Confession time: I am addicted to watching Extreme Couponing on TLC. It started off as just another night with nothing on television; three hours later I am still in front of the TV thinking about when I can buy the Tampa Bay Times to get the best coupons. My entire family thinks I am absolutely ridiculous for wanting to be a 22-year-old couponer, but saving money is such a rush! I am here to give you my tips on couponing for beginners.
1. Buy your local newspaper– This is a no-brainer. For me, I just pick up the Tampa Bay Times on Sunday morning (get it early because it usually sells out at the pickup by my house), and pull out all the coupons and weekly ads. I only buy the paper on Sunday, because I have been told that is when the best and highest quantity of coupons go out, plus paying $1.50 once a week for a newspaper I won’t read is plenty in my opinion.
2. Get your scissors!- Okay, you’re probably like, duh this is an obvious step but hear me out. I am not an extreme couponer, as you have probably guessed; those women spend hours comparing prices at grocery stores and seeing what is on sale and what they have coupons for. I skip that entire step because it is very time consuming not to mention a little confusing. Go straight to your coupons and start cutting things that sound like a good deal and could be used to restock your kitchen!
3. Go to your grocery store’s website– I always shop at Publix, and they recently added a new feature: ecoupons! This is great for those looking to save money and paper by not printing out your own coupons. I log on to Publix’s website, and click their tab for “coupons” which leads me to their separate page where I can clip coupons that will be taken off directly at the register just by typing in my phone number. Last week I saved just over $6.00 through Publix ecoupons alone; for a beginner that’s not bad at all!
4. Get on the email list– Most grocery stores have an email list that shoppers can sign up for to receive deals. By signing up with Publix, you can receive emails when items go on sale, and know what is being promoted for the week so you never pay full price for items you need and love!
5. Budget– I recommend paying for your groceries in cash; this keeps you to a very strict budget (you can only spend what you have on hand) and helps you to visualize how much you are spending every week. Budgeting in general is a very helpful tool for college students, as it will help manage all expenses and show you where your heaviest areas of spending are and where you can be a little more frugal. Mint.com is a great website that helps you track your spending; I have never used it myself, but I have friends that swear by it! Check it out if you have trouble making or keeping to a budget.
6. Scour the Internet– In step 2 I said that I skip web browsing, but this step is a little different than that. So many websites and blogs are dedicated to finding the best coupons for shoppers. Simply search for “grocery coupons” and you will return with countless websites to choose from, all boasting a wide array of coupons to help in your quest to save money. Some other notable websites include redplum.com and smartsource.com if you don’t want to bother using search engines.
There you have it shoppers. To get started couponing all you have to do is jump in! I continue to surprise myself by how much money is out there to be saved with every trip to the grocery store (just don’t get caught up in buying larger quantities you don’t need just to use a coupon). Wouldn’t you love to see your saving to be as high as the receipt above, or even higher? All it takes is just a little bit of your time and some effort to plan your list prior to heading to your grocery store to make sure you have the best coupons for the things you need. If you have a tip or trick that has aided you in your couponing experiences, leave us a comment and share with our readers!
Photo Sources:
tlc.howstuffworks.com
inzolo.com