So you want to learn how to use coupons more efficiently and effectively right? You wouldn't be reading this for any other reason I suppose? Well this is a simple tutorial to help get you started saving more money when you do your grocery shopping.
Step One: To use coupons you must obtain coupons. You can primarily find coupons in your Sunday paper almost every weekend. I say almost because on some weeks when a holiday occurs there are no coupons inserted that week. You can also find coupons in various magazines such as Better Home & Gardens, All You, and Good Housekeeping. I have even noticed a couple coupons appearing on the Red Plum (RP) flyers that come with your weekly grocery ads on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. There are also catalina coupons that will print at the registers in most stores when you make certain purchases. Check the boxes and packaging of products you buy. When you are inside the stores keep an eye out for blinkies and peelies hanging on the shelves. And "Liking" certain products on Facebook can also get you racking up lots of freebies and printable coupons. In general, look EVERYWHERE!
Step Two: Organization! There are many ways to organize your coupons. Different methods work for different people. Here are just a few examples:
Step Three: Putting those coupons to use! This is where it will make or break you. Most people who do not use coupons use this excuse. "It just takes up so much time and I don't have the time." Let me tell you now clipping and using coupons will actually save you more time in the long run. I will save that discussion for a later post. See why menu planning is important! There are so many sites out there that list and give you sale ads with coupon match-ups. This site will soon be doing the same to help you out. In the mean-time I suggest you take a peak at Frugal Fun And Fortune. This is where Trisha first started learning how to get these super saving deals back in November 2010. The young lady who runs this blog is also from the Jacksonville area as well. Anyways, back to step three. My apologies for side tracking just a bit. These blogs and sites will do the match-ups for you so the only work you need to do on your side is basically read. Scan the posts for the store you plan to do your shopping at. If you see an item that you need or could possibly use simply look at the price and search to see if you have the coupons for that item. That's the secret right there. Using your coupons for items that are on sale or clearance and simply stock up on that item to the quantity you desire. The more you want to stock up on an item the more coupons you will need in your possession. I suggest, just like Frugal Fun And Fortune does, buying two newspapers each week. This enables you to have double the coupons which works really great on BOGO (Buy One Get One) deals that Winn-Dixie and Publix do each week. What I mean by that is when an item is BOGO free you can normally use 2 coupons. For example if Pop Tarts are BOGO free at Publix (like they were recently) for $2.29 and you want to take home two boxes, you could use two $$/1 coupons or one $$/2 coupon. Getting both boxes cheaper than the regular price of one box. Here is the way Trisha did it when she made her Pop Tarts purchase.
Step One: To use coupons you must obtain coupons. You can primarily find coupons in your Sunday paper almost every weekend. I say almost because on some weeks when a holiday occurs there are no coupons inserted that week. You can also find coupons in various magazines such as Better Home & Gardens, All You, and Good Housekeeping. I have even noticed a couple coupons appearing on the Red Plum (RP) flyers that come with your weekly grocery ads on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. There are also catalina coupons that will print at the registers in most stores when you make certain purchases. Check the boxes and packaging of products you buy. When you are inside the stores keep an eye out for blinkies and peelies hanging on the shelves. And "Liking" certain products on Facebook can also get you racking up lots of freebies and printable coupons. In general, look EVERYWHERE!
Step Two: Organization! There are many ways to organize your coupons. Different methods work for different people. Here are just a few examples:
- Filing By Date: This is where you would pull all your inserts and booklets and organize them in a uncut method. Put them in order by the date they come in by. This way is easy for when you check a blog or site that lists match-ups you can flip right to that insert and coupon. For example if you see $1/1 05-09-2010 (RP) that means that that $1/1 coupon is located in the Red Plum that came in Sunday May 05, 2010's paper.
- Binder Method: This means you clip all coupons (you want or will use) and file them in a three ring binder in, for example, baseball card pages. Our writer, Erica, uses and prefers this method. This makes for constant easy access when you are going through your coupons. You see all of them for their face value and what product they are for.
- Accordion Method: So you have some of those nifty little coupon organizers that come with dividers in them. This is the method that our writer, Trisha, uses and prefers. You cut all coupons and file them under their respective categories. Like your coupons for eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. go under dairy. Your coupons for your frozen items go under, well, frozen. And so on. (Trisha goes a little bit more categorized though)
Step Three: Putting those coupons to use! This is where it will make or break you. Most people who do not use coupons use this excuse. "It just takes up so much time and I don't have the time." Let me tell you now clipping and using coupons will actually save you more time in the long run. I will save that discussion for a later post. See why menu planning is important! There are so many sites out there that list and give you sale ads with coupon match-ups. This site will soon be doing the same to help you out. In the mean-time I suggest you take a peak at Frugal Fun And Fortune. This is where Trisha first started learning how to get these super saving deals back in November 2010. The young lady who runs this blog is also from the Jacksonville area as well. Anyways, back to step three. My apologies for side tracking just a bit. These blogs and sites will do the match-ups for you so the only work you need to do on your side is basically read. Scan the posts for the store you plan to do your shopping at. If you see an item that you need or could possibly use simply look at the price and search to see if you have the coupons for that item. That's the secret right there. Using your coupons for items that are on sale or clearance and simply stock up on that item to the quantity you desire. The more you want to stock up on an item the more coupons you will need in your possession. I suggest, just like Frugal Fun And Fortune does, buying two newspapers each week. This enables you to have double the coupons which works really great on BOGO (Buy One Get One) deals that Winn-Dixie and Publix do each week. What I mean by that is when an item is BOGO free you can normally use 2 coupons. For example if Pop Tarts are BOGO free at Publix (like they were recently) for $2.29 and you want to take home two boxes, you could use two $$/1 coupons or one $$/2 coupon. Getting both boxes cheaper than the regular price of one box. Here is the way Trisha did it when she made her Pop Tarts purchase.
Pop Tarts BOGO $2.29
Trisha Took Home 10 Boxes Total Which Equals To $11.45
She Used Three $1.50/3 Coupons Which Equals Up To $4.50
After Coupons Her Total Was $6.95
Which In Turn Equals Out To $0.75/per box
Amount Saved After Store Sales And Coupons: $15.95
Trisha Took Home 10 Boxes Total Which Equals To $11.45
She Used Three $1.50/3 Coupons Which Equals Up To $4.50
After Coupons Her Total Was $6.95
Which In Turn Equals Out To $0.75/per box
Amount Saved After Store Sales And Coupons: $15.95
This is just a rough draft and I am sure there will be more additions and helpful hints to help you along the way. If you have any questions or comments please leave them below.
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