Crash Course in the Art of Couponing

I’ve mentioned Couponing before in passing. For those that aren’t familiar with it, it’s like a cult of grocery shopping that can save you tons of money. Here’s a quick example:

1) Visit this DietCoke.com link and click on ‘Print Coupon’ to print out a coupon good for 75 cents off of a 2-liter of Diet Coke with Splenda.

2) Find a store in your area that “doubles” coupons. That is, if you use a coupon for 50 cents an item, then they will give you double that, or $1, off instead. Here is a resource that provides a decent list of chains in each state that do this. Some places may require a coupon from their weekly newspaper ad, or only do it on certain days of the week.

3) Go to the store, and mostly likely, with the doubling, you will get a free 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke! (Mine was $1.39 originally.)

Now, that just sounds like good sense, right? So why did I call it a cult? Imagine doing this a hundred times. That’s right. A hundred. True ‘Couponers’ will make 100 copies (ok, maybe a bit less. But close.) and go to several different stores, several different times. They know ‘coupon-friendly’ cashiers, when the ‘mean’ managers work, and have routes to hit all the good grocery stores with the least driving. In the end, you’ll have 100 free 2-liters of Diet Coke in your pantry, and not have to shop for diet soda again for years!

This is the whole mentality of the Couponer – cook entirely from your pantry. They’ll have three year supplies of soap, shampoo, flour, canned soups, etc. They only buy things from the grocery store that are severely discounted. Buying $100 worth of groceries for $6.34 after coupons is the goal. In fact, I’ve read stories of people getting cash back!

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed your crash course in Couponing. I am not a Couponer, but probably try to be when I have a larger family. Oh, enjoy that free Diet Coke too. I am!