Coupons

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When I talk to people for the first time about my grocery budget, they will often say something like, "wow, you must be one of those extreme couponers! I don't have time to do that!" I'm here to dispel the myth. I don't have a basement full of salad dressing that I got for free, or a lifetime supply of dental floss that I got by stacking coupons. For the most part, I don't have time for coupons. However, a good coupon used properly can be an awesome thing.

My printer has been out of ink for approximately 4 years, now, with no signs of magically refilling itself any time soon, so any coupon I have to sign up for and get emailed to me and then print out myself is just not going to happen over here.

Also, I frequently forgot about coupons until well past their expiry dates, when I'd find them wallowing, tattered, at the bottom of my purse. Sometimes I'd even carry a coupon up to the till with me, item in hand, and then still forget to use the coupon, remembering only once I'd gotten back to my car and strapped all my kids into their carseats. Unless the coupon was on the shelf with (or stuck directly on to) the item I was purchasing, I didn't really go out of my way to find a paper coupon.

I've found a solution, so far, to my forgetfulness, and now keep my coupons zipped in this pouch inside my grocery tote (with a pen, and usually my grocery notebook) so that I can see them, taunting me, through the trip. If they're out of sight in my wallet or purse, I will forget about them. If they're out of my purse and I'm carrying them around, I will lose them. I am a spaz.

How to be a boring grown up, Step 567: Keep your coupons in a clear, zippered pouch attached to your shopping bag.

Anyway, now that I'm less of a scatterbrain, (it's only slightly less, but progress is progress) if I do come across a coupon in store for something that I know I'll use, I usually grab a few (but not all of them! Don't be that person!) and save them for future trips. Check the expiry on the coupon and grab what you think is reasonable for the time frame.

There are for sure savings to be had with a coupon, as long as you are mindful of the following:

1. Is the coupon for something I already needed or wanted to purchase?

2. Does the coupon require me to purchase multiples? And if so, will I use multiples, and do I have room in my budget to buy them all?

Coupons are largely a marketing tool to encourage a shopper to make a purchase. Lots of times, too, the coupons are not that lucrative, like, "buy 2 jars of pickles and save $0.25." Or, you know, you could buy one jar of this other, cheaper, brand of pickles and save a dollar. You choose. If the coupon is for something you were already going to purchase, then definitely use it. Or, if the coupon makes the item less expensive than the brand you usually buy (and you have no brand loyalty like me), then again, definitely use it.

This coupon is frequently in the aisles and on the coupon wall in Superstore

This diaper coupon is often on the shelf or at the front door at Superstore. This coupon is so annoying to me, but I still always grab one or two, because spending money on diapers is also so annoying. (I'm too far gone for cloth diapering, now. My youngest is almost one. His poops are gross, and I already do enough laundry).

Anyway, this coupon. In order to use it, you have to buy 2 boxes of diapers to save $10. I like saving ten dollars, but the big box of diapers at Superstore is $33. I typically don't have a spare $66 (or $56) floating around in my budget to stock up on a 3 month supply of diapers in one day. Even with the coupon, the price per diaper works out higher if you buy 2 of the smaller boxes of diapers for $22 each. So often, this coupon wallows in my wallet until it expires.

But sometiiiiiiimes the stars align, and I feel like I'm stealing diapers, and it's awesome.

I'll explain.

For starters, I participate in the Superstore Loyalty points program: PC Optimum Points. It's kind of like couponing, in the sense that you earn points back on specific products (products are updated every Thursday), but I don't have to remember any coupons and the points just accumulate in my account. If you don't have a PC Optimum Card, it is free to sign up, and I highly recommend that you do if you intend to do any shopping at a Loblaws branded store or gas station (Superstore, No Frills, Shoppers Drug Mart, Superstore Gas Stations, and ESSO).

Secondly, I also use an app called Checkout 51. Aside from finding a coupon in the store, this is the only other "couponing" that I do. Checkout 51 offers a list of products (also updated every Thursday) that you can earn a rebate on if you purchase. It's essentially an online coupon, but I don't need to remember it at the till. After you've made your purchase, you simply open the app, select the item you want a rebate for, and take a picture of the receipt as proof of purchase. Once your submission is approved, the amount is added to your account, and when it reaches $20, you can request to have your cheque mailed to you.

My Checkout 51 savings to date. It's not a million dollars, but it's better than nothing!

I use the same rules I outlined above re: coupons when deciding if I am going to purchase an item promoted by Checkout 51. Like paper coupons, the rebates on this app are typically for brand name products, and are often not things that I typically buy. Sometimes, however, you can earn money for watching an advertisement or for buying generic items like milk or apples or chocolate. Most of my rebate money from this app has come from diapers. And goat cheese, haha. Huggies and Pampers products are frequently featured on this app.

If you want to get the app, you can download it from the app store. You could also sign up by clicking my referral link. If you do it this way, I receive a referral bonus after you've submitted your first receipt. (https://checkout51.app.link/6v56rG1qXQ)

Sometimes, the universe smiles down on me, and diapers are on sale, offered as an item I can earn PC Optimum Points on, are featured on Checkout 51, and I have a coupon. I usually settle for at least 2 out of the 4.

Recently, I was down to my last 4 diapers. I even scavenged in the back of my car because I swore I had more somewhere. (See previous post re: being organized). Also recently, the smaller box of Pampers was on sale for $19.97. I could buy 2 boxes and get 208 diapers for $39.94. Finally, a better deal per diaper then the jumbo box. Then, I had my $10 off coupon, so the price went down to $29.94 for 208 diapers. (For reference, the big box is 168 for $33.72).

Still with me? Here's where it gets good.

I had $30 worth of Superstore points to cash in. Because you can only redeem your points in $10 increments, before tax, I also grabbed a can of refried beans for tacos (if I don't need anything, though, I'll sometimes treat myself to a checkout chocolate bar) to push my total over $30.

I cashed in my points, and paid less than $5 cash for 208 diapers and a $2.78 can of beans.

And, because both the beans and the diapers were on my points offers that week, I earned 8,200 Optimum points on the transaction. So I spent $5 of my cash budget, and earned $8.20 in points to use on a future purchase.

Often, my diapers are on Checkout 51 for a $1.50 rebate. This time, it didn't happen for me, but it has aligned like that for me in the past. For $5, though, I'm not going to complain.

Anyway, the moral of this story is don't just buy something because you have a coupon. Make sure the coupon is for something you will use or were going to buy anyway. Make sure purchasing the item(s) with the coupon is the best use of the money you have allocated for groceries that week. Make sure that you're not spending more on an item you don't typically buy, because you'll save $0.75, even though the item you usually get is still less expensive.

And sign up for an Optimum Card. Those points are definitely a big reason why I can keep my weekly grocery budget so low. I don't go out of my way to buy the items that are advertised to me in the app, but because the program is intuitive, the items that are offered to me are typically the items I am buying on a regular basis, anyway. The points are awesome, and allow me to use less actual cash for groceries, but they're not the only way to bring your grocery bill down. If you're not local, or Superstore is still a big old no for you, please don't give up on the blog. I'll continue to share ideas that will work to bring your grocery spending down in other ways.