In the last issue of hoarding basics, we learn how to create a space for the items you use on a daily basis. Now, let’s learn how to stockpile items and actually make money doing it.
The first thing you need to get into the habit of doing is going through your Sunday newspaper and saving the coupon inserts. The biggest ones to look for are called Redplum (RP), P&G (proctor and gamble) and Smart Saver (SS). Mint magazine is also great for goods and services coupons like oil changes and restaurant discounts. Find a local paper that carries all of them if you can and get yourself a three ring binder and some cheap clear plastic page holders and stick a couple dozen in there. See if you can find the page holders with a tab on them and you can organize them by date. Any coupons you find for places like Sears, Office Max and other places you can also store in your binder by date. Organization by date is crucial as it can be overwhelming to try and remember what coupons you have.Other places already do that for you on the Internet, so why make your head swim.
The next thing you need to do is to check out websites that track coupon deals for you. Two good ones are over at http://www.couponmom.com and http://hotcouponworld.com . Registration is free at both websites, although couponmom.com will make you jump through some hoops to do it. Just click skip or nextwhen prompted to do so on each if presented with signups for freebies. What you want to connect with are their coupon databases, which contain lists of coupons for each insert. It’s also useful to browse their forums for other tidbits from time to time on which deals are available in specific stores. Sometimes deals pop up that you can take advantage of if you know about it before anyone else does, and this is a great way to do it. Another great blog is at http://commonsensewithmoney.com, which lists great deals from places like CVS and Walgreens. There is also a website called thegrocerygame.com which will track specific grocery stores that you shop at. It also helps you keep track of coupons and when to use them to get the maximum benefit out of each one, but thegrocerygame.com is a pay service. Personally, I don’t use it but I hear good things from those who do.
Now, here’s the meat of how to do this: As items go on sale, buy them using your coupons. Simple. Look for in-store coupons which will allow you to stack other coupons in conjunction with them, such as the store level coupons at stores like CVS, Walgreens, Target, Sears, JC Pennies, Walmart, Pep Boys, etc.. Even if you don’t need the items right away, if it’s at a good price (or free) then go ahead and buy it and stockpile it in your hoard stash. With the grocery stores, watch out for in-store coupons in the circulars that specifically state “do not double” or “do not stack,” or language which would indicate that you can’t use them in conjunction with manufacturer’s coupons. If the store won’t let you use a manufacturers coupon in conjunction with the purchase, skip that store unless the item is basically free.
To make money:There’s two ways to get paid to buy items you use every day. The first is to participate in special programs at Walgreens and CVS. CVS has a special card called an ECB card(Extra Care card) that’s free to sign up for. Walgreens has two programs called Register Rewards and Easy Saver. Here’s how they work:
CVS: CVS offers it’s customers ECB’s (extra care bucks) when you use your ECB card for certain purchases. When you buy something at CVS that qualifies for ECB’s, you’ll get your Extra Care Bucks back on your recipt which work like a store credit for future purchases at CVS. You’ll see in the weekly Sunday paper the flyers for items which qualify every week for ECB’s, and when you see deals that pay you back full price in ECB’s, it’s like THEY PAY YOU for purchasing those items. For example, toothpaste might go on sale at CVS one week for $2.99, with $2.99 back in ECB’s. You buy the toothpaste and they give you $2.99 in ECB’s on your receipt to use on a future purchase. In essence, you just got the toothpaste for free.
Now, here’s how to make money from it. If you have a manufacturer’s coupon for the item, then you can apply that coupon right along with your purchase. Have the cashier scan your card, scan the item so you’ll get back your ECB’s, and then hand the cashier your coupon. The coupon will subtract from the purchase amount, not from the ECB’s you get back. So, say that same tube of toothpaste has a coupon for $1.00 off in your Sunday paper. You give the cashier your CVS card, you hand them the toothpaste and they scan it, then you give them the $1.00 off coupon. You pay $1.99 and get back $2.99 in ECB’s, and you’ve just made $1.00 profit. Congratulations, CVS just paid you to buy toothpaste plus you’ve earned a $1.00 in overage.
For Walgreens: Walgreens works in a similar way except they have no discount card. With Walgreens, look for items in your Sunday circular that qualify for Register Rewards or for the Easysaver program. Register rewards are like an instant credit on items very similar to CVS’s Extra Care Bucks. When you buy something that qualifies for Register Rewards at Walgreens, you purchase it and get back those register rewards on your receipt for use on a future purchase. Say you purchase some aftershave for $5 and you get back $5 in Register Rewards for purchasing it now, you break even by getting back $5 towards a future purchase. Use a coupon, and they pay you to buy it. Often, Walgreens also has store level coupons in their flyer that you can use in conjunction with manufacturers coupons. This is called COUPON STACKING and can really save or earn you some money. Let’s go back to our example, the aftershave is $5, you get back $5 in register rewards. Let’s say there’s a $1.00 coupon in Redplum for that aftershave and a store level coupon in the Walgreens circular for $.50 cents off. You buy the item from the cashier for the Register Rewards, you scan the store level coupon and then the manufacturers coupon for an extra $1.50 off the purchase price, and get back $5 in Register Rewards on your receipt. Congratulations, You’ve just been paid by Walgreens to purchase the aftershave a whole $1.50.
Walgreens also has a program called EasySaver, which is free to register for. Walgreens publishes an EasySaver catalog once a month that you can pick up inside any Walgreens store or find on their website. It contains a list of products that qualify for rebates directly from Walgreens. As you purchase items in the EasySaver catalog, you can submit your recipts for the rebate by the end of the month and Walgreens will send you a check for the rebates. You can submit them online at Walgreens.com or by mail. Often, these items go on sale in the store during the month, so watch the weekly circulars for when they go on sale. Use your coupons in conjunction with them and get even more cash back from Walgreens. You can set up one EasySaver account per physical mailing address.
Use commonsensewithmoney.com to help you keep track of CVS and Walgreens.
The second way to make money is by taking all of the free stuff in your stash and getting together with your friends, family and co-workers for a little bargain shopping. If you have friends that also hoard items, there’s no reason why you can’t offer them some of the items in your stash at a severely discounted price. Consider getting together with your friends and family once or twice a year for a little sell off, and purchase items from them at a discount to replenish each other’s stockpiles.
Note: The individual stores will have limits on purchases, so please don’t go crazy and abuse their policies. They are offering their items at a discount to you as a service, and their policies and limits must be observed and respected. There’s nothing that says your individual family members can’t have their own individual purchases, but don’t expect that you can walk out of a store, then walk back in, and immediately make another purchase. Be kind, and sensible, and treat the clerks and managers with respect.
Tip: Scan store level coupons first, then manufacturers coupons. Do not exceed the purchase price with your coupons and you won’t beep at the checkout line. Same with Register Rewards and ECB’s, don’t exceed the purchase price when using them and you won’t beep. If you do, you’ll need to purchase additional small items until you break even (or as close to it as possible). The cash registers won’t let you come out a negative amount, nor will they give you your change back in ECB’s or Register Rewards.
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