Couponing for Baby

They say confession is good for the soul, right?  Well, I guess it's time to let y'all in on my addiction.  No, it's not alcohol, drugs, or caffeine (I broke that one when I saw the positive on the first pregnancy test). My addiction is much healthier, both for my body and my wallet.

I'm a couponer. There, I said it.

From the trip to pick up the paper in the driveway on Sunday morning to watching the savings v. amount due totals shift, I get excited.  Oh boy, I have issues.  I guess I should only get concerned if I started itching or sweating when I'm not couponing. :)

I am posting this to fulfill a promise made on Facebook the other day. I know most of y'all don't really care about this, but for those that do, I'll let you in on my [not-so-secret] secrets. I've already posted some couponing basics here and here. Clay came up with another essential for us couponers- we should all wear bright orange hunting vests so regular shoppers can avoid getting behind us. Rubbish!

I'm not going to lie. Couponing can seem daunting and it takes a lot of time to do it effectively. I failed MISERABLY on my first few couponing attempts, but with a little patience, I'm much better at it now.

For the haul above, I spent $6.97 before tax, so my total ended up being $7.67. Considering the diapers alone are $10.99, I was pretty impressed. This was my first big baby trip and now I'm ready for more!

For baby items, I highly suggest signing up for the Publix Baby Club. It's free to enroll and they send you a HUGE book about your pregnancy and baby as well as some awesome coupons! I used those coupons for the above.

You should also watch Walgreen's and CVS circulars. Each week, they offer some items with Register Rewards or Extra Bucks, which are basically a coupon for $x off your next purchase. I buy our hygiene products when they have these rewards and don't buy anything at these stores that don't have these. Pharmacy prices are much higher than Wal Mart and even Publix, so shopping there without the rewards and coupons just doesn't make sense to me.

For this haul, here's how I did it:

Huggies diapers: Original price $10.99
$2 off Huggies diapers (store coupon)
$2 off Huggies diapers (manufacturer's coupon)
Total: $6.99

Huggies wipes: Original price $2.99
1 Buy One diapers, get wipes free (store coupon)
$0.50 manufacturer's coupon (doubled by Publix)
Total: -$1.00

Baby Oil and Shampoo: Original price $2.99 each
$1 off any Johnson's product (manufacturer's coupon)
$1 off any Johnson's lotion (manufacturer's coupon)
$3 off any 2 Johnson's products (store coupon)
Total: $0.98

Normally, I wait until there are sales on items, but I wanted to use the BOGO coupons before they expire, so I went against my rule. I still did pretty good. If you can't match up sales with your coupons, at least try to match store and manufacturer coupons. Without the combination, my total wouldn't be nearly as pretty.

I'm 15 weeks and 2 days pregnant and already have a pretty good diaper stockpile going. I'm trying to buy different brands and sizes, just in case.

The little stinker also owns TEN books already!

For the record, this was my craft closet, so it's still in transition.  If we find out we're having a baby girl, that pink wreath you see is no longer going on Etsy, but on the little princess' door!

Coupon Basics 102

For those of you who don't know me personally, I'll let you in on a secret. I'm obsessed with organization. I love fresh new binders and paper, the new plastic bins under my bathroom cabinets make me squeal with delight. Being a couponer requires organization. Sorry to let the wind out of the sails of all the unorganized aspiring couponers.

So how do I stay organized? A binder, of course. C'mon, you should have seen that coming.

This is my love.


I have tab dividers that keep my coupons in perfect order: food/drink, girls (dogs), household, cleaning, hygiene, health/beauty, stores, rewards, and restaurants. Your tabs will probably vary, but this is a good base. You can buy business card or trading card inserts to hold the coupons. Personally I prefer trading card slots because they're bigger. If I have two or more coupons for a product, I group them into one slot together, with the one that expires first on top.

I keep the extra coupons in an accordion folder. I only started doing this in June when I realized I was throwing away coupons I could be using.


The next obvious point of discussion is where to get all of these coupons. Obviously, the Sunday paper is the best starting point. I got a Sunday Only subscription for $14 for 6 months. At only $.58 a paper, I'm saving $.42 a week off Dollar Tree prices and don't have to stand in line to fight the mob in my local Dollar Tree every Sunday. If the inserts are too good to resist, I'll get another paper, but that's usually only when there are 3 inserts (like this week, July 31).

To print more coupons, visit Smart Source, Red Plum, All You, and A Full Cup. If your stores accept competitor coupons, visit Target's coupon site, Whole Foods' coupon site, and look for circulars in the store. Publix and Winn Dixie often offer savings booklets which are typically in the stand next to the current circular or at the Customer Service desk.

If you know you're going to buy a product frequently, sign up for email promotions on that product's site. (If you plan to sign up on a few sites, you may want to consider making an email address specifically for this.)

Wander on over to Southern Savers and Hey! It's Free and sign up for their daily emails. They send coupon and free sample alerts.

If you have another coupon website you like, please share!

Couponing takes some practice, but is well worth it when you get the hang of it. If I've confused anybody, please let me know and I'll try to clarify.

Coupon Basics 101

I used to be a card carrying member of the Couponers are Crazy fan club. After stumbling upon Southern Savers and a few trial and error shopping trips, my card now reads "Couponing Anonymous." Not only do I save money, but I get the adrenaline rush that comes with couponing and don't feel the need to skydive anymore. Ok, that part was a joke, but couponing is exciting for me now. (Geez, I'm dating myself here.)


Imagine how excited I was when I got all of this for 75 cents!

Before I jump into the specifics of the transaction above, let me give you some basics. Couponing is not about buying 76 bottles of mustard or enough toothbrushes to last a lifetime. It is, however, about stocking up on things you and your family use frequently when they're on sale.

Grocery stores and pharmacies want their customers to buy things when they need them, which means they'll pay whatever they have to. Couponers live by the rule that you don't buy anything that isn't on sale. While my stockpile isn't huge, I don't run out of things. I don't buy more than I can keep in designated places in my house because, well, I'm not a hoarder.

I keep 1 big pack of paper towels and toilet paper, 2-3 bottles of each cleaning detergent I use frequently, and our hygiene products.


Ok, back to the basics I'm supposed to be outlining.

Every item in a store has a "rock bottom price" and will typically hit that price every 6 weeks. The general rule is to stock up with enough of each sale item to last for 6 weeks. As you get into the coupon routine, you'll know what products you use go on sale and how frequently.

Each store has a different coupon policy, but with most stores, you can stack an in-store coupon (including competitor coupons) and a manufacturer's coupon. Before you begin, call your local store and check their coupon policy.

The two stores I find most beneficial are Publix and CVS. (I used to think people who shopped for basic necessities at pharmacies were crazy for allowing such robbery, but with planned trips, you can get some awesome deals like the one above.) Publix does a lot of Buy One Get One (BOGO) deals, puts things on drastic sale, offer a ton of in-store coupons, AND double manufacturer coupons that are 50-cents or less. CVS prices aren't that great, but with Extra Bucks and additional savings coupons printed at the Extra Buck reward center, the savings add up!

So, here's how this works.
Publix
The Publix I use accepts coupons from Winn Dixie, Whole Foods, Piggly Wiggy and Target. This is another instance why checking coupon policy is a good idea. New sales begin on Wednesday or Thursday, depending on your location.

This week, Colgate toothpaste is on sale for $2.29. That doesn't sound like a great sale, but stacking coupons makes the deal worthwhile. Target has a printable coupon for $1 off a 4.6-ounce Colgate toothpaste. There have been Colgate coupons in the Sunday paper almost every week since June. Stack one of those 75-cent coupons with the $1 from Target for $1.75 savings. That makes a tube of Colgate toothpaste 54 cents!

If you buy an item that is on BOGO, you can use two store coupons and two manufacturer coupons! For instance, this week, Purina Tidy Cats Cat Litter is BOGO for $3.74 each. With a $1 Target coupon and the $1 coupon in Smart Source on 5/1, that makes each bag of litter $1.74! At Publix, you DO NOT have to buy two of the item to get the deal. Other stores like Winn Dixie require you to purchase 2 of the item to get the discount.

CVS
CVS is so expensive I used to think my debit card would actually scream out in pain, but having a CVS card makes shopping there a lot less painful. Each week, CVS begins a new sale on Sunday. Look through a circular and you will see deals that offer Extra Bucks. These Extra Bucks are basically dollar-off coupons you receive when you purchase the item or spend a certain amount on a group of items. CVS also releases store coupons in each circular and accepts manufacturer coupons.

On each visit, before you begin shopping, visit the card care center. Scanning your card will get you bonus discounts like $3/$15 purchase!

This is how I accomplished the haul above.
I bought 4 bottles of Skintimate Shave Cream, 1 pack of disposable Quattro razors, 2 cans of Edge shave gel, 2 bottles of Softsoap body wash and 1 bottle of Softsoap hand soap (not pictured). The deals in the circular were 10 Extra Bucks when you spend $20 on Schick items and 3 Extra Bucks when you purchase 3 Softsoap products.




I paid for all of this in two transactions. First, I purchased the 3 Softsoap products and used 3 coupons: $.35 off handsoap and (2) $.75 off body wash. I used Extra Bucks that covered this transaction entirely and gave me 3 additional Extra Bucks.

For transaction 2, I purchased the Edge ($2.19), Skintimate ($2.19) and Quattro razors ($8.89) for a total of $22.03. I used $3 off the Quattro razors, (2) $1.50 off Skintimate shave cream, (2) $1 off Skintimate shave cream and (2) $.55 off Edge Shave gel. In addition to a $3 off a $15 purchase, I used Extra Bucks to cover all but $.75 of the total. I got back 10 Extra Bucks to use on my next purchase!

When you first being at CVS, you're going to pay full price (minus coupons of course), but consider splitting up the items into multiple transactions to use Extra Bucks. If you're like me, you'll get to where you absolutely won't buy anything at CVS that doesn't result in Extra Bucks.

I hope this gives you an idea of what to do. Next up, where to get coupons and how to organize them!