacturer coupons, the store gets reimbursed by the manufacturers for all you saved plus they make $2.40 in handling fees.

You may also have cashiers question coupon wording. Many coupons say one coupon per item or something to that effect. The common understanding is that you can use one manufacurer coupon per item. Occasionally you will see a coupon that says one per transaction. The common understanding of this coupon is that you can use one coupon of that type per transaction. You may, however, come across a cashier who reads it as only one coupon for your entire transaction. You might argue your point politely but in the end, it's better to just accept the cashier's decision.

And then we have catalina coupons. These little machines next to the register spit out advertisements, coupons, $$ off your next purchase and other miscellaneous offers and rewards. Cashiers see them all day and are required to give them to the shopper each time. While it is against most store policies to do it, you'll find cashiers who have figured out that $$ on your next purchase coupons are as good as cash and will steal them. Luckily this is uncommon. For the most part cashiers get requests from shoppers all day long to throw the catalinas away. In fact, the majority of shoppers just trash them without even looking at them. Cashiers know this and so not a lot of attention seems to be paid to the machines or coupons. It's in your best interest, if you are doing a lot of catalina promotions, to be able to tell if the catalina machine at your register is offline or out of paper. Most have lights. You can explain that you are expecting coupons and politely ask that the machine be fixed before the cashier proceeds. You can also call the Catalina company directly at 1-888-322-3814 if there are unresolved issues.

Over time, you'll know which cashiers, customer service reps and managers are coupon friendly and which don't love them and you'll gravitate to the ones who are easier to work with.

If you are treated unfairly or harshly, accused of stealing or doing something illegal (it happens), or are just not listened to at the store level, don't be afraid to call the corporate office or the Catalina company if it's a catalina promotion. If you are following the rules, they are almost always extremely helpful and need to know when there are problems.

Overall, if you are doing your organizing and choosing your products correctly and playing fair, a lot of problems are avoided.