I'm not going to lie you you ladies and tell you that when you start couponing it's going to be easy peasy. It can be slightly challenging at first, especially if you don't have an organization method that works with you. However, in this post I will give you some pointers that will help you get on track to making your wallet (and stockpile!) fatter!
Picking and obtaining the best coupons for your needs
1. Always get multiple papers on Sundays, or at least multiple sets of the coupons. I know that some towns have more than one newspaper. A larger one, and then a smaller local newspaper. Become familiar with both newspapers, because sometimes the smaller local newspapers have the better stash of coupons in the middle!
Organizing your coupon stash
2. I have found that organizing my coupons is easiest with the binder method. I STRONGLY suggest you use this method. My binder is 3" and I organize my coupons on the inside (obvi) with clear baseball card protectors and labeled section dividers. I recommend when setting up your binder that you go up to your local grocery store or whichever store you will be doing your couponing at and ask for a print out of aisles and what type of groceries are on each of them. This will help you organize your binder perfectly based on where things are in the store.
Choosing a grocery store
3. Why can't I shop at the store that I've been shopping at? You ask. Well, You can. But sometimes the store you like the most isn't necessarily the store that's going to save you the most money. The store that will likely give you the best deals is a store that offers a membership/savings card. (By that I DON'T mean the buy in bulk warehouse stores that require a membership to gain access.) These stores usually have an online database that allows you to upload what is called E-coupons onto your savings card. When I shop, I usually don't buy all of my products in the same stores. I usually buy things like soda and laundry detergent at CVS or Walgreens because they usually have great sale prices on them, you can use a manufacturers coupon, a store coupon, and a competitors coupon. As for regular groceries I just shop at a regular grocery store, but different ones. I buy pretty much all of my dairy, meats, and produce at the Commissary. (if you are a mil spouse you know what this is. I am forever grateful that my husbands service provides me with the privilege of being able to grocery shop tax free.) as for the rest of my grocerys, I shop at Safeway.
Become familiar with your stores rules on coupons
4. While you are at the grocer picking up your print out of aisles and products, another thing I would recommend doing is asking for a copy of the store's coupon policy. This will become your new BFF. It might just save you one day. I cannot urge to you enough the importance of knowing your stores coupon policy. Study it, laminate it, lick it, own it, love it. Keep it in your binder. It's always better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. :)
Before making a big couponing/shopping trip, do a walk through of the store.
5. This could potentially save you even more money. By doing this, you can make note of sales on products that weren't advertised.
Shop with a budget and cash only. No exceptions.
6. When you shop with a budget and cash, it will help you avoid spending money you don't need to spend on things you don't need to buy. I have noticed that I am way more frivolous with a debit or credit card then if I have cash. Plus, when I use cash I can save my change and my $5 bills. (I will talk about my $5 savings plan in my next post. :)
Obtaining your coupons
7. Every Sunday morning it has been a routine for my husband to get up out of bed, watch tv and eat his breakfast and then run out and buy me my newspapers. We buy more than one every Sunday, but you can also get them from family, friends, neighbors, etc. Another thing I sometimes do is order coupons from a coupon clipping service. You can usually find a coupon you want through one of these services on Ebay. It may sound crazy to pay for coupons, but sometimes ordering them will save you more than I paid for them. For instance, I ordered 2 sets of 25 coupons from a CCS and paid $2.50 for them both. I walked out of the store with 50 packages of gum to send to my hubby's deployed platoon for free and I made about $10 off of the transaction. In this circumstance, paying the extra money for a coupon was bettter than not paying for it.
Join me for part two tomorrow! :)
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