So, you've decided you want to join all of those coupon-saavy shoppers out there and you want to become a Couponing Queen. So where do you start? It can be overwhelming to a Coupon Newbie, especially if you have never really used one. Here you will find all things couponing, from the beginner steps to the know how for an extreme couponing shopping trip. I'm going to break it down for you in easy steps.
The first thing you need to do is get coupons and get organized. Without coupons, yeah, ok that's obvious, you won't be able to save any money. But just as crucial is being very organized because if you aren't, you can miss a deal. Even as coupon saavy as I am, I still have the occasional misstep and it can throw you off your game and ultimately throw off your entire shopping trip.
Where Do I Get Coupons?
The answer used to be: newspapers, newspapers, newspapers. This might bring to mind your grandma's purse full of scattered coupons. Not in this century, honey! The newspaper is only ONE location for finding coupons. There are several places to find coupons and the first thing you need to know are the types of coupons: 1. manufacturer coupons and 2. store coupons.
A manufacturer coupon is one that the manufacturer has put out for your use. Once you use it, the store will send it in and be reimbursed for the discount you received as a result of that coupon. I'm going to refer to manufacturer coupons as "MC"s. You can typcially find MCs in newspapers, online (I'll explain more below), or even printed from the store's catalina machine (again, I'll tell you more below), peelies or tear pads in the stores. Typically, you can only use one MC per item (or items if the coupon designates a minimum quantity for the redemption- EX: $1.00 off of 2).
A store coupon is a coupon that is distributed by the store itself. When you redeem it at the store, it is a discount that the store "takes the hit on". They do not get reimbursed by the manufacturer. I'm going to refer to store coupons as "SC"s. You can generally find SC's on the store's website, in weekly ads, in monthly coupon books (like at Walgreens "WG"), in newspapers (only occasionally), and sometimes printed from a store's catalina machine.
I'll explain more on how to use these coupons in the next "Couponing 101" segment.
To start your couponing selection you should begin accumulating coupons for every single product you might want to buy or try (especially if you can get it for a great deal). It may not be the brand you typically buy but you might just want to hang on to that coupon anyway. Here's how to start:
1. Newpapers: You should typically buy 1 (or more)- "big city" newspaper and 1- local paper (so you get local ads). You can also ask friends to give you their coupons if they won't use them. Whenever I do that I will usually try to give some great-deal products to the coupon-supplying friend as a thank you.
2. Online: For favorite products, visit the product websites and see if there are any promotional offers available. Also, sign up for samples. You will usually get a pretty good coupon when you receive your samples. Next, visit general coupon sites such as the following:
*All You also has daily samples on their websites and remember, samples come with coupons.
*Also, you should know that you can generally print 2 of the same online coupon from 1 computer. So if you have multiple computers in your house and you find a really good coupon, print 2 from each one!
3. Store coupons: Start with 1- grocery store and 1- drug store. You will typically get your food from the grocery store, health and beauty/hygiene needs from the drug store, and cleaning supplies from both. Walgreens or CVS are great places to start for drug stores. For Walgreens, visit the front of the store and get yourself the weekly ad and a monthly coupon book. For CVS, sign up for their Extra Care card. For your grocery store, go online and check for printable coupons and take a look at the weekly ad. Some stores have digital "clipping". For instance, Meijer has mperks- you go onto the mperks website, "clip" the Meijer coupons and if you buy any of the products that you "clipped" coupons for you enter your pin at checkout and it automatically takes off all of the virtual coupons for all of the products it applies to (Note: usually it will only take the virtual coupon off for one item, not for multiples).
Now that you have started to amass your coupons, you need to get organized. If you intend to become a "Qpon Queen", get a binder. You can buy baseball card sleeve/protectors at Walmart or Target (probably cheapest). These sleeves generally hold up to 9 cards so that means you can have 9 different coupons per page. Keep your duplicates together in one sleeve of the protector for easy access and viewing. I also suggest that you go to http://www.thekrazycouponlady.com/ and print off her downloadable binder organizer. It has an index and a page to go in front of each section of your organizer, breaking things down by the type of products.
You can also buy a coupon organizer if you don't plan to have tons of coupons on hand. I have one of those too. What I do is group together my coupons by type of product but then I also have labels for the various stores I go to and keep store coupons in there too.
You can also buy a coupon organizer if you don't plan to have tons of coupons on hand. I have one of those too. What I do is group together my coupons by type of product but then I also have labels for the various stores I go to and keep store coupons in there too.
This takes a little time. Don't rush yourself. You have to have patience. Patience is very important for couponers because you have to learn to wait for the deal to come to you. Patience also keeps you focused and organized.
Once your binder is full and organized, you're ready for Couponing 102 (coming soon)!
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