Introduction to couponing

Beginner Couponing

When people ask me about couponing, I get asked so many questions: "Where do I get coupons?" "Where do you keep them all?" "How many coupons can you use at one time?" "Do all stores accept coupons?" "What is 'rolling' of store rewards?" And my personal favorite..."Do you REALLY get all that for free, or just a couple dollars? For me, using coupons effectively is rewarding, entertaining and a really fun hobby, and it doesn't take much to get started. Probably the best piece of advice I can give to the beginner couponer is don't give up or get too frustrated. When I first started I thought, "how am I ever gonna get all these coupons in order?" I felt like I wasn't organized enough to do this. I was too busy. I made some really bad purchases when I first started using coupons. I bought things that I didn't really need for way to much money, only because I had a coupon. (The #1 mistake we ALL make!!)

What is a coupon?

A coupon is a piece of paper a manufacturer or store will release to the public for $$ off a certain product, or a product free. A lot of coupons are released on a new product, and the manuf. wants to give you some incentive to try it. An example of this is the Purex washing detergent/dryer sheets. There were some high value coupons that came out to consumers when this new product hit the shelves. This coupon, paired with sales, led to free or nearly free (under a $1)Purex sheets. Another reason a company will release coupons is if they see a decline in sales for a certain product and they need more people to buy it. The manuf. will release a coupon to encourage more consumers to purchase that product.

Where can I get coupons?

Coupons can come from a variety of sources:

• Newspapers
• Internet
• Magazines
• Mailings
• Manufacturers
• Store fliers

The average person will probably get the majority of their coupons from the Sunday paper. Inside the paper their will be at least one of these coupon ads:Smartsource, Red Plum, P&G, or General Mills. The only exception to this is on holidays. Most holidays the newspaper will NOT put any coupons in the paper that week. Although most coupons will come from the Sunday paper, do not rule out the internet as a great source!! Many, many manufacturers will release coupons on their websites.  Do a search for your favorite products, and most likely the companys website will have a coupon somewhere. Most companies use a coupon printing program known as "bricks". You wanna know a great hint about this printing program??? YOU CAN PRINT TWO COUPONS PER COMPUTER! This helps in achieving the next step in couponing....A GREAT STOCKPILE!!! You always want to check to see if it's possible to print more than one coupon, from any site your printing from.

Another way to find coupons is to look in magazines. Some magazines will put a coupon on the bottom of the advertisement page. There is a magazine that is only available at Walmart called All You. The "All You" magazine not only has great articles to read, it is LOADED with great coupons!! The newstand price is usually around $3-$4, but you can really save if you get a subscription. Be sure to check this magazine out! Do you ever get "junk mail" and just throw it away? WELL STOP THAT!! You never know what kind of coupons you'll find inside that envelope! Some companies will send out mailings, advertising a new product and will include a coupon, so don't discard that mail too quickly!

Another way to recieve coupons is to contact the manufacturer directly. The easiest way would be to email them and let them know what you like or don't like about a certain product. They are usually quick to respond with a letter..... and a few coupons also!

Some stores, such as Target, Walgreens, CVS, and Kmart will release their own store coupons, and you can access these either from their weekly flyer or their website. You wanna know secret #2 of effective couponing???? YOU CAN USE A STORE COUPON AND A MANUFACTURER COUPON ON ONE ITEM!!! If that doesn't make since to you, don't worry. I'll talk more about that in another section. So as you can see, there are plenty of ways to get your coupons and really get you started saving $100's a week!!

Where do I keep all these coupons?

There are lots of different ways to organize your coupons, you just do what works best for you. Some common filing systems I've seen is using an accordian file, and labeling each section with categories. Some use a "storage box" that they keep their coupons in. My favorite, and the system that I use is the binder method. I use a three ring zipper binder and put either baseball card or business card inserts inside. Each sheet of inserts holds between 8 and 12 coupons. I put multiples of the same coupon in the same slot. I categorize the coupons by store section such as:

• baby items
• bread
• baking
• canned goods
• boxed items
• dairy
• freezer
• household
• makeup/lotion
• juice
• cleaning
• medicine
• paper products
• toiletries
• etc...

When I'm in the store I just flip to the section of the aisle I'm in, and there are all my coupons laid out so I can see what's available to me. It makes it much easier to find deals having the coupons open like that, then flipping through an envelope and looking at each coupon one by one. Again, use the system that works best for you, there is no right or wrong way to do this.

Is using coupons really worth it?

Before I started using coupons effectively, I would usually just throw away coupons. "Oh, what good is .75 off going to do. Big deal." That's what I used to say. But once I learned the trick to maximizing the value of each coupon, I'll never throw away coupons again! I am able to buy products I otherwise wouldn't have because of coupons. If I can get an item for free, or under a dollar, I'm going to do it. And it's not generic things, or cheap things. I get full size products.... for pennies!!! Sometimes you will end up MAKING MONEY by buying a certain product. I'll explain more on how to do that in another section. So, would you like to learn more about couponing? Would you like to be able to get everyday household products for free, or for pennies? If so, then read the different sections at the top of this webpage. I talk about how to play the drugstore game at CVS and Walgreens, how to combine store coupons with manufacturer coupons at Target, how to create a stockpile so you'll never
have to pay even CLOSE to full price EVER AGAIN!!! If you've fallen in love and want to even MAKE money by SAVING money, I also talk about other ways to maximize savings. There is much to be learned, and it's information to hold on to for a lifetime!!!!