Saving Money by Using Coupons
All of us want to get more for less. When it comes to your everyday needs, coupons can help to accomplish this goal. Many people may not understand that there is an art to using coupons, there are rules, guidelines and for anyone who gets into this hobby, a learning curve. One should also realize that you get out what you put in. For many who start couponing, they soon realize that it can almost be like having a part-time job, but the benefits are also very good. One of the keys to getting good at couponing is first and foremost; you don’t just buy something just because you have a coupon for it. The way to get the most for your money and time is to be patient and wait to match the coupons you have up to the sales that come along.
Step 1
When couponing, the idea is to stock up on whatever is on sale that you will use in the future before it will expire or go bad. For instance, if a local grocery store is having a great deal on yogurt, you may see that you can get them for 10 cents each, but if you buy 100 of them and there are only 2 people in your household, you will probably see a lot of those yogurts go in the trash. Sometimes learning to gauge how many or how much just will take some time and practice. It is also important to put the newest items to the back of your stock so that you use the oldest purchased first. Some places have very efficient canned food rotation storage units that help you to do this in an organized way. Just search the internet for food storage rotation and you should be able to find some helpful ideas.
Step 2
Another key to good couponing is to have more than one of the same coupons. Most of us who have been doing this for a while have subscriptions to our local paper in which we are getting the paper everyday, but on Sundays we get more than one paper (getting more than 5 or 6 papers becomes less effective). I get 5 Sunday papers which gives me all of the coupon inserts every week 5 times over. Then, during the week, I get 1 paper per day, which to be honest; I only really am interested in Sunday’s paper and Wednesday’s paper. Wednesday’s paper has all of the sales for the local grocery stores so that I can match the coupons that I have to the sales that are going on. So, in essence, even if you have to go to your local store to buy the paper, get at least 5 each week of the Sunday paper so that you can be prepared with coupons and match them to the sales.
Step 3
Be Organized! I can’t stress this enough. This is the part where you get out what you put in comes into play. Most of us who coupon have actual binders with plastic baseball-card sheets inside to help us stay organized. Each week you will have to spend a few hours clipping, organizing, going-through and matching coupons up to sales. If you don’t stay organized, this can make couponing miserable. This may be the reason that some people don’t do well at couponing because they get overwhelmed with the amount of time it takes to keep yourself organized. You will also want to learn about your local recycling services as you will find that after a couple of months, your house will start to look like the local news stand. Another element of being organized is that you don’t want to be at checkout in the store sorting through your coupons while the checker and everyone behind you in line are getting highly annoyed with you. Like I said, I can’t stress this enough, BE ORGANIZED!
Step 4
Keep a budget. Even though it won’t take long for you to see the benefits of couponing, it is also important that you don’t just go HOG WILD! Either. Make a budget, stick to it and remember if it’s on sale now, it will be on sale in the future too. You don’t have to buy it all up right now; there will always be another sale.
Step 5
Plan out your shopping trip before you go to the store. When you get your paper on Sunday and Wednesday, there should be inserts for each store in your area that you can go through and see what deals are going for the week. Once you find the things that you want to get that you have coupons to match with, then plan your trip. It is also helpful to talk with some of the employees to see what their rules are for couponing. All stores have different policies on how to use coupons and what they will and will not allow. Some stores will allow you to stack your coupons, in other words, the store may have a “Store” coupon that you can use in conjunction with a “manufacturer’s” coupon, and this is a great way to save even more money. Some stores will only allow you to do a certain amount of transactions before you have to go through the checkout line again (This is usually because doing a lot of transactions holds up the people in line behind you). An example of this would be a store that allows you to “double your coupons” They may tell you that you can only use 3 doublers, then you must take your purchases out to your car, and then you can come back in and purchase another 3 items with doublers. Although these types of rules may seem frustrating, it is important to remember to PLAY BY THE RULES. Playing by the rules will ensure that your couponing and shopping experience go well, and that everyone will be able to continue to shop using coupons. Don’t be the bad egg that spoils it for everyone else. Play by the rules.
Step 6
Don’t argue with the store manager or cashiers. When you are told you can’t do something, it is okay to ask for an explanation of why, but don’t argue with the cashier. This not only makes everyone around uncomfortable, it also makes the cashier less nice to other people who coupon. There is a learning curve involved when couponing, and once you start, you will learn the ropes of what you can and can’t do, and what policies stores have about using coupons. It may also be helpful to find out about a coupon class in your area. Most cities have someone who will give a free class to teach you how to coupon efficiently. Just remember these steps and you can learn to coupon like a pro.
