Coupon Manual

So it has been requested that I have a user manual for this spreadsheet. So I am going to try and explain it.

Column A – Name of the item
Column B – I hide this column but it is what department of the store it is in that way you don’t go running all over the store if you go straight down the list.
Column C – What the current price is (normally the sale price)
Column D – How many you need in order to use the coupon (some are $1 off if you buy two)
Column E – What size you should look for… they try and get you to buy the bigger ones, but if you can get the smaller for free and get several that is better
Column F – Amount of the coupon (at Kroger and Meijer they double coupons and due to the websites I use the amount may be the doubled amount…)
Column G – Where you can find this coupon. I will try and put the website if it is a printable
SS – Smart Source (if there are multiple it will be S1 or S2). It will tell you the date so you don’t have to cut them up. Just label the group by date so you can find them easily later.
RP – Red Plum
Uni – Unilever
PG – Proctor Gamble
Column H – Final price PER ITEM.
Column I – you can check mark this area so you know if you want it/have coupon for it or not.

This is what I suggest. You do not have to clip all of the coupons. Get a folder with an insertable tab and just write on the top of each what the date was from the newspaper. This helps you find them much faster and easier. My spreadsheet may not be completely reliable in some areas. Kroger has different sales in Columbus or Cincy so it may be a bit off. There is a tab at the bottom of the page for each week so you can see the different prices and a tab at the far end/right that has the regular price – not on sale… so you can see if it is worth it to you. I also have plastic sheets that are insertable, they are for small photos. I know other people get baseball card sheets and put their coupons in there. I put them in order by Kroger store layout with some minor changes. I use this for loose coupons and I cut up the coupons if they are older than a month and still good. This help me organize or I would be lost.

I have an envelope for each store that I go to and on my lunch break I consult my spreadsheet, find the coupon, clip it, and then put it in the envelope that way all I have to do is get the item at the store and be done. It is much less time and hassle then trying to find them while the kids are getting antsy and you are rushing. I also have a "file" envelope for all of the coupons that I pick up at the store or ones where my sale just doesn't match, this helps me not get confused at checkout time.

Target coupons you can print from http://www.afullcup.com/. It is a generator so you can print as many as you wish of each item. You would be surprised the stuff you get for free because they don’t exclude trial sizes or checkout items. I personally love Rite Aid rebates, but some people don’t. Your call, but read the fine print on how many you can buy with the rebate. I enter my rebate and until it goes through I will not use it, just in case I want to return. Always watch the cashier at the register to make sure they scan your coupon correctly, for some reason they hate coupon ladies. J Kroger tends to mess up on prices so watch the prices. Yes, I know that is difficult with kids running. I have not quite figured out the whole CVS and Walgreens with their extra care stuff so if anyone can help me then I will happily learn.

If see a great deal but would never use either donate the coupon to someone that will or buy the item and donate to a homeless shelter/woman’s shelter/ food bank… I know so many people that are laid off and I have been able to donate a lot more than what I used to because I saved so much money. What I used to buy with my budgeted grocery amount now gets me a few extras that I can just donate to whoever may need it. You never know when your luck may be down so it is important to remember others.

When your coupons are expired (I go through and take out any ones once a month) you can mail them to the family services department of any base overseas. They can use expired coupons on base and it saves them a lot. This is very helpful and although it does cost some for postage it is very important. I will start sending out an address of a different location each month so you don’t have to look it up.

I can’t really think of anything else, if you have any questions I will be happy to answer them.

P.S. Yes I know that it is incredibly dorkish to have couponing as your hobby. What can I say; I'm a dork.