The Baseline

Baseline - a specific value or values that can serve as a comparison or control

I've been able to get some incredible deals since I started couponing, but let's face it: if you get a bottle of salad dressing for free, or a box of cereal for 30 cents, you don't need Suze Orman to tell you that you are doing well. Coupon deals like that are an awesome little rush, but you can't get them all the time, particularly for items that are at a higher price point. So you have to figure out how to maximize your savings on all your everyday purchases, even when the stars don't align for you to get them for pennies.

Here's what the Coupon Gurus out there tell you to do: make a list of the 20 or so items that you purchase regularly. Visit all your local stores every week for 12 weeks and record their prices. Track each store's sale cycles (which are pretty constant - if you pay attention, you can know way in advance which weeks Hot Pockets are going to be on sale). Buy your items at the low point in the price cycle (and use your coupons, natch).

I'm sure this is awesome advice, but here's the deal: I have a 4 month old. If you think I'm schlepping him out to every store every week for the next 3 months to record prices in my little notebook, you have another think coming. I had to figure out a way to know when I was getting a good deal that wasn't so labor intensive. So here's what I do - I try to determine what I call the baseline - the price per unit cost that I am looking for in order to know whether to skip the item, buy the item, or stock up on the item. This is vital because with items that are sold in various sizes, it can be confusing to figure out which sizes are the best deal, so instead of just looking at the price, pay attention to the per unit cost. Example of units might be rolls of toilet paper, loads of laundry detergent, tampons, slices of cheese, packets of oatmeal, etc.

Here's an example that is super relevant to me right now - diapers! A size 1 jumbo pack of Pampers Swaddlers has 44 diapers and retails for $10.99 for a 25 cent per diaper unit cost. A mega pack has 66 diapers and retails for $15.99 for a 24 cent per diaper unit cost. A value pack has 216 diapers and retails for $45.99 for a 21 cent per diaper unit cost. Since those are regular retail prices, I know that my goal is to beat 21 cents each - that's my baseline. Figuring from that, I can guesstimate that 18-20 cents a diaper is a good deal worth buying, and anything 17 cents or less is a deal I'll want to try to stock up on.

Now, are you paying attention? Because something interesting happens when you add coupons to this equation. Let's say I have a $3 off coupon for Pampers. If I use that coupon on the big value pack, I've lowered my cost per diaper to 20 cents. If I use it on the medium sized mega pack, my cost becomes 19 cents a diaper. But, if I use it on the smallest pack - the jumbo - my cost per diaper drops to 18 cents!! The best deal! Also, stores are more likely to have sales on smaller items, too, so that multiplies your savings. Let's say Target put their jumbos on sale for $9.99 (which they do, all the time), AND I have the coupon - all of a sudden I am paying less than 16 cents per diaper! What started as the most expensive way to buy diapers has turned into Stock Up City!

This illustrates another component of coupon logic - usually, coupons have the biggest savings impact on SMALLER sized items. In shopping, we are trained to think that bigger = cheaper, and if you are paying retail, that is normally true. But it doesn't take much for that to be turned upside down when you are taking a dollar or so off of the price.

Figure out your baseline on all your faves, and buy smart. The Schoolhouse Rock people were right - knowledge IS power.