Buy a binder…a BIG binder. Trust me it will fill up faster than you think! You will also need full page sheet protectors and baseball or sports cards organizers. A stapler and a sharpie are also tools I use for organizing my binder. We’ll talk about binder organization later.
Step 2: Get Coupons!
The key to extreme savings is using multiples of the same coupons. Everyone’s family is different so how many coupons you need will vary from how many I need. A good place to start is one coupon insert for each member in your household. I started out buying 5 papers a week but as my coupon addiction grew I have increased to buying 10 per week.
Where to get coupons:
Buy Sunday newspapers. Contact your local newspaper to find out which coupon inserts they carry. If you are considering a subscription you may want to find out if they have a weekend only subscription or if they offer any discount for multiple subscriptions. If you are going to buy your newspapers try the local dollar store. Sunday papers in my area are $1.75 but only $1 at the dollar store. I buy 10 papers so that saves me $7.50 per week! Also it’s a little awkward but always check to make sure the inserts are in the paper. I have brought home papers a few times only to find the inserts gone.
Ask friends & family. A lot of people don’t use coupons and would be happy to donate them instead of throwing them away. I get about 5 additional coupon inserts from family members.
Coupon Clipping Services. I know what you’re thinking, it’s crazy to pay for coupons, but hear me out. Recently there was a B1G1 coupon for a body wash or deodorant. I bought 20 more of these coupons from my favorite coupon clipping site. I paid around $5 for the service and shipping. When a local drugstore had this same brand on sale B1G1 I was able to get over $100 worth of body wash and deodorant FREE! So to me it was well worth the $5.
My favorite site is http://www.couponsthingsbydede.com
You can also buy whole inserts which is great for me since we don’t get RedPlum inserts in any of the local papers.
You can also check out eBay for coupons too!
Keep in mind you are not paying for the actual coupons at these sites, however you are paying for the clipping service.
Dumpster Dive! Please check local ordinances before you do this! Find a local newspaper recycling bin. Explain that you will be happy to drop in all of your newspapers too. I always put in way more than I take out. The best days are usually Tuesdays but this may vary for your area.
Printable Coupons. I love printables! They keep me going through the week until the Sunday papers arrive. Most coupons will only allow you to print 2 coupons but if you have multiple coupons you can print more. Facebook is a great resource for coupons when you “like” certain brand pages you can get coupons.
Peelies, Tear-Offs & Blinkies. I am very strict when I go to the store about only picking up what is on my list but I also take the time to scan each aisle to look for Peelies, Tear-Offs or Blinkies. Peelies are coupons that are stuck to the product in the store. Tear-Offs are tear-off pads usually attached to a product display and blinkies are the little machines in grocery stores the spit out coupons. Be polite and don’t take them all please!
E-Coupons. If you’re grocery store has a savings card you can go to websites such as shortcuts.com, or your grocery store website and download them directly to your savings card. These aren’t big money savers since you can only use them once, they don’t double and they don’t always work. I don’t calculate these savings when I make my list, I just consider them a bonus when they work!
Step 3: Familiarize yourself with your stores coupon policies.
Cashiers don’t always know their coupon policies and may give you a hard time at check out. I frequently review the store policies and keep a printed policy in my binder when I’m shopping.
Step 4: Find Deals!
Use blogs such as Frugal Living Made Simple to find deals for you. Couponing can be time consuming, so let someone else do the hardest work!
Step 5: Make a List & Check it Twice!
Whether you handwrite your list or create it on the computer, having a shopping list is a MUST!
Step 6: Get ready to shop!
Ok so you’ve found the best deals and you’ve got your coupons, your binder & your shopping list, now it’s time to shop!
If you can go alone! I have taken the kids and/or the hubby and not only have I rushed to get out of the store but they throw things in the buggy that aren’t on the list.
Allow plenty of time to shop. It is going to take time to find the products on your list and it is going to take time to check out.
Make sure you have everything you will need at the store
Coupons
Shopping List(s)
Sales Ad / Circular
Coupon Binder (In case you see an unadvertised sale or clearance)
Scissors
Pen
Calculator
Step 7: SHOP!!!
When I get to the store if I don’t have a circular I grab one. If you are shopping early on the first day of the sale the employees may not have all of the shelves labeled with the sale prices so it is always good to have the sales ad with you.
If you don’t already have that stores discount card stop and get one first. Most grocery stores have them as well as Rite Aid & CVS.
If you plan on buying something that will be 80% off or more you may want to grab those items first since they tend to go quickly.
Next check the clearance aisle. If you find something on clearance that you have a coupon for you can get some great deals!
Finish up your shopping. Double check your list to make sure you have gotten everything that you had planned to.
Double check your coupons. Even though I check everything before I leave I always like to do one last check to make sure I didn’t overlook anything. Check expiration dates & check to make sure you have the right number of coupons. Pull out any coupons you won’t be using. Sometimes the store might be out of what you plan to buy or maybe the deal isn’t as good as you planned. I keep an extra pencil pouch in my purse for unused coupons so I can re-file them for later.
Step 8: Check Out
Here’s when things get tricky. I am a cashier profiler, no offense to anyone but young males are the best cashiers. They normally don’t hassle you over every little thing. Don’t get me wrong I have had some wonderful women cashiers too. Remember this is just my experience, you will develop your own system that works best for you. Be friendly with the cashiers. I always smile, say hello, ask them how they are before I show them my coupons. I also ask if they prefer to have my coupons before or after the scan everything. Watch the screen, I know it’s hard but if an item doesn’t scan in correctly or a coupon doesn’t go through this can cost you big at check out. Check out can be a very stressful time but once all those coupons scan and you only pay a few dollars for a buggy of merchandise it’s worth it! Remember to thank the cashier, if you build a rapport with a specific cashier this can make your couponing a much better experience.
Coupon Match Ups
For most national stores such as Target, Wal-Mart and national drug stores there are blogs that will keep you informed of the best coupon match ups, however for local grocery stores this isn’t always the case.
Here’s how I do coupon match ups for my stores. Every week when you get the weekly circulars find a place where you can spread out and work, for me this is the floor. I have my binder, my lap top, the circular, a pen and pad and a calculator.
First I scan through the ad circling anything I know I have a coupon for that might be a good deal. Then I look for good sales, B1G1 or BOGO sales (Buy One Get One Free), 10 for $10 sales, Buy One Get One 50% Off sales. I check a coupon database to see if there is a coupon I can use on any of those sale products. There are a lot of databases available online. Then after I have finished matching up sales & coupons I make a quick list of what I might buy. I use my calculator to figure out prices. Maybe a deal looks good at first but after you break it down you may discover you can do better elsewhere.
BOGO/B1G1 Sales
If there is a BOGO sale you can use two coupons, one coupon for the item you are paying for and one for the free item. For example If Toothbrushes cost $2.99, they are on sale BOGO so you pay $2.99 for 2, say you have coupons for $1/1 ($1 OFF of One) you can use two $1/1 Coupons $2.99 - $1/1 - $1/1 = .99!!! Now you’re only paying .99 for two toothbrushes! WOW what a savings! Same theory with Buy One Get One 50% Off. (Not all stores will allow you to use the coupon on the free product, always be sure to check your store's policy)
10/$10 Sales
If you’re grocery store doubles coupons these can be great deals! At my local store toothpaste goes on sale 10/$10 every few months. I save up all my .50/1 coupons which the store doubles to $1/1 making the toothpaste totally FREE!!!
Often times you will see sales 5/$10, or 10/$20, etc. check the ad to see if you really have to buy 5 to get the product for that price. Maybe I don’t want to buy 10 jars of spaghetti sauce, if the ad doesn’t specify “must buy 10” then I will only buy the number I need. This is just a trick by grocery stores to get you to buy more.
Bulk Isn’t Always Better
People used to think buying in bulk was the best way to save money but that’s not always the case. If you have a coupon that doesn’t specify size or says “any size” you will need to figure out if you can get a better deal buying smaller products.
Let’s take cat litter for example. I have coupons for $1.10 Off of One bag of cat litter, any size, any variety. I can buy a 15 pound bag of cat litter for $4.98, subtract my $1.10/1 Coupon = $3.88 for 15lbs. OR I can buy (3) 5lb. Bags at $1.77 each use (3) $1.10/1 Coupons, paying only .67 for each bag or $2.01 for 15lbs. That’s a savings of $1.87 for buying three smaller bags instead of the bigger bag. This is why it’s important to have multiple coupons.
Organize, Organize, Organize!
If you don’t have an origination system, you won’t be able to successfully coupon. I have a few different steps to my system. Again remember not everyone uses the same system. I have adapted my own after watching other peoples’ systems. You just have to find what works best for you.
A Coupon Binder
When I started couponing I didn’t have a binder and I spent hours clipping coupons and searching for them. Now I have my coupon binder which has made couponing so much easier!
Here is how I have my binder organized:
I have a zippered pencil pouch in the front of my binder for scissors, a pen and a calculator. These come in handy at home as well as in the store. Next I have the store coupon policies printed out and in sheet protectors.
Each week when I get my newspapers I remove the coupon inserts. Then I separate the coupon inserts and stack all of the like pages together and staple them together.
Careful not to staple through the coupons themselves. I toss out any junk pages that don’t have any coupons on them. Then I write the date on each page front & back and which insert it came in (SS, P&G, or RP). Then I slide the stapled sheets into a sheet protector in my binder. This makes it super easy to find coupons when I see a good deal in a coupon blog. When reading coupon blogs they usually tell you the date and what insert the coupon was in. So all I have to do is flip to the date range and find the coupon. So easy!
Then towards the back I have baseball card organizer sheets. I have a few sheets for store coupons such as Target or Rite Aid. Then I organize the rest by department (cleaning products, soap, make-up etc.) This is also good for printable coupons too or coupons that I didn’t get to use in store that are already clipped. Some people prefer to organize all of their coupons this way, but it’s all what works best for you!
Now in a perfect world I would have plenty of room in my binder and have plenty of time to put my coupons into my binder immediately. However my life isn’t perfect so I have a set of the little plastic drawers to store coupons in until I get time to sort them. One drawer is for clipped coupons and another for whole inserts. The last drawer is my stapler, pens, calculator and scissors.
The Great Stockpile Debate
There is a lot of debate about couponers being hoarders. But remember you are in control of what and how much you buy. A stockpile is a great thing if you keep it in moderation. I love the fact that if I run out of deodorant I don’t have to run to the store. I walk to my stockpile, I’m not paying full price, I’m not using gas and I’m not going to be tempted to buy something I don’t need while I‘m at the store.
Don’t feel like you need to build your stockpile all at once, it will take time. Set a limit of how much each week you intend to spend on building your stockpile. For me my limit is around $25 per week. This will keep you from buying things you don’t really need. If an item is Free then obviously it doesn’t count towards my weekly limit and I will gladly stock up.
Over time you will notice a pattern in the sales. Stores usually repeat sales approximately every 8-10 weeks. So if you see a good sale on pasta only buy as many as you think you will use over 8-10 weeks. Again the exception being if an item is free. In the picture above you will see this is way more body wash and deodorant than my hubby will use in 8-10 weeks, but the Right Guard body wash and deodorant was totally FREE so I stocked up. Now instead of just waiting for a decent sale on deodorant or body wash for him I can wait for a awesome sale or hopefully until it’s free again. This is where watching the websites like iheartwags, iheartcvs & iheartriteaid can really be helpful. Since they give you a preview of the next few weeks sales I can check to make sure a better sale isn’t coming up.
It helps to be flexible when it comes to brands. But maybe you love a certain brand of toothpaste and don’t want to try any other brands. This means when you see a good sale on that brand of toothpaste you may need to stock up for longer than 8-10 weeks.
Make Friends With Management
When I first started couponing I frequently found myself staring at empty shelves where an awesome deal was supposed to be. I was frustrated and wondered if I was going to have to arrive at the stores the minute they opened in order to get the deals. After a really disappointing trip to a drugstore I ended up talking to a manager. I was actually shocked at how accommodating she was. She told me to call ahead if I knew I was going to buy a lot of something and they’d be happy to order extra for me and keep it in the back so it would be ready for me. She explained to me when they placed their orders and when they arrive. It was such a pleasant experience. Sadly not all stores have been so accommodating but it taught me to take time to talk to managers. It can be a great relationship because they can learn from you also. This same manager also told me that couponers know what will be on sale weeks before she does, and since she doesn’t coupon they don’t know what items will be stock up deals for couponers.
Know The Policies & Stay Updated
I previously mentioned how I keep a copy of each store’s coupon policy in my binder that I carry with me. I wish I could say that you won’t really need them, but you will. Unfortunately not all cashiers take time to learn their policies or they misinterpret something.
Quite often I will run into a cashier that tells me I can’t use a BOGO Coupon on a BOGO Sale. Most stores actually allow this and in this situation I politely pull out their policy and show them where this is stated in their policy. Unfortunately this doesn’t always work either and you may need to speak to a manager. Just remember to stay calm and be friendly. If all else fails call corporate. Walgreens customer service prefers that you call while you are in the store so they can educate the employees if they are not following the coupon policy.
Check the store coupon policies frequently because they can change quickly. At one local grocery store I shop at they changed their policy 4 times in one month. The policy made it so difficult to use coupons at their store I found another branch of that store that didn’t have the same restrictions 20 minutes away. For me it is worth the drive to get the savings. Sometimes you will have to evaluate if the savings are worth the drive & gas. If I’m going to be traveling a distance 20 minutes or more I always call the store first to ask if there have been any changes to their policy before I leave.
I will get some pictures of my binder up for you soon, just to give you a visual. Good Luck & Happy Couponing!

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