Old-Fashioned Couponing vs. Coupon Blogs

Stores offer coupons to entice consumers into shopping at their establishments rather than at their competitors'. If a store regularly offers its shoppers store coupons, it will most likely gain more loyal customers than a store that doesn't. Not only do some stores offer their own coupons, but they'll often accept their competitors' coupons so they don't lose any of their regular shoppers.

In a recent survey conducted by CouponDivas.com, of the over 10,000 couponers that responded, 46% say they spend approximately two to three hours a week or more making their shopping lists, going through weekly sale ads, finding coupons to match the sale items and gathering coupons from the Sunday paper, as well as searching the Internet for additional printable coupons from sites like Coupons.com, Smart Source, Coupon Network, Red Plum and manufacturer websites.

This time can be cut down significantly by using the many online resources available today. Blogs with names such as FabulesslyFrugal.com, CouponDivas.com, CouponMom.com and TheKrazyCouponLady.com make it even easier for you to shop at your favorite stores by matching the sale items from the weekly circulars to the available coupons, and providing store-specific shopping strategies to save you the most money.

"It only takes a few minutes to make a list for shopping with coupons if you use a coupon blog that matches all the store deals for you," says Monica Knight and Cathy Yoder, creators of FabulesslyFrugal.com.

Savings Technology

Grocery Savings applications for smartphones are a growing market. You can use applications such as Grocery Gadget Shopping List, ShopShop, and SplashShopper with prices ranging from free to $8, to save with features like predictive search, grocery lists and barcode scanning.

Savvy Penny, a Florida based company, provides a unique grocery money-saving tool to customers. "Our system is completely paperless and all consumer interaction takes places at the store," says Marianna Quintana, marketing and business development director. "Consumers select the coupons right where they buy the products."

Touch screens are set up around the store that allow you to pick and choose your coupons. When you go to check out, you simply identify yourself with the last four digits of your phone number and the savings show up on your receipt. "The mobile number is only used to identify the customer and make sure she gets the coupons she selected. There is no application to download to your phones, nor codes to scan on the screen," says Quintana.

Savvy Penny's service is now only available in South Florida, but it has plans to expand nationwide.

Hot Tips for Smart Shopping

Beyond coupons, there are many ways to save on groceries. Kitty Rosu, creator of CouponDivas.com, offered the following tips:

o. Shop Once a Week: This is really important because, let's face it, each time we head into the grocery store, we are tempted to throw in a "few extras." If you're going to the grocery store every other day, these extras can really throw off your budget, no matter how good you are with the coupons and sale items.

o. Plan Your Meals: Make a weekly menu of what you want to make each day. Try to plan meals around weekly sale items and what you may already have in your cupboards and freezer, and you're sure to cut your grocery bill.

o. Make a List: Just as important for the college student as it is for a mom. Take time to write down the things you really need in order to eat for the week.

o. Local Sales Ad Alerts: It's always a good idea to sign up for your local grocery store e-mail newsletter so you get alerts on the sales ad each week and special sales.

o. Buy Items On Sale: Making your meal plans and snacks around items that are on sale is a great way to save money. Combine a sale item with a coupon and you're on a roll.

o. Invest in a Freezer: Having an extra freezer comes in handy for stocking up when there's a great sale on meats, veggies or even milk. It's worth the investment.

o. Buy in Bulk and Divide: There are many items that you can save money on by buying in bulk. All you have to do is divide the bulk purchase up into portions and freeze them for individual meals. An investment in a simple vacuum sealing machine for foods really comes in handy.

o. Leftovers, Leftovers, Leftovers: Try cooking a larger meal and then making something with the leftovers. You could make a pork roast on Sunday, for example, shred up the leftovers and have great meat for enchiladas on Monday.

o. Be Kind to Cashiers: According to Rosu, many consumers have reported problems at checkout with aggravated sales associates. "I have not personally run into this issue, but would recommend being as pleasant as possible, have your coupons organized and carry a copy of your store's coupon policy with you just in case."

The bottom line: Take full advantage of the online grocery savings resources available to you, and make the most of your money by planning ahead.

The Savings Challenge: Brand Name vs. Remanufactured Toner

Buying remanufactured toner cartridges are an environmentally friendly way to recycle your cartridges and get more prints.

First, the cartridge is completely disassembled and every part of the cartridge is cleaned and inspected for damage. After replacing the parts that are damaged or worn, the cartridge is reassembled and filled to capacity with toner specific to your cartridge requirements.

"Most people's biggest concern is that they don't get the real amount of toner," says Volker Loeper, owner of Cartridge World San Jose. "It's baloney. We often fill the cartridge to a higher level then the original."

Although the environmental benefits of buying remanufactured cartridges are unmatched, prices vary by product and seller, and are sometimes higher than the brand name retailers.

The HP 85A LaserJet Black Toner Print Cartridge, a toner that yields about 1,600 pages is available for $67.99 online at Staples, Office Depot and Office Max. The remanufactured version of this cartridge is available online ranging from $17.99 at colortonerexpert.com to $79.99 at inkcloners.com.

Whether you prefer to stick with your brand name cartridge or go green with a remanufactured cartridge, you can get the best deal by logging off the Internet and going into the store.

"When you buy local, you can negotiate and get better deals," says Loeper. "Almost every cartridge retailer I know offers discounts for students, teachers, and nonprofits."

Do-it-Yourself

If you're feeling brave, try refilling the toner yourself. Toner refill kits are available online and range in price from $12 to $15 depending on the yield of cartridge you are re-filling.

A typical kit Includes one bottle of toner, one pair of latex gloves, a plug (if applicable) and detailed instructions. According to ToneRRefillYourself.com, you can refill a cartridge up to three times without disturbing its performance. Brother toner cartridges can be refilled up to five times.

If you spill while refilling, be very careful with clean up. The tiny particles in printer toner create a static charge when vacuumed and can explode your vacuum bag.

You can remove toner from your skin with a harsh soap, but it will not come out of your clothes, so refill with caution.

Set the Right Tone with Draft Mode

Your printer toner should last about two months per cartridge. If it's running out after three weeks, set your printer to Draft Mode. That can cut cost-per-page can by half or more.

"If you are printing documents for your own reference, like homework or e-mails, put the printer into draft mode," says Loeper. "You will get a decent quality printout and save 60% of your toner."

Consumer Reports tested printers from Brother, Canon, Epson, HP, and Lexmark to see whether printing in Draft Mode saves money. They discovered that all the printers use less toner when printing in draft mode. They also print faster.

Draft Mode does not produce the highest quality printout but it may be good enough for your personal printing needs.

The Bottom Line

It's time to atone-r for your spending sins. Follow these tips and you'll never overpay for printer toner again.