My husband calls it the "coupon conspiracy". Coupons are elusive, and sometimes the ones you find seem to be so good that they somehow suck you into buying things that you normally wouldn't! Ever happen to you?! When I first tried couponing, I was in England. Sweet people back in the States would clip out coupons and send them to the Airman Family Readiness Center where they would be put into huge bags that could be checked out at any time. I thought, "Oh my gosh, I'm going to save a TON of money!! Look at all these coupons!". I think the most I ever saved was $1.80. Seriously. So, the start to this quest was not successful...obviously!
Fast forward a few years, and I saw that silly show Extreme Couponing. After seeing those people save literally $100's of dollars, I decided that I would try again...and I was determined to be successful! Umm, not as easy as I thought. Now, I'm pretty organized (and crazy when it comes to having to be meticulous about things), but holy cow...they sell binders for couponing! Did you know that?! Craziness! But there are a few tricks out there that actually make couponing worth it. I'm happy to say that I successfully cut our grocery bill by 40% this month. Shocked?! Me too! Ha!
So anyway, here are a few of the first things I did when I decided to get serious about it. I hope that some of my tips inspire you guys to try it out, too! It can be done :) I'm going to try to do some installments b/c it can be overwhelming. Today is just what I did in the beginning.
1. ORGANIZE ~ Buy a small accordion style file folder at Walmart. Not the big paper-size ones, but the ones that actually say "coupon size" on the side. They cost about $3.00. Then, organize it the way you want using the tabs at the top. My tabs say: Food, Home, Bath, Baby, Sweets (yes, that has its own tab!!), Walgreens/CVS, Restaurants, Retail, About to Expire.
2. CLIP ~ Sunday, for me, is clipping day. I buy 2 papers on Sundays b/c we live in a small town...you might only need to buy 1, depending on where you live. BUT, I also like the benefit of getting 2 of the same coupons, so it might be worth it to get 2.
Also, get on
Coupons.com and print out the ones that you like. It's a great website, but you sometimes have to wait a few minutes for all the coupons to load. When they print, stack them all up so that you make a few cuts as possible. It doesn't take near as long when you do that, and you won't get so bored. Can you tell I'm impatient?!
**Once you've clipped, go back and organize. Put all your coupons under the right tab, and if you've been doing this awhile, weed out your expired & almost expired ones (and file those). All the stuff I've read has said to think of your coupons as free money, you don't want to waste them if you don't have to!**
3. WAIT ~ This step is the hardest for me! I've learned that if you keep your coupons for 3-4 weeks, you'll actually find the same stuff on sale at your local stores. So, instead of using them the Monday after you clip them, try to wait at least 3 weeks (unless there is something too good to pass up!).
4. MAKE YOUR MENU & LIST (& STOCK PILE) ~ There are two ways that you can do this. You can do what I do and make your weekly menu and then look at your coupons & local store ads to coordinate your list. Or, you can look at your local stores ads to see what is on sale, and then use that info to make your weekly menu. I think you save money either way, but the way I do it ensures that I won't be buying anything that I really don't need (and takes a little less time & thought, if we're being honest here!).
The key is to stockpile. For a military spouse, it took me awhile to wrap my head around that. I don't like clutter, and I'm always thinking about the next move (no matter how far away it is), so I wasn't really on-board with the whole stockpiling thing. BUT, you save money in the long run, you really do. For example, I don't need toothpaste because I have plenty, BUT, it has been on sale at Walgreens for the past 2 weeks and I always find lots of coupons for it as well. So, though I don't really need it, I've actually gotten 3 tubes for free (by using coupons & following the sales). Same way with toilet paper & paper towels...they go on sale often, and coupons are plentiful. So stock up, you won't be disappointed.
5. BE INFORMED ~ I'm going to do another post about this b/c it is so important, but you really just need to know what is on sale, when, and how many coupons you can use in conjunction with it. For example, the Kroger in my city doubles coupons up to 50 cents every day. So, if I have a 50 cent coupon or higher, I know I will save $1.00 on whatever I purchase with it. Make sense? Some stores have triple coupon days, none around here do, but it would definitely be worth it to check into it in your town! Also, my Kroger does a lot of 10 for $10 deals. This is where it would be worth it to have multiple coupons for the same item. If I have 5 coupons for $1.00 off something, I can use them to get those 10 items for only $5! Or, you might have 5 coupons that are $2.00 off of 2 items. Uhhh, bonus!! In that case, you'd get all 10 items for FREE!! See what I'm saying here? And even if you might not really "need" all 10 items, you just got them for free, so is it really a bad deal? You can always donate the extras if you want :)
If you shop at Target, you can get grocery coupons online. When you use those, you can also use manufacturers coupons on top of them. It's called "stacking" (yes, I'm a dork for knowing that!). So, you might have a $1.00 off coupon from Target online, and a $1.00 off coupon that you found in the paper...so you really get $2.00 off! And, if you wait that 3 weeks that I mentioned before, chances are that the item will be on sale as well!!
Store cards might be worth the time it takes to fill out the application. My Kroger card has been awesome! Not only do you get discounts on just about everything (produce included), you can also "load" your card up with coupons if you visit the Kroger website. And again, if you have a "Kroger Coupon", you can also use a manufacturers coupon as well, so you're really saving double :)
**Also, for those commissary shoppers out there...the commissary has their own coupons! Be sure to look on them (usually at the bottom in small print) to see if you can "stack" other coupons on top of them. I think it's about 50/50.**
6. DON'T DISCRIMINATE ~ I've learned that sometimes you have to switch brands to get the best deals. Toothpaste, for example, I don't really care if it's Colgate or Crest! Same with paper towels, toilet paper, pasta noodles, tortillas, bread, & cheese. If one is cheaper than the other, or if I have a great coupon for one, I'm going to go with price...every time. HOWEVER, I cannot switch diapers, wipes, or pasta sauce. Can't do it. Tried, and failed. So, do what works for you! But try not to get sucked into buying things you don't need/want b/c you feel like the bargain is too good to pass up. I tried that with frozen meals, knowing full well that no one in my family is a fan of frozen...and we didn't eat them. Waste! So, try to learn from that little mistake of mine :)
Happy Couponing, friends!! I'll fill you all in on some more fun tips later this week :)
