Couponing for Beginners 101 -

When I decided to stay at home with Ellen, I thought I would be this awesome extreme couponer. I was going to get $1,000 of groceries for $0.16 and use our savings to go to Hawaii. I was going to have so much time on my hands that I could make it like a job. Har. Har, past Jenna. Instead, I am throwing things in my cart while Ellen does her nervous laughter which means, “Get me out of here or I will scream,” and I end up spending $800 a month in groceries for two adults and one table scrapper. Yeah. I was clearly cut out for couponing. Not! Until now. Jasmean from Mother Daughter Savings & Reviews graciously schooled me in the art of couponing. I don’t know about you, but this is just what I needed! For the most part, I buy whole, unprocessed foods, and there aren’t many coupons for those things, but these tips are going to be wonderful for bathroom things and my ice cream habit. Thanks, Jasmean!

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If you have absolutely no idea how to do couponing, this is the article for you! The first thing you should know about couponing is it takes time; especially, if you want to do extreme couponing. Once you know this you are ready to start.

Step 1: Get Coupons

This is the most important step.

You can find coupons everywhere but here are a few places:

Sunday Paper Insert (the best place)

Store Paper (Walgreens, CVS, Wal-Mart)

Online Printable Coupons (coupon.com, redplum.com)

Tips

· Only get coupons you will use.

· I know this will sound bad but, if you live in apartment or go to the post office for your mail get extras out of the trash, I do this on all the time a lot are throw out.

· Ask friends or family for theirs

· Trade coupons with other couponers

· Join sites were you get points for gift cards for coupons used such Swagbucks

Step 2: Get Organized

You can organize any way you want, but here are the options:

Binder: The most common used organizer is the binder, for advanced couponers. You can use any old binder – just place in clear inserts, I recommend baseball card inserts. Then divide by sections like drinks, shampoo, lunch meat, and conditioner or how ever you choose. This is my favorite because everything is visible.

Organizer: The most common among beginners. This is a divider with labels on top that separate each compartment. This is not my favorite because things are divided by section, not by coupon, so things are a bit trickier to find. You could also use an index card box instead if you want.

Envelope: I would say this is the cheapest and simplest way. All you do is put your coupons in envelopes by type like food coupons in the enveloped labeled food or soap in the envelope labeled soap and so on. I would only recommend this for very new starters.

Box: This is for the extreme, extreme couponer. You get a file cabinet or big organized box with dividers, label the dividers and place your coupons in by section. This is great for full sheet coupons or duplicates, but again you should only use this if you have lots of coupons.

Tips

· Label everything in a way you will understand

· Be creative; do things that go with your needs

· Keep things organized for the ability to find them quickly

Step 3: Compare Prices

1. Make a list of what you need.

2. Every Sunday get your local store ads and find things you need that you have coupons for, circle these.

3. Then after you’re done, look through the circled ads and find which ads have the best deal that goes along with your coupons.

4. Once you’re done with this, take those coupons out and cut the ads out. Make sure you include the store the ad came from.

5. Put these together or make a list of the coupons and ads’ deals so you can find later.

Step 4: Go to the Store and Use

· When you go to the store make sure you know the couponing rule for that store; different stores have different rules.

· Have your list ready of the items and coupons, that way you can get through fast.

· When you get the item, get the coupon out and check it off the list; this will lower confusion. Put the coupon some where you can find it like in your pocket or a great thing is bring an envelope and put the coupons in once you have the product in the buggie.

· When you go through the check out line, watch to make sure the coupons go through; don’t be afraid to ask if something doesn’t go through or comes out a different price than you thought. This could be a register error, just a missed coupon or item, or an error of your own. Still it never hurts to ask.

· Once your done, do a little happy dance if you want; I know I do! Then, find places to put your new goodies.

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If you want more on couponing, saving, freebies, or giveaways visit my blog, http://motherdaughtersavingsandreviews.blogspot.com/. Hope you enjoyed!

Written by Jasmean Lemons from the blog Mother Daughter Savings & Reviews.

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