Grocery Shopping Trip #1 For May 2002 by Rachel Sanfordlyn Shreckengast

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I'll admit it, I used to be one of those people who thought that the whole process of using coupons and finding rebates wasn't worth my time. I had all of the basic exuses down and told myself that coupons and rebates weren't worth the hassle. Below are the excuses I personally used (though your excuses might be different):

Coupons Take Too Much Time - I told myself that coupons take too much time. There were the issues of cutting them all out, sorting them, keeping up with expired coupons, matching coupons up with store flyers and also sorting through the coupons for each shopping trip. I found out that this was a myth. It takes me about an hour to do everything (with coupons only) from start to finish. The only organizational method I use at the moment is to seperate the coupons by month of expiration date, so it's definitely not a matter of having a great organizational method. Each time we do a shopping trip (about twice a month), I write up a list of the products in the store flyer that we need, figure out what would save us the most (usually in terms of rebates and/or store shopping card savings) or what we should stock up on and then I match them up with coupons. This ensures that I don't use coupons just because they are there (unless it's for a free product).

There Are Never Coupons For Products I Buy - I always figured that there were never coupons available for the products I buy. Since I focused mainly on generics and/or loss leaders, I knew that there are rarely coupons for those types of items. What I failed to realize is that you can often get the brand-name products for the same price or less by using coupons (in combination with the store flyers). The catch here is that you can't be too picky. There are certain products that I/we prefer (Lever soap, Aquafresh toothpaste, etc) but there are also quite a few products where I/we don't (detergent, shampoo, etc) have a clear preference. One example this week is shampoo and conditioner. If I buy 3 bottles of a certain shampoo this week, I recieve a $1.50 rebate. That particular shampoo also happens to be on sale (I save $1.20 on 3) if I use my store shopping card. Finally, I have a coupon (25 cents off) that I found on the web. The end result is that I spend only 31 cents per bottle of shampoo. I can't beat that price with any generic version and it's a savings of at least 50 cents off per bottle for the cheapest shampoo I can find in my area.

I Won't Save Much Anyway - Or at least, that's what I use to think. For this shopping trip only, the store club card will save me $16.65, coupons will save me $9.25 and rebates will save me $47.50. I don't usually factor in regular store sales (without the card) or loss-leaders, but that furthers the savings even more. I also don't factor in how much will end up in my UPromise account, but two of the four stores that I usually shop at have just added their club cards to the program (which means that I'll do better than I have in the last year - the UPromise account currently only has $2.20 in it which reflects the four times we ate out in the last year). This week wasn't a great one for coupons (though it's excellent for rebates), but I usually average around $20.00 per shopping trip. The store club card averages about the same and rebates are generally around the $10.00 range (lots of stocking up this trip, which is why it's so high). For those of you who think I must spend an awful lot to realize these types of savings, I will give you two numbers. $183.60 is the price of this shopping trip WITHOUT using coupons, rebates or a shopping card. My total using the coupons, rebates and shopping card (in combination with the store flyer specials) ends up being $110.20 (which is well within my range of $225.00 to $275.00 per month for a family of six as we shop twice a month -- it's cheaper when we don't have an infant and includes everything from food to cleaning products). When I wasn't using coupons, rebates or shopping cards (in combination with the flyers), I was usually on the higher end of that figure. Now I'm saving money, but also buying more (in order to stock up on certain items).

Rebates Are A Huge Hassle - I've tried rebates in the past and found them to be a huge hassle. You had to find the rebate forms, fill them out exactly as stated, you needed UPCs or labels (which made it difficult to give certain items as gifts), you needed to track the rebate (by keeping a list of every rebate, when it was sent out, when/if the company sent the rebate, etc) and you were never assured of recieving the rebate because there was no way to check on the status of the rebate. Of course, we're talking about traditional rebates, which are not the type of rebates I use because I still find them to be a hassle. A nearby store (Weis) recently started a program where you simply insert some information on their website, they figure out what rebates you are owed once your store okays the receipt number and information. You can then double check the information on their website to make sure they didn't miss anything (they haven't yet & even caught one thing that I missed). Once you request your check, you recieve it in 2-3 weeks (I actually received my last one in about 10 days after my request). Simple and easy. There are a few catches. First, you can only request one check per month. Second, you must request the check by a certain date. Despite this, it's much easier to keep track of than traditional rebates and the majority of work/hassle associated with rebates is completely gone. If you think this store is unique, it's not (though it's one of the better deals I've found) and other stores offer similar programs. Seek out the web sites for the stores in your area to find out if they offer something like this program as it can be well worth your time. As far as how long this takes me, it's about 1/2 of an hour per shopping trip. Add in another 1/2 of an hour for miscellaneous projects and my total time spent on everything (except for the shopping itself) is 2 hours.

The Whole Process Is Incredibly Boring - The last time I tried the coupon/rebate/sale thing, I found it rather boring. I didn't have a lot of patience for it and it turned into a boring and annoying process. The majority of the problem was my attitude towards the whole process. I didn't want to do it and I looked at it as something that I was only doing because I "had" to. Of course it wasn't true, but it really turned the entire thing into a hassle that I didn't want to deal with. My lastest bout of coupon/rebate/sale savings is the result of a New Year's resolution (which I almost never make) that I was going to approach it as I approach other aspects of frugality. It's now a game where I see how much I can save over retail prices. This makes the process fun for me (a bit of psychology never hurts). Of course I must make one request, please don't ever tell my kids that "coupon day" could ever be boring or my six year old might stop dancing around the house, singing very loudly "Oh! Happy Coupon Day! It's Coupon Cutting Day!".

I Won't Personally See Any Benefit From It - I like personal benefit as it's a motivator for me. The last time I tried the coupon thing, I didn't see a lot of personal benefit. The family grocery bills were cheaper, but the extra money usually went to things like the electric bill. This added to the general feeling that the process was boring and annoying. When I approached it this time, I decided that I should get paid for my work. My husband and I discussed the issue and I get the highest amount of any one of the methods I use to save us money on our grocery bill. This shopping trip, it happens to be the rebates at $47.50, but it varies depending on what we buy and which method saves us the most. This arrangement insures that our grocery bill is less and the family sees the benefit of that, but also insures that I see some personal benefit as well. What I usually end up doing with the money is putting it into savings or using it for yard sale shopping (which tends to benefit the family as well), but that's not really the point. The point is that I see some personal benefit from the process and feel that my time is well spent.

The Breakdown

Total Time Spent - 2 hours per shopping trip (not including the shopping itself which I do regardless)

Amount Without Coupons/Rebates/Sales/Flyer/Club Card - $183.60

Amount With Coupons/Rebates/Sales/Flyer/Club Card - $110.20

Amount of Savings For Family - $25.90 plus any savings from sales and/or loss leaders

Amount I Earn - $47.50

My Hourly Wage Breakdown - $23.75

Gross Hourly Wage With Paying 28% Working Taxes - $30.40