Steps for Successful Couponing & Saving
How To Formulas for Couponing
Couponing can be an efficient way to save money on food, toiletries, restaurant meals and other items you buy for your home on a regular basis. Many people think of couponing as a massive task, one that requires a large about of time and an extra storage closet in your home that is dedicated to housing the surplus of free items your coupon supplies.
That is not necessarily the case. Coupons can make a difference in your monthly budget even if you only cut coupons on Sunday afternoon.
A few simple steps can get you on your way to couponing and keep the task fun and not a chore.
Three Steps for Successful Couponing
Below are three steps to take your coupon shopping to the next level and potentially trim your grocery budget by thousands of dollars.
- Acquire as many coupons as possible for items that your family needs or that you buy regularly. You cannot only buy your Sunday paper and print coupons online, but you may also be able to buy multiples of coupons from sites such as eBay or Coupon Clippers.
- Match up coupons to sales flyers at different stores. Use your coupons when items are already on sale to snag an even better deal. In some cases, by stacking coupons and store sales, you can buy items for pennies on the dollar or for free.
- Stock up when items are on sale. If you can get something cheap or free by combining a coupon or a store sale, buy multiples of the items. That way, you will never need to make the purchase when the item is not on sale. If you end up with extra, you can always donate to charity.
Online Coupon Resources
Following these steps seems simple, but it can be hard to match a large collection of coupons with all of the stores you wish to shop. Fortunately, a number of online resources can help you match store sales with coupons, put together shopping lists and find great deals. Some of these resources are free while others charge a small monthly fee. Online coupon resources include:
- The Money Saving Mom: This website provides comprehensive information on regional store deals as well as sales at national stores. It also offers a coupon database that lists what coupons are available and what insert the coupons were found in.
- Slickdeals.net not only provides information about available coupons, but also features a section devoted to grocery store and drug store deals. Shoppers post their own shopping lists and coupon plans so you can get specific ideas on how to combine coupons and make great purchases.
- FatWallet.com offers both a coupons forum and a forum dedicated to grocery coupons and deals. You can find specific shopping lists and information about the best deals each week that are posted by members.
These sites can help you to discover where to shop and how most effectively locate and use coupons so you can become a super-star couponer.
Additional Resources
- Extreme Couponing for Normal People, by SoukupFamily33950
- 7 Easy Steps for Successful Couponing, by Cynthia Owens
- Mobile Couponing, by Grocery Coupon Guide
- How to Use ECoupons, by Time to Save, Time to Give
- Secrets to Couponing, by Couponsense
Videos
- Couponing for Beginners/ Basic Info, by Lunaboo92
- Couponing for Beginners – Multiple transactions, B1G1 and Rolling rewards (LadyDtv) p4/4, byLadyDtv
- Learn How to Get Multiples of Same Coupons, by Allthingscouponing
- Building a Coupon Binder: www.SaveTheCoupons.com, by Sfelder333
- Purging Your Coupon Binder, by SexySavvyMom
- How to Guide on Internet Printable Coupons!, by The SexySavvyMom
- How to Organize Your Coupon Box, by Mizrebeca76
- How to Organize Grocery Coupons with a Coupon Box, by Couponcloset
Education
- Free online couponing, by Southern Saver
- Free online Extreme Couponing Classes, by Passion for Savings
Books
- Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom, by Stephanie Nelson
- The Lazy Couponer, by Jamie Chase
- Couponing Handbook, by Southern Saver
Apps
- Extreme Couponing by Total Ecommerce LLc, available for free on iTunes
