Saving Money on Steroids requires a New Way of Shopping – Couponing 101 with a Steroidal Twist!

If there is one thing that I love more than helping people it is helping people save a boat load of money. While I was a coupon queen diva back before coupons were chic, and still love to save when I shop. I have noticed something that I had dismissed before, virtual shopping malls.

Virtual malls are a new way to shop for super savings, and super convenience. All it takes is a slight adjustment to your shopping habits and patterns. Allow me to begin at Couponing 101 and show you the twist that I missed by avoiding virtual malls.

One of the first lessons when learning to use coupons effectively is to stack or not to stack. While this is a quite controversial couponing tactic due to the scams of buyers, when used properly, the savings are stacked in your favor! However, the problem has been that you had to shop all over town, spending hours, in and out of the same store, multiple times, not to mention the hours upon hours of clipping those flimsy things. I say, stackem up legally, and enjoy the savings on steroids!

• Stacking smarter will save you Time and Money.

Just like many have learned the fine art of coupon stacking in the brick and mortar stores, now it is time to learn a new way to shop for Savings on Steroids that can be found shopping in Virtual Malls.

While I completely understand why Extreme couponing has become fashionable, there comes a point where you are:

1. wasting your time,
2. money
3. and energy

I believe there are some strategic tactics that have been disregarded, or avoided as I have done for many years. Allow me to share with you my/our first-hand experience.

Talk to any Couponers, and they will verify the steps that I have listed as the tactic of Coupon Stacking and that how you can and many do actually make a living following these 7 to 8 steps.

Whether you are purchasing weekly papers like I did, (I was purchasing 20 to 25 newspapers each week for 2 families of 4 and occasional drifters that would drift through our pantry) or purchasing clipped coupons and circulars, the average couponer will spend approximately 8 to 10 hours each week, just clipping and gathering coupons.

• Next comes shopping for all those steals and deals!

Depending on commuting time and how many stores you visit with your coupons, time spent will range anywhere from another 8 to 10 hours each week…shopping...ugh!

• Next Storing all that Booty…

This is where couponers should begin to have a compassion for the grocery stockers… Effective couponers will be expert at shuffling and restocking the home pantry shelves, but it does take time.

Approximating this time, depends a lot on how hard you are working at gathering, however on the average this time will be equal to or a little shy of 5-7 hours on a weekly basis. This is also where couponers should gain a new appreciation for the stockers in your local grocery store.

While our average weekly budget for our family of 4 (us and the 2 teenage boys that were still living at home) was about $200.00 per week if no coupons were used!

I was spending $2.00 and $3.00 dollars each week on over $300.00 dollars’ worth of groceries each week and feeding another family of 4 (one of our daughters was well experienced with how well the pantry was stocked.)

The Cashier's at Level's and Winn-Dixie and Diamond's, our once local grocery stores, would make side bets between themselves on how much I would be spending that week.

We also were donating 15 to 20 sacks of groceries each week to the local food pantry equaling about $150.00 (full retail cost) each week.

• 27 hours total each week = ~$1,200.00 (full retail cost) of food each month
• Fed an additional family of 4 which according to Gallup polls article, Americans spend $151.00 each week for a family of four as of 2012. ~ $649.00 (full retail cost)
• Approximately 12 other families through the local food pantry for approximately $600.00 (full retail cost) of food each month.
• 27 hours each week (x) 4.3 weeks for each month = 116.10 hours
• $2,449.00 per month / 116.10 hours = $21.00 per hour

One thing about it, we never went hungry around this place. I was only spending about $173.00 per month cash out of pocket.

• $173.25(expenses and monthly food money)
• 116 hour's worth work each month = $2,437.00 each month = $19.61/ per hour Net Profit
  
• Not a bad return on my investment!

While this definitely gives anyone a valid argument for starting to save money with coupons, I am always looking for a better way to do things. It also shows that a stay at home parent, really can provide invisible income to the household.

Saving money and helping people is my passion, I am always looking for ways to save time, money or my energy. This led me to discover the World of Virtual Malls and saving money on every purchase.

While I agree that simple and extreme couponing all are valid ways to save and to make money. I do believe that there is a better and more user friendly way.

• It will require a change in your shopping habits to begin what I call Couponing on Steroids 101.

Now I realize that in our day and time, we all like instant this and instant that, we are basically creatures of habit. However, what I call Couponing on Steroids only requires you change one simple way in which you shop.

Since Google launched their mobile-friendly initiative the ordinary consumer should have seen it as a HUGE CLUE into what the world of commerce is coming to.

Yes, google may have slapped a few of the “big boy” e-commerce site according to the article.

However, that was just a blip on the changes coming to retail and how we couponers can keep up our extreme savings and money making machines going.

Everything is going or has already gone MOBILE! Many consumers have failed to notice the subtle changes, and soon couponers are going to have to follow suit. What is that change, that change is called Virtual Malls.

Your credit card companies have been offering this for some time, however, many have refused like we did for so long to check it out. The savings are there, but there are better savings out there on the World Wide Web, than you can even imagine.

You would be amazed at how much money is being left on the advertising budget table of many corporations and online businesses, just waiting to be paid to someone. That is where Couponing on Steroids comes in.

One extra click before you begin your shopping experience can make the difference of saving a little or nothing at all, to saving in places you had no idea they were willing to give you cash back for making your purchase with them. Combine this one step with the old style couponing tactics, and you have Coupons on Steroids!

Step 1: Click into the Virtual Mall – THIS virtual shopping center HAS NO FEE to enter or join, just unbelievable savings and cash back opportunities. This just like walking into those big box stores that charge a fee to walk through the doors, but this one doesn’t.

Step 2: Once you have joined, type in the search box on the Virtual Mall site the store name that you like to shop at, just like you would normally type in Amazon, Walmart, Lord & Taylor, and Home Depot etc…

Step 3: Buy what you were looking for and watch the savings add up in your cash back account. While they tell you that it can take a few days for your purchases and cash back progress to be recorded, my cash back began accruing within hours of my first purchase.

As with all my teaching lessons, I seem to stumble into the facts that allow me to teach more effectively and this article is no different. While I knew that I was going to be writing an article, never did I imagine that my Eye Doctor would put his stamp of approval on it. His nod of approval is exactly what happened when I asked him about buying our glasses online.

And the first place that he recommended just happened to be a store, within the new Virtual Mall that I had discovered just a few weeks before my appointment with him.

• Time spent 15 minutes looking for the Frame style that I wanted…They have every designer you can imagine!
• Time spent putting in my Eye Glass prescription from the Eye Doctor, 2-3 minutes…double checking the script, you understand!
• Time spent checking out…1-2 minutes
• Total time: 20 minutes = SAVED $500.00 from the same 2 pairs of glasses, transition lens and all protective coating.
• I got TWO Pairs of Glasses, one pair for driving and one for working on the computer with the blue blocker to relax your eyes behind a computer screen.
• TOTAL PAID: $99.32 AND RECEIVED $12.00 CASH BACK ADDED TO MY CASH BACK ACCOUNT!!! Actual cost of two pairs of glasses $87.40 and FREE SHIPPING!!!
• Savings per hour spent shopping $512.00 per hour!!!

Now that is what I call Couponing on Steroids!!! 25 times the hourly rate of the Old style couponing, and a lot less hassle!

Oh, and if you really want to PUMP UP YOUR SAVINGS, you can use any valid coupons along with getting cash back…Double Dip savings is allowed throughout the shops in this Mall.

Happy Shopping and be sure to place your savings accomplishments in the comment section below and welcome to Couponing on Steroids 101.

So what are you waiting for, bookmark this Virtual Mall right now, and begin watching your savings and income add up.

Due to popular demand, comments and questions, I have added a Part Two to this article. You can find it at http://cammywalters.hubpages.com/hub/Couponing-101-with-a-Steroidal-Twist-Part-Two