The Coupon Manifesto

Look at the upper corner of the photo: $116 of coupons in this paper, $12,580 in 52 weeks.

The burning question is… am I still couponing?

Heck yeah.

And I’m saving a lot of money and have a nice little stockpile going. And taunting my friends with photos of register receipts.

I’m also learning all kinds of stuff from the radio podcasts, “Extreme Couponing in an Everyday World.” (You can find it on itunes)

I have also learned that Target offers 5 cents refund for each recycle bag you bring in to use, and CVS has a bag tag you can put on your bag too, and that mark my words I will never take the Princess coupon shopping with me again. But that last one is another story altogether.

I think I may have learned the most sage advice about saving on my grocery bills from straight-talkin’ Mommy’sWishList. I had the unique opportunity (after the strawberry mojitos) to interview her about her coupon life – and I like to call it:

The Coupon Manifesto

If you aren’t familiar with her site, MommysWishList (“Where to get it, How not to pay for it” – is that not the BEST mantra ever?!) she was one of the original mistresses of couponing – way back years before it was so en vogue. I figured pumping the veteran for information was not something I could pass up. She was willing and I was writing. Here’s our conversation:

Me: So which sites do you subscribe to? Do you do Grocery Game? I love Grocery Game!

MWL: NO! NO! NO! Don’t pay to get the coupon match-ups!!! There are plenty of websites that are dedicated to each store that you’re shopping at. Where do you shop? Super Target? Check out PassionForSavings.com. CVS? CommonSenseWithMoney.com and DealSeekingMom. Only eat organic? Thriftymama.com. …

Me: Umm, okay. So next question, I feel like I’m couponing and couponing but our spending isn’t decreasing. How long until your stockpile is good and you can start really reducing your grocery bill?

MWL: That’s because you just started. That’s normal. In about 3 – 6 months you’ll have it where you want it (unless you’re a hoarder…) and then you’ll chill out and not feel like you have to take advantage of every sale because you know you have enough until it comes around again. You’ll start to see the rotation of the products that are on promotions. Every 3 – 6 months most things go on sale with coupons — unless it’s seasonal. Like now is the time to stock up on hot dogs (they freeze great), ketchup, mustard, stuff like that. Those will be offered way more in the summer months.

Me: So how do you keep from spending your whole week chasing great grocery savings? Are you just driving from store to store all the time?

MWL: You can’t do it! If you live in a big town like Dallas, limit the stores that you shop at so it’s not overwhelming. Pick one or two and follow the coupon deals online for those stores only.

Me: This is a lifestyle change. It takes a lot of time: The cutting, the organizing…

MWL: In the beginning you want to cut out every coupon, but don’t. What you see on TV is not realistic. All the extra energy you spend on that extra effort isn’t worth the savings. Only cut out what you’ll use. I don’t worry about the Extreme Couponing method of money makers. That show is doing a disservice and setting unattainable expectations for 99% of the shoppers out there. New couponers are frustrated because they aren’t saving 80% and that’s just silly.

Me: My goal was 30% and I’m hitting about 47 – 50% each week. Is that okay for a beginner?

MWL: That’s AWESOME. For anyone.

Me: But now that I have the fever, I am frustrated that I don’t have coupons for everything. How do you save on things without coupons?

MWL: You mean like meat and produce? Figure out what day your store’s meat and dairy departments mark down the manager’s specials. For my Krogers, it’s Tuesday morning. I know what time he does it and I follow the butcher around and grab the newly marked down meat. They all know me, it’s like social hour. If the meat is expiring in a day or two, it’s still fine. Just throw it in your freezer when you get home and you’re good to go. You can save substantially on meat that way.

As for fruit, wait until it goes on sale, 10 for $10, then stock up and put it in little freezer bags and into your freezer. Fruit like blackberries freeze really well. Then you can have great fruit all year long.

Me: What about all the things on my list that aren’t on sale and I don’t have a coupon for? It is KILLING me to pay full price. KILLING me.

MWL: The other thing I do is to shop at Fiesta or Aldi for my list items that I can’t get on a good coupon deal.  Fiesta has GREAT produce and is inexpensive. Aldi only carries Aldi brand items but they’re really quite good and comparable to name-brands. And their fruit and meat is great quality and less expensive. Know before you go though: You have to put a 25cent deposit in to use a cart and bring your own bags (they don’t have any) and you can only pay with cash or debit. But it’s worth it, the savings are fantastic. If you spot a close-out item, it’s great You can get cans of tomatoes for like .19 cents. I’ll warn you though, my husband is completely addicted to Aldi and brings home cases of stuff on closeout. I have to limit his access because our house is full of food. We don’t need anything, but he gets a rush from the great deals.

Me: It seems like everyone is couponing now and I sense that stores are not thrilled about it. How do you avoid the dread and impatience of the checkout cashiers so that they don’t hate to see you coming?

MWL: Really? I don’t see any unwanted stares. Just don’t shop at high traffic times. And ethically couponing is really important. Don’t wipe the shelves of product, the stores don’t like that. Call ahead if you’re going to get a ton of something and let them special order it for you. Use coupons that are for the items that you have in your cart – not extra. And don’t use expired coupons.

Me: I’ve heard that you should always have your coupon policy with you. Do you ever get into a disagreement with the checkout cashier when using your coupons?

MWL: Yes have your policy, but pick a cashier that looks like they don’t care. High-school boys, they’re the best at just going with the flow. When there’s a coupon snag because it’s coded in the system wrong, I can just tell them which keys they need to push to over-ride it and they say thank you. Now… Middle-aged women, (laughing,) they love a challenge for who’s right. Don’t get in their line. Avoid them at all costs.

Me: What’s the BEST way to organize your notebook? I started by organizing it to correspond to the way the deals are presented on the match-up sites – by date. But I am finding that a) I need to always have my notebook and b) I knew I had the coupon but I couldn’t find it in my book, or it was just too time consuming to find it while people are staring at my notebook and I’m feeling a little self-conscious.

MWL: I organize my book by the type of coupon: dairy, baking, drug, etc. Put your store coupons and manufacturers coupons in each section together. That way you can find that little gem easy when you spot a great deal.

Me: You rock! Any other secrets can you share?

MWL: I also have a separate notebook just for my groupon-type deals. I subscribe to like 30 deal sites and whenever I buy a deal, I print it and put the voucher in my book. That’s how we get to try new restaurants all the time. It’s great and we save a ton of our dining out budget.

Check out MommysWishList and find out about the best deals for dining, stores, retail…  You can also follow her on twitter @MommysWishList and on her fan page at www.facebook.com/MommysWishList.

My BFF @megimoo latest shopping trip. $440 down to $237 - includes a lot of non-coupon items!