Step 1: check out this blog at swaggrabber.com. It's a coupon crash course, and she does it with a great sense of humor. It's done really well. Just get a cup of coffee, and give yourself some time to start reading and you will learn so much!
Step 2: Check out the Grocery Game. It's a web site you subscribe to that tells you what to buy that week, where to buy it, and which coupons to buy. But it does cost $10 every 8 weeks for one store. It's done by zip code, and helps you get rock bottom prices, saves time by doing all the work for us, eliminates mistakes by letting you know which coupon to use, and follows the 12 week sales trends. In other words, the same items usually go on sale every 12 weeks. You will learn how to stockpile certain items to last you for 12 weeks. In other words, you will only buy most of your items when they are on sale every 12 weeks, and you can get most of these things for pennies on the dollar or for FREE! You can stockpile on shelves, under sinks, under beds, in closets, in totes in your basement or garage, etc.
Step 3: Where to get your coupons.
The Sunday paper is the best place. However, you really reap the benefits if you can get several copies of the inserts in the paper. To do this, Becky suggested asking friends and neighbors, checking with nursing homes, schools, and finally newspaper delivery people or gas stations to get the leftover papers on Monday morning. To buy several of one coupon, you can enlist the services of a coupon clipper. (Buying and selling coupons is illegal, so when you "purchase" a coupon, you are actually paying for the service of someone clipping the coupon for you.) You can do this THECOUPONCLIPPERS.COM, or EBAY. You can also print coupons at home using the websites listed here on SouthernSavers.com. Also, if you are a Kroger shopper (which is where I do all my grocery shopping) go here. At the bottom of the page, you will see where you can print coupons. Which brings me to another source of coupons: the kind you load on your shoppers card. On the Kroger link, it will bring you to the coupon page, and you have three different links to load coupons onto your shoppers card (it's more than just Kroger). These coupons are great because you can use these IN ADDITION to your paper coupons. Therefore, you can get maximum savings on this one item! For more on how these work, check out the coupon crash course mentioned at the beginning of this post. Also, when you are in the grocery store, look for items that have "SAVE NOW" coupons on them that you can peel off (only on the ones you buy, of course), and displays like batteries, or on freezer doors that have coupons for you to tear off. And don't forget those blinkies in the little boxes on the shelves. Always be on the lookout! Oh, and you can print the printables 2X each, and load your card with the new coupons I think every couple of weeks.
Step 4: Find out the individual store coupon policies. For example: Kroger will double coupons up to .50. Most of the time, even the manufacturer' s coupons that say "DO NOT DOUBLE" do double at Kroger. Meijer double only the first 2 identical coupons, and then accepts the rest at face value. Go to the store's website or contact their corporate office for more details.
Step 5: Check websites like MONEYSAVINGMOM.COM or SWAGGRABBER.COM daily to find great deals.
Some final tips Becky shared with us about being considerate: When you are finally ready to go to the grocery store...organize all your coupons before leaving home, and have a printed list of the ones you have loaded to your card. Don't clean out the shelves--don't be greedy! Go to several stores if you have a really great deal so other people can still get the items at the store. Use self checkout if possible--especially if you are doing more than one transaction. Give extra free items to charity. Put expired coupons to good use. You can send your expired coupons to the military. To find out how go here.
INFORMATION OVERLOAD???!!
If you are feeling overwhelmed and just want the bare basics--start small (which is recommended):
Get a Sunday paper. Don't clip the coupons, but instead file the inserts by date. Only clip what you will need for your next grocery trip. If you want to start free, check out Southern Savers or Mrs. Penny Pincher. These ladies have done the work for us by matching up store deals with coupons. Thanks ladies!!!
Plan your grocery list by looking at the sales ad. If you only ever go to one store, then you can easily just do this by going to their web site and looking at their sales ad to see what meats are on sale, etc. and do your meal planning accordingly.
Load your store card, print off coupons for items that are on your shopping list, and bring your coupons you have clipped for the items on your list. On your grocery list, if you have coupons for that item, write it on the list. For example, I write next to my Pilsbury Crescent rolls (.50/2, .50e) That means I have a paper coupon for .50 if I buy 2 things of crescent rolls that I know will double, and I also have an electronic coupon for one crescent roll loaded on my shopping card that will not double. That means if they are $1 each, I will get 2 of them ($2) and then will get one free, and one for .50. ($2-the .50 coupon which is doubled, -.50 e coupon loaded on my card). Cool, huh? The e-coupon can only be used one time, and will show up on your receipt as "mc-cfire" or something similar.
This is a good place to start. I haven't even mentioned the drug stores (Wal-greens, Rite-Aid, CVS, etc.)That could be a whole post by itself! But I believe the crash course on swaggrabbers.com explains that also. Probably moneysavingmom.com also.
Hope this helps. As you can see, there is a lot of information out there, and I can't take credit for any of it!! These women whose sites I have linked spend a lot of time doing the work so that we don't have to, and I for one am extremely grateful! This is a great way to honor God and our homes by being better stewards of our money, and it is a great thing to share with others.
