Getting Started

If you are new to Mrs. Moneysaver and the art of money saving, I understand that it can be a bit overwhelming just getting started.  Here are some of the most frequently asked questions and the answers to help.

Can anybody save money using the tips you share?

Yes!  Anyone can use the tips shared here to save money.  No need to be a financial genius or spend hours a day devising your shopping strategies.  I’ve done most of the work for you by providing coupon match-ups and deals.  Your job?  Just clip the coupons you need and take advantage of the deals shared.  And I guarantee that the longer you do it, the less time it will take.

What do all of the abbreviations you use stand for?

In order to save time and website space, I use abbreviations and “frugal vocab” in my posts quite a bit.  Here are some of the most frequently used:

• Inserts- The stacks of coupons found in most Sunday newspapers.
• 5/17, 6/9, etc.- The date a coupon was found in the Sunday insert.  For example- a “6/7 insert” lets you know that a coupon was in the paper on June 7th.  If no year is given, it is assumed to be the current year.
• RP- Red Plum, a Sunday newspaper coupon distribution company
• SS- Smart Source, a Sunday newspaper coupon distribution company
• PG- The coupon insert distributed by Proctor & Gamble, typically once a month
• $1/2, $1/1, $2/1, etc.- The value of a coupon and the quantity of items needed to redeem.  The first number (the dollar amount), is the face value of the coupon.  The second number is the number of items you need to purchase in a single transaction in order to receive the coupon discount.  For example- $1/3 lets you know that you must purchase three of the listed items in order to receive $1 off at checkout.
• B1G1- Buy one, get one free deal
• ECBs- Extra Care Bucks, part of shopping the bargains at CVS.  See below for more information.
• Overage- After using a coupon on an item, you will occasionally make a “profit”, whether in actual cash, Extra Care Bucks, or some other form of store compensation.  For example, if you buy a product that is priced at $1.50, but the coupon is for $2 off, you may be able to make 50 cents “overage”.  Not all stores allow for overage.  Check your local store’s coupon policy.
• Home mailer- Snail mail sent by a company to your home address
• Printable coupon- A coupon that you print from your home computer
• Tearpad- ”Notepads” of coupons found in stores.  The tearpads are typically found near the item the coupon is to be redeemed for.  You simply just tear off the coupon from the pad and give it to the cashier at checkout.  (If I see a tearpad, I almost always take a coupon or two from it, even if I do not plan to use it on that shopping trip.  You never know when you may be able to use the coupon on a future sale or at another store.)
• Peelie- Coupon ”taped” to a product package in the store.  Usually good for a discount on that specific item.

Where do you get your coupons?

I get coupons from a variety of sources, including the Sunday newspaper, internet, home mailers, and tearpads.  For more information on where to find coupons, click here.

How come the coupons you list from the Sunday papers are sometimes different than the coupons I received?

Coupons may vary a little from newspaper to newspaper.  Sometimes, one paper may get a coupon for a particular item, and another paper will not receive that coupon.  At other times, one paper may offer a coupon with a face value of 50 cents off, while another paper gets 75 cents off.  Most of the time the coupons are very consistent, but there are times when the coupon I share may not be the exact same as the coupon you received.  When writing coupon match-up posts, I typically use the coupon that was most widely released or that I received.

What is the best way to organize my coupons?

There’s no right or wrong way to organize coupons.  It’s completely preference based, depending on how you shop.  I personally sort my coupons roughly by grocery type and store aisle.  Click here for organization ideas and to see how I currently keep my coupons in order.

What is “stockpiling” and how do you use this method to save money?

I’ve found that stocking up on essential grocery and household  items when the prices are at their lowest saves my family quite a bit of money each year.  For more information on stockpiling, click here.

I want to start shopping the bargains at CVS.  How do I get started?

More information on CVSing here and here.

More questions?  Contact me.