Hot Lists and Price Books

Did you all enjoy your week and a half off? Sorry about the gap in classes, folks. With my stepdaughter here for the summer I've been so busy living life that I've had little to no time to blog about it. Couponing and bargain hunting has been making its effect on my family. The boys love to play with my discarded coupons when I'm culling out the expired ones. My stepdaughter is beginning to learn more about PPU (price per unit) and just realized yesterday that the popcorn that the movies sells for $4 costs us about $.06 to make at home.

Enough chit chat, let's get down to business. Today we are going to learn about the value and use of price books. If you only do ONE thing from this series of blog posts, this is it. Back in the dark ages before marriage and kids I worked as an editor of a small women's magazine. One of the parts of my job was to keep an eye on the costs of our supplies and vendors (printers, paper, delivery service, shipping service, etc.) and every so often to comparison shop. Money saved was money earned, quite literally for me as my compensation was based in part on the profitability of each and every issue. I had elaborate spreadsheets dedicated to analyzing various business expenses and how they could change our profitability.

When I shifted gears into homemaking, making a price book made perfect sense to me. I was new to Beaumont and I had no idea which stores had the best prices. Why wouldn't I make a list of what I bought and how much it cost? So using both my receipts and flyers from grocery stores I made a new spreadsheet with the following columns:

• Category Organize your price book into whatever categories make sense to you. Mine are Baking Goods, Beauty/Grooming, Beverages, Breads, Canned Goods, Cleaning Products, Condiments, Dairy, Frozen, Meat, Pasta, Produce and Seafood.
• Item, Here you specify the item name. If it is an item you are brand loyal about, put the exact product name (i.e. Sensodyne), otherwise just put the generic name (whitening toothpaste).
• Date, Slowly you'll begin to realize that certain products go on sale about every 12 weeks and others go on sale seasonally. Having the date also lets you monitor how overall prices are increasing over time.
• Store, I have abbreviations for each store I frequent
• Quantity, List the numeral for the size or amount of what was purchased (i.e. 24)
• Unit, List the unit of measurement such as ounces, gallons, pounds, etc. If it is produce sold by the piece just put the word unit there
• Price, List the price paid without including any coupons used.
• PPU, Here you will need to do a little spreadsheet operation to divide your column of price by your column of quantity. The result is the PPU. This is what will help you easily compare the price for a 28 oz can of tomatoes to a 14 oz can.

Now instead to making a massive price book for every single item you ever might think of buying, you are going to start out slow with a Hot List Price Book. To start out you need to write down about 20 items that are staples in your household. Hint: what are you always running out of? What fills up your cart? What do you spend the most on? If Armageddon were upon us, what would you stock up on? Some items on our household's hotlist are milk, apples, bananas, apple juice, eggs, coffee, raisins, bread, whole wheat pasta, and popcorn. If you are a meat eater don't forget to add a few meats to your list. Ours includes ground beef, whole chickens, and pork chops.

A word about brand loyalty. I've said before that you will save more in the long run if you can discard most brand loyalty in the supermarket. But undoubtedly there are a few things that you just would rather go without than buy a lesser brand. For me this is Sensodyne toothpaste and Glide dental floss. Put these items on your hotlist by the brand name.

When I put together my first price book I quickly learned that I could save at least $50 a month by buying milk, eggs, coffee and popcorn at Kroger and canned goods, some produce and most meats at Market Basket. I also learned that for our family, Sam's Club didn't make any difference at all from a PPU perspective and that while some products were less expensive at Wal-mart, most weren't. That's about $600 a year in savings without even clipping a coupon. Pretty cool, right?

Homework: Make your Hotlist Pricebook.
You can make a spread sheet or you can just use a notebook and a calculator. I'm sure somewhere someone has made an app for this as well but as a cell phone Luddite I'm no help to you there. Draw up a price book sheet in whatever way works best for you. Make about five blank spaces below each of your 20 hot list items. Over the next week or so (it may be a while before I post again) fill in your price book when you go to the stores you frequent. Don't forget to include club stores and drug stores as well as supermarkets.

Coupon College: Books, Blogs, & Buddies

Welcome back, class! Do you have your coupon holding devices? How about a newspaper subscription? Great. Now let's start filling those notebooks and wallets with coupons. If you did your homework, Sunday's coupons should already be in your notebook's plastic sleeves. I got two in my paper: Red Plum and SmartSource. Also wrapped around my whole paper was a sleeve containing three cereal samples and three $1 off coupons for those cereals.

In Tuesday's mail the fliers for the three major grocery chains arrived as well. Around here sales run from Wednesday to Tuesday. I try to do most of my major shopping on Monday or Tuesday then as I will have that Sunday's coupons to incorporate into my shopping. During the week I make small fill-in trips as well. More about this in the How to Shop lesson.

Web Coupons
Even with all those coupons from the paper, you can really benefit from couponing by the oodles and oodles of them available on the web. Here are a few of my favorite places to find coupons on the web:

1. Kroger Website This is pretty much the only place you will find coupons on Kroger brand items.
   
2. Coupons.com This is sort of the large clearing house for coupons. Most web coupons piggyback on their printing software.
   
3. Smartsource.com This is the online version of the same item in the paper. It is a great resource for duplicates when you find a really good coupon in the paper.
   
4. Redplum.com Same.
   
5. MamboSprouts.com Great resource for coupons for organic or health food store items.

In addition to these mainstays, many manufacturers have coupons right on their websites. If you have a certain brand that you are insanely loyal to, it is worth it to check out their website for coupons or sign up for their newsletters or e-mail alerts for sales. I have a separate email address that I use just for this purpose.

Coupon Blogs/Websites

More than likely though you don't have the time or the inclination to visit every possible corporate website that you might possibly benefit from. That's where the coupon blogs and websites come in handy. There are thousands of these out there--baby coupons, regional sites, organic, you name it. The trick is to find two or three that are a good fit for your household.

My favorites are:

1. Coupon Mom In particular there are two tools on the site that I use each week: the coupon database and the deals by state. Go ahead and set up an account with this site (using your coupon e-mail address) because it is very useful. Look at those two tools in particular and just poke around this site. We'll get to specifics in a few lessons.
   
2. Money Saving Mom The lady who writes this blog is a SAHM who homeschools and follows a Dave Ramsey style of money management. She also spends a great deal of time collecting sales information. I have a feed to her blog and scan it once a day.
   
3. Frugal Coupon Living This is the newest feed I've added to my collection. I like that it includes sales to places like hardware stores and other retail chains.

Other Coupons/Information

Once you start looking for coupons you'll be amazed at all the places you'll find them. On the packages of food, in the grocery store aisles, in Parade or other glossy magazines. Some of the best coupons you'll get are spit out of the cash register when you check out of the grocery store. I've had coupons for $5 of free produce and $3 off eggs before.

Choosing Coupons

Now obviously you aren't going to need every single coupon you come across. When you get serious about saving money on grocery shopping one of the first things to go out the window is brand loyalty. (A few things you'll never pay for again once you start couponing and give up brand loyalty is toothpaste, deodorant, and toothbrushes.) But even then there will be coupons you just KNOW you will never use. I use the following rule of thumb when evaluating whether or not to clip/save/print a coupon:

Would I get this if it were free or nearly free? Would I keep it for myself or could I give it away to a food bank or friend?

So I'll save the Activia coupons (even though I prefer my own yogurt!) but pass on dog food items. Sometimes I'll find a coupon that I'm fairly sure I won't use but I know it is an item a friend uses regularly. I'll clip it anyway and give it to them. I strongly believe in the be nice and pay it forward principle when it comes to home economics.

Homework
Okay, so your homework for this week is to make a favorites folder on your web browser and add links to all the sites above. Subscribe to the blogs and review a few pages worth of entries. Try your hand at printing out a few coupons just to see what its like. Don't feel obligated to DO anything with these coupons just yet. You're just beginning to build your collection.

Coupon College Intro

Good morning class. You are in Coupon College 101. If this wasn't the course you signed up for feel free to stay a while--you may learn something! Now, unlike my mathematician husband, I didn't prepare my syllabus a few weeks ahead of time. I'm tempted to blame the kiddos or come up with some other excuse but the fact of the matter is that I'm just not as organized as he is. Aren't you glad I don't teach you calculus?

Okay so here's the syllabus that I jotted down on the back of a pamphlet while in the waiting room of my doctors office this morning.

Week1: Introduction and Supply List

Week 2: Books, Blogs and Buddies -- You don't have to do it alone!

Week 3: Hotlists and Pricebooks

Week 4: How to Shop -- it's more than just spending money

Week 5: Coupons, Part I -- find, store and tote

Week 6: Coupons, Part II -- what to use when and where

Week 7: Weekly Sales and Fliers

Week 8: Your Weekly Routine

Week 9: Advanced Couponing: catalinas, ECB and more

Week 10: Other Ways to Streeeeetch that Grocery Budget

Week 11: Long Term Shopping Habits

Week 12: People Skills Can Save You Money

Week 13: Final Exam!

In addition to each lesson, I'll be posting "extra credit" posts listing particular deals I've found each week.

Any questions? Okay, moving right along let's talk about supplies.

A Coupon Carrier
This is the small accordion-file that you will use to organize your coupons. It will need to be easily carried to the store and used while you shop. You can find them in Target, Walmart, dollar stores, and drug stores--usually in the office supply section. I've had several of these over the years and I much prefer the kind you can zip closed. I'm a bit of a klutz so the zipper saves me from playing "coupon pickup" in the middle of the canned goods isle. I also like the zippered pouch in the front. I use it to hold my grocery money and any coupons that I know I am going to use on a particular trip.

You will usually have 12-13 slots in each carrier. If you can, get the kind that doesn't have preprinted categories. You'll want to be able to customize it. I make tabs that correspond to the order in which the aisles are in my most often used grocery store: Kroger. So my carrier categories are:

Produce
Bread
Dairy
Beverages
Canned Goods
Condiments
Pasta & Sauces
Baking
Paper Goods/Household
Baby/Cereal
Personal Care
Meats/Frozen

The nice thing about basing the carrier organization on a particular store is that if I have an item that doesn't clearly fit into a category (popcorn for example), I can put it in the slot that is closest to where it is in the store--in this case in bread.

cheapo option: A bunch of old envelopes with a rubber band around them. I don't recommend it but if you're reluctant to spend money to save money just yet, this is a suitable make-do option.

A Loose-leaf Binder
A 1 and 1/2 inch binder should be just fine for now. Make dividers with whatever is handy: stick on tabs, print-out tabs, or even scotch tape and a Sharpie will do in a pinch.

Throw some loose leaf in the front. On the top page write: Shopping List. Throughout the week, write down anything that you know you will need to buy in the next week.

The first tab should be labelled menu. Later on when we discuss your planning day, this will be where you jot down your menu for the week.

The next tab should be labelled price book. We'll learn more about this in a few weeks.

The third tab is seasonal. This will be where you put a list of seasonal sales (turkeys in November for example) and a list of in season produce. This will be a big help when it comes to meal planning around what is going to be inexpensive.

The fourth tab is labelled Meal Plans. Some folks like to have a few set meal plans for those weeks when things get hectic. For example, I have a one chicken-one roast weekly plan that covers about 6 dinners. Each meal plan has basic menus and a shopping list.

The last tab should be for coupons. Behind this tab put about ten plastic sleeves. This will be where you put each week's coupons out of the newspaper. Just whip them out of the paper, date the top of each and put an entire week's worth in one sleeve. I go from back to front, meaning my most recent coupons are in the front sleeve and older ones are behind it.

Finally in the pockets of your binder is where you will slip the weekly circulars from the grocery stores. These can be found in the newspaper, in your mailbox, or even at the front of the grocery store. Here in Beaumont the circulars list sales from Wednesday to Tuesday so from now on when I talk about "weeks" this is usually what I mean.

Now I like to have a pretty cover on my binder because it spends so much time out in the open where anybody can see it. Your fussiness level may vary.

Newspaper Subscription

This is the most costly part of couponing. If you already get a paper--good for you! Newspapers are a dying breed but still a fairly necessary tool to be an active member of one's local democracy in my opinion. Fortunately, the Beaumont Enterprise offers a Sunday only option with access to their daily e-edition online for less than $10 per month. So you can be frugal and green all at the same time. In a budget crunch? Ask your neighbors/family members who don't coupon for their coupon sections. Then when you save enough money to justify it, go ahead and get your own subscription.

Now newspapers aren't the only thing you'll use to cultivate coupons but it is the most reliable. Next week we'll look for all the best places to find coupons online, in the mail, in the store, and beyond.

Okay, your homework this week is to get your three tools: your coupon carrier, your binder, and your newspaper subscription. Make your dividers and tabs. Have fun making it pretty or use stickers on them to keep you from taking all this too seriously.

Next week: Books, Blogs, & Buddies

Now Enrolling: Coupon College

Over the past few years I've had several people express interest in learning some of the ways I save money on our family's grocery bill. Several others are skeptical that we can use coupons and shop sales without resorting to a high-fat diet of Chefboyardee and fruit punch for dinner each night. So in an effort to help the would-be-frugal (and I admit, squelch the naysayers) I've decided to design a step-by-step course called Coupon College.

There are tons of resources on the internet and in the public library to help you started with saving money and couponing. Why should I reinvent the wheel? I think to jumpstart the process it helps to have someone point out the good deals to you while you are also setting up your own shopping and couponing system. While you work on learning how to coupon, I'll help you right now by pointing out good local sales to you. If it took three months before you started to see any improvement at all, you'd probably give up before you got started. The fact of the matter is that this is somewhat a local proposition. Deals in Texas don't automatically appear in New Hampshire. For that matter the deals in Houston may be completely different from the deals in Beaumont. So while my friends across the country are welcome to join in (and will certainly benefit) the biggest winners in Coupon College are likely to be folks in and around Beaumont, TX. Those of you in other locales will need to use common sense to take what is useful and disregard the rest. I will be providing helpful links to articles, blogs, and databases that will help you customize your own system.

So, let's get a few of the FAQs out of the way, shall we?

Q: How much will Coupon College cost?

A: This is a personal blog--it isn't monetized in any way. I do not accept payment or products from any company and do not intend to in the future. I post for my own edification and enjoyment of helping and connecting with others. Accordingly, Coupon College is a completely free and voluntary program. There is no monetary tuition. I would ask that once you get the hang of couponing that you "pay it forward." This could mean donating extra food to a food bank, teaching your neighbor how to coupon, or just forwarding someone else the link to this series. It's up to you.

Q: Does that mean I won't need to spend any money at all do participate in Coupon College?

A: Not exactly. One of our first lessons will be on "school supplies" which will contain a list of optional but recommended tools you'll need. It is made up of really hard-to-find and expensive items like a loose leaf binder, a coupon carrier, a pair of scissors, etc. You may also wish to subscribe to the Sunday paper, which in Beaumont is just $9 per month. If you are really strapped for cash, you can always make do with some old used envelopes and your neighbor's recycled newspapers.

Q: Will there be homework?

A: Yes! You can't expect yourself to learn anything new if you aren't willing to do a little work on your own. I'm not going to wave a magic wand and automatically reduce your grocery bill by 20% each week. You should expect to spend about two hours each week on Coupon College. Some weeks it may be more, some weeks it may be less. Look at it this way: can you think of two television shows you watched last week that in retrospect you could have done without? That wasted time could have been spend being productive in Coupon College. Once you get the hang of it, couponing and shopping sales will feel like second nature like brushing your teeth before you go to bed.

Q: Will there be tests or exams?

A: Yes! From time to time you will need to "test" yourself to make sure you really do know how to implement what you are learning. You can choose to share your test results with the rest of us via the comments boxes or not. Either way, you really ought to at least keep track of your progress to keep you going. I'll be posting my progress as well by giving you our weekly budget and a report on how we did.

Q: How long is Coupon College?

A: Three months. I'll post at least once a week about a new topic and an assignment. I suggest doing things "my way" for this period. Just subscribe to this blog and you're in. Once you are done, you can decide how best to tweak your shopping system to best fit your family's needs.

Q: I'm not a SAHM, a healthfood freak, in need of saving money, etc. Why should I even consider doing this?

A: Quite simply: freedom. Even if you can spare the extra $200 each month for groceries that you would save by couponing, would you turn down $200 if someone offered it to you? Everytime you save a dollar from your household budget you buy a little bit of your freedom back. Perhaps you can use it to go on vacation, or splurge on a fancy date night once a month, or afford to eat more organic/sustainable food. Why spend money that you don't need to? And if for some unforseen reason you do find yourself tight on money one day, you will be glad to know these skills.

Okay, that's the pitch. Are you in or are you out? Leave a message in the comments or send me an e-mail if you'd like to join us. Oh, and feel free to pass a link along to a friend!