Hey Smarty Pants! Aren't you excited??? You're about to learn how to coupon and save a TON of money along the way. While learning to coupon can be challenging, I will break it down into small steps for you, that way, you'll be less likely to become overwhelmed and give up before you even begin.
Sign up for every store's loyalty card: I remember the days when I was "too cool" to attach anything to my keyring except the keys to my shiny black Mustang GT but since having kids and trading in my 'Stang (sniff sniff), I've learned not to be so proud. Having a loyalty card is especially important at stores like Kroger and Rite Aid since they require you to have a loyalty card in order to receive their sale prices that week.
Start collecting coupons: Loyalty cards are a great way to save but manufacturer and in-store coupons are the bread and butter to any couponers success. Coupons can be found almost everywhere. It seems you can't fall down anymore without landing on a coupon. That's great news for you. These are some of my favorite places to find coupons:
The Sunday newspaper is the jackpot for money saving coupons. Each Sunday you will find several coupon inserts, usually from RedPlum, Proctor & Gamble and Smart Source. Proctor & Gamble (or P&G) is usually only included in the Sunday newspaper one time per month I recommend purchasing at least 2 newspapers every Sunday. (See #5 for an alternative to this.)
Coupons.com
Redplum.com
Target.com (although those are almost always only for use at that store but they can be "stacked" or used in conjunction with, a manufacturer coupon for even more savings.
Ebay.com Yes, you can actually purchase coupons on Ebay.com. While it's illegal to sell or trade coupons, it's perfectly okay to charge for the time it takes to gather, clip and mail coupons which is what these ebay coupon-sellers do. This is a great way to get a jump-start on your coupon collection. It's also a great way to purchase more of a particular coupon you like without having to purchase multiple newspapers. You can even purchase whole coupon inserts!
Social Media: Businesses constantly use Facebook.com and Twitter.com to post coupons for their products. While I don't "tweet" I do use Facebook and have gotten many high value manufacturer coupons and even some free products just by "liking" a company on Facebook.
Organize, Organize, Organize: Organization is the key to couponing success. Without a proper organization method in place you will most likely lose your coupons, not know what you have and let them expire before you even remember you have them. There are several methods that are popular and if you start one method and find it isn't working for you, then try another.
The coupon binder: A lot of couponers use a coupon binder to organize their coupons. You can purchase baseball card protector pages to slip the clipped coupons into. I personally think that is too tedious, especially if you only have one or two of a certain coupon.
Accordion file: This is my personal method of choice. I have 2 coupon files. One for foods and the other for anything that is non-food. I like this because I can break coupons down into 13 categories, one for each of the divider tabs in my accordion file.
Search Youtube.com for videos on coupon organization.
Shew, I hope that helps those of you who are new to couponing. These things must be done in order to move on to the next level....learning how and when to use your coupons.
As always...shop like a Smarty Pants!
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