Guest post by Lorraine:
For me, organization is the key to saving money with coupons. I work on finding and organizing coupons just once a week, and generally save $5 or $10 a week from my shopping bill. I search for online sites that offer coupons for the items I usually buy, and register and bookmark the pages for easy return. Some sites allow you to load coupons to a store card electronically. Others allow or require you to print the coupons.
Next, I check the local advertisements, and once I know what products are being offered for a good price, I pull out any coupons that can be used on my next shopping trip. I also use some higher-denomination coupons to try out a new but higher-priced item, or to occasionally splurge a bit on a special item. Since an expired coupon is a useless coupon, I keep the printed versions in a small tabbed file container, about the size of a recipe file box. Each coupon is stored according to its expiration month, so I never encounter problems at the checkout counter.
When I am in the store aisles browsing merchandise, I compare prices associated with the coupon-item I’m thinking of buying. If there is another acceptable brand that would be less than the discounted item, I put the coupon away for later use. It is important to check whether a coupon discount will really get you the best deal. Sometimes there are other offers that beat the coupon you have – a different size that is even less expensive, or an in-house sale price that cannot be combined with coupons, for example. By using coupons to look for the best deals, I also learn to shop with discrimination. It pushes me to check the price-per-unit of a grocery item, and to consider no-names or generics.
Coupon use also helps me to plan out my shopping, rather than pick up items from memory (or impulse) as I go down the aisles. I am sure that focusing on coupons, and the list of items I intend to buy, has saved me even more than just the coupons alone. Remember to toss out expired coupons, and to share higher denomination coupons with friends who may want them. You can find coupon sharing clubs on the internet, at church, work, or through you network of friends. Everyone enjoys getting a good deal, and if all else fails, I’ll leave an unexpired coupon (for something I have decided not to buy) right next to the product on a store shelf. Who knows, the next person to come along may be looking for that exact item and use the coupon themselves!
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