Coupons 101

It seems to me that most people are hesitant to use coupons.  They either think it takes too much time or give off the impression they are stingy or poor.   Let me first off clear the misconception that it is embarrassing to use coupons – look at it as a challenge and I love the thrill of seeing how much I saved at the end of the trip!  Open your mind to the possibilities and view it is shopping you can justify – I mean, we all have to eat, don’t we? 

Coupon shopping does require a little (or a lot) of organization, but it all depends on the level of coupon clipping you want to do – it has to fit YOUR lifestyle.    

A majority of grocery coupons come from the Sunday paper and the remaining from in-store coupon flyers.  I honestly don’t have hours to peruse through them right then and there, so I recommend keeping them in a pile placing the newest coupons on the bottom and oldest on the top so they are easier to reference.  Later when I have time, I will take no more than 15 minutes going through these to see if any of them apply to my needs and clip them.

I separate the supermarket coupon circular and always look at that that day as those coupons are only good for the week ahead.  I plan my meals for the week based on that coupon book and plan my grocery store trip.   Lastly, I group my list according to section of the supermarket so you can be more efficient and not get caught up into the distractions supermarkets want you to

Electronic coupons which are getting big, allow you to go to supermarket websites to scope out coupons. It’s a great idea to combine the different types of coupons available. With coupons, you should always ask if your store doubles up on coupons.

Be sure to sign up for any supermarket super save cards to receive additional discounts at the register without even clipping a coupon at all.  Some supermarkets also provide gas discounts which you can use in conjunction at participating gas stations

I believe the key in using coupons is to start small and work up to whatever comfort level works for you and your household.  And who knows, you can possibly get to so good you might even begin to brag about it to your friends