Many people are now familiar with this exciting, money saving new term: couponing. Never before a verb, couponing has sprang its way into local grocery stores and television programs, showing how one person dedicates their time to clipping coupons, saving hundreds of dollars each week at the store, and having stock piles of items that will not run out for years to come. This process takes a lot of time, and a lot of practice to master. Many people who decide that they want to start couponing say that the begging of the process is the hardest. You have to dedicate a lot of time to finding coupons, chaining your grocery shopping habits, and looking at the items that are on sale versus not on sale. By being organized, you have already saved yourself a lot of time in the couponing process.
The best way to start getting organized is to decide where you are going to shop. Look for stores that are close in proximity to you, and which stores you like the most. Look for stores that offer their own coupons, as well as honor manufacturers coupons. If a store honors competitor’s coupons, that is even better.
Once you have chosen a store, you can decide where you are going to get your coupons. By knowing which store you are going to shop at, you ensure that you will not be getting unnecessary coupons that do not work for that store, or are only specific to other stores. This will cut down on our search time when looking at coupons.
There are a few places you can get coupons, the two main ones from newspaper inserts, or by printing them off of the Internet. If you are serious about getting all the best deals, consider starting a subscription to the Sunday paper. This paper is the one where all the coupons are going to be for a multitude of stores. If you want more of a specific coupon that comes in your paper, try asking friends or local businesses that receive the Sunday paper for their unused inserts, so you don’t have to subscribe to a plethora of newspapers.
For printable coupons, make sure you have a reliable printer. If you are going to be getting a majority of your coupons from online, you may want to think of investing in a black and white laser printer, as it will not need ink, and you do not need color to print coupons, making it chapter in the long run.
You now have to decide how you are going to organize your coupons. This does not need to be an elaborate system that takes months to form, just something that is easy for you to use and is easily accessible You can do a filing method, a binder method, or anything that works for you. The best way to start is to look online. Many couponers have blogs where they explain how they got started couponing and the methods they use for organization. You can get advice there are try out a few different methods to see which works for you.
You also need to decide not just the container that you will be using toehold coupons, but how they will be organized within the container. You can organize by sections in the store, by aisle, or by expiration date. Whichever way works best for you will ensure that couponing will not be a stressful experience. Make sure to always go through your organized coupons and take out the ones that are expired or you do not need anymore. This will cut down on clutter in your binder or filing system, and it will make sure that you do not try to use coupons that no longer work.