Going to the store with a sort of list a binder/folder/or stack of coupons and a flier is a bad idea. I've been there. Talk about stressful, especially if you have kids &/or supportive but non-couponer spouse, in tow. It also takes longer to shop and when it's time to swipe your card and pay, you're in for a shock.
Spending the time it takes to organize on the front end before you go to the store helps A LOT. At a minimum, go without kids with a list of what coupons to use for what items and know exactly what you'll buy. It'll still take longer to shop than it needs to, but it won't be as stressful and you'll have an idea of what to expect at the counter.
There are several ways you can help yourself cut down on time and frustration. I'll share a few of them, but you'll ultimately need to find what works best for you. There are a few steps involved, so I'll break the process into steps and you can determine what system works best for you in each step and create your own system that way.
Determine what you will buy and what coupons to use
1. You can use the weekly fliers and compile a list of what you feel are good specials you want and then go to a coupon database or your binder/file and find the corresponding coupons.
2. Go to a matchup site for your primary store, see what the author suggests, and buy all of the superbuys for that week at that store. Use their coupon list to find the coupons you have available to you. (Keep in mind, there will be regional differences.)
3. Go to AllYou.com's grocery comparison. List what you're looking for. Use their store suggestions (keep in mind it's not always 100% accurate.) Use the coupon database to find the corresponding coupons.
4. Determine what you need, look through your area store's matchup sites, determine whether to go to one store or several. Compile a list of items and corresponding coupons (based on the matchup site's suggestions) for each store.
5. Browse the matchup sites and see if anything hits your fancy and make lists of items, stores, and coupons.
What I do: I look through the super deal sections of the matchup sites for my area. I decided if it's worth going to one store or multiple stores (sometimes I don't go at all that week). I copy and paste the item and corresponding coupons from their list for the items I'm interested in into a Word document with the name of the store at the top of each page. Then I determine if I have the coupons and how much money I have to spend that week (that last thing usually narrows my list down quite a bit) and if I have need of/room to store the items. Then I print the Word document, that's my shopping list.
Pull the necessary coupons:
If you have a binder, you're going to flip through the pages and pull the appropriate coupons based on your list/findings. If you have a file system, you're going to find and clip the appropriate coupons. (Binders take more time, with that time being spent primarily when you get the paper. Filing systems take less time overall, but more time when it comes to pulling the coupons for your shopping trip.) If you need internet coupons, you'll either have printed them earlier and need to locate them or you need to print and cut them out. (To save paper, whenever possible I re-use paper that's only been printed on one side and print coupons on the backside. Or if the coupon only uses a small portion of the page, I flip the page over and print other coupons on the bottom, that takes a little practice so you don't print over or directly behind other coupons.)
Organizing the coupons to take to the store:
Organize them by store or by product. And then:
1. Just leave them in a stack of whatever order and hand them to the cashier. (not recommended)
2. Organize them by aisle/order of shopping at the specific store(s)
3. Organize them according to your list order
4. Organize them by general category but not necessarily by aisle.
What I do: I have all of my coupons taped into my binder with a small piece of tape at the top of the coupon. After I print my Word list, I transfer the coupon and the tape to the appropriate location on the list. I don't worry if they overlap or hide part of the list, or exactly what order anything is in on the list. I can pretty much see them all and by the time I've selected the items, found the coupons, and taped the coupons onto my list, I have a pretty good idea of what I'm shopping for, so I don't worry about zigzagging all over the store too much.
Shopping with coupons:
1. Put the coupons in a coupon wallet all together at home in the order you decided and move them from one pocket to another as you pick up items.
2. Keep the coupons in your hand and go through the stack one by one selecting products as you flip through the coupons in your hand. (definitely not for the parent with small children at the store)
3. With no thought about the coupons, just buy what's on your list, knowing you have coupons for some of them.
4. Purchase the items on your list and go through the coupons in an out of the way place in the store before you go through the checkout line.
What I do: My coupons are taped to my list, so as I put an item in my cart, I transfer the tape and the corresponding coupon to the product. That way, I don't have to organize them at or before I get to the cashier.
Checking out with coupons:
1. Hand the wad to the cashier with no thought as to if you even bought all of the items or not (not recommended)
2. Hand the stack of coupons for the items you purchased to the cashier. Either at the beginning or the end of the order.
3. Hand the coupons to the cashier for each item as it's rung up. (IF you do this, have the items in the same order as they are on the belt.)
4. As you're rung up or after the cashier has rung you up, go through the coupons, selecting them while the cashier (and everyone in line behind you waits) (also not recommended-because the non-couponers will think even less of those of us that do and will probably be impatient, but mainly because you'll be concentrating on your coupons and miss watching to make sure everything, including the coupons rings up correctly.).
What I do: Because my coupons are taped to the products, when the cashier is checking me out, he/she can see what I have coupons for, knows if I have the correct item for the product, knows if a price is needed for the coupon and can either write it in then or can wait and knows about where on the receipt to find the price, and I can watch the screen to make sure everything rings up correctly. It makes checking out much less stressful. The Publix cashiers love it when I do it that way. *** If I have a $X/$XX coupon, I take the coupons off the items as I place them on the belt, so they're in the same order as the products were scanned in, and I put the $X/$XX on top. Whoever takes the coupons off the products (the cashier or myself) just folds the tape over.
Order of coupon submission:
The order in which you give your coupons to the cashier can affect your total and which coupons are accepted by the register. Having them organized at least somewhat will help your bottom line. This is a general guideline, there are circumstances in which you might want to change things slightly, but I'm not going to list every possible scenario here.
1. Reward/Loyalty card
2. Coupons that require a total bill of $XX amount (Gas/Gift card offers and $X off your order of $XX or more)
3. Coupons that require an amount be written in on them, usually buy this get that free.
4. Manufacturer coupons
5. Store coupons for specific products
6. Store coupons for $X off your order when they don't require a minimum purchase.
What I do: This is the order I submit coupons in, but because they're taped to my products, I arrange the products in this order on the belt.
General Checking out Thoughts:
Most people are at least a little nervous, the newer they are, the more nervous they are. After you get established and you know you're not trying to scam the system, especially if you're with a cashier you've built a rapport with, you won't be so nervous anymore. People are nervous because they don't want to mess up, they don't want to "cause a scene," they don't want to hold others up, some of it is nervous excitement because they're saving money.
If an item doesn't ring up how you thought it would, let the cashier know. It could be: you read the wrong sign/label; it could be the item was on sale, but isn't now, and no one removed the tag; you were going by what the matchup site told you and it was for a different region; or you picked up the wrong item. All of those are possible and that's why you need to watch as items are rung up. It's not uncommon to have at least one thing ring "incorrectly."
Also watch to be sure your coupons ring correctly. Normally, it's not a coupon price that's the issue, but usually a coupon might not go through because of a computer or human error. It's your job to watch for those errors and point them out. Sometimes you misread the coupon and didn't fulfill the requirements, it's ok, it happens to everyone. Sometimes it has to do with the order the coupons were rung up in. Sometimes coupons (especially cat food for some reason) don't like to ring up at all, no matter what. Sometimes the cashier misses one or forgets to scan a double coupon twice.
If something doesn't work out how you expected-either because of the coupon or the price, ask the cashier to take it off your order. It doesn't make any difference to them and no one will think any less of you (if they do, their opinion doesn't matter anyway). It's your money. Spend it how you want.
By the time you've made your list, found the coupons, picked up the items, and seen them rung up, you should know what you bought. Look over your receipt. Is it right? Make sure. The statistic on incorrect receipts is amazingly higher than you think it would be. If you have issues, take it to the customer service desk immediately. Don't make a big fuss, just ask questions.
Don't argue with the cashier or manager. It's not worth the time and energy. If it's a big deal to you, have the item(s) removed from you bill or have the whole order refunded if it's that bad. If there are one or two small things that are in the store's favor this time, realize next time, there will probably be one or two small things in your favor. Pick your battles, don't stress over unnecessary stuff. Enjoy your savings and be proud of yourself.
