What’s the Coupon Magic?

An Introduction to Coupon Wizards Couponing

Before You Begin• Couponing will not cause a store, nor a manufacturer to go

bankrupt or unexpectedly lose money.

• Stores are paid a flat .08 handling fee in most cases plus the face value of the coupon. This is a profitable practice!

• Manufacturer’s specifically budget for coupon distribution. They “plan” on tempting you to buy their product at a reduced price.

• Don’t let anyone make you feel guilty or ashamed for using coupons.

What is a Coupon?

According to about.com, a coupon is promotionaltool in the form of a document that can beredeemed for a discount when purchasing goods orservices. Coupons are generally issued bymanufacturers or retailers to the consumer andmay be distributed through direct mail or othermarketing means. A coupon will feature a specificsavings amount or other special offer to persuadeconsumers to purchase specific goods or services orto purchase from specific retailers.

Things to Know About Every Coupon

• Value of the coupon• Expiration Date of the coupon• Source of the coupons (mfg vs. store)• A specific description of the product(s) to which

the coupon applies• Quantities needed to trigger coupon i.e. ($1/1 vs

$1/2, etc).• Specific limitations for number of like coupons

per transaction

Other Things to Note

• Handling fee for the coupon• Specific handling instructions (for the retailer

and consumer)• The Bar Code – This is especially important for

internet coupons where there are problems with counterfeiting. More to come later on!

Types of Coupons• Manufacturer – these are the old fashioned coupons that we grew up with.

They are issued by manufacturers in attempt to persuade you to purchase their product.

• Store- store coupons are issued by specific retailers in an effort to persuade you to shop at their specific store.

• $ off Your Total - these coupons are one of the best. They take a specified dollar amount off of your total order at the end of the transaction. These are almost always store coupons.

• Competitor – these are store coupons that are issued at one store i.e. Target that you are allowed to use at another store, i.e. Publix.

• Internet Printable – these coupons are downloaded and printed from the internet from a couponing website such as coupons.com or from the manufacturer website itself. In order to print these coupons you will have to download and install specific software to your computer. In rare instances, companies will post a .pdf version of their coupon on their site. Most printable coupons allow you to print them a limit of two times.

Types of Coupons

• Blinkies – these are the coupons that you see hanging from the shelf with the blinking red light. They are all over most grocery stores. You can find them in the aisles, in the dairy department and in frozen food.

• Peelies- these are the coupons that are placed on products at the point of sale that you can peel off and use in that shopping trip.

• Hangtags- these coupons are usually on drinks, detergents, medicines and anything else that has a bottleneck. They called hang tags because they hang from the prodcut. Contrary to peelies, these coupons typically don’t have any adhesive on them.

Types of Coupons

• Tearpads – These are exactly what they sound like. They are the pads that sales and marketing reps from the various companies place on or around the shelf of the specified product. You are able to “tear” off the coupons and use them for that product or others that pair nicely with it.

• Catalinas – these coupons are named after the Catalina Marketing Corporation. They are the coupons that print out at the point of sale and are handed to you with your receipt. These coupons can be either store coupons or manufacturer coupons. Many times they are discarded into the trash along with the receipt, never to be seen again and redeemed.

What is Couponing?

• A strategic method used by a shopper to get their normal monthly groceries and toiletries for less money.

• Couponing is not your mom going to the store with a few coupons that she cut out of the paper to save fifty cents here and a quarter there.

• Couponing is not an activity, it’s a lifestyle.

Learning the Lingo• BOGO = Buy One Get One (free)• OOP = Out of Pocket or what you actually spent after the sales and coupons.• SS = Smart Smorce ad from your Sunday paper• RP = Red Plum ad in your Sunday paper• P&G = Proctor and Gamble• GM = General Mills• Wags = Walgreens• RR = Register Rewards• Q = Coupon• MM = Money Maker• ECB’s = Extra Care Bucks at CVS• +UP = Rite Aid Plus Up Reward• SCR = Single Check Rebate (rebate system at Rite Aid)• MIR = Mail in Rebate• FAR = Free After Rebate• IVC = Instant Value Coupons (Walgreens Store Coupon)• WYB = When You Buy• BTFE = Box Tops for Education• YMMV = Your Manager May Vary• NED = No Expiration Date• WSL = While Supplies Last• CRT = Cash Register Tape

Where do I Find Coupons?

• The Newspaper

• Online

• In the stores

• In your mailbox

Breaking Down Your Inserts

• Find an area that will allow you to break down your ad so that it can be properly rebuilt.

• Start a pile for each page by laying them down side by side as seen to the right.

• You then take your next insert and lay the pages on the appropriate pile. Continue to follow this process until you have sorted all of your.

Breaking Down Your InsertsWe buy 20 papers each week. The next thing that we do is count ten of the first page of the insert. We do this because if you staple more than ten of them together they may end up crooked when you cut them. It is easier to make bundles of ten than it is to try to get crooked coupons to scan if part of the UPC is missing or the expiration date is cut off. For the cover and all other pages that fold over, we make sure that the papers are completely lined up and then put a staple in each of the four corners. For the inserts that are only one page, we just put a staple in the center of the top and one in the center of the bottom. We then make two piles (one for each bundle of 10). As you staple the piles, you lay each bundle of ten on the top of the appropriate stack.

The Final Touches

File Them Puppies!

• Make a tab with the current date

• Place all inserts from the correct date behind the tab

• LEAVE YOUR COUPON INSERTS ALONE!!!

Internet Printables and Stragglers

• Do what works for you

• You definitely need some sort of system

• Categorize your file by areas in the store

Planning Your Trip• Match the ad items you need with

the coupons that you have

• File your coupons in a caddy by store

• Prepare your spreadsheet ahead of time so that you know if there is a discrepancy

• Keep track of what is going into your cart

• Go to the store prepared!

Trip Analysis Spreadsheet

What is a Stockpile?

• Grocery store ads typically run in 12

week cycles.

• Each of your staple items will typically be on sale for a good price every 12 weeks.

• We need to buy a 12 week supply of those staple items at the lowest price in the cycle every 12 weeks.

• As you accummulate your items, that becomes your “stockpile”.

How to Cheat the Learning Curve

• Track your quantities– For the stockpile quantity tracking chart, visit our webiste. Click on

the “tools for success tab” then click on the sub-menu for “building my stockpile”. This will give you articles and forms you can use for both your stockpile quantity and stockpile price.

• Track your prices

• It is better to overbuy a little than not buy enough.

• Use online resources to help you catch the best deals. We offer tons of tools on FB and our site

Coupon Etiquette

• Organize your coupons before you hand them to the cashier• Write in any prices for free items prior to presenting them to the cashier.

This keeps the line moving• Only use coupons for what you have• Take it easy on the stores with the competitor coupons. Overuse will ruin

it for everybody.• Remain pleasant throughout your transaction. From my experience many

cashiers are working out of necessity and this is their second job. You will get much further with sugar than you will with salt.

• Get to know your management. By building a relationship and opening the lines of communication with the management, you will be able to get things done.