Tips to Start Saving Coupons
Thanks to Niki Casselberry from The Gamer's Fridge for this helpful article on saving coupons. Niki goes to the grocery store for food and comes back with cash in her pocket! With the TV show Extreme Couponing capturing a lot of attention many average shoppers are turning to scissors and sales to battle their financial crisis. Have you wondered how they do it? Have you even been in the checkout line behind a person saving coupons and watched their total drop from $102 to $22? Here are a few tricks of the trade to get you and your stockpile started.
KNOW YOUR GROCERY STORE COUPON POLICY
You can find most coupon policies online at the grocery stores website. If you can\'t find it on the site, ask at the customer service desk for a print out. Keeping one with you while shopping will alleviate any questions that arise at the checkout. If you have a cashier that is new to the store or not familiar with the policy having it on hand will speed up the process and answer any questions without requiring a manager.
NEWSPAPER OR PRINTER?
Along with the stores sales and loyalty card program http://smartsource.com and http://redplum.com are links to the coupons that come in the newspaper. I also look at http://coupons.com and http:/couponnetwork.com. These are great sites for coupons too. If you are looking for a specific product try the brands website, facebook page and the stores websites for printable or ecoupons.
CONTAIN YOUR COUPONS AND RAIN CHECKS
Some use the shoebox with envelops method while others use the binder with baseball card pages method. There is no correct way, do what works for you. Keeping everything organized and easy to find is a must, it will make writing a shopping list so much easier.
GO THROUGH ADS & MAKE A SHOPPING LIST
Like anything you do in life, you will get what you put into it. Spending hours scouring ads, websites and stores will get you some amazing deals but may cause your family to put up “Have You Seen Me?” fliers with your picture on them. Do not lose sight of why you started couponing, to make your life better. Spending an hour of two one night a week will yield some great sales. I know the television program shows folks at the grocery store for hours buying 87 bottles of ketchup. Think rationally and think expiration dates, how many bottles of ketchup will your family go through in 6 months?
STICK TO A BUDGET
Couponing is all about saving money; you don\'t want to spend more then what your normal budget allows. Deals are great but spending $40 on cereal when your weekly budget is $60. Is not smart budgeting. I know, I know some sales are hard to pass up but this will not be the last time this product will be on sale. Average sale cycles are 3 to 4 months; if you purchase enough to last 4 months by the time you are nearing the end of your supply the item will be on sale again.
It’s tempting to chase deals into several different stores. But I beg you to pick one grocery store and one drugstore to shop at. Anything more then that will have you broke and burned out in a month. If you see an amazing deal somewhere else, it’s OK to walk away. Stores are in constant competition for you as a customer, there is a good chance your regular store will have the same sale next week and your savings will be even higher because of your loyalty ca! rd and y our better understanding of their policy.
