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.

RECIPE from Amy