How To Start Using Coupons
I know it seems like a waste of time. How can you possibly save a whack of money using coupons, when many are only for a measly .50 off? I, too, was a skeptic. That is, until I started using coupons myself and saw my savings go up, up and up! Then it became addicting. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with the whole aspect of using coupons, try these simple steps to get your feet wet:
1. Obtain Some Coupons
Obviously, the first step towards using coupons is to actually get your hands on some of those sweet little slips of paper. There are many online coupon companies that will mail coupons directly to your home. All you have to do is sign up to the website, click on the coupons you want and then order them – then wait anxiously by your mailbox until they arrive! Don’t forget about printable coupons! Make sure you only print the coupons you know you are going to use so that you don’t waste any printer ink. If you’re worried about stores not accepting printable coupons. You can also go to your local grocery and drug stores, and do a quick walk through of the store, grabbing a few coupons from all the tearpads you can find. Finally, check your local newspapers. Every few weeks you can find a coupon insert of some kind thrown in with your weekly store fliers. The ones you can expect to receive are Smart Source, Red Plum and Brandsaver
2. Organize Your Coupons
If you have all of your coupons in a big heaping pile, it will be a pain to go through them when you need something specific. This will end in you not bothering with coupons at all, which would be very sad! So… you need to organize those babies! You can use a simple envelope system, where you just have all of your coupons in a few different envelopes (seperated by category) or you can use an accordian file, which are already seperated with different categories for you (usually with blank labels that you can fill in yourself). You can usually find these cute little files at any dollar store for a dollar or two. This is what I started out with. If you have many coupons to organize, I would highly recommend the binder method.You may get some funny looks when you bring that thing out at the store, but I can promise that it will be worth it! Using a binder to organize your coupons allows you to view many coupons on one page, making it easier and quicker to find what you’re looking for.
3. Use Your Coupons
Combining coupons with store sales makes for big savings. Check out the sales fliers every week and make note of all the great deals. The cheapest items are usually located on the front page of the flier. Then, match those sales with a coupon (if you can), and you are on your way to saving lots of money at the store(s). Many stores allow you to use a store coupon on top of a manufacturer coupon. Doing this usually ends with you getting an item for free or very cheap. Call ahead to your local store(s) to make sure that they allow this type of coupon usage. If you are lucky enough to live near a London Drugs, you will be able to STACK coupons. This means that as long as each coupon has a different barcode, you can use multiple on one item (at any other store, you can only use one coupon per item). For example, if you have a few coupons for Pampers (say: a $2, another $2, another $2, a $1 and a $1.50), if the barcodes are different, you can use ALL of them on one single item. So instead of saving $2, you would save $8.50!
A few more tips:
*Don’t use coupons on items that you would not normally buy, unless the end up being free.
*Don’t clip every coupon. If you don’t think you will use it, and the coupon value is a low amount (under $1.00), don’t even bother clipping it. Store these “extra” coupons somehwere in your home, just in case a deal does come along that makes the item free or cheap. By doing this, you are saving yourself tons of time by only clipping the coupons that you know you will definetely use.
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