Lets start by saying that although my
couponing is appealing and it definitely gets a WOW factor it is not
for everyone. If you do not have time or do not have organizational
skills this will not work for you to the extent that I have taken it, it will still work but you will not see as great of savings without effort. Although things may look appealing the reality of couponing is it takes time. But if you think that you are up for it and are ready to save 100's of
dollars everyday. Well read on...
TIME?
Yes you need time even before you can even think about doing this. It takes time to get the coupons clip the coupons organize your coupons find the best prices understand coupons and go shopping. Know which store accepts what and what their polices are and so forth. Best thing I can tell you is find what works for you and go with it. There are plenty of sites out there and tools that can make things as easy as possible without overwhelming you at first.
UNDERSTANDING THE LANGUAGE?
As with everything else couponers have their own language and if you get yourself familiar with the lingo you will be able to understand a bit better. You can get a cheat sheet to the lingo here.
YOU NEED COUPONS
The first thing that you will need is coupons. You can buy your local Sunday paper (note please know the one with the coupons not all Sunday papers carry coupons) some people buy coupons from coupon clipping sites but that’s a bit nuts. Some people dumpster dive! Yes sounds crazy but hey free inserts!! However you plan to get your inserts I suggest that you have at least 2 full inserts to start with. You can also look on the web for coupon sites that let you print coupons most of the sites will let you print a limit of two coupons for each item. I say at least two because lets say there is a coupon for $1.00 off one box of Cheerios and you have two of those and this week you find a local ad in a store that Cheerios is on sale for Buy One Get One Free. Well sounds Great for $3.99 for two boxes? NO! WILL NOT DO IN MY WORLD! With coupons and you can use both of them you now pay $1.98 for two boxes of cereal! As time goes on you can get more papers and the more coupons you have the more you can use those coupons to save even more money by stocking up on items that you use the most.
PRINTING COUPONS ON LINE
There are so many places to print coupons all over the internet. The top sites are coupons.com and couponnetwork where you can go and print off the coupons that you need by going threw a list. Print them all or print the ones that you need. You can also get coupons by liking your favorite product pages on facebook or by visting the companies web sites. This is why blogs such as this one are so helpful because we do all the work for you. We locate the coupons so you do not have to spend all your days and hours looking for a $1/1 coupon that you may need to go with a sale. Because that would be a waste of your time.
You will also need to get yourself a printer and NEVER TRADE INTERNET PRINTED COUPONS!
I also know people who print coupons at the local library but I would ask first to see what the policy is with that before heading out.
ORGANIZING
You have to find what works for you. I have four fold up binders. Two big ones and two smaller ones. The big ones are for personal items and the other for food. The smaller ones are for household items ranging in laundry soap to cleaning supply and the other is the one that I use for shopping where I put all the coupons that I am going to use for the next shopping trip. They are separated and each coupon since I have so many of each one is put inside an envelope with what it is and how much off and when it expires. But whatever you have in mind to make things as simple as possible for you would be fine.You can read up on ways to Organize here.
KNOW YOUR COUPONS
Okay now you got your coupons and they are organized and now what? The first thing you have to do is understand they do expire. They may even have limits on them as to how many can be used or how many like coupons per transaction. They may have size limits or no size limits or cost limits. You also have to know that you MUST buy the item that the coupon was intended to be used for. You also have to be able to learn how to tell the difference between a store coupon and a manufactures coupon. My favorite coupons are for the ones with the highest amount for any size. Meaning $2.00 of Any Scope Mouthwash no size restrictions. Well guess what you can purchase the trail size ones for about $1.00. (see Overages).I know this may sound overwhelming but it is really simple just read the coupon.
CLASS IS IN SESSION
I know have a sort of like an online blog coupon class for those just starting out. Here I go deep into how the math works behind the coupons. The more you can understand how they work the less confusing and a better couponer you can be. You can learn more about how coupons work by visiting coupon class.
KNOW YOUR BOTTOM LINE PRICE
The best way to save the most money is that you need is to know your prices. It takes time to find the best deals out there on the things that you and your family need. For instance since coupon I know if I pay more then $1.00 a box for cereal I am paying to much! You have to find the lowest price possible. It may take you about a month or so to determine what is the lowest cost for that item that you will find. I also know which store has the best prices on the items that my family and I use. By knowing this I can use it to my advantage when clipping and using my coupons.
BEHIND THE SCENES
The idea of coupons is to save us the consumer money but it is also a way to get us to shop at a certain store. For the most part if you see a coupon in the paper there is a really good chance that item is going to be on sale somewhere sometime soon. The stores want you to go to their store so they will try to bring you there by offering you a deal. Offering in store sales and ins tore coupons and also accepting other stores coupons. Here is an article that I wrote for a local on line news feed about couponing.
KNOW YOUR STORE
You have to know your store. I can tell you from experience I use to shop at a Discount grocery chain where I found the best deals on what I could afford at the time. Sometimes I would go to the larger food chain store but now that I use coupons I find the store that I never really shopped at at all is where I spend most of my time. They not only have sales that I usually have a coupon for they do overages and have store coupons and also accept other store coupons. So I save even more money! Stores like your coupons and they want your business. Soon the cashiers will like you or hate you the managers will be nice or nit pick your every coupon. The people standing in line behind you will either be amazed and want to know how the *** you just did that or be so mad that they got behind you in line. Sometimes its easier and less of a hassle to go to the store when they are busy so they don't nit pick your every coupon.
THE PEOPLE WILL LOVE YOU OR HATE YOU
As stated you may hold up the line for a few minutes longer. Make that a few extra minutes if the idiot cashier has to check each coupon and item you purchased and the bagger bagged already. Forget it if they need a managers assistance. You might as well pull up a chair because this may take awhile. Again goes back to knowing your store. The stores by me the manager will more then likely come to my line when I am ready to go and she will ring me up just not to confuse the new girl working the register. At another store they let me ring my stuff up at the make up counter so I don't cause a long line of customers in front of their store. Another thing if you do not coupon correctly other coupons will get mad at you. There are ethics that couponers must follow. It is important to do things correctly so that the people, the stores, the other couponers, and your normal everyday people can all function together.
DIFFERENT COUPONS
For the most part you can use One Manufacture's Coupon per item and One Store OR Competitor. So lets say the store has Cheerios $3.99 Buy One Get One Free. You can learn how to tell the difference from the two coupons by clicking here. That would equal to about $2.00 a box. You have 2 manufacturers coupon for $1.00 off each box. So now you are paying $1.00 a box. But WAIT there is also a flier at your store that has $1.00 off 2 boxes of Cheerios. In the end you will end up paying 50 cents for each box. Some stores accept competitors coupons which you could use instead . Some stores offer rewards or money back when purchasing a certain item from them. So check that out as well. A few weeks ago I bought some packs of M&M's originally $4.00 each and the store had a promotion buy $12.00 worth of M&M's and get $5.00 in rewards back to use on your next purchase. I bought 3 bags for $12.00 and had $6.00 in coupons I paid $6.00 and got back $5.00!
WHAT IS AN OVERAGE
This is my favorite Coupon word! Example... You have a coupon for $2.00 off ANY Scope Mouthwash no size restrictions. While your out shopping you find Scope Mouthwash in your store marked down to $1.49 You just made 50 cents and got a Bottle of Scope Mouthwash for FREE! Some stores do not do overages they wont accept your coupon or they will adjust the coupon to the price of the item but if your lucky you have a store in your area that allows overages. Now lets say you had 2 coupons you made $1.00 lets say you had 4 you made $2.00. Most stores who do overages apply the overages to your bill. So your favorite cookies that are not on sale you cans till buy because of your overages. This works especially well if your store accepts competitors coupons.
FREE STUFF
There are coupons out there all the time for just the right price. Meaning you pay little or nothing for something that you may or may not use. But it is free and well you may try it and like it and maybe pay a bit more next time for it. That's why they made the coupon. Like the stores who try to attract your business with weekly specials the manufactures make coupons to attract you to an item. Someone on a budget might by Bic Razors but if they have a coupon for a Gillette Razor for the same price there is a good chance that they will go ahead and buy the more expensive one that well is not that expensive anymore due to the coupon. Now you buy the Gillette and guess what it is the best razor ever. Next time either or without a coupon there is a HUGE chance that you may ay a bit more next time for the better razor. You can also use the overages to get free stuff on top of free stuff.
MATCHING COUPONS
Like I stated prior you can use one manufactures coupon and one store coupon. So lets say (I KNOW Again with the cheerios) Cheerios $3.99 Buy One Get One Free. You have 2 manufacturers coupon for $1.00 off each box. So now you are paying $1.98 for two boxes But there is also a flier at your store that has $1.00 off 2 boxes of Cheerios. In the end you will end up paying 98 cents for 2 boxes. BUT let's just say you have another coupon that states Buy two boxes of Cheerios and get a Free Gallon on Milk manufactures coupon find out what happens here.
LEARN EVERYTHING THAT YOU CAN
There are dozens of websites out there to assist you with starting out. There are sites out there where you can print coupons, buy coupons, sell coupons, get coupons, and anything else that you may need. There are tutorials on you Tube. There are sites that show you the ad of your local stores before they come out and tell you what coupons to use t get the best price. There are groups you can join. i can tell you when I first started a friend of mine who I knew used coupons pointed me to all the sites and boom she created a monster.
WHY IT WORKS FOR ME
I found Couponing to work for me because I am home all day and know all the local stores. I get relaxed at night watching my favorite show clipping my coupons after my kids are in bed. It helps me to know that I am helping out m family. I am the only shopper in the house and have been shopping for years so I can tell you what isle is what and so I see whats on clearance whats on sale and so forth. I know which store to go to that gives me the best deal on soap, or where I get the best use of my coupons, and which store takes what coupons. It also works for me because I use about 10 inserts or more. So I am constantly clipping the same coupons so I after seeing the coupon over and over again I know what I have and don't have to constantly look to see if I have a coupon for that. I KNOW I DO! Even if I pay $10.00 for the Sunday paper and save $400 that week... well I did good.
HOW COUPONS HELPED ME
It is a tough economy out there. The job market is slim and I wanted to do something to contribute to the house and not leave the weight of supporting all of us to one person. With a family of five plus two dogs I can tell you I use even with shopping for only bargains and good deals at the local discount store I would spend hundreds a month for my household food and personal items and tried to stretch them as far as I could. Now I spend an average of $60.00 a week and am saving about $300+ a week! I only spend that much because I stock pile on the items that I get for a bottom line price. As of today I have enough personal items to last my household for 6 months (hygiene products for about a year) and my cupboards will not be bare for at least 3 months. It has changed the way that we eat, live, and survive in these times.
HELPING OTHERS
I don't know if you know this or not but the military people who are stationed overseas can use coupons up to 6 months past the expiration date. There are people out there who collect expired coupons to send them overseas. You can also donate some of your free unwanted or way overstocked items to local charities or food banks to help those in need. You can also learn to coupon yourself and help a neighbor to save. I have a few people who come to my house with their grocery list and I give them coupons for items that they are getting that I have a coupon for and am not planning to use. It is all about passing things on. Which is why I have choose to write this note for anyone who wants to see if couponing is right for them. I save $100's each and every week but I guess in this day and time saving anything helps.
ABOUT MY BLOG
I started the blog to have all of the information in one set place and to share what I have learned with a wider arrange of people. The blog has become a huge success but does take a lot of time on top of my everyday life and the Facebook group to maintain and operate. It is my job to help you all get the best deals and to be able to score the best coupons. I do have affiliated links on this site.
COUPONS IN THE NEWS
Did you know a lot of news out lets write articles about coupons. From fraud alerts to couponing help. You can click here to read a few articles that I found interesting.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
If you have made it this far then you are taking the first steps to learn about this. Remember everyone was new at one time. Yes it may seem overwhelming and you may have a hard time on your first trip but we have all been there. If you are still having trouble you can feel free to check out my FAQ or join my Facebook Group and trust me just get your coupons together and put your game face on and do it. You will be fine and doing the happy dance to your car. Good Luck
TIME?
Yes you need time even before you can even think about doing this. It takes time to get the coupons clip the coupons organize your coupons find the best prices understand coupons and go shopping. Know which store accepts what and what their polices are and so forth. Best thing I can tell you is find what works for you and go with it. There are plenty of sites out there and tools that can make things as easy as possible without overwhelming you at first.
UNDERSTANDING THE LANGUAGE?
As with everything else couponers have their own language and if you get yourself familiar with the lingo you will be able to understand a bit better. You can get a cheat sheet to the lingo here.
YOU NEED COUPONS
The first thing that you will need is coupons. You can buy your local Sunday paper (note please know the one with the coupons not all Sunday papers carry coupons) some people buy coupons from coupon clipping sites but that’s a bit nuts. Some people dumpster dive! Yes sounds crazy but hey free inserts!! However you plan to get your inserts I suggest that you have at least 2 full inserts to start with. You can also look on the web for coupon sites that let you print coupons most of the sites will let you print a limit of two coupons for each item. I say at least two because lets say there is a coupon for $1.00 off one box of Cheerios and you have two of those and this week you find a local ad in a store that Cheerios is on sale for Buy One Get One Free. Well sounds Great for $3.99 for two boxes? NO! WILL NOT DO IN MY WORLD! With coupons and you can use both of them you now pay $1.98 for two boxes of cereal! As time goes on you can get more papers and the more coupons you have the more you can use those coupons to save even more money by stocking up on items that you use the most.
PRINTING COUPONS ON LINE
There are so many places to print coupons all over the internet. The top sites are coupons.com and couponnetwork where you can go and print off the coupons that you need by going threw a list. Print them all or print the ones that you need. You can also get coupons by liking your favorite product pages on facebook or by visting the companies web sites. This is why blogs such as this one are so helpful because we do all the work for you. We locate the coupons so you do not have to spend all your days and hours looking for a $1/1 coupon that you may need to go with a sale. Because that would be a waste of your time.
You will also need to get yourself a printer and NEVER TRADE INTERNET PRINTED COUPONS!
I also know people who print coupons at the local library but I would ask first to see what the policy is with that before heading out.
ORGANIZING
You have to find what works for you. I have four fold up binders. Two big ones and two smaller ones. The big ones are for personal items and the other for food. The smaller ones are for household items ranging in laundry soap to cleaning supply and the other is the one that I use for shopping where I put all the coupons that I am going to use for the next shopping trip. They are separated and each coupon since I have so many of each one is put inside an envelope with what it is and how much off and when it expires. But whatever you have in mind to make things as simple as possible for you would be fine.You can read up on ways to Organize here.
KNOW YOUR COUPONS
Okay now you got your coupons and they are organized and now what? The first thing you have to do is understand they do expire. They may even have limits on them as to how many can be used or how many like coupons per transaction. They may have size limits or no size limits or cost limits. You also have to know that you MUST buy the item that the coupon was intended to be used for. You also have to be able to learn how to tell the difference between a store coupon and a manufactures coupon. My favorite coupons are for the ones with the highest amount for any size. Meaning $2.00 of Any Scope Mouthwash no size restrictions. Well guess what you can purchase the trail size ones for about $1.00. (see Overages).I know this may sound overwhelming but it is really simple just read the coupon.
CLASS IS IN SESSION
I know have a sort of like an online blog coupon class for those just starting out. Here I go deep into how the math works behind the coupons. The more you can understand how they work the less confusing and a better couponer you can be. You can learn more about how coupons work by visiting coupon class.
KNOW YOUR BOTTOM LINE PRICE
The best way to save the most money is that you need is to know your prices. It takes time to find the best deals out there on the things that you and your family need. For instance since coupon I know if I pay more then $1.00 a box for cereal I am paying to much! You have to find the lowest price possible. It may take you about a month or so to determine what is the lowest cost for that item that you will find. I also know which store has the best prices on the items that my family and I use. By knowing this I can use it to my advantage when clipping and using my coupons.
BEHIND THE SCENES
The idea of coupons is to save us the consumer money but it is also a way to get us to shop at a certain store. For the most part if you see a coupon in the paper there is a really good chance that item is going to be on sale somewhere sometime soon. The stores want you to go to their store so they will try to bring you there by offering you a deal. Offering in store sales and ins tore coupons and also accepting other stores coupons. Here is an article that I wrote for a local on line news feed about couponing.
KNOW YOUR STORE
You have to know your store. I can tell you from experience I use to shop at a Discount grocery chain where I found the best deals on what I could afford at the time. Sometimes I would go to the larger food chain store but now that I use coupons I find the store that I never really shopped at at all is where I spend most of my time. They not only have sales that I usually have a coupon for they do overages and have store coupons and also accept other store coupons. So I save even more money! Stores like your coupons and they want your business. Soon the cashiers will like you or hate you the managers will be nice or nit pick your every coupon. The people standing in line behind you will either be amazed and want to know how the *** you just did that or be so mad that they got behind you in line. Sometimes its easier and less of a hassle to go to the store when they are busy so they don't nit pick your every coupon.
THE PEOPLE WILL LOVE YOU OR HATE YOU
As stated you may hold up the line for a few minutes longer. Make that a few extra minutes if the idiot cashier has to check each coupon and item you purchased and the bagger bagged already. Forget it if they need a managers assistance. You might as well pull up a chair because this may take awhile. Again goes back to knowing your store. The stores by me the manager will more then likely come to my line when I am ready to go and she will ring me up just not to confuse the new girl working the register. At another store they let me ring my stuff up at the make up counter so I don't cause a long line of customers in front of their store. Another thing if you do not coupon correctly other coupons will get mad at you. There are ethics that couponers must follow. It is important to do things correctly so that the people, the stores, the other couponers, and your normal everyday people can all function together.
DIFFERENT COUPONS
For the most part you can use One Manufacture's Coupon per item and One Store OR Competitor. So lets say the store has Cheerios $3.99 Buy One Get One Free. You can learn how to tell the difference from the two coupons by clicking here. That would equal to about $2.00 a box. You have 2 manufacturers coupon for $1.00 off each box. So now you are paying $1.00 a box. But WAIT there is also a flier at your store that has $1.00 off 2 boxes of Cheerios. In the end you will end up paying 50 cents for each box. Some stores accept competitors coupons which you could use instead . Some stores offer rewards or money back when purchasing a certain item from them. So check that out as well. A few weeks ago I bought some packs of M&M's originally $4.00 each and the store had a promotion buy $12.00 worth of M&M's and get $5.00 in rewards back to use on your next purchase. I bought 3 bags for $12.00 and had $6.00 in coupons I paid $6.00 and got back $5.00!
WHAT IS AN OVERAGE
This is my favorite Coupon word! Example... You have a coupon for $2.00 off ANY Scope Mouthwash no size restrictions. While your out shopping you find Scope Mouthwash in your store marked down to $1.49 You just made 50 cents and got a Bottle of Scope Mouthwash for FREE! Some stores do not do overages they wont accept your coupon or they will adjust the coupon to the price of the item but if your lucky you have a store in your area that allows overages. Now lets say you had 2 coupons you made $1.00 lets say you had 4 you made $2.00. Most stores who do overages apply the overages to your bill. So your favorite cookies that are not on sale you cans till buy because of your overages. This works especially well if your store accepts competitors coupons.
FREE STUFF
There are coupons out there all the time for just the right price. Meaning you pay little or nothing for something that you may or may not use. But it is free and well you may try it and like it and maybe pay a bit more next time for it. That's why they made the coupon. Like the stores who try to attract your business with weekly specials the manufactures make coupons to attract you to an item. Someone on a budget might by Bic Razors but if they have a coupon for a Gillette Razor for the same price there is a good chance that they will go ahead and buy the more expensive one that well is not that expensive anymore due to the coupon. Now you buy the Gillette and guess what it is the best razor ever. Next time either or without a coupon there is a HUGE chance that you may ay a bit more next time for the better razor. You can also use the overages to get free stuff on top of free stuff.
MATCHING COUPONS
Like I stated prior you can use one manufactures coupon and one store coupon. So lets say (I KNOW Again with the cheerios) Cheerios $3.99 Buy One Get One Free. You have 2 manufacturers coupon for $1.00 off each box. So now you are paying $1.98 for two boxes But there is also a flier at your store that has $1.00 off 2 boxes of Cheerios. In the end you will end up paying 98 cents for 2 boxes. BUT let's just say you have another coupon that states Buy two boxes of Cheerios and get a Free Gallon on Milk manufactures coupon find out what happens here.
LEARN EVERYTHING THAT YOU CAN
There are dozens of websites out there to assist you with starting out. There are sites out there where you can print coupons, buy coupons, sell coupons, get coupons, and anything else that you may need. There are tutorials on you Tube. There are sites that show you the ad of your local stores before they come out and tell you what coupons to use t get the best price. There are groups you can join. i can tell you when I first started a friend of mine who I knew used coupons pointed me to all the sites and boom she created a monster.
WHY IT WORKS FOR ME
I found Couponing to work for me because I am home all day and know all the local stores. I get relaxed at night watching my favorite show clipping my coupons after my kids are in bed. It helps me to know that I am helping out m family. I am the only shopper in the house and have been shopping for years so I can tell you what isle is what and so I see whats on clearance whats on sale and so forth. I know which store to go to that gives me the best deal on soap, or where I get the best use of my coupons, and which store takes what coupons. It also works for me because I use about 10 inserts or more. So I am constantly clipping the same coupons so I after seeing the coupon over and over again I know what I have and don't have to constantly look to see if I have a coupon for that. I KNOW I DO! Even if I pay $10.00 for the Sunday paper and save $400 that week... well I did good.
HOW COUPONS HELPED ME
It is a tough economy out there. The job market is slim and I wanted to do something to contribute to the house and not leave the weight of supporting all of us to one person. With a family of five plus two dogs I can tell you I use even with shopping for only bargains and good deals at the local discount store I would spend hundreds a month for my household food and personal items and tried to stretch them as far as I could. Now I spend an average of $60.00 a week and am saving about $300+ a week! I only spend that much because I stock pile on the items that I get for a bottom line price. As of today I have enough personal items to last my household for 6 months (hygiene products for about a year) and my cupboards will not be bare for at least 3 months. It has changed the way that we eat, live, and survive in these times.
HELPING OTHERS
I don't know if you know this or not but the military people who are stationed overseas can use coupons up to 6 months past the expiration date. There are people out there who collect expired coupons to send them overseas. You can also donate some of your free unwanted or way overstocked items to local charities or food banks to help those in need. You can also learn to coupon yourself and help a neighbor to save. I have a few people who come to my house with their grocery list and I give them coupons for items that they are getting that I have a coupon for and am not planning to use. It is all about passing things on. Which is why I have choose to write this note for anyone who wants to see if couponing is right for them. I save $100's each and every week but I guess in this day and time saving anything helps.
ABOUT MY BLOG
I started the blog to have all of the information in one set place and to share what I have learned with a wider arrange of people. The blog has become a huge success but does take a lot of time on top of my everyday life and the Facebook group to maintain and operate. It is my job to help you all get the best deals and to be able to score the best coupons. I do have affiliated links on this site.
COUPONS IN THE NEWS
Did you know a lot of news out lets write articles about coupons. From fraud alerts to couponing help. You can click here to read a few articles that I found interesting.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
If you have made it this far then you are taking the first steps to learn about this. Remember everyone was new at one time. Yes it may seem overwhelming and you may have a hard time on your first trip but we have all been there. If you are still having trouble you can feel free to check out my FAQ or join my Facebook Group and trust me just get your coupons together and put your game face on and do it. You will be fine and doing the happy dance to your car. Good Luck
HAPPY COUPONING!
No comments:
Post a Comment