How to Save Money Couponing

Let me first start off by saying I don't save money by couponing right away, but you will have tons of extra stuff stored for when times are bad. Right now you may be asking: If I don't save money right away where do the savings come in? Well let's get started so I can answer that very question.

First what I do is the quick and efficient way of acquiring coupons. This is not the most efficient cost saver, but i've always heard you have to spend money to make money. So what I do is buy two or three Sunday newspapers. A Sunday paper here will cost you $1.25. So at three papers you are looking at $3.75. So why would I do that? The papers are all in the same place and considering the amount of coupons I plan on using from all three papers $3.75 is a drop in the bucket.

Another way is to ask family and friends to hold on to them for you. Some of them will already have a paper delivered to their doors every Sunday. The problem with that is, that you have to go to several locations to just get one flyer. It may cost you more in gas doing that.

My favorite technique consists of going on Ebay and purchasing them. Their is a law regarding selling coupons so what you are buying is their time collecting, cutting, and distributing the coupons. I may spend $5.00 per 100 coupons, but considering that you will get several buy one get ones and $1.00 off coupons this my be your best bet. Also it gets delivered to your residence. Once you get these coupons a few may be outdated. Make sure you go through them all and throw the expired ones away.

Once I have collected my coupons it's time to sort. I typically sort by item ex. Dairy, Canned goods, Hygienic, Cleaning Supplies, Pet Supplies, Frozen, Dry Goods, etc. Some people like to only shop at their favorite grocery store and will separate by aisle. Also I use an envelope while some people like baseball card holders in a three ring binder.

When you look at products do not be picky about the product brand. You will typically find your favorite item on sale every 3 months, but it doesn't mean the deal is better than the one for a different brand item right now. Especially when you have 3 coupons for the same thing. It could only mean 5 cents per item, but when you do this months at a time 5 cents per item adds up in a hurry.

Now it's time to visit some web pages. You can typically use Google to find several websites that have already figured out the best deals by coupon for the most common stores all over the United States. Ex. Rite Aid, WalMart, Target, etc. Also check your local stores webpage for sales flyers for that week.

Gather up all your coupons, grocery list, and head to the store you already scouted out before you even left home. Don't deviate from the list. Also make sure you ate something before you got to the store. Studies have suggested that when you're hungry you will buy more. Don't buy anything except whats on the list except for stuff you will almost rarely see coupons for like produce.

Look for what we like to call blinkies. Blinkies are the little boxes that blink and distribute coupons. Again if it's not on your list don't buy it. Get a few anyhow for next weeks shopping trip. However, make sure you check the item before you leave. It may be a new item and the coupon is a promotional sale which may be cheaper than actually buying it with a coupon a few months down the road.

Make your way to checkout and do just that checkout. Please make sure you pay attention when the cashier scans your coupons. If what you wrote down on your grocery list said $1.25 after coupon make sure it rings up that way. If it comes up something different try asking the cashier to look into it. Also some times stores will double coupons under $1.00 figure out what stores do that and figure that into your total. Regardless of what you think the total may be please bring extra money just in case you made a mistake.

So what did I mean in the first paragraph about not saving money initially? Obviously the savings are at checkout right? Well in my case I still spend the same amount of money as I normally would. You don't need to deviate and change numbers in your budget to coupon.

My wife and I have always spent $400.00 a month in groceries. Now with couponing we spend $400.00 a month, but bring home $600.00 dollars worth of stuff. My suggestion is go to Walmart purchase about 5 Rubbermaid containers. It will probably average $25.00. Label them for what they are Razors, Deodarant, Bath Soap and Shampoo, Toothpaste, Dog Food, etc. Now you can stack up all of the excess food/products you bring home every shopping trip in a convenient storage container. Make sure if you do this with canned goods you pay attention to the best buy dates and keep your stock in proper rotation. Most canned goods are labeled for two years. If you haven't used that can just before the best buy date please be responsible don't throw it out, take it to a homeless shelter.

The best way to keep from throwing excess food away is to ONLY buy what your family consumes. If your kids go through 2 cans of Spaghettio's a week it's probably a good time to scout a bunch of coupons for Spaghettio's and buy 6 this week before the coupon/sale is no longer matched up.

Finally.....My idea of true savings is being prepared for when bad things happen. If I lose my job, the car breaks down, or someone needs medical bills paid I have everything I already need to get through the bad times. I can now buy the $500.00 dollar part for the car because I can use the money I would have spent on groceries/household items. When that happens your going to be glad you had several Rubbermaids full of stuff already stored away.