25 JAN 2011 – Here it is, the long-awaited sequel to “My Older Sister, Coupon Guru: How it Began”.  After five excruciating days of anticipation (which qualifies for “long-awaited”, thanks very much), the Solvency Shark’s older sister gets into the nitty-gritty of saving serious cash at the grocery register.  She begins with a simple revelation:

 

“How couponing works:

 

1. The manufacturer makes and budgets for coupons.

2. The customer uses the coupon at a store.

3. The store gets reimbursed for that coupon by the manufacturer.”

 

Solvency Shark here.  Don’t feel guilty about using coupons!  Some lazy workers will try to discourage coupon use by grumbling about the extra work.  Shrug them off; it’s their job!  The way you see it, you work hard for your money and are simply attempting to preserve your gains.  They can work for their money, too, and shame if they’re not using coupons themselves!  Besides, you’re not hurting the grocery store’s bottom line by using coupons.  In fact, you’re probably generating extra revenue for them by purchasing more products!

 

Let’s get back to the lesson:

 

“How I use a coupon to get free and greatly reduced goods: match a sale item to a coupon.”

 

BOOM. Let that one marinate in your head for a second.  Just because coupons will save you money anytime you use them doesn’t mean you should use them anytime.  Clip the coupons you use regularly, file the rest and then prepare to use your coupons when they count the most.  Refer back to my older sister’s organization system if you need.

 

Here come the details, shark babies:

 

“Ok.  So my preferred grocery store (Harris Teeter) will double all coupons $0.99 and under EVERY DAY!  That means my coupons are worth twice as much at Harris Teeter than they are at Wal-mart.  Here’s an example: a coupon for $0.75 off is now worth $1.50 off at Harris Teeter.

 

“Now, Harris Teeter likes to run a bunch of Buy One Get One (BOGO) deals.  During this deal, you don't actually have to buy one to get one – you can just buy one at half price!  This is the best time to use a coupon that doubles because your item is already marked down 50%.  Major savings occur.

 

“Every month or so my store will run a coupon event, either Triples (coupons $0.99 and under are tripled) or Super Doubles (coupons $1.98 and under are doubled).  These are huge saver weeks for me.  Here are some examples of stuff I'll get at Harris Teeter the first week in January during Super Doubles*:

 

“I am going to get ‘Old Orchard Healthy Balance 100% Fruit Juice’ for my kids.  Although they’re normally priced at $2.95 a bottle, I’ll take them home for only $0.38 a pop.  How?

 

“Well, Harris Teeter put them on sale: when you buy two, you get three free.  That’s already a great deal!  But I have a coupon for $1.00 off one bottle.  Since I am buying two bottles to get three free, I am allowed to use a $1.00 off coupon on each bottle.  Each $1.00 coupon will double to $2.00 this week, which means I’ll get $4.00 off in coupons towards my $5.90 purchase.  I am basically paying $1.90 for five bottles of juice.  Sweet deal!  (Pun intended.)"

[Solvency Shark’s note: that pun was so bad it made my cheeks pucker.]

 

“I have stocked up on tons of toothpaste, body soap, nail clippers, floss, baby wipes and dish soap, and how much did I pay for them?  Nothing.  I just gave the store my coupons.  Here’s an example:

 

“‘Seventh Generation Dish Liquid’ (a green product) happens to be on sale for $1.99 during Harris Teeter’s Super Doubles.  When I hand the clerk my $1.00 off coupon, he doubles it to $2.00… which makes my item FREE!!!!”

 

Solvency Shark here.  Readersharks, can you see how coupons equal free money?  How if you don’t get a subscription to your Sunday newspaper and start clipping, you are declaring your hatred of thousand-dollar savings?  How these little colored slips of paper can save you all the green slips of paper you spend all week earning?!

 

Shark babies who are faint at heart should stop here.  Everybody else, hang on.  My older sister is about to blow our gills wide open with this next bit:

 

“One more coupon revelation I had is this: you can use a manufacturer's coupon for multiple products.  Here’s an example:

 

“I use cloth diapers for both my kids, so my coupons for disposable diapers went unused until I realized I could use the disposable diaper coupons to purchase wipes made by the same manufacturer.  I just stuck to the same brand and made sure there was no "count" or size listed on the coupon (like 34-count or 16 oz.).

 

“Over the holidays, I used an organic eggnog coupon to buy organic milk from the same company.  I also don't use Johnson's baby powder, so I used that coupon for Johnson's baby soap instead.

 

“Happy Couponing and good luck!

 – the Solvency Shark’s Older Sister.”

Please read this a few times until you understand it.  Then get on Southern Savers or a comparable website, register to receive e-mails from your grocery store, and get a subscription to your newspaper!  Coupons are absolutely ridiculous and with minimal effort they can save you thousands of dollars each year.  If you still aren’t convinced, take a look at these extreme examples.  Then get out there & save some loot!

 

Live well, live well within your means, and remember – that’s how the Solvency Shark seas it!

*UPDATE: My older sister recently took advantage of Harris Teeter’s early January Super Doubles (5-11 JAN).  Her haul?  $202.29.  She paid?  $63.50!!  That’s a savings of nearly 70%!  To be in the know, head to Southern Savers and click on “Harris Teeter”, then click on “Harris Teeter Super Doubles”.

20 JAN 2011 – Huge post here, shark babies.  Remember when I told you that coupons equal free money?  I learned that from my older sister.  In this post and the next, she has kindly agreed to share some of the smarts she used over the past year to save almost $5,000 at the grocery store.

 

* * *

 

Solvency Shark: What first attracted you to coupons?

 

My Older Sister: In September 2009, my husband and I decided to rewrite our budget to become debt free.  In order to do so, we needed to cut costs.

 

The only place we could cut was at the grocery store.  I stopped shopping at our nice grocery store and switched to the gross Wal-Mart in our country town.  We gave ourselves $100 a week to feed a family of four.  Just to put it into perspective: I had that budget for myself in college twelve years ago, but instead of just groceries, I had to include household goods now also.  

 

My husband and I both lost weight when we enforced this budget and by December we were looking for ways to get more at the store.  What further motivated us was that we were a single-income family and my husband's company was announcing layoffs the next month.  Coupons allowed us to purchase more with less during a time of uncertainty.

 

SS: Once you became interested in coupons, what did you do to learn about them?

 

MOS: Everyone told me I needed to coupon, but I found that if I used a coupon for 50¢ off I would still pay more than the house brand, so it seemed useless. 

 

Then I found someone who taught coupon classes for free, so I went and took her hour-long class.  She taught us the basics of how people save tons of money and get free stuff with coupons.  The best part: I could shop at my favorite grocery store again! 

 

She passed out a few flyers about different websites that help you match the grocery store sale items with coupons available both in the Sunday paper and online.  It wasn't until a month later that my friend introduced me to my absolute favorite website: Southern Savers.  A nurse turned stay-at-home mom of three puts the site together very nicely and it's super easy to use.

 

SS: I notice you mentioned a website and the paper.  Can you elaborate on the sources you use to collect coupons?

 

MOS: I have a double subscription to our local Sunday newspaper (I bought both at half-price!).  I also print coupons online for products I use on a regular basis, like organic dairy products and green cleaners, and when something goes on sale I print a coupon through a link on Southern Savers.

 

SS: How do you organize your coupons so that you’re not wasting time at the grocery store?

 

MOS: I tried the binder system but that ends up being too much of a pain and not very effective.  [Solvency Shark’s note: this system calls for housing coupons in a three-ring binder filled with pre-labeled nine-pocket trading card protectors.] 

 

Now, I use a very simple system that you can find on Southern Savers.  Every Sunday, I peruse my new coupon booklets (SmartSource, RedPlum, P&G) and cut coupons into three separate envelopes: coupons I will use now, coupons for Harris Teeter triples and coupons for Harris Teeter doubles*. 

 

The coupons I don’t use stay unclipped in their booklet dated by the Sunday newspaper it belongs to and filed into an accordion file.  I don't even think about any of those coupons unless Southern Savers tells me to clip it.  Every Wednesday, my grocery store comes out with new sales.  I check the Southern Savers website for the sales I like and make my shopping list on their website.  Then I add anything else I might need that maybe wasn't on sale and print my list.

 

Now my shopping list has everything I need to buy at the store and where to find the corresponding coupon.  I just pull out my accordion file, pull out the appropriate booklet from the appropriate date and clip!  After cutting my coupons, I organize them by store aisle for easy shopping**.  When I go to the grocery store I take my printed list, coupons and a calculator to total my groceries as I go (to stay under budget). 

 

Just to be totally sure I won’t go over budget, I only take as much cash as I intend to spend.

 

SS: What advice do you have for people who are just starting to coupon or who are just now becoming interested in coupons?

 

MOS: Get a paper and find a website!  Keep it simple.  You can't coupon till you have coupons, so start building up a library now.  When you’re ready to dive in, you'll have everything you need. 

 

Also, don't cut a coupon you aren't going to use immediately.  Instead, cut it when it goes on sale (you'll know because your website will tell you).  Do all your planning in advance: make a list, cut and organize your coupons, then shop.  Taking your entire organization system to the grocery store will only cause frustration and means you haven’t prepared enough. 

 

Don't be afraid to try.  It's free money!  And it's okay if the coupon doesn't work – just say, "Please take that item off.  I only wanted it because of the coupon."  Most stores don't mind at all!

 

SS: How much do you think you've saved using coupons?

 

MOS: If I don't save as much as I spend, I'm pretty bummed.  On a good week when my grocery store has a big couponing event like Harris Teeter Triples or Super Doubles, I will spend $100 and save $300.  All in all in 2010, I saved nearly $5,000!

 

* * *

 

Solvency Shark here saying thanks to my older sister!  I’m also asking you to stay tuned for my next article.  In it, my older sister gives us some in-depth tips and tricks about how to coupon our way to financial freedom.

 

Live well, live well within your means, and remember – that’s how the Solvency Shark seas it!

*NOTE: If Harris Teeter is not your preferred grocery store or simply unavailable in your area, Southern Savers also features deals for Bi-Lo, Kroger, Publix, Target, CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens, among others.
 

**NOTE: Pictured above.

15 JAN 2011 – The Solvency Shark saw a commercial recently for a loan company called “Western Sky Financial”.  I perked up when an American Indian claimed he could put $2,500 in my bank account overnight.  When he argued that his loans weren’t cheap but better than payday lenders, I had to investigate.

 

I went to their homepage and started an application to see how much information they were collecting.  They want your home state, full name, contact information, date of birth, driver’s license number, home address, Social Security number, place of employment, pay schedule, whether or not you have direct deposit, monthly income, monthly expenses, references and your reason for taking out the loan.

 

I’ve never applied for a loan before, so these intrusions may be par for the course, but giving that much personal information over the internet makes me uncomfortable even if I’m not already suspicious.  The last step in the process, awesomely enough, is to “explain in one sentence what makes you a good credit risk for this loan.”

 

Still, I can’t pin these guys down.  The cheap commercial leading to the cheap website with an invasive application certainly screams “scam”, but they throw me for a loop when they explain candidly just how ferociously they’re going to tear my face off with interest.  The guy in the commercial isn’t lying when he says, “Yes, it’s expensive”:

 

They offer a $1,500 loan at 194.7% APR that comes with a $500 “Loan Fee”.  Just in case you’re wondering, the complex, technical, financial term for a loan that comes with 200% interest and a 33% fee is “biggidy-bonkers”.  The payback scheme is more mind-blowing still: $166.95 per month for two years for a grand total of $4,006.80. You get $1,000 quick and lose $4,000 slowly.  “Yes, it’s expensive”.

 

They also offer a $2,600 loan at 139.34% APR that comes with a $75 “Loan Fee”.  That’s pretty schweet, right?  You’re probably thinking, “Hey, at the higher lending level, the interest is cut nearly in third and the fee, well, the fee is practically reasonable!”  Hang on a second, though, because here comes the “ka-BOWzer!” moment: the payback scheme is $298.94 per month for three years for a grand total of $10,761.84.  “Ah-WOO-gah!” is the sound effect your eyes make as they pop out of your head.  “Ah-WOO-gah!”  You get $2,500 quick and lose $11,000 slowly.  “Yes, it’s expensive”.

 

How could Western Sky Financial’s loan service not be as bad as payday lenders?  It’s clear the consumer gets a raw deal, but what still messes me up is that they tell you all this stuff upfront!  It’s as if they only care to attract those people who are so bleeding desperate they have no choice but to agree!  They even warn you frankly that you may not qualify for the best rates (as if 195% APR is the “best” rate) or how Western Sky “reserves the right to change the rates and loan products listed below without notice.”

 

Their terms of use are equally blunt: “All borrowers must consent to be bound to the jurisdiction of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Court, and further agree that no other state or federal law or regulation shall apply to this Loan Agreement, its enforcement or interpretation.”  Shkiggidy-ba-blamzoid!!  Since the business operates in a sovereign nation that exists within our own, you can’t get help from either your state or the USA if you end up having beef.

 

Pass the scam pipe, Robs-Me-Blind.

Live well, live well within your means, and remember - that's how the Solvency Shark seas it!

10 JAN 2011 – Today on Marketplace, I ran into Jonathan Blaustein’s “The Value of a Dollar Project” in which he photographs $1 worth of different kinds of food. Blaustein’s message isn’t surprising – unhealthy foods are cheaper than healthy ones – but the visual aspect of his project raises an important issue: budgeting at the grocery store.

 

The first photo features an organic grapefruit from a natural grocer. It has a firm, yellow complexion that looks appetizing, but it’s noticeably alone. The next photograph shows four grapefruit from the discount grocer – a great deal! – except they’re dim, bruised and maybe even freezer-burned. As if to drive home the cost of good produce, the last photo features ten organic blueberries. Ten! Americans can barely afford a mouthful of healthy food for $1! We can only conclude that our country is in desperate need of cheap vitamin sources. 

 

On the other hand, Blaustein points out that we can afford to fill up on unhealthy food, featuring an unshapely double cheeseburger from a fast food joint, four candy necklaces and three lopsided lumps of what is captioned as “potted meat food product”. Potted? That sounds like some kind of bizarro plant from the local nursery that drinks bile and feeds on stink! Nevertheless, if you’re strapped for cash and only have $1 to stop your belly hurting, your only choices are these unfortunate sources of carbohydrates and protein.

 

Granted, the disparity in prices between healthy and unhealthy foods is alarming, but it is what it is. To adapt, we need to get smart about making our food dollars stretch. One way to do that is to allot more money in your monthly budget for food. It’s a common sense approach that’s easier said then done. Try shaving money from non-essential areas and dump them into your food category; you’ll be happy when the avocados you use to make guacamole are actually semi-firm and ripe rather than mushy and blackened.

 

Next, use coupons whenever and wherever you can on everyday items like detergent, cheese and cereal so that you can apply those savings to quality produce. Get a subscription to your newspaper, learn about deals online, and seize the day on double and triple coupon days. If you manage to get two boxes of cereal for free, you’ll be able to pick up some good produce and still stay under budget.

 

Be smart & budget well. Otherwise, it’s “potted meat food product” for you. Bleh!

Live well, live well within your means, and remember – that’s how the Solvency Shark seas it!

5 JAN 2011 – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports that scammers are now using their name to legitimize their fraudulent activity. Here’s a scenario you may encounter:

 

You get a phone call from either the FTC or a number that shows the “202” Washington, DC area code. When you answer, you hear something along the lines of “Hello, my name is Ed Johnson, and I am calling from the Federal Trade Commission to tell you that you have won $100,000”. 

 

Schweet! All you need to do now is pay “Ed Johnson” between $1,000 and $10,000 to cover the cost of taxes, insurance, or shipping and handling fees. He accepts Western Union, an overnight check, or an overnight money order. You pop on down to the local money shop and post the cash straightaway, then step back and rub your hands together like Scrooge McDuck.

 

“Ed Johnson” gets the cash, rubs his hands together like Scrooge McDuck and calls another sucker. You just got scammed – and here’s how:

 

First, he used what the FTC calls “Internet technology” to fake the phone number. Next, he gave you a name that was either made up or stolen from an unsuspecting FTC employee. Finally, after your own joy has blinded you to his finishing move, he feeds you some gobbledy-gook about fees and asks you to send money quickly so that you don’t realize you’ve been had until after he’s put your money in his pocket.

 

In reality, the FTC will NEVER collect money directly from American consumers (see: taxes, income); their job is to PREVENT fraud, not create it. And in common sense terms, why would the FTC ever call somebody to tell them they’ve won some type of lottery sweepstakes?! This is the federal government of the United States we’re talking about here, not Ed McMahon!

 

Don’t be surprised if your initial rebuff is met with additional phone calls or faxes insisting that you’ve really won. Scammers make fraudulent phone calls all the time – even to the Solvency Shark himself. Recognize the scam, reject it, then direct your browser to the FTC’s complaint board and report your experience. Include the date and time of the incident, which bogus name they used, how much they asked you to pay for it, how they wanted the cash to be sent and anything else that seems relevant.

Live well, live well within your means, and remember – that’s how the Solvency Shark seas it!

P.S. That photo is awesome, isn't it?!  The presumably Nigerian man's sign reads: "I am not a scammer".  Priceless.