Couponing 101: Tips for Newbies
Welcome, Coupon Newbies! In order for you to fully understand couponing and successfully shop and save money, below I have provided my top 10 tips for new couponers. If you missed the first part of my Couponing 101 Guide, go here. Tip #1: Start Small- Once most people start couponing, they have a tenancy to go a bit overboard. While we all want to save lots of money, it's important to remember that you don't need to get every single deal. Take baby steps; maybe start couponing at just one or two stores, using only printable coupons. Once you become more knowledgeable and confident in your coupon abilities, take another step and shop at other stores.
Tip #2: Learn the Corporate Coupon Policy- Before heading into the store to start your couponing adventures, make sure you understand that store's corporate coupon policy. Being confident in your knowledge about that store's coupon policy will help you a great deal while you are at checkout. Go here to find a list of all the top store's coupon policies. I strongly suggest that, in addition to learning the coupon policies, you also print them out and bring them with you when you shop. Doing so will help prevent any issues that may arise while you are checking out.
Tip #3: Find an Organization Method for Your Coupons- In order to keep your shopping trips organized, you must first find an organization method for your coupons that best suits you. When you first start couponing, it's best to start with something simple, like an envelope. You can organize your coupons using several different methods; an envelope, an accordion style organizer, a filing cabinet and a binder. The method you choose is solely up to you and what you feel best works for you. I personally like using the binder method because I can bring it along with me to the stores and be able to find coupons easily in case I come across clearance or a sale that I wasn't aware of before heading to the store. I use the accordion style organizer method as well.
Tip #4: Find a Good Time to go Couponing- Sometimes it can prove difficult to coupon in a store that super busy. You need space to work with your coupons and peace and quiet while you're trying to calculate things. If you are not busy, I recommend going shopping really early, when the store first opens or really late to avoid having to deal with too many people. If you have a local store that is open 24 hours, like Walmart, I suggest shopping there during early or late night hours, if you can.
Tip #5: Learn How to Effectively Stockpile- Once you get the hang of couponing, you should start to stockpile items that you and your family need or use frequently. The whole point of stockpiling items is to make sure that you never pay retail price for the items you need. In order to effectively stockpile items, you must first wait for a great sale or promotion and then use coupons to save the most amount of money. You should make sure that you have several coupons so that you can buy several of the same items. Most sales cycle every 6-8 weeks. If you live in New England like I do, the sales typically cycle every 10-12 weeks. When you are shopping for stockpile items, you should basically only purchase enough to last you and your family until the next sale cycle. There's no need for you to stockpile 1,000 tubes of toothpaste like they portray in the show, "Extreme Couponing". How many items you'll need to stock up on will differ from one family to the next. It depends on how many people you have in your family and how frequently you and your family use those particular products. For example, in my family there are three adults. We eat pasta once every other week, so I would stockpile at least 5 jars of pasta sauces and at least 5 boxes of pasta. If you have a much bigger family, you may want to stockpile more than I do.
Tip #6: Try Not to Be Brand Loyal- Let's face it, brand loyalties cost you money. Especially when the brands you are loyal to have no coupons. When you are unwilling to try different brands and products, you're basically putting on blinders and it will cost you in the end. There's nothing wrong with having a few brand loyalties but it's also important to keep your mind open. Not only is it beneficial for you to save money but it's also beneficial because you may find other products that you really enjoy. Before couponing, I only ever bought Tide or Gain laundry detergent. Once I started couponing and trying other brands, I found out that I LOVE Arm & Hammer Clean Sensations laundry detergent.
Tip #7: Don't Think You Should Always Buy the Biggest Size- When you are a typical shopper and shopping without coupons, it's usually best to buy the biggest size product in order to save the most amount of money. However, when you use coupons, it makes more sense to buy the smallest size product possible in order to get the most bang for you buck. For example, I recently had $2 off coupons for any Downy Wrinkle Release product, no size exclusions. Instead of purchasing the 33.8 oz. bottle that was priced at $6 at Walmart, I purchased the travel sized bottle that was priced at $1.47. Walmart is one of the only national store chains that accepts coupon overage so I was able to use the $2 off coupon to get the travel sized Downy Wrinkle Release spray for free, plus score $0.53 in overage.
Tip #8: Try to Find a Knowledgeable/Friendly Cashier- In order to have a smooth coupon shopping trip and an overall positive experience, I strongly suggest you try to scout out a cashier who is knowledgeable about coupons or a cashier who appears friendly and approachable. Not only will this make you feel more at ease and less of a burden but it will also help to ensure that your coupons will be deducted correctly. Keep in mind that you may not always have the option to pick a cashier to go to; especially if you're shopping at a drug store.
Tip #9: Stand up for Yourself- As mentioned previously, there are several things you can do as a couponer to make sure that your shopping trips go as smoothly as possible for you and everyone involved. Understanding the store's coupon policy, bringing the coupon policy with you while shopping, shopping at times when the store is not too busy and trying to find a coupon friendly cashier are all examples of how you can do so. However, there comes a time in every couponers life where no matter what you do, a cashier and/or manager will give you a hard time about using a coupon or buying a certain product. In this case, you should stand up for yourself and politely explain that you are using your coupons properly, according to the store's coupon policy. If that doesn't work, you can simply say that you no longer want that product and/or contact management.
Tip #10: Keep a Record Book- Want to keep track of your savings? Keep a record book. You can purchase a record book at any office supply store or you can simply use a notebook instead. Every time you go out shopping, write down the date, how much you spent, how much you would have spent if you didn't use coupons, sales, promotions and/or rebates, your monetary savings and how much you saved in percentage. Do this every time you shop to keep track of your savings. Below is an example of what a record book entry might look like:
Example: Week 2/8- 2/14/15
Paid= $10
Worth= $45
Savings= $35
Savings (Percent)= 78%
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