I am a mother of three trying to cope with cutbacks in our family income. I got wind of couponing from some of my friends and after browsing many coupon websites, decided I needed to read some books to learn more as quickly as possible! I read three books: The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half: The Strategic Shopping Method Proven to Slash Food and Drugstore Costs, Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey, & Shop Smart, Save More: Learn The Grocery Game and Save Hundreds of Dollars a Month. Each book was very different, so I thought I'd share my opinions- I hope they can help you!
Let me first say what each book had in common: they all promoted their own coupon websites and they all taught about how to get coupons, organize them and shop with them to save on your grocery bill. Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey as you might infer by its title, takes a sassy approach to couponing which, for me was totally refreshing. I flew through these 246 pages & laughed out loud along the way! This book is very visually appealing, with hilarious cartoons, including my favorite "You might be a Krazy Coupon Lady if. . . your idea of date night is casing the neighborhood dumpsters and recycling centers." The book effectively motivated me to print some coupons and try it out first hand, and I saved 71% on my first trip!
This book did the best job of explaining how to checkout with coupons. If you've never done it, you don't know how stressful it can be! Other favorite chapters included "Anatomy of a coupon", "building a stockpile to `beat the joneses!'", and learning the different kinds of coupons to indulge your "coupon fetish". The book stays focused through Chapter 12 of 15, the last few chapters talk about how to increase your income and get of debt, particularly for stay at home moms. Some good info mixed with some stating the obvious that I could have done without.
The Best reason to buy this book: It has clear focus and doesn't have too much fluff. The focus remains on saving with coupons and getting items for over 70% off or free! Plus it has great humor and is an easy read.
The best reason to pass on this book: If you're looking for lengthy info on organic deals or how to cook, or how to entertain, this book doesn't talk much about it. And this book costs more than the other two. Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey: Save Big Money & Make the Grocery Aisle your Catwalk!
"Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey" is everything you ever needed to know about using coupons to save big. I have to admit upfront I was skeptical at first that coupons could provide the kinds of savings the authors promise, but as I read through the secrets in this book, I was completely won over. These ladies know what they are doing with coupons--it's completely ethical, really not that "krazy" at all except when it comes to the gigantic savings, and some of the shrewdest business advice imaginable.
I'm not going to give away all the secrets here. I'll just say that these really aren't "secrets" and the Krazy Coupon Ladies are not selling anything other than this book--there are no gimmicks, no additional purchases necessary, no expensive special kits to buy, and no overpriced seminars to attend. Everything you need to know is in this book. And it's more than just advice on how to use coupons to save a couple of dollars on peanut butter, mayonnaise, or ketchup--it's practical financial advice on how to protect your wallet, how to stockpile for emergencies, how to prepare for your future, how to provide you with lasting financial security in times of adversity, and also how to have some extra money for fun--to take vacations or whatever you want to do with it. Coupons are vital for such times as when the economy is bad, or as the Krazy Coupon Ladies explain, when gas prices are high:
The price of oil directly affects the price of groceries. The more it costs to transport groceries, the more you'll have to pay to get them. The shipping and oil industries are often unpredictable, so it's comforting to have a stockpile. If truckers go on strike, if gasoline prices quadruple, you can insulate yourself from the effects by having a stockpile. It's nice to think that if gas prices jumped to $15 per gallon tomorrow, I wouldn't have to drive to the store twice a week for overpriced cereal. I could just walk out to my garage and congratulate myself for stocking up when boxes of cereal were $0.50 each.
What I didn't expect from this book was to find out that Coupons Are Fascinating!--really! I had no idea about the history of the coupon from its origins in the late 1800s to its Internet printable versions and the fraudulent scams they have engendered. Did you know there are coupon clearinghouses operated by prisoners? Did you know what all those numbers and symbols on a barcode mean? You will learn all this and more in "Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey."
And what about that title? It's funny. It describes how shoppers will have to wait a little longer while you use all those coupons, but so what? You'll be saving tons of money. The authors' many stories about their shopping and couponing adventures are equally priceless for their humor. And throughout are numerous wonderful cartoons depicting Krazy Coupon Ladies doing what they do best--savings tons of money.
Every step from finding great coupons, to how to use them to double and triple your savings, and what to do when checkout cashiers and store managers argue with you--how to educate them actually since you'll know far more than any store manager about coupons--is all provided here. And to top it all off, a lot of additional and completely free information is available on the Krazy Coupon Ladies' website.
This book may be the best financial investment you will ever make. You can easily earn back one hundred times the price of this book within one year--and if you follow all the advice in "Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey," you may even earn back five hundred times the price. So get ready to save, and even make money.
-- Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D. and author of the award-winning Narrow Lives - Budget - Coupon Mom - Saving Money - Frugal Living'
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