Getting Started

The question I get asked the most is "How do I get started?" The very first thing you need to do is get your coupons. An insert should come to your house every week. There are also inserts in the newspaper each Sunday so make sure you buy one (or several). Some of the most valuable coupons come from the internet. I will alert you to those as much as possible through my blog so check it often and print them as soon as possible. A lot of the really good ones go fast and will be taken down once the maximum amount of prints has been reached. I saw one that had just been posted about 1pm. I printed two (max allowed) and when I got home at 5pm I tried to print two more and they were gone so ACT FAST!

Ask your family, friends and neighbors if they use coupons and if not, ask them to save their inserts for you. If you have a good relationship with your mail carrier or newspaper delivery person, ask them to give you any extras they have. They usually throw away tons of inserts each week so it never hurts to ask! One lady told me she left a note in her mailbox asking for extra coupons and now she gets five each week, just for asking. You can also use coupon clipping websites to order single coupons or whole inserts. Prices vary but most are very reasonable so shop around.

Get organized! You will need to find a system that works for you to keep your coupons organized or you will get overwhelmed in just a few short weeks. Here is what I did but feel free to experiment and find a system that works for you. I have a 3-ring binder that I picked up from Walmart. Mine has a large velcro pocket on the front cover that I use to keep my weekly sales ads in.

Inside the binder, I have about 10 clear page protectors (one for each store I frequent). I keep a copy of each store's coupon policy in a page protector. If you ever get an inexperienced cashier that tries to tell you that you can't do something that you know is allowed, you can pull out the policy and show them. I have never had to do this but have talked to others who have, it never hurts to be prepared. I also use them to keep my store cards, my shopping list for that store and my coupons that I will use on my next visit all in the page protector. That way when I get to the store, I can just open the binder, pull out the page protector and go inside and I have my coupons, shopping list and store reward card all in one place.

Next I have page dividers labeled: health & beauty, cleaning products, meat and dairy, frozen foods ect. In each section I have 5-10 (depending on how many you need) baseball card protector sheets, like you would put baseball cards in. These can be found at Target or any sports collector shop. You can put a coupon in each slot for easy finding later. This system is also very helpful when doing the grocery store match ups! 

You now have all the tools you need to become a successful couponer. Happy Shopping!