Learn to coupon with Jenny from Southern Savers

Oh boy, this is exciting news! Jenny from Southern Savers (one of my very favorite deal sites) is coming to Charlotte next month for 2 of her "Extreme Couponing 101" seminars. She'll be in Monroe on Wednesday, March 23 at 6 pm at Sunshine Station at Sardis, 4405 Sardis Church Rd. On Thursday the 24th, she'll be right down the street from me at Calvary Chapel Huntersville, 15800 Old Statesville Rd., also at 6 pm. Both seminars are FREE. Register on her website to reserve a space for yourself. She'll be teaching coupon organizing techniques, how to find deals online, how to use your coupons most efficiently, and details on how to do drugstore deals. Everyone gets a complimentary guide to keep. Space is limited, so sign up now if you're interested!

Edit: I got my email confirmation a few minutes ago, and it turns out these seminars aren't free after all. They are $10 per person, payable in cash or by check at the door. I feel it's worth the price for all the information you're getting, but just wanted to let you know.

Coupon School: Where can you find coupons?

In today's edition of Coupon School, I'll tell you about where to find coupons. There's more out there than just the ones in the newspaper! Here we go:

Newspaper inserts: When people thing of coupons, they think of their moms sitting at the kitchen table with the Sunday paper, cutting out coupons. This is the most convenient way to get a variety of coupons. If you don't have a subscription to the paper, you'll also be able to get inserts from papers you buy from the drugstore, grocery store or gas station. If you plan on couponing long-term, spring for a subscription; it's much cheaper.

Coupon websites: There are 3 main websites for printable coupons (often referred to as IPs for Internet Printable): Coupons.com, SmartSource, and RedPlum. They have TONS of coupons, and new ones pop up all the time. You have to download and install software from these sites in order to print. You can generally get 2 of each coupon, so you can get more if you've got access to more than 1 computer. Tip: since coupon campaigns are sometimes limited to specific areas in the country, change your ZIP Code a few times while selecting coupons to print. For example, I put in my ZIP, but I also use ZIPs for Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, L.A., New York, and a few other large cities. The coupons you've already selected will still print and you might find some deals you couldn't find otherwise.

Facebook: Facebook is being used by more and more companies to give away coupons, as well as free samples. Make sure you "like" any products or companies you buy from so you find out about them. These coupons are usually put out by either Coupons.com or SmartSource, so you'll probably get 2 prints of each coupon (hit the back button after it prints to get the scond one). Sometimes companies put out PDF files of their coupons. If that's the case, save the file to your hard drive and print it as many times as you want!

Company websites: Lots of companies put out IPs on their websites. Like on Facebook, visit the websites of companies that make the things you like to purchase and see if they have coupons available (there's usually a link on the main page). You might also be able to subscribe to emails that send out more coupons as well.

Tearpads: These coupons are put next to a product and resemble a big stack of Post-It notes. You don't have to use them when you take them, and you don't have to use them in the store you got them from (unless the coupon specifically says "Store Coupon"). You can save them for when you find a really good price on that item. Tearpad etiquette: 1) Only take coupons for things you'll actually use. 2) Take a REASONABLE amount of coupons and leave the rest for everyone else. I would call 10 reasonable, but you might think more or less is okay. Whatever you do, don't be the jerk who takes the whole stack. I will hate you.

"Blinkies": These are much like tearpads, but you find them in little dispensers at most grocery stores and some drugstores. They get this cutesy name from the fact that the dispensers have little red blinking lights to get your attention on them. Blinkie etiquette: same as tearpad etiquette.

"Peelies": Another cutesy name, these coupons are attached directly to products. There's no rule that you have to use the coupon on the day you buy the product. Now, some people are fine with taking peelies off products that they're not buying. I am NOT. I think it's messed up to take peelies off products and I get really annoyed when I see there WAS a coupon on something, but now it's gone. The only exception I make to this rule of mine is if I'm buying another product in the same family. For example, if there are peelies for $1 off Juicy Juice on the big 64 oz. bottles, but I want to buy a pack of juiceboxes, I will probably take the coupon. Alas, this is all one big ethical gray area that has not been addressed by the Supreme Court or another governing body, so we'll have to stick to the Golden Rule. Would you be pissed if someone had taken an awesome coupon from you? If so, don't steal peelies; if not, then you're probably a thief and I am watching you.

All You magazine: This magazine's only available at Walmart or by subscription. I got a year of magazines for $15 during my niece's Girl Scout magazine sale, but you might be able to find a better deal online. It's SO worth it to have this magazine even if you're only getting it for the discounts. There's $50 worth or more of coupons in every issue. You'll get unusual coupons, too, like the $10/1 Foodsaver vacuum sealer that was in November's issue.

Other magazines: Several women's magazines (Better Homes & Gardens, Good Housekeeping, Family Fun, Parenting, Parents) usually have a handful of coupons in them each month. Probably not worth getting a subscription if you won't read the magazine, but don't forget to check the ads before you throw away an issue. Sometimes you'll get something great: Family Fun & Parenting's October issues had a $10/1 Thomas & Friends Early Engineers playset coupon. I managed to get my son a train set at Target for $7 this way.

eBay* & coupon clipping services: If you want 10-20 insert coupons but don't want to buy that many papers, you can buy them off eBay or through a coupon clipping service. One service I can recommend is My Coupon Hunter, because they have a lot of selection and delivery was really quick. If you go the eBay route, always check the shipping costs. You might be paying $2 for 20 dog food coupons, but the shipping could be $5. If you don't want to wait around on an auction, click the "Buy It Now" tab to narrow your search results. I try to look for sellers who offer free shipping or charge about .50.

The mail: You know the big bundle of ads you get near the beginning of the week, the ones wrapped around the grocery ads? Don't toss them until you read them! I've found great coupons for Lean Cuisines, Colgate toothpaste, and Skinny Cow ice cream in them.

* A word of warning: DO NOT buy preprinted IPs from a reseller. These coupons have a lot of fraud prevention features printed into them (special barcodes, text, pictures, etc.). These coupons might be legit, but they might not be, and if the retailer calls you on it, things might get uncomfortable. There are also people out there who try to make fake coupons, and I don't want you caught up in all that. Coupon fraud is a lame way to end up in prison.

Coupon School: Coupon Myths vs. Reality

Okay everyone, settle down! Today in Coupon School, I'm going to review some myths about couponing and tell you the reality behind those assumptions. So sit up straight and pay attention!

Myth: All people who use coupons are insane.

Reality: Yes, there are “extreme couponers” out there who have 100 boxes of cereal in their pantries and guest room closets full of toilet paper. But most people who clip coupons are doing it because they want to save money on the things they buy.

Myth: Clipping coupons takes too much time and effort.

Reality: You can put in as much time as you want and still save yourself money. Personally, I spend about 15 minutes each week clipping the coupons I want out of the inserts from the Sunday paper, and about 10 minutes each week printing internet coupons that I'm interested in. That's all. And I still save hundreds of dollars on my groceries each week and save about 50-75% off the things I buy to donate.

Myth: I have to go to a million stores to get all these good deals. I don't have time for that.

Reality: You can stick to ONE store and still get great deals on all your favorite products, as well as find freebies to donate. It's all about patience and building up a stockpile.

Myth: Stockpiles are for crazy people! I don't have room in my house for that!

Reality: Yes, if you take it too far, your stockpile can take over half your house. But sales are cyclical, and you only need to buy enough to last your family until the next sale. Most items at grocery and big box stores go on sale every 6-12 weeks. Once you get used to looking for these cycles, it will be easy to remember how much you need to buy.

Myth: You're cheating (Target, Walmart, Harris Teeter, Bi-Lo, etc.) when you use coupons. Using too many coupons will cause prices to go up across the board.

Reality: Why on EARTH would a business take a piece of paper from you, take $x.xx off your bill, and lose money on the deal? It's not out of the kindness of their little hearts! No, Dorothy, the stores get back all that money. Here's how it works:

• You clip the coupon and take it to the store.
• You hand the cashier the coupon and the amount comes off your total.
• The coupons are bundled together by the store and sent off to a clearinghouse, where they're sorted, counted, and the clearinghouse submits the totals to the manufacturer.
• The manufacturer cuts the store a check good for the amount of the coupons submitted, plus an extra .08 for each coupon. That little extra is to cover the store's shipping and handling expenses and to encourage them to keep accepting coupons.

The manufacturers put out coupons SO YOU BUY THEIR STUFF. If a .50 coupon for Peter Pan will lead you to buy it over the Food Lion peanut butter, Con-Agra (the huge food conglomerate that owns Peter Pan) is willing to take that loss on the chance that your kids will get hooked on it and you'll keep buying it, whether you've got a coupon or not. That's why you'll see big, high-value coupons for new items right after they come out. You'll buy them, you'll get hooked, and now they've got loyal customers. It's in a store's best interest to take manufacturer coupons, because odds are, you've got other stuff to buy (produce, meat, pantry staples) that doesn't have coupons, and that's where they're making their money. You're not hurting anyone by paying for your stuff with coupons, so don't feel guilty about it.

Myth: The manufacturers only put out coupons for junk food; I don't feed my family crap, so I can't coupon.

Reality: This is a HUGE misconception! I have a 1-year-old, and I prefer to feed him natural and organic food whenever I can. There are coupons floating around for companies such as Annie's Naturals, Apple & Eve, Earth's Best, Plum Organics, Happy Baby, Stonyfield Farm, Horizon, and much more. Even if you don't buy this stuff, you still need toilet paper, toothpaste, shaving cream, shampoo and pet food. Why pay full price for this stuff? Clip coupons and you'll never have to again. I save my Seventh Generation coupons for Harris Teeter's Super Doubles events, and I get free dish detergent!

So take a chance on coupons! You don't have anything to lose, and if it's not for you, you can quit. But if you stick with it, it can really save you a ton of money. Class dismissed!