DO: Keep your coupons organized. Set time aside every Sunday (or what day works best for you) and go through your coupons. I know we are all busy, but really if you set time aside and keep it up, it maybe will take 20 mins at the most each week.
DON'T: Clip every coupon you see just to have it. I go through the ads and clip just what my family needs. We don't have any pets, so obviously I am not going to clip coupons for pet food! Thats a pretty obvious example, but really think about the items that you are clipping. Yes there might be a coupon for M&Ms, but do you really need them? Or there might be a coupon for chips, but is it something that your family needs and really eat? This is where some people blow their budgets because they think just because there is a coupon they need to clip it.
DO: Match your coupons with specials. Just because you got the coupons today in the Sunday paper, that does not mean you need to use them today. First look at your meal plan for the week(don't have one, you need one!) and see what fits with your meal plan. If it doesn't apply to something you need immediately, then hold on to it. I find that most coupons have their best bang for their buck a week or two after they have been issued. You want your coupon to stack on top of a manufacture/store sale...thats when you really start to save!
DON'T: Buy just to buy. Just because you have a coupon, does not mean you need to buy it. This again is a budget buster...if you have no need for it, its not on sale plus the coupon, and its not something that your family really enjoys, then just stay away. Yes, you may have a coupon for it, but just buying because of the coupon is a waste!
DO: Stack your coupons! Watch your coupons and use them wisely. Most of the time you can use the coupon when the store has the item on sale, plus if you watch the retailers website you can also stack the manufactures coupon with the store coupon! This is my favorite because you can get a huge savings this way. Some of my best scores are from Target with their coupons and the manufacturers coupon. Example: Activia on sale 2 for $4, manufacture coupon $1 off the purchase of one, Target coupon $1 off the purchase of 2. Buy 2 of them and use both coupons and you get 2 4pks of yogurt for just $1 each. Thats $0.25 a container...most yogurt is $0.67 a container!
How do you know its a Manufacture Coupon vs Store Coupon:
~Manufacture will say the manufactures name on it
~Store coupons will have store logo and say valid only at the specific store
When looking online at Target.com for their coupons you can't see the coupons ahead of time so to help you print the right ones here is the giveaway:
~Manufactures will only say the products name and the amount
~Target coupons will say "With Purchase of" or "When you Purchase"
**Bonus tip...go to the Target Gift Registery Kiosks and access the Target site and you can print your coupons there to save on your ink!!
DO: Use your coupons with clearance items! Thats right, just because its on clearance doesn't make it off limits to use coupons! This works great with body care items and specialty packs of cereals. Example: Target had Gillette Mens Body wash with Free travel deoderant on clearance for $2.28, Regularly $3.99. Manufacture coupon $1 off with the purchase of 1, Target coupon $1 off with the purchase of 2. Final cost was just $2.56! Originally these items would cost $9.96 so that is a $7.40 savings on items that don't expire and are perfect for stock piling!
DON'T: Over stock pile. Yes you want to take advantage of great deals, but there is a difference between stocking a pantry and going extreme! Trust me when I say you do not need 40 bottles of shampoo, 40 bottles of body wash, and 80 gallons of speghetti sauce! But if you know your family really likes a product then get a reasonable amount when you can get a great deal! My family goes through a lot of cereal, so I always watch the prices on cereal and when I can get a great deal I take advantage of it. BUT again this leads back to a previous Don't...don't just buy cereal to buy it. Make sure you are stocking up on the types that actually will get used. For us, I really like Raisin Bran, but no one else does so I don't buy as much because there is just no way I can eat 8 boxes by myself. Also think logically based on expiration dates. Yes you might get yogurt for $0.25 a container but if you have to throw half of the containers away you actually paid $0.50 a container then.
DO: Read your coupons fully before hitting the stores. Make sure you fully read what your coupon is requesting you buy before using them. Some request that you Buy 1 for $X.XX off, some Buy 2 for $X.XX off, some are Buy one and Get one, Some are Buy of This and Get one of That. There are several different things you will see on the coupon so make sure you are reading right so you get a great deal. Example of a bad deal: Buy one Secret Clinical Deoderant get $1.00 off 1 Olay Body Wash product. The Secret Clincal was on sale but the Olay Body Wash was not...because of this the sale really wasn't a great bang for my buck. Also make sure to verify size/quanity of the product to make sure you get the right product.
DON'T: Always buy the biggest package. I highly recommend actually breaking down your sales based on size. We all have calculators on our phones, so we need to use them to get our best savings. I always will make sure that I am paying the least per unit price by taking the cost divided by the units in the packaging. Yes it may be the same product, but you might just be surprised as how much you can save by looking at how many ounces per cost you are getting. This stands true with most items. Example: Charmin Toliet Paper 12 pack is $9.99 and an 8 pack is $6.59 plus you have a $1.00 off coupon. The 12 pack is costing you $0.75 a roll where the 8 pack is costing you $0.70 a roll. Now I understand that is only a $0.05 savings per roll, but when you think about how many rolls of toliet paper your family goes through it adds up. Lets say you go through 1 roll every 2 days, by going with the 8 pack you will save $9.15 a year. Thats just one item out of the hundreds we use across a year! It adds up!
DO: Share the wealth. If you know a friend that just had a baby, but you no longer have a diaper wearer in your home...clip the coupons and drop them in a letter for them. They will love it. Plus if you hit a jackpot with an amazing steal...stock pile and donate to your local food banks and charities. If you have a coupon but know that you just won't need additional items before it expires, leave it on the shelf with the item because someone else might need it more then you(do this with coupons clipped from the paper and not printed though so people can't abuse your printed coupons)! Lastly, when your coupons do expire, donate them to Military Families because they can use them past expiration dates on the bases. For more information on this check out their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/ExpiredCouponsforOverseasMilitary
I hope that these Do's and Don'ts help you kickstart your couponing! Just make sure that you keep your family and budget in mind and you will see a big return on your time!
DON'T: Over stock pile. Yes you want to take advantage of great deals, but there is a difference between stocking a pantry and going extreme! Trust me when I say you do not need 40 bottles of shampoo, 40 bottles of body wash, and 80 gallons of speghetti sauce! But if you know your family really likes a product then get a reasonable amount when you can get a great deal! My family goes through a lot of cereal, so I always watch the prices on cereal and when I can get a great deal I take advantage of it. BUT again this leads back to a previous Don't...don't just buy cereal to buy it. Make sure you are stocking up on the types that actually will get used. For us, I really like Raisin Bran, but no one else does so I don't buy as much because there is just no way I can eat 8 boxes by myself. Also think logically based on expiration dates. Yes you might get yogurt for $0.25 a container but if you have to throw half of the containers away you actually paid $0.50 a container then.
DO: Read your coupons fully before hitting the stores. Make sure you fully read what your coupon is requesting you buy before using them. Some request that you Buy 1 for $X.XX off, some Buy 2 for $X.XX off, some are Buy one and Get one, Some are Buy of This and Get one of That. There are several different things you will see on the coupon so make sure you are reading right so you get a great deal. Example of a bad deal: Buy one Secret Clinical Deoderant get $1.00 off 1 Olay Body Wash product. The Secret Clincal was on sale but the Olay Body Wash was not...because of this the sale really wasn't a great bang for my buck. Also make sure to verify size/quanity of the product to make sure you get the right product.
DON'T: Always buy the biggest package. I highly recommend actually breaking down your sales based on size. We all have calculators on our phones, so we need to use them to get our best savings. I always will make sure that I am paying the least per unit price by taking the cost divided by the units in the packaging. Yes it may be the same product, but you might just be surprised as how much you can save by looking at how many ounces per cost you are getting. This stands true with most items. Example: Charmin Toliet Paper 12 pack is $9.99 and an 8 pack is $6.59 plus you have a $1.00 off coupon. The 12 pack is costing you $0.75 a roll where the 8 pack is costing you $0.70 a roll. Now I understand that is only a $0.05 savings per roll, but when you think about how many rolls of toliet paper your family goes through it adds up. Lets say you go through 1 roll every 2 days, by going with the 8 pack you will save $9.15 a year. Thats just one item out of the hundreds we use across a year! It adds up!
DO: Share the wealth. If you know a friend that just had a baby, but you no longer have a diaper wearer in your home...clip the coupons and drop them in a letter for them. They will love it. Plus if you hit a jackpot with an amazing steal...stock pile and donate to your local food banks and charities. If you have a coupon but know that you just won't need additional items before it expires, leave it on the shelf with the item because someone else might need it more then you(do this with coupons clipped from the paper and not printed though so people can't abuse your printed coupons)! Lastly, when your coupons do expire, donate them to Military Families because they can use them past expiration dates on the bases. For more information on this check out their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/ExpiredCouponsforOverseasMilitary
I hope that these Do's and Don'ts help you kickstart your couponing! Just make sure that you keep your family and budget in mind and you will see a big return on your time!
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