For new people to couponing sometimes you wonder just how do I get started? Well, I am going to tell you the best way. It takes several weeks and months of collecting coupons to be any good at it. Don't get frustrated! Just start collecting those coupons and the savings will begin rolling in
1. Start collecting coupons.
Our local paper the Star-Telegram has the coupon inserts for our area in the Sunday paper.
Also printing online coupons, I have links to the redplum, smartsource, coupons.com on my blog.
I usually buy 4 Star-Telegram papers if it is a good insert week. I like getting several coupons.
Family & Friends = Ask your family & friends to save the Sunday inserts for you. No sense in throwing money away!
Magazines = A lot of magazines have coupons inside, so be sure to tear them out before recycling. All You is a great source for coupons and can be found at Wal-Mart.
2. When to use the coupons.
Knowing WHEN to use your coupon is the KEY in couponing!! You wait until the item is at it's lowest price point and use the coupon then. Now you can use the coupon during other times but, your saving will not be as great. When do you know when the lowest price point is, you ask.
That is were the blogs will help you.
3. Know what stores double coupons
In Fort Worth our local area Albertsons is the only store that double coupons up to .50 and triples up to .39. They double coupons EVERYDAY!
4. How to use STORE coupons with MANUFACTURER coupons
Some store have "store coupons" example Target has TARGET coupons on their website you can print off. Instead of saying Manufacturer coupon it says TARGET coupon.
Example: you have a manufacturer coupon for $1.00 off box of General Mills Cereal, you also have a Target coupons for a $1.00 General Mills Cereal. You can use BOTH coupons for 1 Box of General Mills cereal. You will get $2.00 off the cereal.
You can stack a store coupon with a manufacturer coupon.
Target and Walgreens is the only stores I have found that has store coupons.
You might have seen coupons in the Walgreens ad, well you can use that walgreens coupon and a manufacturer coupon on that one item!!
If you have 2 manufacturer coupons say of toothpaste and walgreens has a coupon in it's ad for .99 toothpaste, you give them your 2 manufacturer coupons first, then let then scan the Walgreens coupon in the ad and the price will adjust for 2 tubes of toothpaste. You don't have to have multiple walgreens coupons.
5. How to organize your coupons
Organizing your coupons is going to be different from person to person. Since I just started I still have a small binder with dividers but, soon I hope to graduate up to the big double binder. So the following is what someone else has used.
I now have a white box with envelopes in it. I have then labeled accordingly. Here is a few of my labels...
Baking, Canned, Candy, Frozen Bread,Frozen , Frozen Veggie, etc. I have about 28 envelopes in my box. I like having many catagories so I can find a coupon quickly. So find a great way FOR YOU to organize your coupons. If you don't organize them, then you probably won't stick with couponing because you will get discouraged.
Remember, always be polite to the cashiers. Some cashiers are not always polite and that can get difficult. You can always ask for a manager.
