Couponing Tips

I wanted to share some helpful tips for successful couponing. Let me just say....I LOVE COUPONS!!! They are the best thing ever! I have been couponing for about 2 years now. It has been worth every minute of it. There are so many "secrets" to getting free groceries or other items from the stores free. Recently, I have been able to stock up Special K cereal for so about $.50 a box. That's awesome!! I was happy about that. I can offer some tips though that might help others looking to save money. I will try to make as much sense as possible.

1) Shop at more than one store if you are able to. I used to limit myself to just Walmart b/c I always thought Walmart had the best deals. Not true. I shop at Walmart, Super Target, Kroger, Brookshires, Walgreens, and CVS. It may seem like a lot of stores but it's not like I go to all of these every week. Broaden your horizons if you have a favorite store.

2) Become familiar with the stores coupon policy. Every store's coupon policy is different. Contact the stores customer service and they will usually email you back a copy of the policy. Keep a copy of that policy with you when you are at that store. You never know when you will get an unfriendly cashier or someone that doesn't know the policies.

Walmart
Target and Target's Price Matching Policy
Walgreens
CVS does not have a coupon policy available but these are some tips to understanding their store.
Brookshires

3)There are several websites to get coupons from. Examples:

www.coupons.com
www.bettycrocker.com
www.eatbetteramerica.com
www.redplum.com
These are just a few examples. Also, you can go directly to the manufacturer websites and get on email lists. I receive offers and specials that way too.

4) Give yourself a budget and stick to it. There will be times when you will splurge and I tell myself that's ok...every once in a while. Not all the time!!

5) Stay organized with coupons. It may seem overwhelming at first but if you stick with it, you can walk out of a store and saved so much money. Get a binder, baseball card inserts and dividers and organize your coupons by sections. If you would like to know how I have my tabs on my dividers just ask. I just smile b/c I see other people checking out spending so much money and I don't. There is a lot to learn but don't give up.

6) Plan your meals around what is on sale at the stores. Those weekly ads that are in the newspaper are there for a reason. Read them and plan your dinners around that. I plan my meals 1 week at a time since the sales change weekly. If chicken is on sale this week then I get it while I can. Today I got chicken breasts at Target and I had a Target coupon for free frozen veggies when you bought a bag of frozen chicken. There's dinner one night this week! Easy!

7) There are websites/blogs that can guide you through the process of coupons. My favorite site is www.hip2save.com. I am so glad I came across this site. She puts together deals for you so you just have to look up the coupons and go shopping. Love it!! There are so many other blogs along the same line.

8) If you want to save money then you will find the time to coupon. People have said to me...Oh you have 2 young kids wait until they get older. You won't have as much time. My response is this is not an option. I am not super rich and I do this not only to save money but it is also fun too. This will be something that I will be doing as long as I have fingers to cut out coupons. Even if you only save $5 on a shopping trip that is $5 in your pocket.

9) Do not pay any website to do couponing for you. There are websites that will charge you for shopping lists or the coupons themselves. There are way too many other blogs you can look at for FREE! I will say that if there is an amazing deal that I would like to stock up on, I have in the past, bought coupons off of ebay. But it is a rare thing for me to do that. This is all about saving money right!!

10) Stores usually get reimbursed for the coupons you use. In the small print on the coupon it says something like the store will get back $.08 handling fee for each coupon used. So the store gets reimbursed for the amount of the coupon plus the $.08. So they are still making money even though you may have gotten the item for free or really really cheap. So I don't feel bad at all when I score a great deal.

11) DO NOT FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO USE EVERY COUPON BEFORE IT EXPIRES!!! In my opinion, there is no need for an expiration date. This is a ploy by the manufacturer to get you to spend money. It makes you feel like you have to use the coupon or you will miss out. If you use every coupon you will not save money. You will more than likely end up spending more out of pocket. There is always going to be a sale on something. There will always be another coupon that will come around for you to use. After doing couponing for a while you will catch on to what coupons are most frequent.

I know this may seem like a lot of information but it is very helpful. I'm sure I have forgotten something but these are the main points. Please know these are just my opinions and tips. What may work for me might not work for you. Good luck and happy couponing.