If you’ve ever been grocery shopping, then you know how valuable coupons can be. Coupons are a shopper’s best friend, as they help shoppers save money on purchases. If you are interested in saving more money while you shop, then check out the useful coupon tips in the following article.
Only use coupons for products that you will actually use. You won’t save any money by purchasing items that your family does not need or brands that you don’t like just because you have a coupon. Cutting out coupons for items you don’t use also costs you time, which could be better spent.
If you do your online research, there are several couponing websites you can go to find the best deals on coupons on all of your favorite items. You may even be able to clip that coupon that will get you some free items to have you saving a whole lot at the checkout.
Know what is a deal and what isn’t. Sometimes things are advertised as being on sale, but they really aren’t listed at a price that is that much different than normal. If you are having trouble telling, there are Internet tools that will let you see if something is listed at a good price or not. When it is, swoop in, use your coupon, and get incredible savings.
Keep your coupon organizer up to date. At least monthly, you should go through your stock and toss any expired coupons. If you wish, you can donate the coupons to overseas military families. Coupons can be used for several months after their expiration dates, so even if you cannot use them, they could.
Be prepared to spend a few days a month getting your coupons together. This is necessary if you are going to do couponing and be completely successful at it. You will also have to visit several different stores on your shopping trip to get the very best deals that you can in your area.
Do not let couponing monopolize your time. Looking over circulars and cutting those coupons out may end up being a full time job for you. Dedicate no more than an hour or two a week to cut out coupons.
You should only gather coupons for the items your family will be using. This can help you to not spend so much money on things you do not need because this can totally mess up your budget. Purchasing unneeded items with coupons is the biggest mistake you can make and must be avoided. This can also assist with keeping your coupons much better organized.
Learn coupon jargon and coupon acronyms. For example, ‘BOGO’ stands for ‘buy 1, get 1’. Mail in rebate is denoted with MIR. These acronyms are a great way to remember sales or discounts for specific stores. If you don’t know what they mean, you could miss out on a really good deal.
If you snag a truly great deal with a coupon for an item that you won’t use, donate it. Food banks will accept nearly any packaged food item. Women’s shelters can often use diapers, shampoo, and other toiletries and supplies. Research and contact local resources in your community to find out what they need, and use your couponing skills for good.
Use every medium available to collect your coupons. You can find them locally in newspapers, mailers and on receipts. They are also available online on store websites, manufacturers’ websites, Facebook, Twitter and on a specific coupon- collecting sites. Always keep your eyes open for coupons to save the most money.
Do not toss old coupons into the trash. Take them on your shopping trip anyway and inquire as to whether the store accepts expired coupons. The number of locations that are happy to take expired coupons will surprise you.
To easily organize your coupons, get a binder and fill it with baseball card collection pages. Most coupons will fit within these pockets. You can easily flip through this binder weekly and find coupons either about to expire or for anything you are about to go shopping for that week.
Look at coupons the same way you look at cash. Many people do not realize that each coupon used results in actual money in their pocket. For example, a twenty-five cent coupon does not seem like much, but when you start viewing coupons as actual money you will realize that those twenty-five cent coupons add up quickly to dollars.
Find a friend or two who also likes to clip coupons, and get together for a coupon swap. You’ll find that you can give them the coupons that you don’t need in exchange for the ones you use. In addition, if each of you purchased a different newspaper, you can meet to sort through the different coupons found in the inserts.
Get familiar with your chosen store. If you’re not shopping online, you are going to have to navigate store aisles and deal with cashiers. It will ease your couponing process if you can easily find the items you have coupons for, so that you’re not wasting time in the wrong aisles. It also helps if you can find cashiers that can deal with the whole couponing process properly.
As stated before, coupons are a wonderful asset to shoppers everywhere. Using coupons, shoppers can save money on every purchase they make. You can get more bang for your buck and save more money than you ever have before when you put the money saving coupon tips featured here to good use.
