I'd like to just start by saying that I've learned mostly everything I know from
Frugal Coupon Living. I saw her on Dr. Phil a couple of months ago and everything she spoke about
intrigued me! Little did I know that everything she said was SO easy to do! You'll be able to find a post
similar to this post on her site, but I thought I'd be able to personally answer questions from my family/friends if I show you exactly how I use coupons.
Let's start!
Where do I get my coupons?I'd like to recommend that you first either subscribe to a newspaper or find someone who throws their coupons away without a single glance. I subscribed to my local newspaper for an entire year. It was cheaper that way, and surprisingly, the deal that I got made it cheaper to get the newspaper everyday than just getting the Sunday newspaper alone.
I also subscribe to "All You" magazine. It's a magazine that is only available by subscription or to purchase at
WalMart. Each issue is jammed packed full of coupons. It's actually a fun, easy reading magazine to browse though too! You can also get a two-year subscription for $17.95. Get more details
here.If you have a printer, you can print coupons online.
Coupons.com is a wonderful place.
If you don't have a Sunday paper and would like to buy only the coupons, you can check out
The Coupon Clippers. It's also a great place to go to get additional coupons if you find an extraordinary sale!
Sign up for any freebies you can find! Some companies send wonderful coupons along with their freebies. I also subscribe for free magazines. Magazines I would never normally subscribe to, but lots of times, there are coupons in them. I'm receiving a bunch of magazines for free just by filling out a very brief survey online. Parenting, Baby Talk, American Cheerleader, Seventeen, and Glamour are just a few that I receive each month for free. (I would recommend that you set up for a new email for you to use when you sign up for these things. You will get a ton of junk mail!)
However, the most helpful places for me to go are to other blogs. They literally spell out which coupon you should use at each individual store. They match store sales with coupons. Some of my favorites are:
Frugal Coupon LivingFiddledeedee!Moms By HeartGetting (and staying) OrganizedThe number one key to using coupons is getting organized!
This system also makes it extremely easy to STAY organized.
Here is what I do:
I bought a large 3 ring binder.
(And got to pull out my old magazines and fun crafty things to create a cover!)
Here's a look inside:
The left hand side pocket is currently being filled with expired coupons.
SAVE THOSE!
Send them to military families who can use expired coupons for up to 6 months after the expiration date.
(These random coupons are currently waiting for a home. I will soon be placing them into their own envelope and send them out when I have a good amount.)
On the right is where I place the weekly circulars.
CVS is usually first, since it's one of my favorite places to get super cheap/free deals! Other circulars there are Target,
Walmart, local grocery stores, etc.
After the circulars are tabs that I have. They make it so much easier to find specific coupons. My current tabs are March, April and All You (Magazine).
This is something I'm currently testing out... keeping a running tab of each coupon that I have.
It takes just a short amount of time, but so far it has saved me tons of time when I'm trying to find that ONE coupon I know I have! This would be optional... like I said, I'm just testing it out right now.
Here's where this system is different than other
couponing systems. DO NOT CLIP YOUR COUPONS. Keep them in the group that comes in the
newspaper. Write the date on the front of each coupon "magazine." (
SmartSource, Red Plum, P&G, Unilever) Punch holes in them and simply place them in your binder.
Here's why. My favorite sites, which I listed above, will post where to go, which items to buy and which coupons to use.
For Example:
CVSDove SkinVitalizers $4 (this is an amazing price. It is normally close to if not over $20.00)
$3.50 RP 3/15
=$.50
Here's what's being said:
Go to CVS.
Buy Dove SkinVitalizers, which is on sale for $4.00.
Use the $3.50 off coupon which can be found in RP (Red Plum) on 3/15 (March 15)
Your cost will be .50!!
That is just an example. The ladies which create my favorite sites are located in the south and they create shopping lists for grocery stores in the south. (Krogers, Publix, etc.) If you don't have that luxury, you can look at your local grocer's circulars, find their sales and match them up with coupons that are in your binder!
Step twoNow what about those coupons that you print out from the
Internet or are found in magazines or sent to you in the mail?
I'm glad you asked. :)
You'll want to find yourself an
accordion file folder. I have the exact same one that Ashely, at Frugal Coupon Living has. It's available at
WalMart.
I have two separate categories.
The first is individual stores that use most often.
I keep envelopes in each pocket, labeled with the store name.
(These envelopes should be laminated. They get a lot of abuse!)
I also recommend that you pick a bright envelope color. They're easier to spot than just plain white.
The next section in my file folder is filled with envelopes of specific categories.
My categories are: baby, beauty, cleaning, food, medicine, miscellaneous/paper, restaurants, stores, rebates, and receipts.
So, if I get a
Huggies coupon in the mail, I'll cut it out and place that coupon in the baby envelope.
If I print a coupon off the
Internet for Bath and Body Works, I'll place that in the stores envelope. (Look for coupons you can use at the mall! Last week I printed off a $15 off any $15 purchase or more at Jones New York. Not a store I normally shop at, but why wouldn't I go and find something for almost nothing!? Think
jewelry, sale items or gifts!)
I will also place coupons from my binder that happened to fall out in their individual envelopes. I have become quite
familiar with each coupon in each envelope because I search for coupons several times a week.
What I take into the storeI make a shopping list, find all of my coupons that I need and place them in the envelope where I'm going. That's it! Very rarely will I take my binder and my file folder (which I place in a tote bag and take it with me whenever I leave the house) into the store with me. There are exceptions, but mostly it's just the envelope filled with my shopping list and coupons.
I also like to keep a copy of the store's coupon policy in each individual envelope. I have run into issues, especially at
WalMart and Target, but if you nicely pull your coupon policy out, you should have no problems! Make sure you read the policies so you can become familiar with them. Most stores will allow you to use a store coupon with a manufacturer coupon. Imagine using those two with an already wonderful sale!
One example I have of that is when Target had a sale on their Pledge items. I printed off a manufacturer coupons from www.coupons.com as well as a coupon that Target had on it's website. The Pledge item was literally cents. (I don't know about you, but I hate spending money on cleaning items,
toiletries, etc.) I ended up getting several bottles of cleaning products for less than a dollar.
I would recommend going to a younger guy when you check out. Although you are doing nothing wrong, the older ladies like to nit-pick at each individual coupon. They try to tell you that you can't do something which is clearly stated that you can on their coupon policy. I like to try to avoid all of that if possible! Also, make friends with your cashiers! It makes checking out so much easier. I seek out one girl in particular at
WalMart each time I go. She knows what she's doing and gets me checked out, even with a ton of coupons to scan, in record breaking time.
CVS knows me now as well. I've even had the opportunity to share my
couponing "secrets" with some of those cashiers!
So I went off on a bunny trail there... oops! :)
What stores have the best deals, and how often I shop themThe store that I hit weekly is
CVS. You'd be surprised what you can buy at
CVS. Just last week they had a sale on
Pringles. Mixing their sale with a coupon that came out a couple of weeks ago made the
Pringles .33/each!
I will be doing a post dedicated to
CVS soon. There's so many awesome reasons to shop there!
I also like to try to make it to Target and
WalMart if I can.
And of course, my local grocery stores. (Although I'm trying to master the art of monthly shopping!)
TipsOne thing that you should not be afraid of is trying new brands. For example, I normally use Lady Speed Stick deodorant. However, I was recently able to get 2 Dry Idea deodorants for free. I also bought Secret deodorant for .34 cents. At those prices I'm willing to try anything!
Toothpaste is another good one. We normally use Crest. But I have about 10 tubes of toothpaste that I didn't pay a dime for. (Some of them are Crest, but most are Colgate.)
This system of
couponing is great if used for stockpiling. Do I need 10 tubes of toothpaste right now? No! But why not stock up and/or donate them!? Think crisis pregnancy centers, homeless shelters, etc. When you can get them for nothing, it's a great opportunity to bless those places more than you might normally be able to!
Please, feel free to ask me any questions. If I don't know the answer, I will try to find out for you! I love telling others about how to use coupons! It's been such a blessing in my own life and I just want it to overflow onto others!
Turns out the price was mismarked and they actually charged me $4.89 for the toothpaste. And I didn't get any ECBs. I didn't catch the mistake until midweek. I DO NOT need toothpaste, I have at least 8 downstairs in my stockpile shelf. I only bought it in the first place since it was free for me. SO... yesterday I returned the toothpaste. (Boy, did I get some strange looks over that one!)
Turns out the price was mismarked and they actually charged me $4.89 for the toothpaste. And I didn't get any ECBs. I didn't catch the mistake until midweek. I DO NOT need toothpaste, I have at least 8 downstairs in my stockpile shelf. I only bought it in the first place since it was free for me. SO... yesterday I returned the toothpaste. (Boy, did I get some strange looks over that one!)
