Coupon "class" questions

[newtodis]

Hey All!

My newfound "hobby" has now turned into more than that and I'm looking for some help/advice from you experts! I love couponing- I really do - so much so that I have already asked for Kroger and Target gift cards so I can shop and buy groceries! Now I generally do pretty good and save at least 50% of my total which I think is pretty darned good! I've emailed a "professional" speaker (has her own website and does other classes) to see if she'll come but I need a back up plan in case she can't/is too expensive/whatever.

I've found a couple of outlines on line for different people who apparently teach these classes so I've printed those off and plan to use those as a starting block along with a list of things I've made just off the top of my head.

I guess my questions are this:
*What things would you like/need to have covered in a coupon "class"? (thinking for those just getting started)
*how long should the class be?
*should there be a limit on how many can attend? (this time it will only be in my house so there will have to be but in the future if I'm asked by anyone else to speak on this - I guess I'm thinking a little long term and assuming I might be good enough for someone to ask me to speak again)
*what sites do you use to find deals/coupons?
*do you have any store coupon policies you can share? (I'd like to have the class sometime this month and don't know that I'd get a response from any of them that quickly...I've been working on the stores that I frequent and haven't had much luck with them)
*anything I'm missing....

TIA for any help or suggestions!

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

*What things would you like/need to have covered in a coupon "class"? (thinking for those just getting started)

I think coupon organization is a good place to start, also the idea of waiting until the item is on sale to use a coupon. And keeping a price book.

*how long should the class be?
Depends how much material you have.

*should there be a limit on how many can attend? (this time it will only be in my house so there will have to be but in the future if I'm asked by anyone else to speak on this - I guess I'm thinking a little long term and assuming I might be good enough for someone to ask me to speak again)

Yes, it would probably make questions/answers easier.
*what sites do you use to find deals/coupons?
*do you have any store coupon policies you can share? (I'd like to have the class sometime this month and don't know that I'd get a response from any of them that quickly...I've been working on the stores that I frequent and haven't had much luck with them)

If you go to sites like Hotcouponworld.com they have the coupon policies for most of the stores in the forum for that particular store. Also you can sometimes find it on the store's website.

*anything I'm missing....

 

[kaismahma]

When I first started couponing a year ago I learned alot from:

moneysavingmom.com
couponcravings.com
freebies4mom.com

From those sites I learned about:

afullcup.com
hotcouponworld.com

I think it would be important to be up on the in's and out's of the stores in your area:
grocery chain, CVS, Rite-Aid, Walgreens, Target, Walmart
How coupon friendly they are what they allow if they double or triple. Example my CVS takes competitors coupons so I was able to combine a wags q, cvs q, and man q on one item.

Explain the differences in coupons: man q, internet printable, store q etc
Expalin how q's can be combined.
Good places to get high value q's like vocal point and home mailers you can sign up for.
That is all I can think of now. Hope this helps.

 

[TxTiggergal]

You might touch on the different reward programs that your local stores offer, like ECBs from CVS and RRs from Wags. Also, it might be helpful to explain how a catalina from a grocery store can be obtained. I really started to see an increase in my savings when I started shopping those deals, combined with couponing.

Like others, I rely heavily on hotcouponworld. If you will have computer access at your class, you could actually go to the website and briefly show them how to navigate the site. Particularly helpful might be showing them how to use the ad sneak peeks to plan their shopping around upcoming sales.

Good luck, and let us know how it works out.