Couponing101 - Part 5: Terms
Just joining the Couponing 101 series? Catch up here:
Everything goes on sale roughly every 13 weeks. The goal in buying things on sale, with coupons is to stock up on an item when it reaches your price point so that it lasts you 3-4 months.
You don’t want to buy things because you NEED them! You want to be able to go “shopping” in your stockpile and only purchase items when they are on super sale.
Jane4Girls has a great blog post on stockpiling.
Price Points
A price point what you’re willing to pay for an item.
For example, here are some of my price points:
I pay $0 for:
- shampoo/conditioner
- body wash/bar soap
- hand soap
- toothpaste/toothbrushes
- deodorant
- razors
- shaving cream
- candles/air freshener
- make-up
- Chex Mix
- Quaker rice cakes
- cleaning supplies (Windex, toilet cleaner, all-purpose cleaner, etc)
- cereal
I pay $0 - $.50 for:
- refridgerated dough (Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, Grands Biscuits)
- boxed pasta/rice
- frozen vegetables
- pasta sauce
- cake mix
- brownie mix
- cookie mix
- oatmeal
- laundry detergent
- dishwashing detergent
I only buy the following when they are more than 50% off:
- granola bars
- crackers
- tissues
- feminine hygiene products
- medicine
Price Book
It's often helpful when you first start couponing to use an excel spreadsheet to track what you pay for an item.
Write down every item you purchase, the size and the price. As you start recording your shopping trips, you’ll begin to get a better idea of what your “price points” are and when something on sale is actually a good deal. Eventually you won't need to record your shopping trips because you'll just know when you find a great sale!
You can find a Grocery Price Book template here or in the sidebar to the right.
As always, feel free to ask any question. I'll be hanging out in the comments section to talk deals and steals!
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