JANUARY. New Year s Resolutions (weight loss; health & fitness; home organization & cleaning) Superbowl Christmas Clearance National Oatmeal Month

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Edwina Carr
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1 A Year of Couponing: What Goes on Sale and When (updated for 2014) The following are my observations after tracking four years of couponing and deals in the greater Puget Sound Area (Washington). Please note that trends can (and do) change. These observations will give you an idea of what to watch for, but should not be treated as definite. JANUARY New Year s Resolutions (weight loss; health & fitness; home organization & cleaning) Superbowl Christmas Clearance National Oatmeal Month Vitamins/weight loss supplements, smoking cessation helps Organizers & bins (watch Target & Fred Meyer) Cleaning & organizational supplies Produce - particularly bagged salads & greens & citrus (grapefruit, satsumas, etc.) Oatmeal & pancake mix - middle - end of month (National Oatmeal month) and also early Feb (not as strong in 2012 as years past) Cold remedies Soup & chili, organic products, Chinese food ingredients (Chinese New Year is early Feb) Mexican food ingredients (salsa, tortillas, etc.) - popular Superbowl food choice Shell gas station has offered buy one, get one ski passes Kroger offered "game day" daily high value ecoupons Organic & healthy brands such as Kashi, Atkins, Athenos, Simple Truth Target may discount toys to 70% off clearance Old Navy clearance Good time to watch for deals on electronics include flat screen TVs and computers "White sales" on linens at department stores Additional Thoughts January is a particularly excellent month to start couponing. The first couple weeks into the year, expect lots of great, high value coupons. Manufacturer and store budgets are not only resetting for the quarter, but for the year, and we should look for some really strong deals. January is also an excellent time to watch for clearance events. For personal use only; The Coupon Project, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Page 1

2 ANUARY FEBRUARY Superbowl Valentine s Day Lent Oatmeal & breakfast foods Frozen pizza Mexican ingredients Canned soup & chili Pasta & pasta sauce Whole Fryer chicken Fish & seafood (for those observing Lent) Bagged candy (Valentine's Day) Superbowl freebies (pizza deals are a big one) Valentine's Day freebies President's Day sales (IKEA offered free breakfast; Value Village had a 50% off sale) Denny's has offered up a free Grand Slam breakfast Auntie Annie's has offered a free pretzel Valentine's Day clearance (stock up on next year's cards!) Additional Thoughts Lots of stores like to capitalize on holidays. Come Valentine's Day, expect to see lots of free card offers, stores/restaurants offering freebies or discounts to entice you, and manufacturers offering coupons or giveaways on their Facebook pages. My advice is to always "like" your favorite brands on Facebook to stay in the loop on any giveaways they may be doing. MARCH National Frozen Food Month St Patrick s Day, National Frozen Food Month Spring Cleaning Easter (possibly - it's not until April 20th this year) For personal use only; The Coupon Project, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Page 2

3 Cereal Corned beef & cabbage Frozen food of all kinds (potatoes, vegetables, pizza) Seafood (for those observing Lent) Cleaning items Coffee & creamer Free pancake IHOP for National Pancake Day Cost Plus Market may have a BOGO Coffee sale Early gardening deals (possibly) March is that transition point between winter and spring! If you've not stock up on soup, broth, cold medicines, and the like - I wouldn't wait around much longer. It may not be until September until we see some of those deals return. APRIL Tax Day Easter (April 20th) Earth Day (April 22nd) Early Gardening Early gardening/plant sales Ham & roast Canned pineapple Eggs (probably best time of year for egg deals!) Baking items (cake, frosting, oil, sugar, flour, etc.) Organic & healthy items (for Earth Day) Eco-friendly products Cereal Watch for Earth-Day freebies (reusable shopping bags and seeds are popular) Easter clearance sales 31-cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins Free fuchsia planting event at Fred Meyer Mother's Day promotions (such as free cards) Free cone night at Ben & Jerry's For personal use only; The Coupon Project, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Page 3

4 April should be an interesting month to find deals on both treats (for Easter!) and healthy items (for Earth Day!). Keep an eye out for free card offers for Mother's Day as well as early gardening deals. MAY Gardening First BBQs, Mother s Day Cinco de Mayo Memorial Day Farmer's Markets/Farms Condiments such as BBQ sauce, ketchup Razors & shaving gel Soda (2-liters) First summer produce (such as watermelon and strawberries) Ice cream Hot dogs Mexican food ingredients (tortillas, enchilada sauce, taco seasoning, salsa, etc) Dairy - milk, eggs, cheese Sunscreen & bug repellant Juice Fred Meyer Founder's Day Sale (early May) Memorial Day sales (popular with furniture & department stores) Photo freebies for Mother's Day (watch Walgreens) Farmers Markets start to open for Puget Sound Annual Stamp out Hunger Day Plant sales (watch McLendon's- they like to do an annual pancake feed + free tomato plant giveaway) Kids Bowl Free & other summer kid programs - sign yours up now! Grocery Outlet 20% off Wine Sale You'll definitely notice a shift in the items we find coupons and sales for in May! It will make you believe summer is here, even if the weather doesn't exactly line up with that! Watch for more barbecue foods go on sale. May is also the month when a lot of focus goes on gardening - why not try to grow some of your own produce this year? For personal use only; The Coupon Project, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Page 4

5 JUNE Gardening BBQ/Camping Father s Day 4th of July Condiments Mexican food ingredients Lemonade/Ice Tea Mixes Hot dogs Razors, shaving gel & sunscreen Summer produce - especially grapes & strawberries Charcoal Bandages and Neosporin Kids Bowl Free & other free kid programs Starting in June, I make a concerted effort to stock up on those summer food items that are harder to find on sale at other times in the year. In particular, ketchup and barbecue sauce! I try to grab bottles when they are at the $0.50 mark and get just enough to see us through the next sale. My kids also love the Countrytime Lemonade mixes. Last year, we purchased a few tubs at $ enough to last us through until the following summer. JULY BBQ Back to School 4 th of July U-Pick Berries/Farm emphasis Condiments & BBQ foods (continued) Charcoal Cherries Bottled water For personal use only; The Coupon Project, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Page 5

6 Razors, shaving gel & sunscreen Hot Dogs Ice cream School Supplies Cheese (particularly watch Kraft) Old Navy Clearance Krispy Kreme - Anniversary (watch for deals/freebies) Some berries are ready at U-pick farms (call ahead of time!) Free slurpee at 7/11 on 7/11 Jamba Juice offered a free smoothie for kids Target may discount select toys to 70% off clearance My Thoughts While it may seem early, July is actually when we'll start to see the first of the school supplies trickle in! However, if you're not in the mood, no worries. The deals will continue clear though August. If the Target toy clearance event has gotten too competitive for your taste, watch Fred Meyer. They put toys on clearance around the same time with a lot less hoopla. AUGUST Back to School End of Summer Labor Day preparation Canning/Harvest Last of BBQ items (including hot dogs, condiments, BBQ sauce) Ice cream Cheese Back to school foods (such as peanut butter & jelly, fruit snacks, and fruit drinks) Pasta and Pasta Sauce School Supplies Berries Canning supplies (though clearance will hit Sept - Oct) Quaker (coupons & sales) Kraft & Oscar Mayer (watch for Catalina) Patio Furniture clearance Brown Bear's Annual Free Car Wash Day Fred Meyer Friends & Family Pass For personal use only; The Coupon Project, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Page 6

7 In 2012, I decided to make an effort to harvest as many blackberries as I could manage. My efforts were well worth it! It's late December and we're still enjoying homemade blackberry jam, frozen blackberries for our smoothies, and I'm about to sample my first-ever blackberry infused vodka. Don't neglect this free source of good food! SEPTEMBER Back to School Fall Cleaning Canning/Harvest/Fair Labor Day Soup & chili Baking/cooking items Kid lunch items (applesauce, granola bars, fruit snacks, etc.) Pasta & Pasta Sauce Peanut butter Frozen food items (such as pizza) Home fragrance (think Glade) Canning items clearance Last back to school supplies sales Meat sales & last of summer items (Labor Day) Whole Fryer chicken Coffee Quaker products Hasbro may start releasing toy/games coupons National Coffee Day (there may be freebies and coupons) Campbell's (watch online for the highest-value coupons) Lowe's canning clearance Summer & gardening clearance (Grocery Outlet had some good deals in 2013) Labor Day sales Krispy Kreme offered free donuts when you talked like a pirate If you can food, this is a great time of year to watch for clearance sales. Fred Meyer had the best prices on equipment (I found it best to snag items when they were at 50% + a bonus coupon) and Lowe's had a crazy awesome sale on canning jars. Hurry when you see these! For personal use only; The Coupon Project, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Page 7

8 OCTOBER Halloween Harvest Holidays (early) Crocktober Bagged candy Oatmeal & breakfast items such as pancake mix Apples Squash & root vegetables Cooking & baking items Cold & flu medicines (Rite Aid is good to watch) Photo & photo book deals Pasta & pasta sauce Coffee & tea Slow cookers (Croctober promotions - watch for rebates) IHOP offered free "Scary Face" pancake Starbucks offered a catalina deal Fred Meyer Anniversary sale Redbox birthday is in October (watch for free rental) Watch for lots of candy coupons We're definitely starting to transition to holidays and baking foods in October! This is a good time of year to start to think about stocking up on basics that will round out your pantry for months to come. I love watching for deals on canned tomatoes, fruits, and pasta sauce in particular. If you aren't happy with the candy deals you're finding, head to WinCo where they usually discount bulk candy the week of Halloween. NOVEMBER Thanksgiving Veteran's Day Holidays Black Friday/Cyber Monday For personal use only; The Coupon Project, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Page 8

9 Holiday cooking & baking items of all kinds (including canned vegetables, canned tomatoes, broth Broth & organic broth Canned pumpkin Canned cranberry sauce Canned fruit (particularly pineapple) Stuffing and gravy mixes Soda (2-liters) Cocoa, tea, coffee Crackers Photo deals Turkey & ham DVDs/BluRays for $5-10 (or less!) Small kitchen appliances (think crockpots, coffee makers, blenders) Toys Electronics Veteran's Day - lots of freebies for active & retired military including food and coupons. For everyone else, there are lots of sales. Amazon (start watching early November!) Kohl's (start watching a few days before Thanksgiving!) Fred Meyer Friends and Family Sale Starbucks has had a holiday drink BOGO sale last three years WinCo promised to beat area store prices on select holiday food items Popular time of year to find in-store coupons (such as tearpads & coupon booklets) Toys 'R Us - watch particularly for hot deals on Hasbro games and "doorbuster" sales Amazon Coupon Code - for the last couple years, they've offered a coupon code around this time More people are recognizing the value of shopping online and avoiding the hassle of Black Friday crowds. In many cases, you can get the same or better deals online. Kohl's has proven to be a knock-out performer offering free shipping, cash back, and coupon codes you could use on already "doorbuster" type sales. Amazon is another one of my favorite online retailers to watch starting late November and right up until the Christmas delivery cut off. Make sure to follow TheCouponProject.com during peak Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Holiday shopping season to help find you the best deals. DECEMBER Holidays/Christmas New Year Organization (early) For personal use only; The Coupon Project, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Page 9

10 Some holiday/baking item sales will continue (though not as strong as in November) Batteries Chex cereal (best time of year to buy) Photo deals (watch for delivery cutoff dates if buying as gifts) Toys (watch Amazon, Kohl's for online - Toys R' Us, Fred Meyer if you're local!) Citrus - especially navel and satsuma oranges Cough/cold remedies Soda (2-liter) Crackers Christmas Clearance (good stores to visit include Target, Rite Aid, craft stores, hardware stores) Early organizational items (preparing for end of Christmas/start of New Year) Sparkling cider & juice Amazon continues with very solid, fast-paced deals on toys, electronics, and household items Amazon tends to push out a solid Kindle deal in early December Fred Meyer ran a series of Twilight & Doorbuster sales every weekend Photo offers are very strong during this time Holiday deals will remain strong early December and right up through shipping cutoff dates. Kohl's and Amazon are the ones to watch. If you like shopping in stores, keep Fred Meyer on your radar. They offer many sales and coupons that will provide for some excellent gifts. Retailers will start to clearance out Christmas almost immediately. YEAR ROUND Some deals seem to repeat themselves throughout the months and seasons. Why am I pointing these out? Because some you may not need to worry about stockpiling as much knowing another sale is likely to come. Yogurt Coffee Razors Diapers (although some deals are better than others!) Shampoo Deodorant Body Wash Body Lotion Cosmetics Toothcare (particularly toothpaste) Vitamins (I stopped reporting many B1G1 sales because they happen all the time!) The best way to get free notifications of current deals at the stores and online? Follow me at For personal use only; The Coupon Project, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Page 10

JANUARY. Themes: New Year s Resolutions; weight-loss; health & fitness; home organization & cleaning, Superbowl

JANUARY. Themes: New Year s Resolutions; weight-loss; health & fitness; home organization & cleaning, Superbowl A Year of Couponing: What Goes on Sale and When The following are my observations from two years spent as a couponer and bargain blogger. These are to be taken as best guesses based on past trends and