Adventures in Couponing: This is Only the Beginning

I'm no stranger to trying to get the best deal or at stretching a buck, but I've just now really discovered the joys of couponing. Sure I'd use an occasional coupon here or there, but now I'm taking it to a whole new level. Sure the Extreme Couponing show helped inspire me, but I've been planning to do more couponing for awhile. If you live in my area, you'll know that you can't really get the deals you'll see in that show, at least not on that grand of scale. Not a lot of the stores around here double/triple coupons and that's how so many of them are getting the extreme deals you see in the show.



I made my first coupon heavy shopping trip yesterday and I was thrilled. I saved 52% on my groceries! I got over $41 dollars worth of groceries for $19.33! Not too bad for my first real trip like this, if you ask me! I've had a few friends on Facebook ask how to get started or where to get coupons. I'll list a few ways to find coupons that will be helpful in getting you started.

1. If you have Facebook, search "coupon" or "freebies" in the search tab. "Like" a few of them and you'll really start to see the deals in your news feed! Also, if you "like" your favorite brands like Quaker, Pillsbury or Ocean Spray, you can get free samples or high value coupons for their products!

2. Go to Coupons.com or Google "coupons" and start printing the ones you'll use. You are allowed to print 2 of the same coupon per computer, so hit the back button after printing your first one to really get your money's worth.

3. Subscribe or buy the Sunday paper. Most Sundays (excluding holiday weekends) you'll get a combination of either P&G (Proctor & Gamble), Red Plum and/or Smart Source coupon inserts. Buy multiple papers to get more coupons.

4. Subscribe to or buy All You magazine (a few other magazines like Ladies Home Journal and Family Circle have coupons too, but not anywhere near the amount of All You). Most issues have over $100 worth of coupons hidden in their pages. Not too shabby for a magazine with a newsstand price of $1.88. I'm pretty sure the only place you can buy this magazine in stores is at Walmart.



A few general couponing tips:

~ Don't sign up for things using your main email account. You will get a LOT of email every day, so sign up for a different email address just for your couponing and freebies.

~ Get something to store and organize your coupons in like a binder or accordian file. I looked like a hot mess holding 20+ coupons and my shopping list in my hand yesterday at the store!

~ Wait till your store of choice is having a sale on an item that you have a coupon for to really maximize your savings. You can find store ads at the store, online or in your Sunday paper.

~ While at your store of choice, look around where they keep the store ads. Yesterday I found a summer savings coupon book full of $35 worth of coupons for free!

~ Do your homework. Sites like Crazy Coupon Train and Deal Seeking Mom list out what's on sale, what coupon to use, and where to get it. That will save you a ton of time trying to pair up sales at each of your favorite stores with coupons you have.

~ Make your list at home and stick to it while at the store. If youstart adding other items in your cart that you don't have coupons for, you may be discouraged seeing a low savings percentage on your receipt. So stick to the plan, or do multiple transactions so you can still see your savings piling up.

That's about it. I'm an expert by no means, this is just a fun hobby that I thought I'd share some information about. I'm just starting out in the world of couponing, but I can already tell I love it. It was a major rush to see the savings and the amount of merchandise I was getting for such a small price! Shopping is something we all have to do anyway, we might as well get our money's worth and a whole lot more.