Family Circle Magazine
When it comes to saving money at the supermarket. Family Circle contributing editor Susan Samtur, a.k.a. the "Coupon Queen." is in a league of her own. "I almost never pay full price for anything my family needs." says this coupon- and rebate-savvy mother of four sons. Rebates and coupons have been helping Samtur save at the checkout for over 25 years. "I never leave home without them." says Samtur, who routinely saves 50 percent on her weekly food bill. Wish you could do the same? Wish no more! Here, Samtur answers your supermarket questions and offers some great hints, tips and tricks for getting the most for your shopping dollars.
Q: I use coupons and rebates but I'm looking for more ways to save. Is the Web site www.valupage.com a good savings resource?
A: Valupage.com offers a unique way to save on groceries. Log on to the site, then t-liter your Zip code. Participating supermarkets in your area pop up on screen, along with their weekly savings. Choose a store and print out a savings sheet, which is scanned at the store. Each product you buy has a Savings value, and each time you shop you'll earn Web Mucks to pay for groceries on your next trip.
Quick Trick: A mini photo album is I great coupon organizer. Arrange the coupons to correspond to the products in the supermarket's aisles and Separate them with divider tabs. This makes it easy to review coupons and prepare a shopping list.
Q: Why aren't there more milk and meat coupons available?
A: There are very few coupons for milk and meat because these products are not usually nationally branded, so any promotion that takes place is done by the individual store and not by a national manufacturer. That said, you can improve your milk and meat savings by using refunds. Coupons for milk, for example, are often the reward for purchasing cereal and cookies. The manufacturers of cheese, ketchup, relish and other such products usually offer meal coupons.
Quick Trick: To be an effective coupon shopper, you must:
1. know your prices; 2. never be a slave to any particular brand; 3. combine store and manufacturer coupons; 4. try to shop in more than one store.
Q: How do I determine when it pays to split my purchases among the three supermarkets in my area or stick with one store?
A: There are two ways to resolve this problem. If you enjoy shopping and don't mind going from store lo store, the rewards are worth the trouble. Especially noteworthy are the excellent buys found weekly in most super markets on "loss leader" items, such as orange juice and coffee.
However, if you take into account the value of your time and the cost of gas, you might prefer shopping in one place. This also pays off - stores have different loss leaders each week and, with coupons, you can still gel a 20 to 30 percent savings.
Quick Trick: If you can't always travel from store to store every week, make your supermarket of choice the one that has the best prices on the things you buy and need most often like coffee, cereal and detergent.
Q: I'm currently on the mailing lists of several companies and receive coupons and offers from them every few months. How can I get addresses for other companies?
A: You can get any manufacturer's mailing and e-mail address or toll-free number by checking the product label. Although most every company will give customers who contact them coupons and other special offers, baby food companies are some of the best at doing so. Right now, Beech Nut (www.beeclinut.com) is offering $4 in coupons when you mail in 48 Beech-Nut UPCs. Log on, then click "Special Offers," then "Label Saver." Gerber (www.gerber.com/mygerber/moreinfo.asp) offers up to $50 in coupons. Offers are subject to change.
Quick Trick: Take a few minutes to check company Web sites on your computer. This often results in Coupon being e-mailed to you.
Q: I have been getting refunds for a while, but I still find the whole idea bit overwhelming. How can I develop a more efficient system?
A: Here are a few tips that will put you on the road to savings. Put coupons in a checkbook file and categorize them by product typo: cereal, condiments, etc. This system works because the store aisles and flyers are arranged in the same way. When you prepare your shopping list, check the flyer for sales, select the coupons that match the sales, and head for the market. For refunds, use a two-part system. Put all UPCs in a separate envelope by product name, filed in alphabetical order. Use a separate box for larger items, also by product name and in alphabetical order.
Quick Trick: Write to companies about good and bad experiences you've had with their products. (You can also e-mail or call a toll-free number.) You'll receive free or high-value coupons as a thank-you.
Q: Do all grocery stores accept cash-off coupons?
A: Not all grocery stores accept coupons (convenience and small mom-and-pop stores, as well as bulk warehouses, rarely do), nor are they obligated to do so. Most that do, however, accept them in order to help their customers save and to meet the demands of competition. (This is the same reason stores double and triple the value of coupons.)
Quick Trick: Even though bulk warehouse stores don't accept coupons, they often issue high-value rebates on many products. These include small and large appliances, computer products, packaged goods and health and beauty aids. Check for these offers on your cash register receipt and on specially designated bulletin boards throughout the store.
Q: It would be a great help to me if coupons had longer expiration dates. Most expire a week or two after I clip them from the newspaper. Why do companies use this coupon-dating practice?
A: About 20 years ago most coupons had no expiration date. Coupon expiration dates were implemented because companies were looking to create a more immediate consumer buying style, especially since these companies encourage supermarkets to buy larger quantities of their products when they issue coupons. But there is some good news to report on this front: Coupon dates are getting longer - the average coupon is good for 3.4 months, up from 3.1 months.
Quick Trick: If your store limits the number of coupons they'll double or triple, save your high-value coupons for those special double/triple days.
Q: Why don't all companies put coupons in the newspaper?
A: Packaged-goods companies distributed a total of 248 billion coupons in 2000, according to NCH, an Illinois-based Coupon-processing and promo lion-management firm. The average face value of coupons is between 75 and 80 cents, and almost every major product is represented in coupon form at one time or another.
You can maximize the coupons you receive in a number of ways: by trading at work, at the local library, in the supermarket itself by using coupon dispensers now found in many stores or through a refund group.
Quick Trick: For the inside scoop on coupons, refunds and shopping for bargains, consider subscribing to my newsletter, Refundle Bundle (12 issues/2 years. $19.87): Refundle Bundle, P.O. Box 140FC, Yonkers. NY 10710 or www.refundlebundle.com. FC readers get a free copy of the book Cashing in at the Checkout (a $9.95 value) when they subscribe.
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