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How to Become a Coupon Ninja in 15 Minutes A Week
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I love a good deal.
For years, I’ve seen all the grocery store coupon sites out there listing wonderful combo deals, how you can get free this and free that, but I never did it because I didn’t want to spend the time it takes to clip, sort, and manage coupons. I didn’t want to try to match them up with the sales circulars and double/triple coupon promotions to get the best deal possible.
I have nothing against people who do this, in fact I’m very envious of their organizational ability. I know that’s what it took to be a coupon ninja, I’d probably last a week or two, then it would fall by the wayside the first chance it could. That’s just how I am (I don’t bother with new year’s resolutions either!).
However, there’s a much easier way to be a coupon ninja and it involves the power of the internet.
Basics of Couponing
The key to the game and the most important idea to remember when being a coupon ninja is that you’re trying to minimize per unit costs and maximizing the effectiveness of a coupon. You do this by researching when sales and coupon promotions (where they double or triple manufacturer’s coupons) match.
Forget brand loyalty. It’s irrelevant. If you want to be an effective coupon ninja, you look for the best matches for the types of products you use.
Forget whether or not you “need” something, you’ll want to stock up on non-perishable products when they’re cheap, even if you don’t need them.
Coupons
Coupons come in two major types – online printable coupons and offline coupons included in circulars. When you see people talk about buying three copies of the Sunday newspaper, it’s because they want three copies of the coupons that come with those newspapers.
There are three coupon “packages” that might come with your paper – Red Plum, P&G Brand Saver, and Smart Source. You might also hear of some places referring to “Catalinas,” those are the coupons that are printed at the register when you checkout, the company running it is Catalina Category Marketing.
How to Become a Coupon Ninja
This is how I do it:
- Take the coupon circulars out of the newspaper and write the date on it with a Sharpie.
- I take all the circulars and sort them by date and just leave them in a stack.
- Go to Coupon Mom or AFullCup, or any other coupon site, and see what packages together for a good deal. Coupon Mom is probably one of the largest available but there are many blogs that do the matching for you (MoneySavingMom.com is a good blog).
- Each one of the sites will have a slightly different interface but once you get used to the acronyms, it’s very quick to pop in each week to see if there are any good deals.
I don’t cut coupons, I don’t sort them, I just put them in a stack so I can reference them when I see a good deal. You’ll also start seeing some trends if you do this for a while. For example, coupons are most effective a few weeks after they’ve been sent out. The coupon will match in-store promotions and, if you get doubling or tripling, you can get things for very low cost.
What are ECBs?
If you watch enough of these sites, you’ll see them start referring to ECBs. ECB stands for Extra Care Bucks and it’s part of a program at CVS. Extra Care Bucks is their loyalty card program and they often give these “instant rebates” on products you buy. ECBs accrue on your account and are applied during your next purchase.
So, you may buy toothpaste that’s for sale for $2.49 with $1.99 in ECBs. You may have a 50 cent off coupon that you can use to make the toothpaste “free.” The $1.99 in ECBs can be used the next time you shop (or the next week, I forget the exact rules). So “Free after ECB” refers to that little game.
Just the beginning…
I’m only willing to devote a small amount of time to couponing but if you’re willing to do more, you can save a bundle on the things you buy. As you can see, my little system only takes a few minutes to do each week. You aren’t signing up for a huge endeavor, this is simple stuff.
Do you have any tips for a novice coupon ninja?
(Photo: eschipul)
{ 13 comments, please add your thoughts now! }
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In regards to the forget whether you need something or not, I think you have to be fairly careful.
I’ve had some family members get way out of control with this. They will see peanut butter on sale and want to buy 100 cans at Sam’s clib! You want to make sure you take into account storage and balance saving all that money with not going too extreme!
I have to admit, though, personally I find myself in same coupon category. I have a hard time doing well, but truly admire those people that have really perfected the art.
I’m in agreement with Jim and Baker. I don’t use coupons because I never find myself saving “enough” for the time involved.
I do have to admit. If I really focus on it, I can probably cut my shopping bills down by 2. I’m just not at that point yet.
I began couponing after attending a “class” by a real expert i.e. buys hundreds of dollars of groceries for mere pennies. I’ve been trying to be more conscientious about money & general & felt this would be a good avenue to explore. I am fortunate to live in an area where the chain grocery stores & national chain stores regularly DOUBLE & TRIPLE the face value of a coupon. So, a .75 becomes 2.25 when tripled…this really caught my eyes & ears!!!
In the last 3 months since couponing, I have spent approximately $800 on items, saving approximately $750. I only purchase those items I regularly use but I do buy in bulk. Why should I pay $11 for a bottle of laundry detergent when I can get it for $2.50 a bottle? If you could buy gasoline @ .75/gallon & store it, would you? So..I do buy items i.e. toothpaste, toothbrushes, detergent (laundry, dishwasher & electric dishwashing), paper products, etc in bulk. By saving money on these items I can either put that savings aside or spend a little extra on better cuts of meat or fresh veggies.
Again, I have chosen to focus only on those items I use or need. The key to couponing is knowing what is available in your community. If stores afford you the deals like I get, go for it, but I would not do this if it were strictly for the face value of the coupon.
HTH
I am an avid coupon user and have converted others. To not use is the equivalent of throwing money away. It takes about 20 minutes per week while watching/listening to the news to clip and sort. I don’t shop on Sunday when the come out. I wait until mid week to put my list together, review what I have, compare prices and check the blogs and shop bright and early Saturday morning. I try not buy multiple papers. Instead, I wait until late Sunday evening and go to my local store and ask for the coupons from papers not sold (I take about 3-5 extra of each). On 1/1/09 i started my ING Coupon/Rebate account and at the end of the shopping day, I review the receipt and move all coupon amounts saved to it. To date I have close to $400 in 4 months. This is money I would have spent had I not spent 60 minutes during the week to save it.
You say that you wait until late Sunday and go to your local store and ask for the coupons from papers not sold.
What store is this? We went last night, and my friend asked the “manager” on duty if we were allowed to take them, and he said no, they come and pick up the leftovers. All we wanted were the coupons!
It depends on what the policy is for the newspaper. Here in NYC, per the stores I visit, the newspaper only wants the front cover from unsold newspapers to give the store credit. This leaves the rest heading for the trash. Try asking a smaller more neighborhood friendly store. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
Great post.
I totally agree with your comment that the best time to use coupons is actually not when they first come out but usually two to three weeks later.
When a coupon first comes out the coupon item is rarely on sale. Wait a few weeks later and you’ll often find the item on sale. Combining the coupon with the sale price creates even more savings.
The same principle applies to coupon dispensers found on store shelves. These dispensers allow you to take a coupon for a particular product located near the dispenser.
The natural tendency is to take the coupon and use it then and there for the product.
But if you take the coupon from the dispenser and save it, you can frequently come back in a couple of weeks and the product will be on sale, giving you additional savings.
I’m an avid coupon user, as well. This is a great post.
I would like to throw out there, though, that buying unnecessary items is a great risk for novice coupon users. I had stacks of things I definitely didn’t need when I was in college and started using coupons. It triggered “spaving” in me. Once you tame that beast, you’re good to go.
Just tack on the coupon to wise decisions but don’t make an unnecessary purchase just because you have a coupon.
Also, swapping left over coupon inserts at work is a great idea! We do it where I am and I love it. If we know of a certain type of coupon someone’s looking for we alert them to it as well (e.g.: Free food, pharmacy coupons, etc)
I think coupons are great, but I’m with some of the others here. I clip coupons occasionally, but only when I see something but only spend a few minutes every week. If I am spending more time than that, it just isn’t worth it.
I dont know if I’m a ninja, but have been told that I have a coupon fetish. I spend a few mins on the weekend going through my cache of websites and local flyers and clip coupons. I know some of them I wont need or use, but will pass them on to friends that will (but will not cut the coupons themselves). I cannot even place a dollar figure on the amount of money I have saved on groceries alone with the coupons.
Some might think that $0.50off here and $1 off there is not much, but that can offset your gas expense if you drove, and even on a long run, can add up to a couple of hundred in savings in one year (just on a low end estimate for a single person). When you are adding in a grocery purchase for a family, that savings can be even greater!
One of my favorite titles of the day! good work clever sir
and all hail the coupon!
one site you are missing is:
http://www.dealstudio.com
they have the most comprehensive coverage about coupons. See it yourself. The site you listed in the article are fine sites.
BTW: I am a loyal reader of the mentioned site. My opinion may be biased.
Great article. I used to be a major coupon user, fell out of it for quite a long time, and am now considering getting back into it. Thanks for the tips.
I would like to address one of your comments:
“Forget whether or not you ‘need’ something, you’ll want to stock up on non-perishable products when they’re cheap, even if you don’t need them.”
I don’t necessarily agree with this. Buying non-perishablies is like buying inventory. In the business world, inventory sucks your cash and has to be managed carefully. Too much inventory possibly jeopardizes your cash flow.
Cash is always king, but even more so in a tight economy. If the personal cash flow is good, and forecasts indicate it will remain good, then go ahead and stock up on non-perishables. But if cash flow is bad or the future indicates that it may worsen, then only buy what you need now, and save the cash.
I’m sure many of us reading this have a TON of “inventory” in our homes…. canned goods, dried beans, dried pasta, hair spray, bars of soap, lotions, etc., etc., etc. With money being tight it would be wise to start using our “inventory” rather than buying new stuff.
Just my $0.02.