All You Magazine



Image of May issue.



In my last posting, I mentioned All You magazine.  If you have not seen this publication, it is a couponer's dream come true!  The magazine is available through limited sources.  The first is Wal-Mart, and the price is somewhere between $2.30 and $2.50 an issue.  Inside each issue are subscription cards (the irritating ones that fall out when you open the magazine) that allow a person to order the magazine for a year for $1.69 an issue (plus $ .30 for postage and handling).  However, if  you go to Amazon.com, you can get a two-year subscription to All You for $1.42 an issue. 



Index showing coupon product,
value, and location.



Each issue of All You is packed with coupons!  The May issue contains coupons valuing a total of $85.32!  What's more is that this magazine provides an index of the coupons which provides the product name, the value of the coupon, and the page of the magazine where the coupon is located!  How great is that?!?!?!?!



By the way, these coupons are good ones.  Some of the ones this month include $1.00 coupon for Advil or Thermacare, $1.00 coupon for Colgate MaxClean toothpaste, $1.00 coupon for Marie Callender's Bakes, and $1.00 coupon for White cloud Ultra Bathroom Tissue.

There are also coupons for clothing stores.  For example, the May issue contains a coupon for Catherines for $10 off on a purchase of $25 or more.  That's a 40% savings with just that coupon!!!!! 

Next time you go to Wal-Mart, take a look at the magazine.  You can easily find a copy on the racks close to the registers.  If you coupon, this magazine is a great tool!

Gang Cutting of Coupons

I just read an article about "gang cutting", which is a term that I had not heard before today.  Gang cutting occurs when many coupons are stacked and cut out at once.  Many times, people will purchase several copies of the Sunday paper in order to get multiple copies of the coupon inserts.  Some coupons gurus recommend the purchase of a Sunday paper for each member of the family.  Let's say there are five members in your family, so you have five papers that results in five copies of each coupon insert.  To save time in cutting out the coupons, people will separate the pages of the inserts and stack the like pages so that when one cuts out a particular coupon, the person is actually cutting out all copies of that coupon.  That process is considered to be gang cutting.


I have put the link to the article below, but the end result, according to the article, is that gang cutting of coupons that you then use at the store may result in the store not being reimbursed by the manufacturer for the cost of the coupons.  To still be able to use coupons and still have the store be reimbursed, coupons simply have to be cut individually.  Since reading that article, I have gone to some of the websites of coupon gurus.  Needless to say, there is a lot of debate as to whether or not the gang cutting issue is real.  I definitely do not have the answer

For most people, it will not be too much of a problem to cut coupons individually.  It will just take a little longer to get the coupons ready.  Please keep one thing in mind.  The stores where we use coupons are in our neighborhoods.  The people who work there may be our friends, neighbors, or relatives, and they work to make a living just like you and I do.  Thus, if cutting coupons individually instead of gang cutting them means that we are being supportive of the local stores, then do it.  Be generous.

Gang Cutting Article

Extreme Couponing - The TV Show

Although there have been some Extreme Couponing episodes on recently, last night was the series premiere of TLC's Extreme Couponing.  Although I am definitely one for couponing, the individuals on this show take their couponing mission to - well - the extreme! 

These individuals save tens of thousands of dollars, but they have turned their houses into mini-warehouses.  Am I faulting that?  Absolutely not!  Do I believe in stockpiling?  Yes!  In fact, I tend to be teased by the important people in my life about my stockpiling.  In the case of stockpiling, I firmly believe that you have to go with your comfort level.  With this economy and the strange things that are happening at times, I am thinking that my stockpile is looking a little low, and I need to remedy that situation.  Will I ever become an extreme couponer?  Probably not, even though it gives me a real high to know that I can legally get things for free that I once paid for.

One of the things that I did like about the series is that it shows the power of couponing. I remember my first coupon deal that I did after reading Kathy Spencer's book (see earlier posting).  Colgate Total toothpaste was on sale at Rite Aid.  I also had a coupon from the paper for $1.00 off.  On top of that, I ended up with a $2.00 +UP (For those of you who do not know what that is, it is a printout on the register receipt that can be used in place of cash on your next transaction at Rite Aid.).  As a result of those things, the toothpaste ended up being free, and the $.01 extra ended up being applied to another item that I purchased at the same time.  Since then, I have "purchased" more tubes of Colgate toothpaste for my stockpile, and all of the tubes have ended up being free.  I will never buy another tube of toothpaste!  Since that time, I have managed to get light bulbs, printer paper, snacks, and various other things for free! 

Another thing that I liked about the Extreme Couponing episodes is that some of the individuals share their stash with the less fortunate.  In one of the episodes, a gentleman purchased over 1100 boxes of cereal for a little over $150.  He then gave the cereal to the food bank at his church.  If you can get something for free, and you don't need it, then give it away to a shelter, organization, or to someone you know who will use it.  Be generous.

Couponing - you can do it too!  Just save those coupons and realize that you may not be able to use the coupons immediately, and you have to plan in order to use them efficiently.  If you choose not to coupon, then give your coupons to a friend or relative who does.  Be generous.

Couponing the Right Way!

I am one of those individuals who used to throw away coupons.  On the rare occasion that I decided to cut one out to use it, I typically left it on the kitchen counter when I went to the store.  I simply did not know how to use coupons the right way!  If you do not coupon, you are probably wondering what I am talking about.  Well, thanks to a wonderful book, I now know how to coupon effectively so that I am saving some real money!

The book that I have been telling everyone about is called How to Shop for Free by Kathy Spencer!  It is amazing!  While I was reading it, the light bulb in my brain went off, and I found myself thinking, "So that is how it is done!"  The techniques that are given in this book are so easy to do, which would lead to you saving big time on your shopping bills!  Read the book!  You will not regret it! The book is available at Amazon.com for $8.35!