Biting Life

Inspired by Meghan and a few other of my friends, I realized I should probably write a post explaining in detail, how to use coupons to save money. People ask me all the time “how do you do it??” I’ll admit it… using coupons is easy for me because it comes second-nature by now. But if you’re a beginner, it can be very intimidating.

Coupon-ing is actually such a huge topic, there’s no way I could cover all the information in one post. So I’m going to start a new series! Each week, I’ll write a new post about coupons on a different topic.

Look forward to…

• Week 1: Introduction to Coupons
• Week 2: Where to Find Coupons, Types of Coupons, and Coupon Organization
• Week 3: Sale Flyers & Company Policies
• Week 4: Make a List & Check it Twice
• Week 5: Creating a Stockpile

Before you begin coupon-ing, here are two things that you need to realize:

1.  Coupon-ing is a commitment. You will not save money if you only use coupons part-time. You need to buy the flyers every week, you need to clip all the coupons, you need to be willing to shop at multiple stores, and you need to realize that all of this takes time.Coupon-ing does not have to be a full-time job. But you do need to put in the time and the effort to reap the benefits of using coupons.
2. Be patient. You will not be able to save big bucks with coupons right away. It takes time to build up a coupon stash. It also takes time for you to be able to know, through experience, (a) when you should use coupons and when you should save them, (b) which stores give you the best deals, (c) whether you should stockpile an item or only buy a few, (c) what’s a good deal and what’s not, and (d) how often specific items go on sale. This process does not take forever, and you will build up your own experience as you go along, but it does take some time. It takes a good month to build up a good enough coupon stash in order to begin saving a lot each week.

Here’s what you’ll need to have in order to begin coupon-ing: 

Coupon Organizer. I use a huge, industrial sized accordion folder (pictured above) to hold all my coupons. You don’t have to use this method, everybody is different. I tried many other ways to organize coupons, and this is what works for me. Another popular option is the coupon binder, with coupons placed in plastic separaters (see example here). Next week I’ll go into more detail about how to organize your coupons.

Small Accordion Folder. Along with your big coupon organizer, you’ll need something small to carry around with you in the store. Some people like to bring their huge coupon organizer with them, but I find that I’m treated better by the staff when I don’t look like a crazy coupon-er (even though I am on the inside!). I know from experience working at CVS that you will get a much more helpful response from cashiers if you don’t have all your coupons with you.

People like to bring their entire stash with them into the store in case they find an amazing deal that wasn’t advertised. This does happen occasionally when stores put out a clearance section for things like discontinued products and dented soup cans.

I love my small accordion folder. It’s tiny enough that I can carry it around in my purse everywhere I go, but big enough that it holds everything I need. Inside the folder, you can see that I have one section marked off for receipts. I always make sure to keep my receipts and store them here. I keep my receipts from the past 3 months, throwing out any older than that. I keep my receipts because (a) I can go through them later and figure out how well I’m sticking to my budget for the month and (b) I always have the receipt in a handy place if I need to return something.

I also have spots for CVS, Stop&Shop, and Walmart – the stores that I shop at most often. I use those slots for my coupons of the week. That way, when I go into a store, I already have all my coupons separated. I can just reach in and hand them straight to the cashier instead of fumbling around making sure that they’re not mixed in with another store’s coupons.

Shopping List. I could go on and on for days about how much I love my shopping lists! They keep me organized, help stop me from making impulse purchases, and they’re so easy to make and use. I’ll go into more detail on how to create an efficient list in Week 4 of this series. There are many different kinds of shopping lists, but you definitely need one in order to use coupons correctly.

Coupon Area & Supplies. Coupon-ing takes up a surprising amount of space. I use the coffee table in mine and Brent’s living room as my coupon area because it also functions as my desk. I keep my large coupon organizer in my closet, though, because it’s way too big and awkward to just leave out in the living room. You can coupon anywhere, as long as the area is clean, flat, and big enough to hold lots of supplies. Speaking of supplies, you’ll need:

1. Coupon Organizer
2. Small Accordion Folder
3. Store Sale Flyers
4. Coupon Inserts
5. Computer (more detail on why you’ll need this next week)
6. Scissors
7. Paper Clips (optional, depending on which type of coupon organizer you’re using)
8. Pen & Paper (if you make your list on paper – personally, I type mine up)

Phew!! Are you ready to get started?!

Next week we’ll take an in-depth look at where you can find coupons, types of coupons, and coupon organization!

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