The point to couponing is to create a stock pile (not a hoard) of things that you need/use that are non perishable. You buy these things at there rock bottom prices. Sales are generally on a rotation. Things always go back on sale. You should buy enough to last you until at least the next sale. Some people buy things to last them and their families for a year. I buy what I have room to store. And in a one bedroom apartment, I am getting pretty creative about where I put my couponing purchases. (I want to create a list of what I have, but I haven't done it yet).
Here are a few tips of mine when it comes to couponing (I will add more with other posts as I think of more).
1. I buy 4 Sunday papers every week. (If there are coupons in them, and depending on how good the coupons are). Usually the first sunday of every month there is a P&G (proctor and gamble) saver in the paper. That insert is usually great. It has great coupons for products that proctor and gamble make. They make shampoo, cosmetics, toilet paper, tampons, baby items, etc.
*extra tip: ALWAYS check to see if there are coupons in the papers that you buy. I have made this mistake a couple of times and bought papers with NO coupons in them. Either because there were no coupons that week or some selfish person stole the coupons without paying for the paper.
There are many other ways to get coupons as well. Publix has coupons in their stores (they also have free quarterly magazines that you can sign up for that have coupons in them). There are always coupons online at company websites and also at coupons.com . There are coupons on certain items at the store AKA "Peelies". There are the coupons on the shelf at the store AKA "blinkies". If you shop at Kroger there are coupons that can be downloaded on to your Kroger card and when you scan your card the savings come off automatically.
2. I cut out every coupon. Since I buy four papers every week I usually group each like page together and cut all four of the same coupons at the same time. Then I paper clip them together until I get ready to organize them. (If you chose this method, I would recommend buying about 3 boxes of paper clips).
3. Just because I cut every coupon, doesn't mean that I use every coupon. I cut every coupon because I don't want to accidentally throw away a coupon I might want later. I usually throw away coupons for items like Depends, etc. But there are online people that may want to trade coupons for depends for coupons for salad dressing. If you don't have kids, there are TONS of people that do and may want to trade or buy those coupons from you.
4. I store and organize my coupons in a binder. There are several ways to store and organize your coupons. Just chose the method that works best for you.
There is the binder method. This binder is from TangledRibbonParties on Etsy. This method uses baseball card holders and a binder (I use a zip up binder so the coupons don't fall out) and page dividers with tabs. That way you can organize your coupons by category to find easier.
This is a pocket organizer. This organizer is from allwrappedupandmore on Etsy. It has tabs to organize coupons too. (I use the binder for all of my coupons and this for coupons I want to use in the near future).
This the accordion folder method. Some people chose to not cut there coupons until they decide to shop. Some blogs will tell you exactly what insert a coupon is in and what date they were in the paper. Personally, I don't like this method for a couple reasons. I like to have my coupons already cut and ready when I want to use them. The coupons might be a little easier to find but they will still need to be cut eventually. I also feel that it gets messy once you cut a certain amount coupons.
5. It's okay to be brand loyal to somethings. We only use Tide to wash our clothes. There are tons of other laundry detergent coupons I just chose not to use them because I prefer Tide. Some people buy the cheapest deal and don't care what brand it is. I'm like that with somethings. Hot sauce, toilet paper, peanut butter, etc. But if a product that I LOVE is on a great sale I will buy as many items as I have coupons.
6. I don't buy things that I don't need UNLESS, it's FREE or there is overage. Why do I buy things that are free if I don't use them? Well, I could donate it to a food bank or to the church, etc. I used all kinds of things I couponed last year to give to my church to give to the families we support for Christmas.
7. Know your grocery stores coupon policy. It varies from store to store. My store of choice is Publix. Every week they have BOGO (Buy one Get one) sales. Which means those items are already 50% off and then I stack a coupon on top of the sale that means I am saving TONS! The next store that I like is Kroger. I tend to keep to these two stores because I know their policies and I like them. You can coupon at a TON of places but it can get complicated and hard to keep up with. Both of these stores I shop at double coupons that are 50 cents or less. So a 50 cent coupon is actually $1.00 off! Where as a 55 cent coupon is only 55 cents off. You can also stack coupons on top of each other. I can use a Publix store coupon and a Manufacture's coupon on the same item. That MORE savings.
Here is an example. Publix had Advil on sale for $4.49. I had a Publix store coupon that was for $5 off 2. Then I had a manufactures coupons that was for $2 off 1. I used 1 store coupon and 2 manufactures coupons (5+2+2=9). I got two bottles of Advil for FREE! (I did actually did the deal 3 times and got 6 bottles for FREE).
Beginning couponing takes time. You won't be perfect every time. Just keep practicing. It will take time to build a coupon base (several weeks will go by until you have several weeks worth of coupons). The longer you do it the easier it will get. You will get into a habit, you will keep learning, and it is a lot of fun when you get used to it. It's awesome to see how much you saved at the bottom of your receipt.
I will post again later and walk you through a couponing trip I did a couple weeks ago. Good luck. Go ahead and get clipping. :)
