I am going to explain some of the basic coupon rules that I "live" by.
Reminder: This all may seem overwhelming to start, but once you get the hang of it and have a stockpile of coupons (2 weeks or so) you'll start to notice the savings and the time you put into it will start to dwindle. Before you know it you will be spending maybe a few hours a week on your coupons and feeding three people, three dogs and a cat on a budget of $50-75 a month like I am.
1. Accumulate and stockpile coupons
A. Buy a Sunday paper and if it contains coupons for items that you use on a regular basis, well, then buy a 2nd or 3rd newspaper so you have multiples of those coupons.
B. Print internet coupons...and make sure you print them when you find them because the websites change them in and out quite often so you may not be able to get that coupon a week from finding, which is when that product will probably be on sale. With internet coupons you can usually print multiples of the same one, the site will tell you when you have reached the print limit for the coupon. See my Printable internet coupons section for some of the best sites that I visit on a regular basis.
C. Load coupons onto your grocery store club/VIP cards. This is a great way to get savings.
Go to
http://www.cellfire.com/,
http://www.shortcuts.com/ and
http://www.pgesaver.com/Sites/PG_eSAVER/Page/HomePage/?src=pgeds
D. If you read magazines check for coupons in them.
2. Find out your store policies for coupons. Here in Tucson...I know that Fry's (part of Kroeger's just like King Soopers), Basha's and Safeway all double coupons everyday up to $1.00. i.e.; .25 coupon doubles to .50, .75 doubles to $1.00, .60 doubles to $1.00 and so on. Always watch for specials though because they will have times that they double, triple and quadruple coupons up to $1.00, which then brings those little .25 coupons up to $1.00. They will also have times that they double up to and including $1.00, which is when they will double $1.00 coupons to $2.00, this brings in major savings.
3. Be aware that the coupons that you get from your Sunday paper will most likely not be at their real value until 2 - 4 weeks after you get them. Most stores will of course put the item on sale for the coupon that just came out on Sunday. However, they also mark the prices up because they anticipate people to use that coupon as soon as they get it and not have it later down the road. This is a big NO NO!!! I have pretty much learned that if you wait to use the coupon, you will get it at a cheaper price down the road. There are exceptions, you will learn that when you think it's a deal too good to pass up...don't pass, do it.
4. Watch for items to go on clearance so you can use your coupon on it. Just because an item goes on clearance doesn't necessarily mean that it is going to expire and not be able to be used. Most of the time when you find items such as toothpaste, bath products and items like that on clearance, it means that the item package/design has been changed and the store needs to get rid of it so they can stock the new ones. An example of this is Crest Pro-Health toothpaste....Crest changed their package design so I found this item at Safeway with a clearance tag of $1.49...well, I had a $1.50/1 coupon...which of course, made the item FREE! This is when having multiple coupons comes in handy, I didn't just get 1 free I got 3 free.
OK, the next things are major things to keep in mind...I call it COUPON STACKING~!
1. If you are buying an item that is BOGOF (Buy one get one free), you can use two coupons, one for each item. Basically think of it this way, BOGOF free means you are pretty much paying 50% for each item. For example if you have an air freshener that is on sale for BOGOF, say you have a coupon for .50/1 (.50 off 1 item)...if you accumulated and stockpiled your coupons you just might (should) have two of the same coupon...use them both, not only then are you getting .50/1 you will get .50/1 twice = $1.00/2...while thinking about that, remember that your store may double both of those coupons....this could make the items very very cheap if not free. Example: Air Wick air freshener sprays were on sale BOGOF at a price of $1.99 ea. I had two coupons for .50/1.....I used both coupons, which of course doubled at Fry's to a value of $1.00 each...Final price = 2 for FREE!
2. Loaded coupons on your store club/VIP cards. I print out a list of the coupons that are loaded on each store card to keep track of what I have available. REMEMBER, the loaded coupons on your card are manufacturer coupons and CANNOT be used with a paper manufacturer coupon!
Also remenber, if you are buying more than 1 of the same item, you can use 1 coupon for each item if you have multiple coupons.
Also, I buy a lot of meats (steaks, pork chops, lamb hamburger, etc.) when they are on sale for a really good price and when they are marked down for clearance. Keep in mind that when a meat item is marked down for clearance it usually has about 2 days or so before the actual expiration date (which only means that it will complete it's aging process on the expiration date, which all meat goes through). Buy that clearance meat when you get it home from the store, put it in the freezer. Once the meat is frozen, the aging process is stopped and it will be fine until you decide to use it. This goes for lunch meat and cheeses as well. You can freeze cheese, just make sure you defrost it in your refrigerator for a few days before planning on using it.
~~~~VERY IMPORTANT~~~~
Most of the internet printable sites require you to sign up before you can print coupons. You may want to do what I did and create a whole new email address (
couponclipper77@yahoo.com) just for your couponing. This will eliminate spam in your regular use email box and make it easier to keep track of coupons that you get in your email.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST....ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS....CHECK MY WEBSITE FREQUENTLY AS I POST PRINTABLE COUPONS AND DEALS THAT I FIND ON A REGULAR DAILY (OR SO) BASIS!!!!
