Coupon 101!

I am resharing this information for those who are really wanting to start couponing.  Feel free to use some of the tips to get your started or refresh what you already know.

Learning how to coupon isn’t easy for a newbie.  We will share some wonderful tips to help you with your couponing adventures.  We want you to start saving some of your money if not some on all of your groceries, entertainment, etc. 

Savings coupon tip #1

Begin buying the Sunday Atlanta Journal Constitution and inquire of the Evening Edge.  You may start to purchase 2 sets for coupon inserts.  Usually the papers are out Saturday evening at any local grocery store, Walmart, gas station, pharmacy, etc.  The Sunday papers are near $2.50.  If you can get one, spend and extra $1 and get the double coupon issue (it is two papers bound together by a blue paper band).  Be careful!  Some Sunday papers, especially those around holidays, will not have coupons.  Make sure to check our listing for 2012 coupon inserts.  Usually, if you can’t find a double coupon issue, or the paper doesn’t have the “savings” headline at the top of the paper, there are no coupons in the paper!

Savings coupon tip #2

Get your coupon policies for each store.  You can visit some of the most popular store coupons by clicking here which will take you to our main page.  Look on the right hand side of the page under “Coupon Policies – Groceries.”  If you don’t see a coupon policy that you really need, send us an email and we will try to get it for you. 

Savings coupon tip #3 

Visit our coupon database for online coupons from Coupons.com.   There are other popular online coupon databases (Red plum, Smart Source, and Coupon Network). In addition, you can review manufacture websites and Facebook pages for some awesome coupons and savings.  Be sure to have your printer ready!

Savings coupon tip #4

Blinkies (coupons located in a small red box in stores that spit out coupons. When you go shopping, collect a few of each one as you walk by. I have seen them in the cereal, freezer food, and yogurt sections of the grocery store.

Peelies ( I love these)  – You can save instantly on your purchase.  These little stickers are usually located right on the front of the package telling you exactly what you need buy in addition or how much you will save on your product. Please do not peel off additional coupons from the same product to use for later.

Catalinas – Print off right near the register similar to a receipt.  Sometimes they are manufacturer coupons or in store coupons (the store you are shopping in).   They may not come with each purchase you make.  

Hang tags- These can be instant savings coupons or mail-in rebates (money maker).  Look for these types on the bottle necks of bottles or on cheese, meat, produce, etc.

Magazines- Wal-mart has a great magazine (All you). On the front cover at the top, it will tell you exactly the amount worth of coupons inside.  The magazines are only sold in Walmart.  You can obtain a subscription as well on their website.  Click here.  On the inside panel (table of contents) you will see a tally of all the coupons in the magazine and the savings with each coupon.  Cut this out and place it in your coupon binder.

Savings coupon tip #5

Time for clipping-  you may use 1-2 hours to clip but enlist your family and if you have children, let them help find products they may want. Remember to start slowly*

Organize your Coupons -3 great methods

Remember quickness is the key*

Coupon binder- this is the most popular way to carry and organize your coupons.  We will be offering them for sale and plus we do giveaways.  You can purchase a binder from Target (most are 9.99), Walmart (prices vary), Office Depot, Office Max, Goodwill, etc. You may want to purchase one that zips up and has expandable files (can organize your coupon policies or sales flyers).  Place categories (bread, cereal, milk, freebies, etc.) on index divider tabs(reasonable at Walmart or Dollar Tree) and obtain baseball card holders/photo card holders/currency holders (long length and will not have to fold your coupons) to insert your coupons.  Always place the coupon upright with the name of the item, price and expiration date showing.  Be sure to get a pencil pouch to carry your scissors, calculator, etc.  This is great for on the go and you will have all of your coupons.

Envelopes- some people will just start out using a regular mailing letter envelope and label each with categories you usually find in the store (food, bread, milk, cleaning supplies, etc.).  You can place your coupons in there and take them with you to the store.  This is the cheapest way to get started.

Crates- (Hanging file folders)- you can organize the newspaper inserts by date and hang them in the file folders.  Do not cut coupons until you need them. If you see me say refer to SS 1/9, you will pull your Smart Source insert for that date and look for the coupon. The only thing negative about this method is that you may not have a coupon for a sale that you see when you are in the store.  You may consider carrying your crate in the back of your car. (smile)

Box- A wonderful way to organize a very large quantity of coupons.  You can purchase divider cards and label and place your coupons behind each category.

Let’s go shopping and save!

Create your shopping list. Most stores have weekly or biweekly sales ad that run from Wednesday- Tuesday or Sunday to Saturday.  You can find out when the circulars come out by looking at the prices effective date at the bottom of the circular.  The ads will show all the sales prices for that week in the store. Beware of the clearance because this is not listed but you may have additional savings especially if it is a great savings.  

Big Simple Savings tip when shopping- wait until your coupon item goes on sale.  This way you will see more savings at the register.  We all love when the price goes down but we also love when we pay less out of pocket (yeah!!!).  Start to circle all the deals that you would want to buy.  Be sure to ask yourself 3 very important questions first before clipping the coupon.  First, is this something that I will use?  Second, will I donate the item?  Last, will I use this if this was given to me?  I will be posting some coupon match-ups on the website.

Lingo “What did you say?” 

You must get familiar with all of the coupon lingo.  It can be so confusing at times but take your time and you will be speaking it in no time.