How to Start Couponing

Couponing can be a time consuming hobby. But with a few tips, just a few minutes a day can get you on the road to saving money!

• Stockpile Coupons~. Every Sunday, buy at least 2 newspapers (or any even number of papers so you have even number of coupons for BOGO sales). - Be sure you are not buying last Sunday's paper (learned my lesson! Not sure who was dumber- the person selling last Sunday's paper or the one who actually bought it!). And also take a peek in the paper and make sure no one has swiped the coupons from the paper (learned my lesson on this too!).
• Know your store's Coupon Guidelines~ Call your store's customer service and ask them what their coupon policy is. Also ask if they accept competitor coupons and if so, which competitors. Each store varies on who a competitor so this is important to find out. You can also find store coupon guidelines on their website as well. This is sometimes important to print out and have with you in case you have any issues checking out.
• Take Advantage of Sales~ The best time to use your coupons is when the item you want is on sale. When cereal is BOGO (buy one get one free) you can use a manufactures coupon for each item, including the free item. And if your store accepts competitor coupons, you can also use a competitor coupon for each item. This is called "stacking coupons". Stacking coupons allows you to get item for basically nothing or completely free! And we all love free!!
• Match-Up~ Each week get your stores ad or look online to find what's on sale and what coupons you can use for each sale. I use www.Iheartpublix.com to find my match ups. It will show you what is on sale each week and then list the coupons that can be used with each item (coupons from the newspaper and coupons you can print from the internet).
• Invest in a Printer~ You can find a ton of great coupons online! www.coupons.com, www.Target.com, www.SmartSource.com, www.Iheartpublix.com, www.theKrazycouponlady.com......and MANY more! I will post my list of websites that I use later:) In the mean time, just google away and you can find them:)

Now I hope this helps you get started:) If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Happy Couponing,

Christy