Getting Started

The idea of starting to shop with coupons can feel overwhelming at first. You have to allow yourself at least a couple months to see a change in the amount that you are spending each month and to start having backups for all of your regular purchased items.

Step One:
Subscribe to the newspaper. This is your first source for finding coupons. As you continue to clip coupons start subscribing to multiple copies of the paper.

Step Two:
You can't be store loyal or brand loyal in all of your shopping. Be willing to try something new if it is on sale w/ coupon and at a great price.

Step Three:
Start looking at the ads that come out each week (newspaper, and grocery ads that come in the mail every Tuesday). It you don't receive an ad for a store in your area view it online. Grocery store ads run from Wednesday to Tuesday. Drug stores, Walmart and Target are from Sunday to Saturday. Plan your shopping and meals around what is on sale. This will help you to start saving!!

Step Four:
Slowly start to stock up on the items when they are on sale and you have a coupon to match. This process takes time. Think about how much you are going to need for the next 4-6 months so you are not needing to pay full price for something you buy frequently (shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, juice, crackers, etc...). Over time you learn how frequently an item is on sale and you learn how much you need to stock up until the next sale.

Step Five:
Never pay FULL PRICE anymore!!

Step Six:
Learn each store's coupon policies, this is key to saving. For example Target will accept a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon for one item. We are in the process of updating the policy for each store.

Step Seven:
Organize your coupons, some like to clip all the coupons and file them in a box alphabetically. You can take each weeks coupons (Redplum, Smartsource, Procter & Gamble) write the date on the front and file them away then only cut the ones that you need each time you go shopping (there is a great coupon database on couponmom.com all you have to do is enter the coupon that you are looking for and it will tell you what week it was in the paper). There are so many ideas out there find the one that works for you. Type it in a search engine and I am sure you will come up with tons of ideas on how to organize your coupons!!