Extreme Couponing for Normal People

This step is vital to your success in couponing.  The shopping list is your game plan to winning in the "grocery game".   Just using coupons on your purchases isn't enough and if that is all you are going to do, then in my opinion, you will not achieve the maximum results.  After all, using coupons without putting together a game plan would be like taking a road trip without a map or GPS!  You may end up where you were hoping to go, but there will most likely be detours, distractions and much frustrations along the way not to mention the extra time added to the trip!  You need some sort of guide to follow and that is exactly what your shopping list provides!

First, make your shopping list from your local store's sales flyers.  Don't make the mistake of making your list from what you want or "need".   Only put items that are on sale at a good price AND have a coupon match-up.

EXTREME Couponing Tip:  Keep want/"need" items on a separate "Wish List" and as those items come up on sale match them up with coupons and then buy those items!  And buy lots of them!


"But how will I know what is a good price?"


That is a very good question!  And honestly, a good price will vary with regional locations and season.  You will get to know prices as you go along if you don't already have an idea of prices in your area already.  There are also price cycles that happen seasonally that you will come to recognize too.  Did you know that packaged goods also have seasonal cycles?  For example, in January will will find sales on healthy and diet foods, vitamins and supplements as well as clearance of Christmas items and toys.  In February you will find canned foods, sodas, salty snacks, frozen appetizers, chocolates just to name a few.  Each month will have seasonal produce as well as seasonal packaged foods.  This is a good resource list by month of both seasonal and packaged foods throughout the year.  Print it off and keep it with you binder or file or whatever organizational system you decide to use.  I still refer to mine from time to time as I make my shopping game plan.  It helps to know when certain types of items should be expected to be on sale in my local stores.

One thing to keep in mind as you begin is that stores with the best over all prices, don't necessarily have the best deals.  By that I mean the "loss leaders".  Those WOW that's a great price things on the front of the ads.  Stores that have good or great loss leaders are not usually the best priced for everyday shopping items.  Those stores count on drawing you in with their loss leaders and you purchasing the rest of your groceries there as well.  EXTREME couponers know not to fall for that!  When the EXTREME couponer shops, he/she goes right for those loss leaders and takes the rest of the list to another store that has the more competitive pricing on everyday items.  

The key to success and winning in the grocery game using coupons is to #1 Buy in multiples/stockpile and #2 Shop many stores.  I am not saying drive all over town and spend all day shopping -- unless that is what you like to do!  What I am saying is don't just go to the same store week, after week out of habit.  Know your local store sales, their coupon policy and any special sale days or times during the week.

For example, where I live in St. Louis, we have Shop 'n Save, Schnucks, Dierbergs, Walmart, Target, Kroger and Aldi.  I frequently shop all of these stores plus Walgreens and CVS.  Each of these stores have a day when they do "specials", so I make that part of my plan and shop that particular on that day to maximize my savings.  For example, Shop 'n Save  and Dierbergs has special sales on Thursday some weeks.  Schnucks has what they call "Drive Time Specials" on Friday that I will stop off and pick up on the way home.  These are no coupon match-up sales but they are 40% - 50% savings for specific items during a specific time frame.  They usually are good quick almost complete dinner combinations so that you can literally stop buy on the way home from work, throw them together and eat!

When specials happen, I plan my trip to those stores for that day to take advantage of the extra sales. And  I may have weeks that I only do a few of the stores and other weeks that I will shop at all of them.  When I know my shopping plan will include a number of stores, I plan my week to make the shopping part of my normal day activities.  Most times it is just to stop off and pick up a few items on my way to somewhere else, like dropping the kids off to activities, on the way home from work etc.  The key is to have a plan!  Once you have the plan, implementing the plan is the easy part!

Homework:  (This is where we really get into the meat of it!) 

Pick a coupon shopping site or blog to help you make your list.  Look for the stores that you shop and check out the coupon match-ups.

• Are there items that your family needs/wants? 
• Look at the final cost after coupon.  Is it a good price?
• Does it list the coupons and locations to find them from inserts, magazines?
• Are there printable coupon links provided?

Next, make your shopping list:

• Gather up your local store flyers and decide which store or stores you want to shop this week.  Remember you are looking for the best deals and that means sale price matched-up with coupons.
• Pick one or two stores to start out with and focus on those for right now.  And then pick out 3 or 4 items to shop for this time.  Trust me!  This is only the beginning and I want to make sure that you have a firm foundation and understanding of the process from the start!  You will thank me later!  Soon enough you will be heading off to all the stores with 30, 40, 50+ coupons in hand and teaching your friends how they too can be EXTREME like you!  But, for now, let's take baby steps together!  (Remember EXTREME couponing is a process and it doesn't happen magically overnight!)

Chose the items from the coupon match-ups and sales flyers to put onto your list and make sure they meet the following criteria:

• After all sales and coupons, is the cost at least 60% of the retail price?
• Is the coupon printable?  Is it still available?  (Click on the link and print the coupon)
• Do you have access to the insert or coupon required?
• Is this something that you or your family could use? (It doesn't have to be something you normally buy, but something that you would be willing to try at a good price to expand your culinary pantry.)

Round-up and gather your coupons:

• Using the links provided in the coupon match-up, print as many coupons allowed per item.  (Usually you are limited to 2 prints per computer)  If you have more than one computer, use the other household computers to print out additional copies of the coupons needed.
• Trim out the coupons you printed and decide how many of each of the 3 or 4 items you will be purchasing.
• Note on your list how many of each item you will be purchasing based on how many coupons you have available to use for each item.  (Tip:  BOGO Free sales can use 2 manufacturers coupons.  One for each UPC code purchased!) To help you decide how much of an item you will need to purchase, think about how often your family will use that particular product.  Daily? Weekly?  Less often?  That will help you to decide how much to keep on hand between sale cycles.

Go Shoppinng!

Yeah!!!  This is the exciting and scary part!  Trust me though!  You will love it!  Stick to your list, don't purchase anything that is NOT on your coupon plan list.  Make a separate trip to the store for anything else for your normal non-coupon shopping.   I don't want you to be overwhelmed or distracted.  The goal is to stay focused on your plan!  No distractions!

After you complete your very first EXTREME couponing shopping trip, you will be excited and eager to find more bargains and deals!  By all means, start the process over again, but I caution you to keep your first few trips small and stick to only the items on you coupon shopping plan!  Each time you can increase the number of variety of items.  You will become more and more confident in your abilities to work the deals and win in the grocery game!

Continue to check the blogs and coupon sites daily for hot new coupons or coupon match-ups and print them off.  The more coupons you have the more opportunities you will achieve EXTREME couponing savings!




Step 5:

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