National Coupon Month

My Two Cents: 

National Coupon Month

It was more than the birth of a new savings tool, it was the birth of a revolutionary way of life! In 1886, John Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist who created the recipe for the syrup used to make Coca-Cola, distributed what was to be the first documented coupon – a free drink card to encourage everyday consumers to try the new drink.

According to recent research from the Promotion Marketing Association's (PMA) Coupon Council, today, 97 percent of all primary grocery shoppers now use coupons at the supermarket. Charles Brown, co-chairman of the PMA Coupon Council said, "Consumers love coupons — they are a great way to economize, stretch the grocery budget and try new products for less than retail price."

Since that first handwritten Coca-Cola coupon in 1886, coupons have been used to save on everything and anything a shopper could possibly need. In 1998, the PMA designated September as National Coupon Month to “raise awareness to the deals and value coupons bring.” So, I guess my only question is, where are the $0.99 greeting cards and discounted presents? I mean, this is something to truly celebrate!  I’m moving for National Coupon Month to be designated as a federal holiday – no work, just shopping!

Coupon redemption rates are at historically high levels with more and more users changing their grocery shopping behaviors by implementing coupons to stretch their grocery budgets.  These consumers saved nearly $2 billion with coupons during the first half of 2010, says PMA, with manufacturers offering an increase of 18 billion more coupons during that time period. It’s interesting to note that in 2009, shoppers redeemed almost 3.2 billion coupons, the second largest increase in coupon redemption ever recorded, according to www.nationalcouponmonth.com.

History of Coupons:

In light of National Coupon Month, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the evolution of coupons through history. 

1886: Coupons are born! John Pemberton, a pharmacist from Atlanta, creates the recipe for the syrup used to make Coca-Cola and distributes free drink cards to people on the street encouraging them to try the new drink at a specific pharmacy.

1891: Asa Candler, the druggist who bought the formula for Coca-Cola for $2,300, arranges with pharmacies to direct mail account-specific coupons to customers for a free glass at the soda fountain.

1894: Coca-Cola converts their free coupon to the format most typical today — good anywhere the product is sold.

1895: C.W. Post distributes the first cents-off coupon worth 1 penny toward his new health cereal, Grape Nuts. (One penny? WOW! How many of you think you would have cut that coupon out? I hope all of you!)


1930s: Coupons become a staple in American households because of the Great Depression.

1965: Half of Americans are now coupon users.

1975: Coupon popularity continues to grow. Over 35 billion coupons are distributed and 65 percent of American households are now coupon clippers.

1999: Online coupons begin to gain popularity.

2008: 89 percent of consumers use coupons while shopping at the grocery store to save money during an economic period of price increases.

2009: $311 billion worth of coupons are distributed across America — the largest single-year distribution quantity ever recorded. Shoppers saved nearly $3.5 billion with coupons.

2010: Consumer packaged-goods coupon distribution and redemption (as of first half) continue to build on record-breaking growth trends of 2009. Consumer purchase behavior points to a permanent shift toward value and saving as the United States recovers from the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Source: www.nationalcouponmonth.com

Using coupons makes cents!  More than ever, shoppers need to be frugal in their grocery spending. Adding coupons to your shopping routine can literally shave hundreds of dollars off your monthly grocery bills and that adds up to thousands of dollars a year!

My Two Cents: Food Insurance

My Two Cents:  

Food Storage, an investment for the future!

I've always thought of my food storage as insurance. We all pay for car insurance, home insurance, health insurance, etc. So why not starvation insurance?

OK, sounds a little drastic I know, but investing in the physical well being of our families is just as important, yes, even more important than protecting any other belonging! In Jean De La Fontaine's 17th century version of the fabled grasshopper and the ant, an idle grasshopper squanders valuable time instead of preparing for the winter and undoubted storms of life. The provident ant, however, foresees the need to prepare and stores away a little food here and there as protection for harsher times. Of course, when winter is finally upon them, the grasshopper is woefully unprepared and left begging for sustenance from the ant's abundant storage of food. So, the ant pulls a few No. 10 cans of dehydrated corn off her self-rotating shelving system and cheerfully shares with her vulnerable insect friend. Oh wait, maybe that last bit wasn't quite part of the story. The grasshopper might have had to sing for her supper, but what if the ant hadn't stored any food either? Malnourished and faint they're both tongue-slapped by a fortuitous amphibian?

Food storage is an important part of investing in your future, not just physically, but also monetarily. Eating food today at last year's prices can often provide a significantly larger return on the money you invested to buy it than even IRAs, 401ks and money market accounts. With the cost of food increasing daily, shoppers must think today about what to buy for tomorrow. But, before you run to the store and clear the shelves, first you must assess your family's needs, determine storage options and create a spending plan.

What to buy, what to buy? There's obviously the basics like sugar, flour, salt, rice and wheat, to name a few. But how would your family do if they had to do without the meals they currently enjoy? In addition to storing the basics of sustainable life you should also purchase and store what you already eat. Make a list of family-favorite meals or snacks and separate them into ingredient and quantity lists. If you eat each meal once a week for example, simply add the quantities required to prepare each meal and multiply by 13, 26 or 52 and you'll know how much you'd need to store to eat it once a week for 3 months to a year!

But, before you buy 52 cans of family-sized soup, you should ask yourself, “Where do I store all this stuff, and once I buy it how do I rotate it?” It's great that you're thinking ahead and filling your pantry, but buying more than you need or have room to store doesn't work. If you're home or apartment doesn't give way to larger storage areas, make good use of closets, cupboards and even under the bed.

Get creative! Re-purpose household objects, like using a hanging cloth shoe organizer for spice storage and hang it on your pantry door. But don't buy more than your family can use before a product expires. Everything goes bad at some point. Letting food expire in the pantry is not only wasteful it's also very costly! Finally, develop a system for rotation, (I use the “stock new on the left, pull to use from the right” method), to keep old food from hiding on the back of your shelves waiting for the right time to bulge and explode.

So, now you need to allocate the funds to start building up your supplies. Don't think you can afford to start? How can you not! The good news is it has never cost so little to buy so much! You can easily cut your grocery bills in half or more by simply watching sales and matching coupons to those sales when possible.

Stocking up when prices are low saves you money when prices rise. But what if you don't know what a good deal is when you see it? I'll tell you in a weekly newsletter where you can find the BEST GROCERY DEALS in Utah County! The cost? Zilch, Nada, Zero ? It's FREE! To sign up for these free emails and for more ideas on how to make saving money easy, visit www.savvyshopperdeals.com, Utah's BEST source for savings!