This is a special guest post series by my friend Holly of iGoBOGO, When You Rise Up, and Food Allergy Cooking.
You can read the other posts in this series here:
Saving Money on Groceries for Busy Homeschool Families
Can You Eat Low Carb, Low Sodium, and Low Sugar on a Budget?
How to Stockpile with Drugstore Coupon Shopping,
and Coupon Shopping at The Dollar Tree.
This past week I saw someone ask a question in Jamerrill’s Affording the Homeschool Life Facebook group, and I thought it would be a great topic to address this week. Here’s the Question:
Short Answer: Yes, Absolutely!
Here’s the long answer and a little more details about how to do it:
Firstly I will say that couponing for non-food items is not for everyone. For example, if you make your own cleaners, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, Laundry Detergent and everything else then you won’t be able to save money by couponing on those items. If that sounds like you then you are already likely saving by buying your raw ingredients in bulk.
However, if you are someone who either makes some of your own products and purchases some then YES you can absolutely save money by couponing for non-food items. Yes, even if you only buy organic and natural products. We all know about buying our favorite products when they are on sale and stocking up when the price is low, but add in a few coupons and the savings can skyrocket.
We’ve already talked about couponing and stockpiling at the Drugstores. This is the best way to save on non-food items. You can literally get FREE toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, etc each week. It doesn’t really take that much time either. Here’s how to do it:
- First you need coupons. Buy a couple of Sunday papers each week, pull the coupons out, and then file them by date. DO NOT CLIP THEM. Not yet, anyway. (Time cost: 5 minutes not counting trip to store & back. Hopefully you can swing by a store with another errand)
- Choose the Drugstore you wish to shop and look at the Weekly Drugstore Coupon Matchups.
- Check off the items you wish to purchase and print any needed printable coupons. (Time Cost: 5 -7 minutes per store)
- Now…this is when you clip. Go through your list and see which date’s coupon inserts have the coupons you need. Go to the place you’ve filed your inserts, pull out the dates you need and clip ONLY the coupons you need to get the deals you’ve checked. (Time Cost: 15 minutes)
- Go Shopping! You can read this post about couponing and stockpiling at the Drugstores for more detailed instructions on each drugstore (Time Cost: Varies depending on your distance from the store. Hopefully you can combine with another errand).
Here’s an example of what I’d buy at Walgreens this week:
- Children’s Advil ($2.99 after coupon and sale)
- Crayons Pack (Free with Advil Purchase)
- 2 Packs of Bic Silky Touch Razors (Free after coupons and sale)
- Revlon Nail Polish (Free after coupon and sale)
- 2 Caress Bars Soap ($.29/each after coupon and sale)
- 3 – 24 pack of Nice! Purified bottled water ($1.99/each after sale)
- 3 Oral-B Dental Floss Pack ($.83/each after coupons, sale, and rewards)
- Organix Shampoo ($3.99 after coupon and sale for the new HUGE 19.5 oz bottles)
- Butterball Turkey Bacon ($.44 after coupon and sale)
Total for all that will only be about $17, and I’ll have $5 in rewards to roll over next week. Eliminating the bottled water & Organix shampoo would drop that significantly, but that’s a great stickup price on water and my favorite shampoo. That’s my Walgreens Scenario, but your can make your own with these Weekly Drugstore Coupon Matchups.
Hopefully this will help you decide if couponing and stockpiling for non-food items is right for you. If you have any questions please ask.
Holly is a Christian, homeschooler, blogger, coffee lover. She is wife to 1 awesome hunk & 6 little kiddos call her mommy. Oh, and she love to help people save money! You can find her online at iGoBOGO, When You Rise Up, and Food Allergy Cooking.
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Stickup Items are the best. 🙂