You may have seen one of these TV shows where a buyer uses an incredibly large amount of coupons to reduce their grocery bill to just a few dollars and cents at checkout. “If I can do it, anyone can do it!” This person exclaims and we will believe her. Who doesn’t want to save money in the grocery store? However, people who save more money spend a lot of time collecting coupons, organizing them and developing strategies for their shopping trips. You may not get the kind of savings by using coupons you watch on TV right away (and you may not have that much time to invest in coupons), but using coupons will save you money. Start with a little, and then increase as your schedule and desire allow. Use the following 10 tips as a guide to paying coupons:-
1. Choose a store. Choose the food store where you shop the most, to focus your coupon skills first. It can be too overwhelming for a rookie coupon to keep track of all sales in all stores in your area and coordinate trips to all of them. Usually, stores also have a minimum amount to buy items for sale.
2. Get familiar with your store’s coupon policy. Each store has its own coupon rules. Stay up to date on store rules and avoid wasting your time planning purchases around coupons that your store does not respect.
3. Register on coupon sites. Just open a free email account for this purpose. If you search for “Coupons“, some of the most important sites should be displayed. Join their mailing lists to receive free and printable coupons. Also, visit sites for products that you use regularly and know what you want to buy. These companies value brand loyalty and regularly offer coupons for their products on these sites; Diapers, cereals, and laundry detergents are just a few that come to mind.
4. Have a simple system. Most serious coupons have large, impressive folders filled with coupons in clear plastic sleeves: leave these systems to the future coupon. When you start, all you really need is a little accordion or simple envelopes (whatever you already have available). Don’t make the mistake of using your future coupon savings on today’s coupon organizing system.
5. Link your system to your store. Use a file slot or envelope for each time in the selected store. Present your coupons according to the time, and also write your shopping list by email. Walk. Keep an envelope or file open for the coupons you know ahead of time you want to use, but always bring all your coupons with you on every shopping trip.
6. Start trimming. If you already receive coupons with your newspaper, start with them. Maybe a friend, relative or neighbor has coupon entries that they don’t want or don’t need. If you wish, you can start buying the Sunday newspaper for coupon bets. If you’re just getting started, don’t buy more copies of the paper for stakes or coupons for a clipping service. If you do not use these extra coupons, you have wasted money instead of saving them. The coupons you have on paper and online-only will be enough to get you started.
7. Adhere to a schedule. Choose a day/night a week to “work” with coupons, that is, trim coupons, print coupons on the site, archives, check your store’s circulars, etc. This ensures you will never miss a bargain.
8. Keep track of your time. Be sure to write down exactly how much time you spend on coupons and purchases, and compare this time to the amount you just spent on buying alone. This meter can help you decide if it is worth your time and effort to spend many coupons.
9. Record your savings. This, combined with tip # 8, helps you decide if the coupons are paid or not. If you really do not save as much money and spend more time than you would like to try, coupons may not be for you.
10. Clean regularly. Nothing is more frustrating than having a great coupon (which will double!) Combined with a great store sales item, only to discover at the end of the purchase that this great coupon has expired! Enter a due date check in the schedule you set to make sure this never happens. Keeping the coupons in order from oldest to newest (within their respective file) can also help.
