Crash Course on How to Coupon

How I Coupon: Step-by-Step

1. Buy 2 Sunday newspaper subscriptions (Some coupon deals can only be done with two of the same coupon, so only buy one if you must, but buy two if you can.) 

Or find another way to get your hand on coupons, such as friends/family who get the paper but don't use the coupons, or ask them for the coupons they don't use (many coupons do not expire for a long time after the paper arrives). I only have one subscription myself, and then ask family for their unused coupons.

2. Pull out the coupon inserts. The coupon inserts vary each week, so not all will be present each week, but this is what to look for: (SmartSource, redplum, and P&GbrandSaver)

3.  Pick a way to organize your coupons. 

Option 1: label each coupon insert with the week it was received. 

Option 2: cut out all of the coupons and organize them by type. (When I have the time I prefer option 2, that way I can use the coupons for regular shopping too and look for ones that match the items on my shopping list. I even have a coupon binder that I made with baseball card sleeves. However, life sometimes gets hectic so I sometimes opt for option 1 to save some time.)

4. Search for deals on blogs that are made for couponing. My go-to site is the Krazy Coupon Lady (http://thekrazycouponlady.com/), but there are many sites our there. On this website, as well as many others, they break down the deals by stores. So, if I want to coupon at Target, I click on Target in the Find My Store drop-down menu. Then the deals are listed there for you. 

For example: 

Swiss Miss K-Cups, 16-18 ct $10.99
Buy 2, Receive $5.00 Target Gift Card 
Use  $1.50/1 Keurig K-Cup Pack, 12, 16 or 18 ct, Do not double from SS 12/8 (exp 1/8/14)
Pay $18.98, Receive $5.00 Target Gift Card
Final Price: $6.99 each, when you buy 2

The item name is listed at the top with the regular price (in this case $10.99 each). The second line specifies that for this deal you will need to buy two, and by buying two you will get a $5 target gift card. The third line tells you which coupon you should use. In this case it is the $1.50 off of 1 Keurig K-Cup Pack coupon that is from the SmartSource (SS) coupon insert from the date 1/8/14. So, if you organized your coupons by date, look for the SmartSource coupon insert from that date. If you organized your coupons by type, search for the 'drink' section, or wherever this type of coupon would be stored according to your organization. The fourth line tells you how much you will pay the cashier upon checkout ($18.98), and that you will receive a $5 gift card at checkout. The fifth line tells you what you 'technically' paid. If you pay $18.98 and receive $5, you 'really' paid $13.98 for the two boxes, or $6.99 for each box. 

*Tip: Make sure that you spend the $5 gift card wisely though, it is not just free cash, or you really paid $18.98 for the two items.

Here is another example:

Venus Embrace Razor $5.99, regular price
Use $2.00/1 – Gillette Venus Razor or Refill, excludes disposables and trial/travel size, limit 4 like coupons per household per day – (coupons.com)
Final Price: $3.99 

For this particular deal, the blue hyperlink means that the coupon is located online and you can print it out. Click on the link and print the coupon (oftentimes you will have to download a 'coupon printer', this is just so that they can make sure you do not print more than two of the same coupon off of a single computer)

5. Write down the deals! If you just bring coupons with you it is hard to remember exactly what you are supposed to be buying (size, number, exact type, etc.). 

*Tip: I like to save old envelops or envelopes that I don't use from junk mail (like return envelopes) and write the deals down on them and place the coupons inside.

6. The prices in my examples may seem like okay deals, but I often get items much cheaper. I even get items for free and sometimes get paid to buy an item! So for me it's worth the work. 

Happy Couponing! Feel free to ask questions :)