Time.
Now for stretching your dollar where we give you tangible
tips to help you make the most of your money.
And today we're talking all about the art of couponing and ways to
bring down your totals at the register as we navigate rising costs.
Joining me now, for how to get more of the best deals is Beverly Harz, a
personal finance and credit card expert for us News and World Report. Beverly.
Thank you for joining.
Thank you for having me. What are the best ways to take advantage of couponing?
You know,
one of the best ways to take advantage is to start
with a list before you go to the grocery store,
you wanna have a list and you wanna have all your coupons in order.
Now, there are a variety of ways that you could get coupons.
You know, if you want to engage in some extreme couponing,
there are many ways to do that.
There are so many uh apps that you can get for your phone.
There are so many websites such as coupon mom or crazy coupon lady that you know,
where you can get coupons there and you can combine your coupons.
Uh, and, and all you need to do really is to know the store that you're going to,
you need to know what their policies are with coupons.
You know, can you, uh, use two coupons when you get, you buy one and get one free?
Can you use a coupon?
You know, for both of those, uh, you know, the,
the most important thing to do is to stay
organized and when you get to the checkout line,
you need to have your coupons in order and you
need to know which ones go with which product?
Yeah, that always helps me. Right.
With any personal finance topic,
I guess really anything in life organization does seem to
make the process go smoother and seems to help.
At least, I think with some of the anxiety
I do see here, social media probably no surprise.
I think bringing back kind of the crazy couponing if you will.
I know you mentioned a few sites,
there are blogs Beverly just how real is this craze and what are
some of the biggest amounts that you can take home when couponing?
You know, you can really save a lot of money.
You know, I know of people who have saved thousands of dollars every year.
You know, when they really get into extreme couponing and like anything else,
if you put a little effort into your couponing, you're gonna save a little.
But if you want to get into extreme couponing and it does take a lot of time,
you're gonna save a lot.
So if you're dedicated to saving a lot of, you know,
you are gonna have to spend some time on this.
But, you know, as I mentioned,
there are so many ways to save this way and so many different coupons,
so many different places to go online.
There are multiple websites, you know, such as retail me, not,
uh, coupons dot com. Many websites where you can get
uh you know, coupons.
And one thing I do, you know,
I used to always forget to use my coupon when I got to the checkout.
So now I wrap my coupons if it's a paper coupon around my credit card and I use a cash
back credit card. So I get rewards on groceries.
So I try to double my uh my profit there.
I think groceries are, you know, the key take away. We got to eat right to survive.
And especially in, in this inflationary environment,
there's been just so much focus that it's,
it's the basic essentials that people are spending extra on just to get by.
I want to ask about credit card and cash back offers. Beverly.
How does this fit into that? And can real money be saved there?
Oh, yes, you can save a lot of money.
I use the cash back credit card every time I go grocery shopping
and one of my cards gives me up to 6% cash back on groceries.
So, you know, you have to understand your rewards program.
You have to use the right credit card at the right time.
So be sure that you you're ready with that credit card.
You know, when you go to the grocery store,
uh mini cash back cards also come with other type of rewards.
You know, we've got such terrible inflation.
So many people living paycheck to paycheck.
So save at the grocery store with your cash back cards.
But also know what other rewards you get with that credit card,
you might get gas purchases or
you know, online shopping.
So know what your rewards are and that way you can save
on groceries and on other items to really help your cash flow.
Let's talk about store credit cards. I know oftentimes you walk into a store
really any time, right?
And they kind of try to sell you on
their store credit card looped into a rewards program.
What are our viewers need to know about those options?
Well, a store credit card,
it can be good if it's a store where you shop all the time. Ok.
The problem with the store credit cards is that they tend to have, you know,
small credit limits
and very high APR S you never want to carry a balance with a store credit card.
Now, some stores especially grocery stores also have rewards programs.
You know, I'm in a rewards program. With one of the stores that I go to
and I use my rewards to
get discounts on gas. I'll buy my gas there as well. So,
you know,
look at the rewards programs and see how you can use them to help you save money,
not just on groceries, but in some other areas as well.
What about tips for digital couponing? Beverly? What do people need to know?
And does it make sense to use those?
Sometimes,
I'm sure people should check whether they can get more
money with those digital coupons in store or online.
Yes, that's a great question.
And what I would recommend is doing both, you know,
print coupons really come through those Sunday papers and it could actually be fun,
you know, like looking for treasure.
Uh, but you also want to get into digital couponing with real extreme couponing.
You're gonna stack your coupons,
you're gonna get coupons from many different areas.
And it might also help, you know, if you take a, you know,
just a pen and a pad to the store
with you because sometimes you have to make decisions,
you know, at the, at that moment,
suddenly something's on sale check and see if you have a coupon for that
as well and see if the store will let you get the store discount,
plus the manufacturer's coupon.
And sometimes you can't,
never hurts to ask. Never hurts to ask. Right. That's a great point.
Uh, Beverly Harz.
Personal financing, credit card expert for us News and World Report. Beverly.
Thank you.