Couponing 101 Videos:
I'm starting my series of Couponing 101 videos that explain the basics for all my beginners. Stay tuned for more videos to help get you started!
~ Couponing 101: Types of Coupons
~ Couponing 101: Types of Coupons
10 Things to Know Before Couponing
1. What you see on TLC's Extreme Couponing is unrealistic. The show portrays individuals getting an extremely large amount of items. For example, buying 800 bottles of mustard because it is FREE. Who really needs 800 bottles of ANYTHING?!
2. Only buy things you will use. Buying an item just because you have a coupon leads to spending more money and wasting your savings. For example, if you have a $1.00 coupon off an item that is regularly $5.00, you are still paying $4.00 for something you may NEVER use.
3. Couponing requires time and dedication. You cannot grab a pile of coupons, go to the store, and expect to save a hundred dollars. Lots of planning, clipping, filing, and organizing of coupons must take place before you get a big savings.
4. People fail or give up on couponing because they assume it's easier than the reality of the situation. People assume that you can just go to the store and pick up items off the shelf, hand the cashier a ton of coupons, and leave paying virtually nothing! This is not the case at all. I spend approximately 1 to 2 hours daily working on couponing.
5. Know your coupon policies for each store so you can use your coupons. In my experience, cashiers and/or managers are not required to know their store's coupon policy. You will run into a difficult situation with a cashier and/or manager that says you can use a coupon because they do not understand the terminology. Click here for a link to a variety of stores in my area, if you would like a coupon policy added to my page use the Contact Us form to submit your request.
6. Make sure you have an adequate amount of space before purchasing items. If you begin a massive stockpile that is completely taking over your house, you may become a hoarder. Becoming a hoarder is not the goal of extreme couponing. Be realistic, you do not need 100 bottles of ketchup or 200 boxes of cereal. You are wasting food and money by purchasing an excess.
7. Start saving all your coupons. Clip all the coupons out of the Sunday newspaper inserts and save them for a sale. You never know when you will come across a clearanced item that your coupon will make free or when you will see a sale in your weekly ad that is a moneymaker.
8. Know where to get your coupons. First and foremost, I would like to say that the Sunday newspaper has some great coupons, you can preview the coupons each week at Sunday Coupon Preview. You can print coupons from the internet by using legitimate sites such as Coupons.com, Smartsource.com, or Redplum.com. You can print 2 internet printable coupons PER COMPUTER! Also, you can visit a company's website and often find coupons for items you wish to purchase. Those are not the only places to find coupons. You can find them at your stores as well, these are referred to as "blinkies," "peelies" and "catalinas." Click here for a link to coupon resources that will help get you started.
9. Organization is a must have to coupon. I prefer carrying a 2 inch zipper binder with trading card inserts to hold all my coupons. If you use a binder, you can divide your binder into categories based on items in the store. For example, you can have categories that include medicine, cleaning supplies, laundry products, etc.
10. Read the coupon, not the picture. NEVER, EVER, go by the picture on the coupon. You do not have to purchase the item pictured on the coupon. For instance, if you have a "$1.00 coupon off ANY Glade product, with a picture of air freshner spray" you do NOT have to purchase the spray, you can purchase ANY Glade product. Do not let uninformed cashiers and/or managers tell you differently!