The art of couponing has become more popular than ever in recent years, and for good reason. The incredible savings that can be realized in this way is something that just about every family can use, provided the main shopper of the household knows how best to clip and apply their coupons. The information in the piece below is a great place to start.
While a coupon may offer a good deal on a product, verify that it truly is the best deal. Sometimes it’s better to skip the coupon and go with a generic brand. instead. Remember, a coupon may not mean that you are really saving the most that you can.
When your store has a buy one, get one free sale, take advantage of this by using coupons. You can get the other item free, and you are also getting a discount on what you have to pay. You might pay less than 1/4 of retail.
Decide to give yourself some time to find coupons once a week. Doing this will really help you. If you find great coupons on other days, you can always get them then, but your one day of couponing a week will allow you to really organize and search for coupons.
When you go shopping, leave the children at home. Children will get you off your shopping and coupon list and try to get you to buy impulse items for them. They are a distraction and difficult to keep entertained while shopping. If you can leave them at home with your partner, that is your best choice.
Always keep a copy of the store’s policy with you. If you run into trouble and are told that you can’t make a certain transaction, simply get out the policy and go through it with the employee. Make sure that you don’t lose your temper, either. The only way you will get the situation resolved is if you remain patient and kind.
Coupon searching shouldn’t be a time-consuming task. Perusing circulars and clipping all those coupons can be extremely time consuming. You need to dedicate time to it, but set a limit to your coupon clipping.
A lot of the times you can check one of the bigger named stores you are going to visit online for coupons. You can print out a lot of coupons by doing this and save a lot of money in the process. Just make sure you read the details of the coupons before you use them.
Do not forget about your national chain drug stores. These places have a ton of their own in store coupons every week and stacked with manufacturers coupons you will be saving big. Alot of these places also have rewards cards that will give you dollars back to spend there once you spend so much.
Don’t just go after the advertised deals when making use of your coupons. Check other products in the store for reduced prices that may not have made it into the sales flyer. These can either be small price changes or, in the case of overstock or discontinuation, drastic cuts to the cost.
To make finding your coupons easier, try sorting them by a similar attribute. For instance, you could sort them by brand, by product type, by expiration date, etc. There are so many ways you can keep everything together so that you can easily see and use them to maximize your savings.
Before beginning any couponing strategy, review your budget and spending habits. Do you spend more at the grocery store than you can afford? Make a log that tracks how prices fluctuate weekly and when stores offer in-store coupons. By making a log of this information, you can effectively save at least one-quarter of your grocery budget.
It is important to have your coupons organized, to avoid expiration dates passing without your knowledge. In addition to sorting by type, put the ones with the soonest expiration dates first. When you see that the time is approaching, add the item to your shopping list. Knowing what you have in advance will also help you to work with the in-store sales.
Do not make the mistake of not using as many coupons as you can to get discounts. For example, if you have four bags of chips, and you have a coupon for a discount on one bag, you can get three more coupons and get a discount off of everyone.
Create a reading list for your coupon goals. Think of it as weekly research to save you lots of money. Discover what newspapers tend to carry good coupons on each day of the week. Subscribe to multiple weekend papers. Know when your favorite stores release their weekly circulars. Then you’ll have the most intelligence at your fingertips.
Get your kids involved in clipping coupons by offering them a portion of the money, they help you save. If a child locates $10 worth of coupons for products that your family uses, give her a portion of the money for her savings account or piggy bank. This is a great way to explain budgeting, saving and other financial principles.
Take advantage of coupons and use them to save on products that you intend to actually use. Many people buy things just because there is a coupon for them and they end up not using them. This defeats the purpose of a coupon since you will end up wasting money when you throw these items away.
It is impossible to deny the amazing utility of coupons in this difficult economy. In order to achieve noticeable savings through the use of coupons, however, it is important to do one’s homework. By taking the ideas and advice in the above article to heart, it is possible to become an expert coupon shopper in short order.
