Ok, now that you have the coupons, what do you do with them? There are two main methods to organize coupons. It's basically ALL or NOTHING.
Let's start with NOTHING: Super simple, you take the coupon inserts out of the papers, write a date on the top and put them into an accordian file. That's it. I am going to start making a list of the coupons that come in the paper for this area each week, so just print it and keep it with the inserts for that week. I also suggest getting a small coupon file for loose coupons, either ones you print, find, or cut out. This is the least time intensive method, each week, but would be much more time consuming when getting ready for a shopping trip. When weekly ads are posted, they are posted with coupons, where they are found, and the date.
The other way is ALL: It is VERY time intensive, it takes me about 2 hours a week to cut every single coupon. I have a 2" binder, with baseball card sleeves, and dividers. (I really need a bigger binder.) The pros to this is it is very easy to find specific coupons, and when I am at the store, I have all my coupons with me, so if I find an unexpected deal I would have the coupons with me.
It is totally up to you, but if you are first starting I would suggest the first method. There is little cost, and not much labor.
Showing posts with label Couponing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Couponing. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Step 1: Get Coupons
The first step to Extreme Couponing is getting coupons obviously. Beg, borrow, or steal(from the breakroom) if you have to. Just kidding. There are lots of ways to get coupons.
1) Sunday Paper-As a general rule of thumb, buy 1 paper for each member of your household. I buy 4 papers every week, unless it is a super coupon week. A newspaper is the cheapest way to get a lot of coupons. In this area, Publix has papers for 99 cents, and some CVS stores have papers for $1.
2) Coupons.com-Printing from a coupon source, print high value coupons when you find them. Coupons reload on the 1st of the month, and there are limits on how many you can print, usually 2 per computer. Coupons have an id number on them. DO NOT COPY them. The manufacturer will know who it is. There are a few different coupon sites, coupons.com, redplum.com, smartsource.com
3) Facebook- Become a fan, and a lot of places give you coupons. They are usually higher value than the ones that come in the paper or coupons.com. That's why I am fans of so many random places.
4) Manufacturer- Websites, calling, or emailing them can result in them sending coupons. Make an email address just for couponing, or you will regret it. Your inbox will be full of coupon newsletters. If there is a product that you love, that you can't find coupons for contact the manufacturer, coupons will usually apear. Tell them you love their product, coupons. Tell them you hate their product, coupons. They love to send coupons.
5) In-store- In stores you will sometimes find coupons in a little machine. When you pull one out, another one will come out. Then it will pause. It is waiting for you to walk away. Take one or two and leave some for the rest of us. Pick them up when you see them. You DO NOT have to use them now. Save them. Next week they might be on sale.
6) On Products- "Peelies" are on specific products. You peel them off and use them when you find them. ONLY peel them if you are buying that one product. They are there to get that one thing off the shelf. Others will know! Don't do it!
7) Coupon Clipping Services- My last place is a coupon clipping service. I only use this when I know that is a product that I need to stock up on. Some have minimum spending amounts, others do not. These places charge you for the time that they are taking to cut and send you the coupons, not the coupons themselves. I usually pay between 5 and 10 cents per coupon. Remember that those costs are part of the out of pocket expense for products.
1) Sunday Paper-As a general rule of thumb, buy 1 paper for each member of your household. I buy 4 papers every week, unless it is a super coupon week. A newspaper is the cheapest way to get a lot of coupons. In this area, Publix has papers for 99 cents, and some CVS stores have papers for $1.
2) Coupons.com-Printing from a coupon source, print high value coupons when you find them. Coupons reload on the 1st of the month, and there are limits on how many you can print, usually 2 per computer. Coupons have an id number on them. DO NOT COPY them. The manufacturer will know who it is. There are a few different coupon sites, coupons.com, redplum.com, smartsource.com
3) Facebook- Become a fan, and a lot of places give you coupons. They are usually higher value than the ones that come in the paper or coupons.com. That's why I am fans of so many random places.
4) Manufacturer- Websites, calling, or emailing them can result in them sending coupons. Make an email address just for couponing, or you will regret it. Your inbox will be full of coupon newsletters. If there is a product that you love, that you can't find coupons for contact the manufacturer, coupons will usually apear. Tell them you love their product, coupons. Tell them you hate their product, coupons. They love to send coupons.
5) In-store- In stores you will sometimes find coupons in a little machine. When you pull one out, another one will come out. Then it will pause. It is waiting for you to walk away. Take one or two and leave some for the rest of us. Pick them up when you see them. You DO NOT have to use them now. Save them. Next week they might be on sale.
6) On Products- "Peelies" are on specific products. You peel them off and use them when you find them. ONLY peel them if you are buying that one product. They are there to get that one thing off the shelf. Others will know! Don't do it!
7) Coupon Clipping Services- My last place is a coupon clipping service. I only use this when I know that is a product that I need to stock up on. Some have minimum spending amounts, others do not. These places charge you for the time that they are taking to cut and send you the coupons, not the coupons themselves. I usually pay between 5 and 10 cents per coupon. Remember that those costs are part of the out of pocket expense for products.
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