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Why Follow Coupon Policies?

Find out why is this so important!

In the wake of the TLC show "Extreme Couponing", it's a great time to continue looking at best practices surrounding coupon usage. Recently the Coupon Information Corporation (CIC), a not-for-profit association of consumer product manufacturers who fight coupon misredemption and fraud issued a statement about this show. Basically, they are calling a spade a spade and pointing out what is legally wrong with this show and offering to help make it right. The show producers have in my opinion "stepped on a hornets nest" and may need to consider the consequences of showing consumers how to break the rules. Did you know that according to the CIC, issues stemming from obtaining and using fraudulent coupons costs product manufacturers hundreds of millions of dollars every year? So there will be a crack down and recently "The Coupon Guy" was found to be breaking the law has been arrested and charged with crimes, click here to see this story.

Coupons are a very successful promotion marketing tool that will not be abandon anytime soon, however there have been and will be more changes as a result of the few who openly break and ignore the rules. These rules are in the coupon policy and these policies have been in place since the first coupon was ever published. Why? To establish and clearly communicate the boundaries for usage so everyone wins. It's just that simple. Afterall, the origin of the word policy comes from police! Remember coupons are optional so if consumers choose to use a coupon, then it's the consumer's responsibility to follow the rules. There are 2 coupon policies to pay attention to, first is the store policy that accepts the coupon and next is the policy from where the coupon originates; the manufacturer.

Stores these days they are reaching out to educate consumers by posting more prominently their coupon policies (see above ) and also educating their cashiers to enforce the rules. This will prevent and catch fraud and misuse from occurring which will prevent the cost of it from being passed along to consumers.

Manufacturers on the other hand publish their policy on every single coupon, it's in fine print. In response to the increase in coupon redemption, manufacturers are becoming more attuned to just how powerful coupons are in today's economy. They are quickly learning to harness this power and adapt as advances in technology have created new opportunities and challenges. As this happens, business can grow and create options for consumers and we will continue to see valuable, creative and targeted savings in the form of coupons and everybody wins!

So why follow coupon policies? Because in the long run it keeps things in check, fosters healthy business and makes coupons more available. Oh and it's the right thing to do!

TIP - Keep a Manageable Coupon Inventory!

Find out what is practical and manageable.

In staying with the theme of looking at best practices surrounding consumer coupon usage, this month's tip has to do with coupon inventory levels. The number of coupons in some type of storage, like a Couponizer, is your coupon inventory. So for anyone interested in reaping available savings using coupons the process of reviewing, clipping, and storing them is a task that yields a coupon inventory. This task takes time depending on the volume of coupons at your disposal. On the TLC show "Extreme Couponing" the people who are featured gather and sift through (in my estimation) 5 times (or more) coupons than the average consumer. So this means if the average consumer clips 1-4 coupon inserts a week, an extreme couponer will clip way more than this; 5-50 or more inserts! Then there are the Internet printable coupons, Catalina coupons and other coupons that come in the postal mail to sort through in any given week.

Selecting coupons out of 1-4 coupon inserts a week will yield a managable coupon inventory (left pile) and measurable savings. For simplicity sake, let's just look at a free standing insert (FSI) in the Sunday paper to see how many coupons can be accumulated. This is not a result of any organized research project, just my 10 years of experience with couponing. So, an FSI typically offers an average of 50-70 coupons (and sometimes higher in the weekend before a holiday weekend). A Sunday paper will typically have FSI's from SmartSource and RedPlum and also monthly/seasonal extra inserts from manufacturers like P&G and General Mills and grocery stores. So any given weekend there can be 200+ coupons to choose from and that is just ONE Sunday paper! Multiply that by 5 and you begin to see how this seemingly simple offering of coupons savings becomes a hefty task, multiply that by 20 and "viola" you have a full time job (if you want one)! In case you didn't do the math, on the extreme end you are looking at 4,000 coupons per week.

An extreme couponer will admit to devoting as much as 40-60 hour a week to managing that many coupons and scouring websites looking for deal match-ups, all for the rush of paying less than 5% of the actual bill. While the savings are impressive, how long can someone realistically sustain that time investment for the payoff, not to mention the storage space once the items are purchased? Also, how long before this overdose of savings for one will affect the system as a whole? Afterall, it is not just time and energy a routine like that will take from a consumer, but the stress of potential fraud and other coupon misuse can drain a business of financial resources needed to maintain a healthy business.

So, where is the balance? If you participate in couponing as it was intended by the companies who issue the coupons, then savings is still the outcome and in reasonable, measurable and sustainable chunks. Store price and coupon matching to stock up on good deals will always be the path to savings but who needs all the excess that comes with extremes? Lighten your coupon load and participate in programs like Savings Angel to give you information in advance so your coupon inventory is manageable and keeps your savings afloat and not drowning in paper.

Many of you ask, "How many coupons will The Couponizer system hold?" Between 600-1000 coupons comfortably. So this is about 3 month's supply of between 1-4 coupon inserts, plus a few more from other sources. Keep in mid, expiration dates will force purging coupons no longer valid. Our customers regularly share with us savings of 20-50% on a consistent basis using their Couponizer (see our Couponizer of the Month!). Most consumers acknowledge that budgeting for, and spending money on food, is part of life. Therefore, spending wisely, given all the resources available today, is the ultimate goal.

TIP - Shopping List 101

A Shopping list is key to targeted spending and reaping savings.

Continuing our best practices surrounding consumer coupon usage, this month's tip has to do the shopping list. Have you noticed on TLC's "Extreme Couponing" how each shopper has a meticulous shopping list and they do not deviate from it? This simple but often overlooked practice can mean the difference between success and failure with savings when shopping the grocery store. Let's take a look at what it means to build a meticulous list and not deviate from it!

The adjective meticulous means taking or showing extreme care about minute details, this means being precise and thorough. If you think about it, the goal of an extreme couponer is to spend as little money as possible if at all so this requires having lots of information on product cost, sales and coupon offers before going to the store. Every single item that makes the list of an extreme couponer has been thoroughly researched to ensure the lowest price or FREE is achieved. Once this is done, then the crazy thing an extreme couponer will do is find, clip and redeem 100's of the same coupon, then repeat. While buying 100's of the same item is not practical, it does serve any shopper well to do the math at home in a safe environment and create a list or spreadsheet that tells you what will happen at checkout. Stocking up on 3-4 of the same item is resaonable and within the boundaries of good couponing proactices. These days there are websites like SavingsAngel.com that give you all the information needed to know your total costs in advance and exactly what coupon to use for maximum savings. If scouring tables of price information is not your thing, then keep a price book of your own and look at store sale circulars at home to find great deals. Practicing this preparation at home is a crucial step in creating a shopping list that will yield big savings.

The verb deviate means to depart or swerve from a procedure or course of action. Have you ever created a grocery shopping list and get into the sights, sounds and smells of the store and then not really follow it? Then when you get home you realize your forgot to get the very thing you went to the store for! This would never, I mean never happen to an extreme couponer since the end result of this means spending money and likely more than intended. Why? Because what extreme couponers do well is stay focused. Their shopping list carries a ton of meaning and money due to it's careful construction. Shopping lists can be in our head or on paper or both however the important thing is to have your shopping list be meaningful and guide your selections. Deciding in advance what to buy will help you stay focused (not deviate) when you get in the store. The store environment is strategically set-up on several levels to get customers to spend money which is okay, it's the nature of business. However smart consumers are not as easily influenced by all this and make spending choices based on careful consideration. They strive to stay on course and not deviate from the overall spending plan however if they do, they do it more deliberately since an unexpected really good buy might be spotted and can be a fun surprise!

So sharpen your pencil or whip out your Couponizer pen and get going with creating a meticulous shopping list today! Then go shopping and stay focused or do not deviate unless deliberately so you checkout with confidence and reap the intended savings.

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