How do You Pay it Forward?
With the holidays fast approaching, it is impossible not to get into the spirit of giving. Not only does it make you feel great to give to others, but I honestly believe that the more you give, the more you get back. Plus, don’t you love demonstrating to your own children the significance of giving to others?! One of my favorite things to do is to give my kiddos spare change to drop into the Salvation Army’s red buckets at Christmas time when I am leaving the grocery store. With that being said, it is often more fun to come up with things to give to others that do not necessarily cost you anything out of pocket. For example, consider donating several hours one night to babysit the kids of a friend or neighbor who never gets any “me” time, bake cookies and surprise a neighbor for no reason at all, or even consider handing over some coupons to a fellow shopper. I also love to be a “coupon fairy” by leaving coupons next to products at the store for an unsuspecting shopper to use later! Check out this email I received from reader, Liz, who appears to be a fellow coupon fairy. 🙂
Today I was in Target, picking up my free cat food and free red potatoes (I got my free dog food yesterday). While in the cat food aisle, there was a woman with her daughter (around 8 years) buying some Meow Mix. I heard her adding up the items and thought…. hmmm, I bet she would appreciate a coupon or two! I immediately opened my book and pulled out a Meow Mix coupon for $1 and tapped her on the shoulder and asked her I she would like to have it. She recognized me as a “real couponer” and began to ask questions. As I answered her questions about stores and finding deals and how to get coupons, I noticed that most of her food was filler staples (high in filling up and low in nutrition); she also had 3 or 4 dozen eggs. While we spoke, I handed her 2 BOGO egg coupons from the Good Egg Project and she was both shocked and happy. I gave her your website as a good starting place to get her feet wet and also told her how to get ink cartridges for about $2 and paper for free.
I guess the cashier took the coupons because she searched me out while I was at the register and asked me again for the name of your website. It felt good to get another person excited about saving money, especially someone that obviously needed the savings. So, I ask you to challenge all your readers to give away a coupon or two to a stranger as an opportunity to be a good egg! After all, isn’t that what the good egg project asked us to do?
How do YOU Pay it Forward? Have you ever shared your coupons with a shopper? How do you give to others without spending money?
I too leave the coupons. But sometimes when I have etc. coupons I gave them to other people who r in line before me & it really feels good.
What an inspiring story! I also LOVE to share my coupons! It really makes my day to know you have helped someone! A few weeks back we were in Toys R Us & my daughter had the $3 birthday coupon & I had a $5 off of $25….there was a couple in front of us who were buying a basketball net for their grandson so I gave them the $5 coupon….the man was so excited & his wife was shocked…they were so surprised…I wasn’t using it so why not pass it on! They were so happy that they bought my girls a small treat from the candy aisle!!! 🙂
lol, at the person who said they actually hunt people down to give them coupons- I thought I was the only one who did that!!!
Thanks for reminding me about the $3 giftcard. I am planning on doing the board game trade-in and my son just got one.
I do this all the time,lol. My fav time was not 2 long ago, a young girl was looking at scarfs at target, she was worried about spending 2 much, ( her gma told her 2 go ahead and get any 1 she wanted ). It just so happened she was looking at a merona scarf! I gave her a $2 of any merona accessory, she was thrilled! I felt good!
I actually have shared coupons very frequently. I am so passionate about couponing that it is fun to see other people get excited. I even shared a couple of $3 off hot-pocket coupons with a cashier at wal-mart who had asked where I had gotten the coupons since they had the family packs on roll-back for $9.97. I had bought them off of e-bay. As I began to walk away after I paid I turned back and beings I had extra, I gave her a couple. She was so thankful and I felt I had really helped someone even though I don’t have a lot of money myself. I was thankful for the opportunity. And thankful to you for the opportunity to share. Thanks 🙂
I leave coupons from time to time, but I’ve also been known to stock up on free organic baby food for a friend who adopted a baby about two weeks before finding out she was pregnant.
In November I’m going to be giving a seminar at Full Sail University (where I teach Public Speaking) for students and faculty who need to save/budget. I’m really excited about sharing my knowledge and creating a new generation of couponers.
My cousin recently moved an hour away and to help him out I gave him laundry detergent, dish soap, razors, and several other items that he needed that I got for free or very close to free. He was so excited that he did not have to make a special shopping trip to buy these items. I enjoy sharing my stockpile with friends and family, it makes you feel good and it helps them out as well. I also enjoy playing the coupon fairy! I sometimes find coupons that another coupon fairy has left its always a pleasant surprise!
I love to give people coupons. They are always soooo grateful. If I ever have extras, I always find someone who looks like they could use them. I was in Bath and Body Works on Saturday and had an extra coupon for the free room spray. I found a lady who was purchasing several items and asked would she like to have the coupon. The look on her face was priceless: surprise and gratitude!!
I love leaving the coupons on the aisles.. I don’t have any pets so when I’m at the store I’ll go see whosever in the pet isle & give the the coupons!! 🙂 It feels good…
I love this post. I help others by sharing deals and teaching them how i save money. I try to help others by leaving coupons but i often do not have the time. I usually have two little ones in tow(2and 4). I also give away things i can get for free or close to free that i am not going to use. For example, contact solution is often one of the things. I don’t use it so i get it still and then give it away. When there was that Gap coupon at back to school time for 30% off, the cashier let me keep it when i was done so i gave it to another shopper. I donate to lots of things too. I love the give my kids money to put in the red kettle and we donate a gift for each of them to Toys for Tots and more if we can. We recently did the Autism Speaks walk 2010 this past week and we raised money. My son is autistic and it gives him such a boost to help others.
I love to help those out that don’t have coupons for something! One day this summer at JCPenneys I was in line to buy shoes for my son for school and there was a mom with 2 girls behind me with at least 4 pairs of shoes. I overheard her saying how she forgot her coupon (like 25% off!) so after I finished with mine I gave it to her. It was awesome to see the look in her eyes and how grateful she was, and I was super happy that I saved her at least $40! I also let my 2 year old put money in the bucket at Christmas time every single time we see one. Even if all I have are a few pennies, every bit counts and he sees how fun it is to give to others.
That’s great! I had a similar experience. I had coupons for some crackers and saw a Dad with like 5 kids in the store picking out some crackers (obviously for school snacks). He seemed to limit the items in the cart and they didn’t look like they had a lot of money to just get whatever they wanted. I buy those crackers for my hubby to take with him for his lunches, but I figured, what the heck… they probably need it more than me. So I gave him some. Sometimes I wish people had sings over their heads saying what they are looking for so I could give them a coupon too. Just because I have them doesn’t mean I really need them.
I love the holidays too! It gives my family a chance to do something for someone else. We used to draw names to do a secret Santa, but we decided a few years ago to put the money together and donate it in some way.
We always babysit for free, and I do free photography a lot too. You can almost always see stress in someone’s eyes and a little friendly coupon or freebie makes all the difference. We are all struggling in one way or another, but if we can take the time to be selfless all year long I know we will be much happier, and we can raise a happier generation.
I really like what you say about the happier generation. Well put!
I love giving away coupons, the excitement on people’s faces make me feel so happy and “warm” inside 🙂 And Collin, it’s people like you that make me so happy. I love when I go to the store and I see coupons on the shelves 🙂
i had a time where i had a $2 RR about to expire, and when i went to walgreens i realized all i wanted to buy was junk food… which i didn’t need 🙂
i gave it to a woman and you’d have thought i’d bought her whole cart full of stuff!
I love to do this too! I don’t know if anyone remembers the Payless 50% off deal a year or so ago, but I gave tons of those coupons away in the store. People were so appreciative! On the other hand, I tried to give a woman behind me q’s that would get her FREE Scotch scrubbie pads @ Kroger and she refused them! She was obviously a couponer too, which was weird. She said she gets a big thing of them at Sam’s for really cheap. I was like ?????? Cheaper than free? Then I was like, oh well, more for me. 😉
Anytime someone is behind me at the checkouts and asks how I do it I just say, “Hip2save.com”! I’ve had them stop me and make me spell it out while they jot it down! I can’t thank you enough for all you do, Collin. 🙂
I always pass coupons on and leave them on shelves too but in all my years of clipping I have never been offered even one coupon from anyone. Oh well I know someones waiting to share with me..BTW my favs to share are B&BW.I always print out extras to quietly hand out
I give people coupons all the time, 2 weeks ago a guy was walking around the store, telling everyone what a “rockstar” I was, including the casher! Sometimes, such as last week, it doesn’t go so well, the guy just glared at me and the coupon like I was handing him poison! Oh, well, you win some you lose some, I guess. It feels too good to stop!
I gave the woman behind me at CVS a 5/25 email printable I wasn’t going to use. She was thrilled! I also leave coupons in the isle, especially baby formula coupons. I’ve picked up a few there so I make sure to return the favor. However, I know someone who works at a Target and they told me they’re not allowed to leave coupons in the isles and the manager makes them get thrown out :-0!
That sounds about right as I always see about a dozen coupons lying around on my Kroger and Wal-Mart trips but never see any at Target.
I was at Target the other night and the couple behind me was buying tons of diapers and wipes. I gave them my manufacture coupons and then the Target coupons to stack with it. They saved $7.50 off each pack of diapers and wipes that they were buying. The look on their faces was priceless and they were so grateful! It is all about putting out goodness into the world!
I did this they day when they have bonus up rewards on the candy. I got my candy they didn’t have the Swedish fish i ask her to call another store. She was on the phone this guy came in and grab a few candy bars i saw what kind he was getting i reach in my coupon book and grab a free B1G1 Candy Bars Coupons he was so happy he got the candy bars for $ 2.00 bucks He gave me the other dollar.
Can you share with me how you get your ink cartidges for $2? I pay full price and can’t afford to. I would really appreciate it very much.
Thanks so much for tis post…it made me smile and gave me some ideas on paying it forward. Also, a bit curious about the free ink? Maybe I missed a post at sometime or another but if someone will share with me how I too could get free ink I woul greatly appreciate it. Whenever stores (Walgreens) have the free ink refill my HP 74 & 75 Cartridges always seem to be excluded.
Thanks again 😉
I have had a similar experience but it was with and elderly couple. They were adding up their items and deciding what to keep and what to put back. I noticed they had some Cascade in their cart that was on sale that week. Well I had the same thing in my cart to match with coupons. I offered them coupons and showed them the deal they would receive. How thrilled they were and how thankful made my whole day!!! What an awesome feeling.
I always do it!! Love it sometimes I leave them on the shelf sometimes I will help the person figure the senario out. Love to do it especially in the baby isle.
I was so excited to read this post and just knew I had to share my story. After I got married in January I moved to the South-Eastern most corner of Ohio where I knew no one but my husband. I was a teacher sub for just one day a few weeks back at a special needs school. This is where I met my first friend. Just this week she shared with me her struggles with making it paycheck to paycheck and providing for her two small boys. I offered to teacher her everything I know about using coupons. This Saturday I am going with her grocery shopping and we are both so excited!! I asked for her shopping list and have all the sales matched up and have pulled my coupons for her to use. But what I am MOST excited about are the couple of bags of groceries that were on her list that I am able to give her from my stockpile!! Being able to do this for my new friend is a feeling better than getting a great deal. She has thanked me over and over already and we haven’t even shopped yet. This confirms for me that it is really about someone caring more than it is about saving money.
I can’t count how many times I’ve seen moms in the diaper isle at a store cringing at the thought of having to spend that much money on something they desperately need. I’ve given many diaper coupons to moms and lots of air freshener coupons as well. I met a woman in the air freshener isle who worked with someone who was a chain smoker and was desperate to find a cheap air freshener but still keep her desk area smelling nice. I gave her some air wick coupons at Target to get some cheap air fresheners and she was so grateful. It costs me almost nothing to get these coupons, after all of my savings, and giving them away when I know I’m not going to use them all is the least I could do. I am so grateful for your site and all of your help Collin. You have given me the confidence to really dig in to couponing and we are definitely reaping the savings from it.
I always leave coupons that are about to expire or coupons I know I won’t use near items in stores. I had an extra $5/$25 coupon at Toys R Us and gave one to the lady in line behind me. She was thrilled. I also like to share my stockpile. I gave my SIL the Blink Tears they had at CVS for better than free after ECB and a coupon. She uses them every day so it was a win-win for both of us. Friends of mine just had an end of summer party and asked for people to bring donations to the Food Bank. They had 1 large box thinking each person would bring a can or two. Using coupons, I was able to take 6 jars of peanut butter, several boxes of pasta, some canned goods, etc. that I paid just a couple of dollars for. Best of all, they ended up with 2 car loads of food – over 300 lbs. worth!!!!
I bet most of the people reading this have done this already. I remember the first time I did..gave a lady some coffeemate coupons at walgreens a long time ago. Now, I can’t help but look at what other people are buying…just hoping I have a coupon I can give to them.
I would like more info on how to get ink cartriges for $2 please help!
Thanks!
I ECHO that plea for help!!! That’s the one thing I spend waaaaay too much on for my Photosmart D7160 (HP 02’s). I’ve heard of receiving $2 for recycled ink cartridges at Staples but how do I BUY them for that? Would LOVE to know – please help me too!
I too want the secrets to cheap ink…even a full new (or link to an old post) would be great! TIA!
I call that “cart stalking” and I do it all of the time. 😉 lol I’m always scoping out people’s carts and trying to figure out what coupons I have to match up. Of all the coupons I give, diapers seem to be the most appreciated. Sometimes I stick coupons on things when I have time.
My best pay it forward is to take all of the items I’m able to get free or very cheap with coupons and prepare good, home-cooked meals for people who need them. When folks are sick, have just had a baby, or just need a break for a night, this is a super easy way to pay it forward. 🙂 I don’t have a lot of flexibilty because I have little kids at home, who I can’t easily take to donate time, but I can easily make 2 meals and drive it over to drop off.
hi thats nice that you share your coupons! but i would like to know where to get ink for 2 dollars? i buy mine at walmart and that if very spendy. and the paper too. thanks
I’ve had a mixed reaction to helping others in the last year.
A few weeks ago I was in the Market Basket checking out with free Marcal (after coupon). As I waited for the person to check out in front of me, I noticed the father and son placed a packed of Good Nights diapers on the belt. I had picked up a handful of these coupon at another store a few days prior. I pulled one of the $2/1 and gave it to the father. He was grateful. I told him I understand. I have one in diapers.
Last December, I helped five families in need for Christmas. Spent a lot of time on the gifts. I received no thank yous and one actually complained that her kid had no use for the ” junk” (which included one item she specifically asked for — it wasn’t expensive enough) and threw it away. It really left a bad taste in my mouth about people on welfare and assistance.
Julie, don’t let it turn you off. I have experienced the same through church ministry. Our youth traveled to Florida from Tenn one year to put a new roof on a home that had been in a hurricane. The people living there could not afford a new one and did not have adequate insurance. They did not trim the grass around their home and some kids accidentally knocked over a couple of empty flower pots and they broke. The people got SOOO mad. The kids took their own money and replaced the flower pots and put flowers in them, and the people never even said thank you for the new roof or anything.
The kids were a little bummed but it was a good lesson in giving for the right reasons and realizing that not all people are able to show the appropriate (or how we think they should) gratitude. People in these situations may react in this way because they are very conscious of not being able to do things and buy things for themselves. That’s a hard place to live and they may not have much of a choice at times but to receive from others. I appreciate others’ help, but I am so much more happy when I can provide for myself and kids without the help.
Please do not generalize that all people on assistance are like this. I am a case worker for social services (i deal with food stamp applications) and there are some people who feel entitled to get everything for nothing. Then there are people who are really struggling and are using these programs as a stepping stone to a better life- exactly what they are there for.
There will always be people who take advantage of the system- just like people who turn around and sell their items they got free from using coupons and in turn wipe out shelves. Not every couponer does that, so you can’t generalize.
Coupons have really helped my family be able to give back and if some people don’t appreciate it, I can’t do anything about it but move on. Grouping the negative people in with the rest isn’t fair and gives the group as a whole a bad name. I’m sure most of us have experienced this with coupons so try to be more positive with your comments.
That would sting the heart a bit. I realize that and so when someone does something thoughtful I get overly excited to show my appreciation.
Don’t feel bad god knows your giving heart. Don’t let that person steal your joy of giving
I was at garden fresh on sunday. And a lady checking out and her card was declined. She had some cash but was having the cashier deduct items. She was still about $20 over . I was two people behind her. I had a $20 in my hand. I gave it to the cashier and said I will pay the rest. The cashier said NO and gave it back to me. I said no its fine. She said NO. Wheb the lady left there were a bunch of bags on the counter. I thought maybe the cashier is giving them to her. A girl started picking them up to put the away! I felt terrible!I am so fortunate to have what I need plus a huge stockpile that I think i should share my good fortune. So much for my donation at garden fresh!!
Yesterday I was at domoinicks by the barilla. There was. A young couple standing there and picked up the dom sauce! I said the barilla is 2 for 4 and 2 free pasta. They looked and said oh well do that! I gave them a coupon. I have.a real hard time not telling people what to buy! Someone picks up a bottle of oil, I want to say BUY 5! Or just hand out soup in the parking lot! I am packing up a bunch of stuff for a friend of a friend whose husband left her and her 5 year old- no notice or child support! This is why I love to coupon!
Great post! I share my stockpile with family and friends. I have tried to get my family to coupon with me but no one is interested. 🙁 They will take from my stockpile though which makes me happy! I get a good feeling when I can share with people. I recently shared some body wash with my son’s girlfriend and gave her your site name and hopefully she and her mom will start couponing! 🙂 After finding Hip2Save and the power of the coupon I think it’s just crazy not to!
While shopping in CVS a couple of weeks ago I heard the cashier talking on the phone in tears over her needing $10 to pay someone and they were being very ugly about it. She only a dollar and did not know what she was going to do. Well she pulled herself together to check me out and apologized because she had something personal going on. I paid, took my EBCs and went to the car. My daughter was with me and we looked at each other and felt bad for the lady…I walked back in and gave her $10 which was far less than my ECB’s earned. She did not know what to say.. I just said do it for someone else one day.. it felt so great!
I always share my coupons! Especially to very nice cashiers! When I was getting the Sobe water from CVS, the cashier was so friendly that both myself and my friend gave her some of our coupons so that she could also get some free sobe water! I have always lived my life by “pay it forward”
I know how happy I feel when someone turns around and hands me a coupon while I’m waiting in line to check out, so why shouldn’t I do the same for others? When I had my first child, I received lots of free formula that I never used so I donated it to St.Vincent de Paul. Even though my youngest child is 2, I still receive free formula and free diapers through different manufacturers and I’m happy to donate it to those who truly need it. And when I visit my pediatrician’s office, I always ask if there is any formula or baby items they would like to get rid of so I can donate that as well.
i do to i stop and give ppl coupons and also tell them of deals.where can u get ink for 2.00? please someone let me know
Wow, what great stories of people thinking of others and not themselves. I also like to give people items and coupons. I love to bring in items like Glade candles (that were almost free) and give them to my paraeducators (I am a special education teacher). My favorite all time coupon giveaway was one day I was in Lane Bryant checking out and I had 3 $25 off of $75 coupons that I would not be using. The lady behind me had an armful and was figuring her total. I asked her if she has spent at least $150, she said yes. I gave her two coupons, told her how to split her order so that she could use both and went on my way. I heard her husband thanking me multiple times as I walked away. Felt good for the rest of the day and still on days I remember that situation.
I have a box in the garage full of free or nearly free items that I have stock piled over the last few months – I will dontate it all around the holidays. I am holding on to the toys that I have gathered through out the year for practically nothing to donate to Toys For Tots.
It feels great to “pay it forward”! I’ve gone to a clothing store such as Childrens Place or Gymboree, 20% off coupon in hand, and not found a single thing. I looked around for people who had items to purchase & asked if they have a coupon. Surprisingly (since I usually won’t shop w/out one) the people I spoke to didn’t, so I felt good that I made someone else happy by saving them some cash! Also, my daughters Girl Scout troop makes gift baskets around the holidays to distribute to the local food pantry. I love that I can help her give to people in need by getting many items at the store inexpensively using coupons & deals I’ve learned about here.
Coupon Fairy – love it!
I’ve found coupons nestled in the aisles many times, and now that I’ve started couponing, I’m leaving them too! I worry that they may be thrown away, but working in retail myself, I know it takes a while to recover the whole store, so my hidden deals should be safe for at least a little while!
I’ve been too introverted to approach a fellow shopper in the store and share my coupons. But maybe that will change. Just this week I was checking out the Biore deal at Walgreens, and a nice lady chatted me up about the product then handed me her $2/1 coupon because she wasn’t going to use it after all. I got the warm fuzzies!
Wonderful Stories! This is truly what makes life so beautiful. I am new to couponing but am loving every minute of it. WOW, have my eyes been open.
My daughters and I volunteer at Preble Street in Portland, Maine and have always enjoyed giving non-perishable items when we can. Our new hobby is anything we can score for $1.00 or less that would be useful for Preble Street or our local food pantry, we get. We have been learning the ropes of couponing for a little less than a month and already have a beautiful BIG box of various items to donate. Our little family is so blessed even though we struggle every day too., Where much is given, much is expected. The charitable spirit to pay it forward and try to bless the lives of others brings such a peace and happiness
P.S. I am curious as to how and/or where you score the $2.00 ink cartridges and free paper. Any information would be so helpful.
I am always sneaking a peak at what items that people have in their shopping carts and/or on the counter. If I have some coupons that they can use with me then I will give them what I have. I always ask if they mind using coupons before I offer them. Some people seem too embarrassed to use them and may get offended if you offer them.
Please tell me where you find $2 ink cartridges!!!
ya me to!
just yesterday I was in Rite Aid and when I coupon, I print a word document with Collin’s deals in them and take it with me in the store so that I make sure to get just the right things. A stock gal came over and asked me about what website I went to and then she came up to check me out so that she could learn as I checked out. It was fun teaching 🙂 Last week I was in doing the free candy deal and I left my list of the size/amounts that triggered the mystery reward with the cashiers so that they could do it too!
I love sharing my coupons. And because I’ve had so many women ask me how to do it – I’ve started a blog and I am co-hosting an event at our church to help women spend their money wisely – while glorifying God in the process. You can save all the money in the world but if you arent doing something good with what you save and the stuff you get free – what good is it.
I love to give out a coupon to someone! If I have a coupon for something they r buying I love to give them the savings. Some r so glad to see the extra savings, and that makes my day, to help them out. To help them out more I love to tell them how to coupon, but to sum it up in a really fast way I just tell them ot go to hip2save and that really gets people!!!!!!
Colin thanks so much for all people you r helping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not only r u helping me and others that go to your site, you make it so easy for all of us to help others too!
I have shared coupons and I have shared other free things. I won 4 tickets to the state fair this summer from a local site. We only needed 3 of the tickets so I gave one to another Mom who was going to the ticket line. This holiday season I am planning on going through my stockpile of cereal, canned foods etc and having my kids make up a bag of food to donate to the local food bank. I also would like to do some couponing to get more items to donate.
I always donate my unwanted coupons to local thrift store. Also whenever I have extra coupons, I just hand it to someone or leave it on the shelf at store. People who received my coupons are usually happy and excited to see saving money but very few people says doesn’t care about coupons. Oh well, it’s their choice, I guess. I’ve asked very often by many people about what I have in my thick binder (of course, tons of coupons!!) so I show to them and tell how to do couponing. If someone skeptical as if it’s works or not then I explain how much they can save. I have a nick name at local Walmart because some of “my” cashires (I have to go to their lane with my coupons or otherwise, hair-pull moment would come! Ugh!) calls me “smart coupon girl”. I told my husband and he thought that’s cute. Ha-ha. Oh, I try to tell them about hip2save.com as well! Happy Saving, everyone!! 😉
Wow, what a great story! Thank you for sharing. I just start thinking about bunch of coupons I really don’t need/use from the inserts. I’m pretty shy, so I hesitate to talk to strangers unless they talk to me. But I can leave some coupons on the shelf with product, so I will try to become someones coupon fairly next time when I go to the store. 🙂
Lots of my family and friends are struggling these days. Every few weeks I make up bags of food, household necessities, etc…and I never forget to add Goodies! Not only can I afford the things my family needs, I can also share with those I love and still have some spare change at the end of the month. I feel so blessed to have found hip2save.