The Danger of Shopping With Coupons

There in my Yahoo inbox this morning was my weekly message from Coupons.com, giving me some "piping hot offers."  I've subscribed to Coupons.Com for a long time, and I still get that thrilling thought when one of these e-messages arrives:  THIS may be the week when I'm going to walk away from the grocery having paid diddly for baskets and baskets of basically free food.  (You know, like they do on TV.)

Because coupons are, after all, free money - right? Wrong.

Coupons are free money to me, and to you, only if they allow us to have things that otherwise we'd spend real currency to purchase.  If they replace our dollars, then they act as substitute currency and we're wise to use them.

Coupons are also incentives to try things, particularly new products. 

The big companies that provide these coupons (along with rebates) are trying to build customer awareness as well as their consumer base -- they are for-profit organizations, there is method in their madness.  They aren't offering coupons as some kind of friendly endeavor, just because they like us.  They're using a marketing tactic called a "coupon campaign."

Personal Post 23: Using Coupons to Save Big Money

I've used a coupon or two, and I've also got the blessing of living near HEB, where there are lots and lots of in-store coupons and special offers that save me lots of cash.

However, it's not enough and I've decided to get serious about shopping with coupons. I want to be one of those people that walks away with $100s of dollars saved in the food budget -- you know those stories.

It's been a problem for me on organizing the coupons -- developing a system that's easy to use, in the store itself -- as well as scheduling the time to go and find the deals online, and in the paper.

So, today I signed up at The Coupon Mom and I'll be reported back to you on how it goes. (As you know from my previous posts, one of my problems with coupon shopping is not being tempted to buy products that wouldn't otherwise be on my list, as well as not having enough coupons that are for organic products ... I don't like to shop the middle aisles, where all those cardboard boxes are ....)

Food Budget: Check Out MyGroceryDeals.Com

I've heard good things about this site, and while I haven't joined its membership yet, a quick surf through its contents sure looked good:

Search local weekly grocery deals fast and plan healthy meals. Make a grocery list of the best specials from the flyers, visit your local store and save!

Great Coupon Shopping - Coupon Codes

Coupon codes give extra savings at lots of online sites. You shop at the store's website, and essentially you mimic handing the paper coupon to the cashier by inputing a code identification number as part of your purchase information.

Sure, it means you are shopping online, and there are some purchases that seem more web-worthy than others: personally, I don't want to buy groceries or shoes online right now (this may change, I found some really good deals today), but I'm happy to buy a book, an appliance, or a purse over the internet.

Coupon Code Sites to Check Out:

1. CurrentCodes.Com sorts codes for over 1800 stores, and my quick surf through the list found some very nice discounts.

2. RetailMeNot.com is another code provider -- much bigger than CurrentCodes and with lots of big national names -- but maybe not the most current of sites. Lots of free shipping and handling, and I did find some nice discounts on online buys.

3. 1001coupons.com has another directory filled with retailers and their current coupon codes. Chadwicks, for example, has buy-one-get-one-free going at this site; Shoes.com had an extra 15% off sales and clearance items. Also didn't seem as current as CurrentCodes, but appeared to have some different stuff.

Searching For Even More Deals

Other than these collection sites, you can always investigate for yourself. Try searching for "coupon code" and a specific store name, e.g., "Target coupon code" or "Amazon coupon code" and see what pops up. Some good finds can come from this ....

You might also try surfing with synonyms for the phrase "coupon code" such as:

discount code
key code
promotional code
voucher code
promotion code
promo code
source code.

Do this without or without a specific store name. You can also try this with a specific product in mind.

When I did this, I found Ann Taylor (25% and free shipping); Kohl's (50/60/70% off sale items, depending on department); and some totally free stuff with your online order over at Yves Rocher.

Warning: searching around for the really good deals can be very, very addicting....

Free GOOD Grocery Coupons Online - List 4 U

After watching Jon & Kate Plus 8, and this amazing woman maximizing her food budget while not compromising on food quality, well -- first of all, I'm waiting to hear about when her book's coming out -- and second, it made me go and check out online coupons -- printable and otherwise.

Here's a list of sites offering free online coupons -- I haven't test-driven them yet, but I have culled thru them for the ones that look good:

CoolSavings.Com

This one looks good -- had coupons for hummus and low-fat mozzarela string cheese on the home page when I took a look. Which is great -- lots of coupons in the paper (and at some sites) offer food I won't buy.

Coupon Mom

Coupon Mom has collected lots of sites and info -- her page with printable grocery coupons had 72 when I tried it, and boy -- it had lots of stuff I already use. Wish I had this before I went to the grocery last week! And, this list was available to me without registration and without entering my zip code ....


Wow-Coupons

This is a great site, too. Like Coupon Mom, it also provides somewhat of a hub - and it covers both the US and the UK - and things besides groceries: it has restaurants, travel, etc.. Big site.

But it also has its own coupons -- and there's lots of healthy, organic stuff to be had here. Plus, links to free coupons at places like Living Naturally and Organic Valley. These are good coupons, too -- $1 off 1/2 gallon of soy milk, things like that.


Thanks so much to Kate Gosselin -- I wouldn't have done this investigation if I had not watched her shop for her family of 10 in what appeared to be a Whole Foods .... For her list of household tips, check out the show's site here.