My Couponing Method

I've had a lot of folks ask me how to start couponing, so I thought I'd lay out my basic strategy.  You can get as much or as little as you want to out of it.  The more time you spend on it, the more money you save.  I've shaved off about $70 a month from my grocery budget since I started couponing, and I spend a couple of hours a week looking, clipping, and organizing.  Some might think it's a hassle, but I enjoy seeing how much money I can save.  It's like a puzzle!  Here's my guide.  Best of luck!

Get the Sunday paper.  There are 3 main inserts of coupons that appear in Sunday papers: Proctor & Gamble, RedPlum, and SmartSource.  I don't get the paper delivered, so I buy it from one of the street vendors for a dollar on Sundays when I know there will be a good haul of coupons.  You can find a calendar of which inserts will be in the paper each weekend here.  I purchase a paper when there's a Proctor & Gamble insert because they offer a lot of buy one get one free coupons.  A lot of RedPlum's coupons come in the mail or are available online, so I don't get too excited about those.  Clip coupons from the inserts of products you might buy.     

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Get the customer cards!  Never shop at Kroger without a Kroger card!  CVS has some great deals for customers with CustomerCare cards. You get store credit for money you spend there (including prescriptions), and they often print get $3 off a purchase of $15 or more coupons.  These can be used with manufacturer's coupons to rack up on savings.  With a combination of coupons, I bought a $15 neti pot for $6.

If you buy the same brands over and over again, go to their website and sign up to be a member.  Members get access to coupons and offers all the time.  For example, I get coupons from Kellogg's because I like Special K products.  Go to the store's website you're shopping at too.  Flip through their flier to see what deals might be available.  If you link your Kroger card to your home address on Kroger's website, they send you personalized coupons in the mail for things you frequently buy.  Some of these are for free items.  I often get a dozen eggs free from Kroger through these coupons.  

Subscribe to the www.couponmom.com.  The Coupon Mom does a ton of work for you.  She knows what coupons are out there and provides lists showing what stores are charging for items and how much you can save using your coupons there.  So if you have a $1 off mouthwash coupon, should you spend it at Walmart, CVS, Target, or Kroger?  Coupon Mom can tell you!

Print online coupons from these sites: www.coupons.com, www.couponnetwork.com, www.smartsource.com, www.save.com/coupons/latest-coupons. 

Before you go to Kroger or Target, go to their website and checkout what coupons they have on their sites.  Kroger allows you to load coupons to your customer card which is nice BUT be careful.  Kroger doubles coupons .70 and cheaper, and the digital coupons don't double.  So if you have a coupon for .70 off Cheerios and the same coupon is one of Kroger's digital coupons, use your paper one and you'll actually save $1.40.  You can load and remove digital coupons from the free Kroger app on your smartphone.  This is convenient because you have a list on your phone of all your digital coupons when you're in the store. 

Get the apps.  The two coupon apps I use are iBotta and SavingStar.  These pay you through a Paypal account and you can earn money buying products in conjunction with the coupons.  (Double the savings!)  Sign up for iBotta here and SavingStar here.

After you've spent some time being conscious of prices and common coupons, set maximum prices for items that you buy frequently.  For example, I won't pay over a dollar for a box of cereal or a box of pasta.  I won't buy yogurt or cheese without coupons because there are so many coupons out there for those items.  

Use any combination of these tips and you'll start saving.