How Couponing Works

rebeca  Tuesday, April 12, 2011

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Couponing doesn’t have to take a lot of work. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll find that it only takes an hour or two a week to prepare for your shopping trip. Here are some steps for successful couponing:

Pair Coupons with Sales – The best way to maximize coupons is to match them with a sale. For example, let’s say that Colgate is marked down to $1.50 from $2. That’s a 50 cent savings. But, if you have a coupon that’s good for 50 cents off, that’s a dollar you’ve saved. If your store doubles coupons, you’d save a total of $1.50…bringing home a tube of toothpaste for 50 cents!

Let the Bloggers do all the Work – There’s no need to spend hours going through circulars and searching for coupons to match the sales. Instead, you can rely on your favorite blogger to tell you exactly where to find the best deals, which coupons to use and where to find them. Many bloggers will do a coupon matchup for national chains such as WalMart and Target. But, you can check the frugal map, or ask your friends where you can find a good blogger to cover your local stores.

Start a Stockpile – To maximize savings, you need to stock up when your favorite products hit rock-bottom prices. Some bloggers recommend stockpiling when a product price is reduced by 70% or more. I think 50% is a good goal for beginners or average couponers like me. It takes some time to learn the sale / coupon cycle. You’ll also want to take note of the prices for your favorite products so you know when to jump on a sale. Some people compile price books, but that’s just too much work for me. I just memorize mine (it’s surprisingly easy to remember the prices) and don’t over analyze too much. Your stockpile can be a small cabinet or a walk-in pantry. But, regardless of the size, successfully stockpiling means that you’ll never have to pay full price for your favorite products again.

Learn Money Makers – Some stores like CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid have rebates or coupons printed on your receipts that you can use on your next purchase. When paired with a sale and a manufacture coupon, you can actually come out ahead. (Personally, I don’t do these because it requires more work and an extra trip that I’m not willing to make. I stick to one or two major grocery stores and I’m happy with the savings I bring home. But there are definitely some huge deals to be had shopping these stores!)

Find Coupons with The Coupon Database – Once you find a blogger who covers coupon matchups, you’ll likely find that they host a coupon database as well. Using the database is easy…simply key in the item you’re looking for and a list will pop up telling you where to find that coupon.