Jul

22

Six Reasons Why You SHOULD Use Coupons

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This morning, Money Saving Mom pointed me to an article on Yahoo Finance that provided eight reasons why you shouldn’t use coupons.

As you can imagine, I got as feisty as MSM did! This article is completely ridiculous. So here are six reasons you should use coupons.

Coupons Save Money on Must-Have Items
Yes, sometimes I do buy toilet paper on supersale without a coupon, but I can usually find a coupon that will save me big bucks when combined with a sale. It’s not like I could stop buying toilet paper, so I might as well save money on it.

Coupons Help You Try New Products
I have tried new products, or new brands of products I already use, because I had a great coupon. It tends to be for things like cleaning products, not for packaged food that I don’t really have a use for. For example, I got a coupon for a green cleaner that I wanted to try, and I needed an all-purpose cleaner. Coupon+sale=a chance to try something new without spending a lot of money.

Some Coupons Get You Free Goods!
I’ve received free orange juice, free shampoo, free toothpaste, and a variety of other products free by combining a coupon with a sale.

Coupons Help Manage Food Costs
If you’re trying to save money on food, but want to buy more fresh, whole foods, then coupons can help you manage the costs of any canned, frozen, and packaged goods you need to buy. That leaves more room in the budget for locally-grown produce and grass-fed meat.

Coupons Save Money on More than Groceries
In addition to the usually food, personal care, and paper products coupons, I’ve received coupons to clothing stores, restaurants, and local services. If you need to buy new clothes or want to go out to eat, a coupon is a great way to get what you need or want while still saving money.

Coupons Make Splurges More Affordable
If you want to buy something expensive, for example a pair of Droids and the new phone plan to go with them, using coupons to save money in other areas makes that manageable. One of the big reasons we still manage to save money after buying a house, and even avoided debt while my husband was on disability, is because we’ve found so many ways to cut costs. Coupons are one of those ways.

Yes, you have to take a few minutes to flip through the circular and clip the coupons, but it’s really not that much time. I file my coupons at the same time that I pull out the expired ones, which is also when I plan my menu and make my grocery list. Simply match coupons to list and you’re done planning your coupons. Is that really so hard?

Jul

15

Have You Tried Groupon?

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If you have a Google reader RSS feed or spend any time online, you’ve probably seen the ads for Groupon (the one with the photo of those gorgeous cookies!) I finally signed up for it a few months ago and took advantage of my first groupon about three weeks ago.

How Groupon Works
Groupon makes a deal with a local store (or sometimes a national store/service) to present a coupon that is good for a certain amount of dollars off a purchase or service. Restaurants, bakeries, spas, and local stores are common Groupon offers. For example, a restaurant might offer a $20 Groupon that is good for $40 off a restaurant tab.  In order for anyone to get the deal, a certain number of people have to buy the Groupon. If that threshhold is met, the Groupon is activated the next day and typically good for 12 months, but they will state it clearly if there is an earlier expiration date. Most Groupons meet the threshhold and your card isn’t charged unless it is.

There is only one offer per day per city, although you will see a “side deal” on the site. You’ll only get one email with the primary deal, though.

If you want to be sure a deal will go through before you buy it, look at the box below the offer price on the left. It will tell you how many have been bought. If the minimum has been exceeded, it will say “The Deal Is On” and tell you what time the minimum was exceeded (and what it was.) If it hasn’t been exceeded, it will tell you how many more need to be bought to activate the deal. You can buy Groupons as gifts if it’s just a few away and you really want the deal! Just be warned that you can only use one of them for yourself. You really do have to give the others away.

Why Pay for a Coupon?
Most of these coupons are great deals. I’ve rarely seen one that was more than double the face value, so if you pay $20 to save $40, your total savings is $20. Yes, you did have to pay, but paying $20 is still cheaper than paying $40.

How to Sign Up
Signing up is easy. Simply choose your geographic area and then provide an email address. You’ll get an email with that day’s offer six days a week (no offers on Sunday.)

If an offer is something you want to buy, then you complete a full registration with billing details so they can charge you. You only have to do this once.

I subscribe to two deal emails – one for Los Angeles and one for the smaller area of Los Angeles where I live. Most cities only have one list, but Seattle, San Francisco and Washington D.C. all have two or three more. Other areas like New York have a different setup for their different lists. Frequently the deals will be the same across all of the areas in a metro, but occasionally there are different deals.

If you’re planning a trip, you might start checking that city’s deals for any restaurant, spa, or hotel deals that could be interesting.

Other Ways to Find Groupon Deals
Sometimes a national deal will only be advertised in a few cities, but anyone can buy it. This happened with the deal I bought. I also subscribe to a couple of coupon blogs. Frugal Coupon Living posts alerts when great national Groupons are available. In my case, it was an Indianapolis deal.

My Groupon Experience
As I said, I found out about a deal in another city on a blog. It was $25 for a $75 coupon from Wine Insiders. I did a little research and discovered that they had 12-packs of wine for as low as $108, with free shipping. I would have to pay tax, but the final cost would work out to $5.70 per bottle. That’s slightly less than I pay for a bottle at Trader Joe’s, so as long as a bottle was worth more than $5.99, it was a good deal.

I jumped on the deal, and the next day I received an email that it was active. I went to my account and printed the Groupon. Even though I had 12 months, I knew I would forget to use it, so I ordered my Mystery Mix 12-pack within two weeks. The wine arrived about four days later. I researched the bottles and found that the cheapest was $9.99 and the most expensive was $19.99. That’s an average savings of $4.45 a bottle.

I’ve only been tempted by a couple other offers, but have only purchased one. If you like to eat, shop, go to the spa, or try new exercise facilities, give Groupon a try. It’s just one email a day that could save you big bucks!

Note: I’ll get $10 if you use the link above to sign up and then later buy a deal.

Jun

16

Earn Free Loot with Swag Bucks

Filed Under Coupons, Found Money | 1 Comment

Last week I started using a search engine called SwagBucks, and I’ve already earned enough points (swag bucks) to buy a $5 Amazon gift card. Are you in on the latest way to win free prizes?

How SwagBucks Works
SwagBucks is simple. Perform searches at their engine and occasionally you win points for those searches. However, they also offer other ways to earn points, and that’s where they really rack up. You can then use those points to buy prizes in the SwagBucks store. Most people opt for the $5 Amazon.com gift card, but they offer many other prizes, too.

How to Earn Extra SwagBucks
In addition to the random bucks awarded through searches, you can also earn points for various other tasks, such as:

  • Answering the daily poll question
  • Completing surveys
  • Completing special offers
  • Trading video games and other items
  • Turning in an old cell phone
  • Shopping
  • Participating on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media
  • Downloading the Toolbar
  • Promoting SwagBucks.

They also release Swagcodes on their blog, Twitter, Facebook, or toolbar, usually one a day, that earn additional points if you see the code and enter it before the deadline.

Search Results Accuracy
My first concern was that Swagbucks wouldn’t be as accurate as Google. The truth is, they’re not always, but I can usually find what I want on a search and if I can’t, I switch to Google. You’ll also notice that there are a lot of sponsored results mixed into their results. Some of these are helpful, some aren’t. However, they are always labeled as Sponsored in the URL, so you can weed them out.

Special Offers
Swagbucks has special offers you can complete, such as signing up for a credit card or joining the Netflix free trial. Some are as simple as watching a one-minute video, but the big rewards could cost you real money or require real effort. If you’re tempted by a big offer, you might find that those same offers earn better rewards through your credit card rewards program or one of the shopping rewards sites, so compare the rewards carefully before choosing.

For example, DirecTV is offering 9975 bucks for subscribing to the service. You could also earn $50 back from ShopatHome for the same thing. So, you have to decide which is worth more to you – the points or the cash. It appears that most rewards in the 9000SB range are worth about $50, so it could be a break-even.

Surveys
Surveys are a great way to rack up lots of points, but they can also be frustrating.

The surveys interface offers several surveys in a variety of categories. The system indicates how likely you are to get accepted for a survey. I tried to take one that said 90% acceptance, and I was rejected. I suspect that my income level, education level, or lack of children is excluding me from most of the surveys. I was able to take a financial service survey worth 75 bucks however. It took about 15 minutes.

The frustrating thing about the surveys is that you have to answer several questions before even being told if you qualify. Sometimes it takes as long as 5 minutes to get rejected. Do that six times and you’ve wasted half an hour.

In addition to surveys, you can complete profiles, which help them figure out which surveys are appropriate for you. You earn bucks for these profiles, and you may be able to cut some of those preliminary questions by completing the profiles, but I haven’t done them all yet.

If you want to earn prizes just for searching, or if you’re willing to take surveys, sign up for Swagbucks.  I earned 400 points my first week, and you only need 450 to get the $5 Amazon gift card.

Note: I will earn Swagbucks for referring you through the links above. If you’re not comfortable with that, go directly to Swagbucks.com without clicking the link.

Jun

14

Persistence Pays Off with Freebie Coupons

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I don’t usually have trouble with coupons for free items. Usually, manufacturers or stores send them on glossy paper or they are only good at a certain store, both of which make them hard to fake. This week, however, I had trouble with a freebie coupon that was poorly designed. I was persistent, however, and my persistence paid off.

The Tropicana Free Juice Coupon
As a promotion for its Juicy Rewards program, Tropicana gave away 50,000 coupons for a free carton of orange juice. In order to receive the coupon, I had to cash in five Juicy Rewards points, which I received for entering codes I found in the same blog post that informed me of the promotion.

A few days later, I received the coupon. It was formatted like an internet printable coupon, but was attached to a letter. I detached the letter and put it in the recycling, then tucked the coupon in my folder.

The Trouble with Free Coupons
Most stores have a policy against accepting internet printables for free items, due to fraud. It’s a shame, but I understand the policy. However, I didn’t know that when I want to use it, and I didn’t print it. It was mailed to me.

The first night I tried to use it, the evening manager absolutely refused to accept it. She sounded like she didn’t believe I had received it in the mail. She made all sorts of claims about it needing to be printed on special paper etc. I was in the express lane, so I removed the juice from my purchase and left.

When I got home, I examined the coupon. It was, in fact, printed on microdot paper with embedded security features on the back.

I went back to the store Friday morning and went directly to the manager’s station. I simply explained that although it looked like an internet printable, Tropicana had mailed it to me. He looked at it and explained their policy. I pointed out the security features, and he approved it. When I used the coupon at the register, I actually got 99 cents back because the juice was on sale!

Tips for Freebie Coupons
If you receive freebie coupons, here are a few tips:

  1. Use it at the designated merchant (if it’s store-issued), or use it at a store where you shop regularly.
  2. Keep the envelope and supporting letter with the coupon, especially if it looks like it might have been printed on your home computer.
  3. Don’t argue with the cashier. She doesn’t have the power to do anything. Instead, ask for the manager.
  4. Use a regular checkout, not an express lane. You don’t want to hold up the express lane if you have to get a manager.
  5. If you don’t get anywhere, ask for the general manager’s name and phone number. Call to ask for help, or return to the store when that manager or another high-level manager is available.
  6. Be polite. Don’t get into a heated argument or make accusations.
  7. Be persistent. If you don’t succeed on your first visit, go back until you do. If you strike out at that store, try another store.

My free juice coupon saved me $3.50. Actually, I guess it saved me $4.49. Even though it took a little extra effort, I think $4.49 is worth five minutes.

Apr

28

How to Save Money with Facebook

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I mostly use Facebook to keep up with friends (I’m a lurker, not an updater.) Then I became a fan of a few of my favorite companies. I quickly discovered that many offer exclusive coupons or announce early sales on Facebook. So far I’ve saved $507 at Cost Plus World Market using Facebook coupons. Here’s how:

Fan Your Favorite Stores
The easiest way to get coupons and sale announcements is to simply become a fan of the store. Most stores don’t bombard you with status updates (unlike certain “Ville” applications.) Just keep an eye out for updates from those stores each time you check Facebook.

Search for Stores and Read Their Updates
Some stores don’t require you to become a fan in order to print a coupon. Simply search for the store in Facebook and then read their recent updates to see if they’ve announced Fan-only coupons or have publicly-available coupons listed.

Search for Coupons, then Become a Facebook Fan
It’s understandable that you might not want to Fan a bunch of stores. But there’s another trick, which is how I knew to become a Cost Plus Facebook fan in the first place: coupon code sites. I used top coupon sites to search for Cost Plus coupons. One of the sites mentioned that they announce coupons on Facebook. I joined and discovered the 25% coupon would be available for that weekend. This weekend I received a $10 off $30 coupon from Cost Plus, and a free tote bag I learned about through their Fan page.

Sign up for Newsletters
Occasionally a store will announce its newsletter specials on Facebook. Take the hint that you should sign up for their email newsletter and get even more coupons.

Check Coupon Blogs
Two of my favorite coupon blogs are Money Saving Mom and Frugal Coupon Living. They’ve both announced coupon specials for becoming a fan of different brands of butter, milk, etc. Simply add these blogs to your RSS feed and then check for Facebook coupons. Once you’ve joined the Facebook fan page and printed your coupon, unfan the page.

Of course, there are other ways to get coupons. I’m now a World Market rewards member, so I will also be notified of sales by email, but I never would have known about that program without Facebook. Use the power of Facebook wisely and you could save a lot of money without a lot of effort.

Apr

21

Great Ways to Spend $10

Filed Under Coupons, Saving Money | 2 Comments

Recently, CNN challenged its iReporters to spend $10 and report back their results. Some were less than creative, for example, two $5 footlong subs. Most of us can do better than that, like the couple that bought 8 seed packets and projects they’ll get over $1700 worth of spinach. (I guess they really like spinach. I would have gotten a few different kinds of seeds.)

My Best $10 Purchases
Here are just a few of my favorite $10 and under purchases:

Toilet Paper
One of my best $10 deals was 40 rolls of toilet paper last November. Although, there was tax, so we’ll say I spent $10.97 total (I can’t remember if I had a coupon or not.) Those rolls of toilet paper lasted 24 weeks (we’re down to the last 3 rolls.) They would have lasted longer, but my husband has been home for the better part of three months. Still, six months worth of toilet paper isn’t bad for $10!

Tomatoes
Rather than seeds, I bought heirloom tomato seedlings. They were $4 each, so that brings my total to $8. If each plant produces 20 pounds of fruit, and organic tomatoes are $2 a pound at the local farmer’s market, then that’s $40 worth of tomatoes.

Microwave Cart
When I got my first solo apartment, the microwave my parents handed down to me wouldn’t fit on my 1950s countertops. I went to Goodwill and bought a sturdy, rolling, wooden cart for $10. Fifteen years later, I still have that cart. When I moved in with my husband, it became our bar/Christmas tree stand. It’s usually a bar in our new house, but at Thanksgiving we cleared it off and rolled it into the dining room to serve as a sideboard. I’ve never refinished it, repaired it, or done anything to it.

Art
I like to buy locally-produced art as a souvenir when I travel. I usually choose landscapes or something really emblematic of the area. Several times, I’ve found beautiful pieces for $10 which serve as a constant reminder of my trips.

Computer Game
There was that time I spent one cent on a computer game as a gift for my husband. He still plays it. I’m pretty sure the store had taken inventory and missed it in stock, so the system was updated with the lowest possible price. But that’s how it rang up and the clerk said she had to sell it to me at that price, so I took the deal.

Roasting Pan
Recently I scored a brand new, non-stick roasting pan for $6.46. That’s a pretty sweet deal.

Do you look out for good deals? What are some of your best $10 and under scores?

Mar

30

When to Jump on a Good Deal and When to Pass

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This weekend I snagged on a good deal on a roasting pan. It was on sale at Bed Bath & Beyond for $20 with a $10 mail-in rebate. In addition, I was able to use one of their $5 of $15 coupons on the purchase. That will bring my total cost down to $6.46 (including tax) for an 18” roasting pan with rack. If you want one, the rebate goes through 12/31/2010. It was a fantastic deal, but I only jumped on it because I knew it was the right time.

When Is a Good Deal Worth It?
I don’t jump on every good deal that comes my way. For example, this week I’m snapping up deals on Coke, vegetable oil, peanut butter, and Tums. Last week it was tomato sauce and a roasting pan. However, I don’t jump every time I see a deal. For example, a few weeks ago Cost Plus had ceramic rectangular baking pan for $10. Not a bad price, but not worth buying because I already have a ceramic baking pan.

Here are my guidelines for jumping on a good deal:

Immediate necessity. I don’t actually need the pan this week, but I know I will need it soon. So, it passes the first test.

Repeated use potential. This is a roasting pan, so I know I will use it repeatedly. I see lots of good deals in Target ads that would be fun to have, but they might not be things I’d get a lot of use out of, so I don’t rush out to buy them.

Not duplicative. If I’d jumped on the ceramic baking pan deal, I would have been duplicating something I already had, in fact something I’d bought just two weeks earlier. While I already have a roasting pan, it’s not a good one. This year, my family came to my house for Thanksgiving and my mom had to bring her roasting pan with her. She inherited her pan from my grandmother, but obviously that’s not likely to happen in my case for another 20-30 years, too long to wait for a roasting pan that actually fits a turkey.

Will be used quickly. This one applies to food. I only buy enough of a good deal that I’ll be able to use it all before it expires. I use a lot of peanut butter, so I always snag those deals.

When Is a Good Deal Not Worth It?
The primary time when a good deal isn’t worth it is when it’s not really that good a deal. It might seem like a deal, but if you follow prices, you know it’s really not. For example, at Christmas, I got 40 rolls of toilet paper for $10. That was a good deal at my local stores. I’ve also seen deals where the toilet paper would have been $15 – not quite as good a deal because I know it will go lower.

If it’s something you don’t need and don’t have a use for, then it’s also not a good deal. The ceramic baking pan is an example. I needed one, so I bought one I liked at a good price. I didn’t need two, so I didn’t buy a second one.

There is also the issue of storage. When I lived in an apartment, it wouldn’t have been as easy to stock up on the toilet paper deal. I probably still would have, because I could stuff it into various crannies, but I probably would have held off on the roasting pan due to storage problems. If you don’t have room for the stuff you buy, then it’s not a good deal.

Finding Deals that Are Good for You
I carry a little notebook with my everywhere. One of the items in that notebook is a list of things I need to buy for my house or for myself. Then, every Sunday I check out the weekly ads for the stores I know are likely to carry those items. I quickly scan for items on my lists. If I see a good deal, I add the store and the item to my weekly to do list. If there’s a coupon for the item, I put it in the pocket at the back of the notebook. By comparing my list to the ads, I’m less tempted to jump on deals that don’t really work for me.

Feb

12

Find Real Users’ Opinions on Any Product or Deal and Keep Your Privacy Safe

Filed Under Coupons, Expenses, Saving Money | 1 Comment

Bargain hunting is a real fun. You won’t be able to save a fortune by collecting and using coupons but you will save a precious penny and what’s more important you’ll make a smarter shopper: by learning how to find and organize coupons you’ll broaden your outlook:

  • You get to know more places where you can buy anything you need;
  • You become aware of broader product range and less popular manufactures;
  • You learn to compare prices and estimate what the offer is really worth;
  • You make contacts with people who shop online and know a lot; etc.

There are plenty more benefits, however there are a few issues as well. The worst thing that may happen to you when hunting for freebies and bargains is getting scammed. The two things that may happen after that are:

  1. Your private information can be stolen (and used to send you spam for example);
  2. Your money may be stolen (which is actually worse).

This post looks at 3 effective ways to research any product or deal reviews to keep your privacy and money safe:

Twitter search

Twitter is a widely popular site where people come to share opinions on anything, including shopping. Using Twitter search you can find conversations about any product or special offer you want to research. One trick that always comes in handy is using sentiment search to find negative reviews or bad experience shared:

! Use a smiling icon in your search that reflects negative emotion :(

Example: [:( amazon]


Trusted sources

The best advice I have ever got regarding online shopping was that I only need to use trusted sources of deals and freebies to keep myself safe from scam. I know there are quite a few but here’s what I am personally using (and tested by experience):

Buxr.com is an online community where shoppers meet to exchange deals and freebies they came across and had some luck with. The resource have three huge advantages:

  • Deals are submitted by real shoppers who also review each others’ submissions;
  • Submissions are pre-moderated (administrators check deals before publishing them);
  • Members rate deals, so you can easily identify most useful and trusted ones:

ListFreeSamples: you won’t find actually reviews at this site but I had to mention this one for one reason that it only uses official sources of freebies and deals; so if you are serious about your privacy, this resource should be in your list:

Specialized forums

There are a few useful specialized forums which will help you check if the merchant you are considering has ever been involved into scam.

Scam.com is one of those places (and actually one of the best of them). It is very active and has a huge database of scammers in a number of categories (MLM / Pyramid scams, Internet scams, etc). The forum has a robust search feature for you to quickly look through the mentions of the offer or seller’s name:

And how do you try to keep your privacy safe when shopping online? Please share your thoughts!

The guest post was provided by Ann Smarty, a search blogger and online shopper. If you are looking for guest posts, create your profile at Ann’s forum called My Blog Guest – the place where bloggers and guest posters can meet to exchange posts and help each other.

Nov

17

Creative Couponing for Food Drive Donations

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Yesterday I did some creative couponing that netted me four brand new, brand-name boxes of cereal for a dollar. We don’t actually eat cereal, but we have house guests coming who do, so I wanted one box for them. My choice was to spend $2.50 for one box, or $1 for four. So, thanks to the joys of grocery store math, I decided to buy four boxes and donate the excess three to a food drive.

How the Deal Went Down
This was a spectacular deal, but you do see things like this at the grocery store a few times a year. It’s a great opportunity to stock up on food drive donations so you can help those who are less fortunate.

It started with a special:
General Mills cereal for $1.50 per box if you bought four boxes in one transaction, otherwise it was $2.50 a box. If you bought four boxes, you also got $4 off your grocery order.
So, $6 -$4=$2 for four boxes. Not bad, just 50 cents each.
But it got better. I had a coupon for $1 off 2 boxes. My store only doubles up to $1 max, so $2-$1=$1 for four boxes.
I could have gotten the cereal free if I’d had one more coupon with a value of 50 cents or more, but I settled for 25 cents per box.

What to Watch Out For
When you’re doing deals like this with an eye toward donating the excess you won’t eat, always check the condition of the donated item. Choose cans or boxes that don’t have dents or tears, because the food bank may not be able to accept it. You should also check the expiration date. Make sure that it’s far enough away that you’ll have time to find a food drive and the food bank will have time to distribute your items before it expires. In my case, the cereal doesn’t expire until October, 2010.

Creative Couponing Opportunities
All though super-amazing deals like the cereal deal are less frequent, you’ll still have plenty of opportunities. Personal care items are a big one for super deals, and charities always need things like toothpaste, shampoo, and diapers, which are donated less frequently than food. Here are a few creative coupon methods to score free or cheap items to donate:

B1G1 or BOGO Deals – Combine a buy one, get one free special with a coupon. You’ll get the single item you wanted very cheap, plus a free one to donate.

Close-outs – Sometimes close-outs are too close to the expiration date to make it a good deal, but not always. You might see a big sale on something like cranberry sauce after the holidays. It’s not expired, but the store knows it won’t sell. Charities, on the other hand, don’t care if cranberry sauce is a holiday item. A close-out may also occur if the store is scheduling a remodel or phasing out a brand. I’ve seen close-outs for a packaging change, too. When Tropicana’s new package flopped, they significantly marked down their juice to get rid of the new cartons before re-releasing the old design.

Rebates - Several times a year, a manufacturer will offer a rebate for certain grocery or personal care products. Buy twice as much as you need. Donate half, and then keep the rest to submit your labels for the rebate. Often you’ll at least cover the cost of the donated food, and might even make a little extra on the deal.

Free with Purchase – This happens more often at Costco, but I’ve also seen it at Target and grocery stores. Sometimes the manufacturer will bundle a product with a sample size. Donate the sample sizes and it costs you nothing. I have one sample size of my shampoo, body wash, etc. If you need the sample size for traveling, keep one that you can refill (the top comes off if you pull hard enough) and donate the rest.

If you watch your coupons and store circulars carefully, you can score lots of free or nearly free items that are perfect donations to a food drive. Why not use some of your good fortune to help someone else?

Sep

17

That Makes Me Stabby: Rude Crazy Coupon Ladies

Filed Under Coupons, That Makes Me Stabby | 1 Comment

I love couponing. I’ve waxed poetic about the awesomeness of coupons on this site more than once. I’ve even been known to send friends links to really cool coupons involving free chocolate. However, there is a right way to use coupons and a wrong way. You don’t want to be the crazy coupon lady irritating everyone in line behind you and the cashier. Thus, today features a new stabby post all about the crazy coupon lady I encountered this weekend.

Signs of the Crazy Coupon Lady
I’m impressed by the women who buy $400 worth of stuff for thirteen cents. I marvel at their achievement. However, these women don’t truly qualify as Crazy Coupon Ladies because they’re organized. They know how to move through the line quickly and when to drop an argument. Here are 5 signs that you’ve crossed the line from Coupon Marvel to Crazy Coupon Lady:

  • Your coupons are a jumbled mess that takes five minutes to sort out at the register.
  • Your coupon wad blocks the infrared sensor that prevents the conveyor belt from moving, but don’t realize it and wonder aloud (and rudely) why the cashier is stretching to reach all of your groceries.
  • You try to return an expired item from your stockpile.
  • You argue with the cashier who explains that she can’t accept expired food as a return.
  • You try to use coupons for things you didn’t buy or for a different brand, and then rudely ask the cashier why she can’t take them.

Don’t Be the Crazy Coupon Lady
So what can we learn from the crazy coupon lady I encountered this weekend?

Keep Your Coupons Organized
It’s not enough to have some sort of organization method before you get to the store. You must also have an organization method while in the store. They should not be wadded up in your wallet and then dumped out for you to sort while the cashier rings you up. I keep the coupons I might use in one pocket of my purse and then move them next to my wallet once I have the appropriate item in my cart. That way they’re in a neat stack when I reach the register.

As a subsection of this item: don’t rest your purse, wallet, or messy wad of unsorted coupons on the conveyor belt in front of the infrared beam. If you do, don’t accuse the cashier of trying to rush you through when she has to reach to the very back of the stationary belt to reach your items.

Rotate Your Stockpile
This is an actual transcript of the conversation that transpired between the Crazy Coupon Lady and the Beleaguered Cashier about a bottle of expired salad dressing:

CCL: I need to return this.
BC: Do you have a receipt?
CCL: No, I can’t find it.
BC: It’s expired. I can’t take back expired food.
CCL: I didn’t see it was expired until after I ate it and had a reaction.
BC: I’m sorry. I can’t take back expired food without a receipt.
CCL: But I had a reaction to it.
BC: I’m sorry. I can’t take back expired food.
CCL: It was expired when I bought it and I didn’t notice until I had a reaction.
BC: (grumble) I’m sorry. I can’t take back expired food. Maybe if you had a receipt it would be different.
CCL: I’ll take it to another store. They’ll let me return it without a problem.

During this exchange, I could read the cashier’s mind: “CCL didn’t buy this expired. It was in her stockpile and expired before she got to it.” If you’re going to stockpile, make sure you eat or donate food before it expires. Don’t let it sit in your cupboard and then try to return it without a receipt after it expires. Also, don’t be annoyed with the cashier for observing the store policy about expired food. I have had to return soft cheese that had gone bad (before it expired), but I discovered it within days of my visit and still had the receipt. The store simply exchanged it for a good one.

Make Sure the Right Items Are In Your Cart
Finally, make sure that you actually match up the coupons with the right products. It can be tricky sometimes – the coupon might be for lipstick and you buy mascara in the same brand. That’s understandable and the cashier might push it through or you can dig into your coupon box to retrieve the right one.

Don’t, however, try to use a coupon for the wrong brand and then rudely ask the cashier why she won’t accept it. Pepperidge Farm is not going to reimburse the store for a coupon used to buy a Pillsbury product. I don’t care if they’re both “Toaster Toasts.” Buy the right brand or don’t use the coupon.

I will say this: the CCL so irritated the cashier that I got great service by simply being polite and having my coupons neatly organized. Of course, I had extra time while waiting for the CCL to finish arguing and move out of the way. Have you encountered a CCL? What was your reaction?

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