IS IT REALLY WORTH IT?

Yes, but you need to learn the tricks to make it worth it.  If you’re very picky and brand specific about everything, you only buy one Sunday paper, clip a few coupons to use that week then throw away the rest, no.  That wouldn’t make it worth it to me.  Only saving $5/week isn’t worth the hassle.

To make it worth my time, I take multiple inserts which usually means purchasing multiple papers.  I clip and save all coupons.  I use the coupons when I can match them with sales to get even greater savings GroceryGame is a great service if you don’t want to sift through the sale ads yourself.  However, I will state that I often times find deals they miss and sometimes my store sales don’t always match theirs.  Sometimes it’s a hit and miss.  You pay for the service regardless.  It was worth it when I first started coupon shopping because it saved a lot of time and there were mega deals to be had.  With our current economy, however, I’ve dropped GroceryGame and do it all on my own.  I know what I’m doing and am quick.  If you’re new, you might want to try the Game for a few months.  You can do a $1 6-week trial membership.  However, do a few weeks of serious coupon clipping and build up a stash before you play the game.  No fun if you don’t have the coupons.

WHICH COUPONS AND HOW MANY INSERTS WILL BE IN THIS SUNDAY’S PAPER?

Go to Taylor Town Preview every week. It’s usually posted by Thursday afternoon. There is a column on the right side of the home page titled, “Preview Pages”. Look at the date of the Sunday coming up (usually at the top). To the right of the date you’ll see, in parentheses, how many and which kinds of coupon inserts will be in the paper. Click on the date to see the listing of all the coupons that are in each insert. This can help you determine how many Sunday papers to get.

HOW CAN I GET COUPON INSERTS WITHOUT PAYING $2.00 FOR EACH SUNDAY PAPER?

I like to go to Kroger or Walmart on Saturday (a day early). I can buy a bundle of two papers for $3, saving me $1. Some dollar stores sell Sunday papers for only $1, but I don’t know if you can get them a day early. There are always relatives, friends and neighbors who take the Sunday paper, but throw away the inserts. Check libraries, Starbucks, recycle bins etc. for the inserts. You can go as far as dumpster diving if you’d like. I prefer Walmart mostly for the day early deal and having that extra time to clip coupons.

DO YOU CLIP EVERY COUPON?

Close to it. I didn’t start by clipping every coupon, but now I see how sometimes using coupons for items I don’t want/need is to my advantage when working a deal. I can always give, sell or donate what I don’t use.

I never use baby items since my children are older, and those coupons are never to my advantage (same with pet food, hair coloring, etc.). I clip them and use them at coupon exchanges.

I also try to bless others with extra coupons or coupons I don’t use.  Every penny helps, right?

WHAT IF YOU REALLY WANT TO STOCK UP ON ONE ITEM? HOW DO YOU GET A LOT OF COUPONS FOR ONLY THAT ITEM?

Say you stumble across a great toilet paper deal and with a 75c coupon you end up paying 2c per roll. Now, say you have the resources to stock up on a full year supply and want to take advantage of that deal. What you’re going to want to do is go online and buy coupons, for that particular item, in bulk. You can do this on ebay.com, thecouponmaster.com, or any other site which allows you to buy coupons in bulk.

There are a couple words of warning I would give you.

1. Make sure you see the fine print of the coupons you’re ordering. How sad you would be to think you were purchasing the coupons that you need for the deal and then, once you receive them and have already paid for them, they’re for the right brand but a different size package.

2. Make sure the deal is going on long enough for you to get those coupons in the mail and use them in time. Again, how sad it would be to receive your coupons in the mail after the deal is over.

WHERE DO YOU GET PRINTABLE COUPONS?

Ever wonder where all those bloggers find the printable coupons?  Does it take them hours of research?  Ha!  One stop shopping called Coupon Tom.  Just go to the site and start typing the product you want a coupon for.  If there’s a coupon, it will pull it up for you to print.

Please note that stores vary on their printable coupon policies. Because of coupon fraud, some stores won’t accept them at all. Other stores accept them all. Most stores I’ve found will accept them if they’re scan-able. Sometimes my printer prints the bar code a little too squiggly and if the scanner can’t read it, it gets rejected even though it’s a perfectly valid coupon. Here are some sites to get you started.

• Coupons.com
• SmartSource
• RedPlum
• Boodle
• CouponBug
• CouponLoop
• CouponSurfer
• MommySavesBig
• Special Offers.com
• Coupons Inc

HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE YOUR COUPONS?

So you’re clipping coupons and building up a stash. What’s the best way to store them? Well, that depends on whether you prefer the box or notebook method.

I prefer a notebook because it’s easier to carry. I use a 2 inch 3 ring binder, trading card pages (some use picture pages-a little larger) and colorful dividers. Dividers are labeled as such:

• Baby
• Baking
• Batteries
• Beauty
• Beverages
• Bread
• Candy & gum
• Cans (canned foods)
• Cereal
• Cleaners (home)
• Condiments
• Crackers & cookies
• Dairy & eggs
• Dish soap & detergent
• Food wraps (includes trash bags and containers)
• Frozen (includes refrigerated items)
• Health food
• Hygiene
• Laundry
• Lotion
• Meat
• Meds
• Misc.
• Mixes
• PB&J
• Paper products
• Pasta & rice
• Produce
• Salad dressing
• Sauces
• Seasonings & spices
• Snacks
• Toothbrushes
• Toothpaste

I have a trading card page in the front for coupons I will be using at the store I’m going to, and a trading card page right behind that one for coupons I need to refile. I use the front pocket of my folder for restaurant coupons.

The box system of filing works just as well. You can use envelopes too – just cut off the flap and staple an index card (standing up) to it for the label.

If you’re a visual person and need to actually look at these systems in order to understand how to organize, visit You Tube to search for videos on coupon organization.

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH EXPIRED/SOON TO EXPIRE COUPONS?

Many stores, especially in the mid-West, may not offer double/triple coupons, however they will accept expired coupons up to 6 months or a year past the date. You may want to check your store’s coupon policy.

I don’t have that option at any of my stores, so when I see that certain coupons are going to expire, and I can’t match them with sales, I head to the travel/trial size sections of Target or Walmart and check out those 99c bins. I have been able to score the following freebies: laundry detergent, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, body wash, bandaids, etc. Small freebies are better than no freebies and throwing away coupons.

I clean out my coupon binder at least once a month, so I have a stack of coupons left over. Our military families overseas are able to use expired coupons up to 6 months after expiration date. If you know an overseas military family who would use your coupons, send them there. If not, you may go to ocpnet.org and check out the program. You may donate to their program by mailing your expired coupons to:

48 MSS/DPF
ATTN: Coupon Connection Program
Unit 5200, Box 105
APO, AE 09464-0105

Because you are mailing to a military address, it won’t cost you any more than mailing to another town.  You will receive a nice letter for participating in supporting our troops & families.

One last idea is to take your soon to expire coupons to your local grocery store and leave them next to the product they’re good for.  You’ll be a blessing to others!

ANY FINAL TIPS?

If you ever take advantage of Buy One, Get One Free sales, use two coupons.  You can!  You’re buying two products, so they will accept two coupons.

You can stack store coupons and manufacturer coupons for greater savings.  Safeway, Target and Walgreens are famous for their store coupons which come in their weekly sale ads.  Just know that Target coupons aren’t usually all that great to begin with, and often their own cashiers don’t know their coupon policy which allows coupon stacking.  Request to talk with a manager if you have a problem.  If that doesn’t work ask them to call corporate while you wait.  I hate to hold up the line and I break into a sweat when I do, but they really need to train their employees.  Walgreens store coupons are so, so.  You can cash in with Safeway (and affiliates), but now they’re tightening up and there’s usually a limit with a $10 purchase requirement.

Most grocery stores (Kroger, Tom Thumb, Safeway, Albertsons, etc.) triple coupons through 39c and double through 50c. However, they only double/triple the first of like coupons. That means if you’re buying 10 mustards and have 10 39c coupons, they’ll only triple the first one. However, if you make 10 separate transactions, they will triple all 10 coupons. It takes longer at checkout, but it’s worth it.  I’m so thankful for self check out.

Walmart accepts coupons, but only at face value (no doubling/tripling). However they do accept competitor prices. Just bring in the store ads. Sometimes they actually make you show them the ads. They do not accept store coupons, just manufacturer coupons.

Most dollar stores do not accept coupons, but Dollar General does (not a real dollar store).