Ok, so you are probably saying "But how do I do this!! It looks so complicated!!"
Don't worry! Relax! I will show you the easiest most simplest way to coupon. Make sure that you adhere to my advice and you will be fine.
1. DO NOT CLIP ANY COUPONS!!!!!! - LOL! If you start buying newspapers and clipping every coupon you see, you won't have any time to do anything else in your life! That type of organization requires the equivalent hours of a full time job! Yes, it really does. I have done this method. And it does have its benefits but, it is so time consuming, you will be CURSING me by day 2, lol! So, remember, put the scissors away until further notice :)
2. BUY SATURDAY OR SUNDAY PAPERS IN 2's. - Buying your newspapers in two's assures that you will be able to have at least 2 of the same coupon. You will see the benefits of that when there are Buy One Get One Free sales at your favorite stores. Depending on how serious you want to get, determine how many papers to buy. I have a family of 7 and I buy 4 papers. Remember, if there is a deal that is absolutely irresistible, there are online services that clip the coupon and sell them to you individually, in case you want more than what you have. Don't worry, we will get into that later.
3. PULL OUT THE COUPON INSERTS FROM YOUR PAPERS, SET ASIDE, REMEMBER, RECYCLE YOUR UNUSED NEWSPAPERS!!! - Ok, here is where you are going to "store" or "file" your inserts. When I say inserts, I mean the little packets of coupons in the sales portion of the newspaper. There are two main companies. Smart Source, which I reference as SS, and Red Plum, you guessed it, RP. Once a month P&G (Proctor & Gamble) will put out inserts as well. Ok, so take these inserts, look on the edge of the insert, where it folds in half, you will see a bunch of tiny little print. In that tiny little print, there is a date, I promise, it's there. It will coincide with the newspaper date that it was issued in, by Sundays. So if you bought it on Saturday, it will have Sundays date instead. Anyways, that is the date that you are going to file your insert by. If you want, and I highly recommend, take a permanent marker, and somewhere on the front of your insert, write that date really big so it is easier to find in the future.
4. FILE YOUR INSERTS BY DATE AND COMPANY SOURCE - Now this is going to be up to you and what makes more sense to you. There are different ways you can do this. You can have one of those small filing cabinets with the two drawers. Use the top one for SS and the bottom for RP. You can use a portable filing box (thats what I use) and inside you have different filing folders. Separate the inserts by company and date and in each file folder is a different weekend of coupons. That is what works for me. But you can do this however you want. As long as you can go to your coupons and be able to find a specific coupon by the date and source it came out in, then it's all good :)
5. BROWSE THROUGH THE COUPON MATCH-UPS - This is always the fun part for me. Browse through the coupon match ups posted and when you see a deal you want, I will reference which coupon you can use with that deal. I will also reference the date and source of that coupon. That is when you will go to your files and find the coupon. Always make a list by store, it is much easier when you get there. Once you find the coupon, determine how many you are going to use and thats when you break out those scissors. So only clip them if you are going to use them! Much less of a mess and way easier to track.
6. LET'S GO SHOPPING MIAMI!! - Ok, so I lied, THIS is my absolute favorite step! Take your list, your envelope of coupons and head out to the stores!
So, you see, it is not very complicated. Just a little filing and research, some kindergarden cutting skills and Viola! You are SAVING! I will be doing some articles/posts about other tips and tricks that will help even more, go into further details, different coupon filing methods and yes, it can get way more intense. Like I said before, you can get so into couponing that it becomes a full time job. But I don't want couponing to be a job for you, I want it to be fun and enjoyable. However, the better you get at it, you may just decide to include some additional steps, tricks or tips into your couponing adventures. By all means, you are welcome to share your ideas and tips!
