How To Get Started Couponing Today

You have seen other’s coupons, watched all about extreme couponing on TV, and read every article on Pinterest about how to get the best deals. Now you are ready to do it yourself, but how do you get started couponing?

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Couponing and building a stockpile for your family is exciting, and a great way to save your family money. It can also be overwhelming in the beginning if you get in over your head. You see the deals out there, and you do not want to miss them, but figuring out how to go from casually using coupons, to snagging the great deals is going to take some practice. You can get started yourself with the tips below!

Decide your organizational method

Making sure that you have the right method for you will be important. Everyone’s style is a bit different. You can read more of the different methods that I have tried myself in an attempt to get organized.

Once you have decided on your organizational method, you will need to ensure that you have the supplies necessary to execute your method. Once you start gathering your coupons, you want to be able to organize them because otherwise, you are going to become buried in a mountain of coupon inserts and little square papers.

Also, you may consider adding some essential tools to your organization. A calculator, pen, paper, nothing that seems like a big deal, but some things that may be super helpful to you in the moment when you are couponing.

Start gathering your coupons

Coupons are available in a variety of places, and depending on what kind of coupons you are looking for, will depend on where you go to gather them. You can gather coupons from the Sunday paper, as well as printing them off websites online such as www.coupons.com.

As far as papers go, I know my first instinct was to run out and by 5 for my first round! I was sure that I was going to have enough copies of all of the coupons in order to be able to get all of the deals that I wanted this way.

News flash, that is a lot of coupons.

I quickly became buried in paper, little squares of paper. I spent hours clipping, just to throw papers away, including coupon books, because I never got around to them.

That my friend, is wasting money, not saving it.

Word to the wise, two papers is a good number to start buying. Two is not too much to handle each week. Start with two and move on from there.

Also, do not forget to check with the stores you are planning to coupon at. Generally, a quick app or Google search will tell you if the store offers coupons that will maximize your savings. My favorite store coupon app is the CVS app. If you do not have it, you need to get it!

Decide where you are going to Coupon

So now that you have your coupons, you are going to hit every store in the area, and pick up every deal you come across, right?

Wrong.

I suggest picking one or two stores in the beginning to begin your couponing journey. Otherwise, you are sure to become massively overwhelmed by the end of your first couple of stores, and will actually end up spending more money in the process.

Trust me, I have been there. Spending $100 on things you didn’t need in the first place, but bought to stockpile, and only saving $15 on the trip is no fun.

Start looking for the deals

But where do you find them? Start with the ads in the Sunday paper! You know, the ones you generally toss into the trash without a second thought?

The grocery ads, the pharmacy ads, and the big box store ads are always good places to start.

Having trouble compiling the deals? Try out some websites where they come compiled for you. I have found the following to be immensely helpful, though I am sure there are more out there:

• www.thekrazycouponlady.com
• www.iheartCVS.com
• www.iheartwalgreens.com

These sites generally compile the best deal’s by the store’s they cover, and report them back to you making the process a bit more simple for you!

Become organized for your deals

So you have the coupons, you have them organized, you know your deals, and know which store you are going to head out to. Now what?

The last step for beginners, organize your deals before you leave! When I first started out, I would ensure that I had everything I needed to execute my attack, then double and triple-check that I had it all.

I would pull the coupons that I knew I was going to need out of their respective slots, tuck them away in the first part of my binder, or in my wallet where they were easily accessible, and out the door I would go.

Also, I would ensure that I had written the deals down that I was planning to do. This seems silly, but when you get into the store and you are staring at the wall of shampoo, and it has been 20 minutes and you are still trying to remember if it was 2 or 3 bottles of Pantene you were supposed to get in order to get money back on the deal, you really start to feel the pressure.

Instead, I began jotting down my deals, making sure that I have a reference point once I get to the store. Trust me, it helps.

Well, those are the main tips I have for getting started on your own journey. If you are still on the fence as to if couponing is for you, check out my article here explaining why I do it!

Any other tips you would suggest for newbie couponers? Any questions that you have about getting started?