Couponing Tips


Match Coupons with Weekly Sales. Always use coupons on items you need when they go on sale to double up on savings. You don’t just clip coupons & run out and use them. To maximize savings, you pair a sale with a coupon. When items are at rock bottom prices stock up on the item to last you 3-6 months (typical sales cycle). This is called stockpiling.

Collect your coupons
Start buying multiple Sunday papers, usually how many people are in your family is how many papers you should buy. Print coupons off the internet coupons.com, redplum.com, Couponnetwork.com, smartsource.com are the best internet printable sites. You can print two coupons from each computer! The best coupons are cents off or dollar off 1 item coupons. Especially if you have a store that doubles, a $0.25 or $0.50 will double! If an item goes on sale 10/$10 and you have a $0.50/1 coupon of that item AND your store doubles that will make that item free. Remember the more coupons you have of one item, the more you can buy of that item when it’s free or cheap! You can also order coupons online, either whole inserts or individual coupons, from a clipping service or Ebay. Coupons are regional, some regions get higher value coupons than other regions. I order inserts every week from Wholecouponinserts.com. You have to figure out for yourself what suits your family best.

Know your prices
Just because a store tells you it is on sale does not mean that is the cheapest sale price. Start a price journal and track prices on your typical grocery purchases. We purchase so many different products it is hard to remember what a good sale price is and at what store. I would suggest (and I did) spend a weekend just browsing the stores you shop at getting familiar with prices of items you normally buy. Write them down, wait for the item to go on sale, match a coupon with that item.

Organize your coupons
The key to good couponing & effective couponing is organization! There are several ways to organize, I use the binder method, a 3-ring binder with baseball card holders. I typically cut all the coupons I think I will use & all the dollars/cents off 1 item. I shop Kroger & Target, Kroger has alot of Manager Specials & Target has clearance. If you don’t have your coupons when you see a good deal then you can’t use them and get an even better deal! My binder is with me always! Treat your coupons like money…you wouldn’t just leave money lying around and forget at home before you go shopping.

Preplan all your money saving deals before you go to the store. That way you will have all the coupons you need. Keep a calculator with you for quick problems, like the item was out of stock. If an item is out of stock, remember to get a Raincheck on that item. When the store stocks back up, even after the sale is over, use can use that raincheck to receive the previous sales price. Just remember to use your raincheck before your coupon expires!

Learn How To Stack Coupons!
Increase your savings by combining a manufacturer coupon with a store coupon for the same item; or take it to the savings extreme by combining a manufacturer coupon with a store coupon, a sale and a rebate !

Combine a buy-one-get-one free coupon with a buy-one-get-one free sale, and you could get both items for free !

Know Your Store’s Coupon Policies!
Find out which stores doubles coupons, up to what amount. Do they accept Internet printed coupons, up to what amount and do they double internet printed coupons. How many “Like” coupons (the same coupon) can you use per transaction.

Sometimes store associates aren’t as familiar with their store’s coupon policies as they should be. Print out a copy of each store’s policy, and bring it with you to clear up any problems that may come up.

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