Want to start using coupons, any tips?

smilie

I've been unwonked!
Joined
Aug 31, 2004
Messages
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I've been wanting to use coupons for so long now. But I just really have no idea where to start. Has anyone had any successes that they are willing to share?
 
I started couponing last September. My advice would be to start small and as you get more comfortable you can branch out to more stores/more coupons.

We started just with the Sunday insert coupons and bought one newspaper a week. For the first couple of weeks we just used coupons for anything we wanted to buy even if it wasn't on sale. This wasn't the best use of our coupons but it helped me get familiar with using coupons and not feel overwhelmed by going from never using them to handing over 50 at once.

The best thing I did, a couple of weeks later, was to spend some time looking at couponing blogs and finding out which was the best for me. I settled on Living Rich With Coupons which does a good job in covering the stores in my local area (PA/NJ). They post store 'matchups' where they show which coupons match which sale items and they nicely highlight which items are at a good 'buy it now/stock up' price, which was great for me as i'm not always sure what price is a 'good' price for something. I also belong to a couple of couponing pages/groups on facebook

I largely stick to one grocery store. I have a store card and I stack store coupons to manufacturer coupons. A couple of months ago I started printing online coupons to supplement those I get from the Sunday newspaper. Again, if you find a good couponing website, they will either maintain a database of online coupons or point you in the direction of where to find them.

In the few months I've been couponing, I've amassed a little stockpile of household and beauty items - laundry detergent, shampoo and conditioner, soap, body wash, dish soap, toothpaste, feminine products etc. that I've gotten for free. Getting this stuff for free cuts my grocery bill a lot and makes me feel better about spending money on the food items that we like but rarely find coupons for.
 
We order our Sunday newpaper (only). It has coupons in it each week. I only cut the ones that are for products I use, a new product I'd like to try, or a product that I may use once in a while and can keep in storage. I don't end up using very many because a lot of items aren't things we use or they make you purchase 2 or 3 of a product when I only want one (I don't have a lot of pantry space).

If you have a local grocery store that double coupons, you can save even more with the ones that fall under the threshold for doubling.
 
Try to match coupons with sales. Do not buy items that you are not going to use. I found that too often food would go bad before we got a chance to use it. Getting a box of cookies for pennies is not worth it is it will not be eaten.

Some areas get better deals than others. Around here coupons are not that great and they require purchasing multiple items.
 

I only shop sales and only use coupons in connection to sales.
On my last trip to grocery store with sale and coupons I save 98%.
Typically I'm more like 68-85%

Start small, use coupon sites and print if you can. Last year I started and saved 60% from our original grocery bills from prior years.

Example, Ladies speedstick on sale for 10/$10. I had 75cent coupon that was doubled = FREE! I do this alot and I get 50cents back


I am not a 'brand' snob though and only buy on sale. Cereal same thing. Kelloggs, GM or Post, doesn't matter. Cereal on sale for 1.50 per box if you buy 4 boxes. Bought 4 boxes and had coupon for 75cents off per box which were double = FREE.
 
I look at krazy coupon lady every day. I also shop more at drug stores now (CVS, Walgreens, Riteaid). Each of those has its own (iheart webpage) with upcoming flyers and sales.

There are also phone apps (ibotta, checkout 51,etc) and receipt apps (receipt hogs) that add to the savings with minimal effort.

You won't save much on basic groceries, beyond sales. What you will save on is non-food items and junk food :)

My advice is to use printable coupons, then decide whether you need the Sunday coupon. Some Saturday papers have coupons. Ask your friends if they have leftover coupons.
 
Don't cut your coupons until you go to use them. Keep them in the insert and put them in a folder by date. Then you can use one of the many site who match coupons with sales, and they let you know what date the insert was in so you can find the coupon easily.
Before I used this method I found I would cut coupons and then forget I had them so they never got used.

If you haven't signed up for your grocery store's card do it. I get coupons for items I actually use because they track my purchases. I also get produce, dairy and meat coupons occasionally, they are never in the paper inserts in my area.
 
Another thing that I've found helpful is to go through a site like Mypoints to print coupons. You get 10 points for every coupon you print and redeem. The points build up fairly quickly, and I cash them out for Walmart cards for food on our Disney trips :)
 
I use Southernsavers.com, and she gives lots of great info! I agree with starting small, every little bit helps.
 
I go to hip2save.com and it will give you coupon matchups for different popular stores. I usually do Rite Aid couponing with information from there and have really had a lot of success.
other coupons I use are just my own match-ups from the local ad and whatever coupons I have clipped from the sunday paper.
 
My advice is pick a couple stores and stick to finding the deals there. When I first started couponing and reading blogs for deals, I would spend my day going all over town to get the deals. Now I just do groceries at Kroger, household stuff at Target and occasionally CVS for a great deal.
 
I can only speak for the chain I shop at, but I match manufacturer's coupons in the Sunday paper with items that are on sale in the flier (which usually says "look for manufacturer's coupon in the Sunday paper" or words to that effect). My chain also has a saver's card that gives you savings (again, it shows you in the flier which items are on sale with the card) and you can load digital coupons (it shows you in the flier which items have them).

Ok it's Shoprite. :rotfl:

It also seems coupons come out for new items, and a lot of times there is an "introductory" price which of course is just to get you hooked on the product.
 












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