Couponing can be overwhelming. Believe me, I know. The first time I visited sites like Coupon Mom or Southern Savers, I wanted to just shut down the computer and give up. I stuck with it, though, knowing how many of my friends were having success and how much money they were saving.
I get *lots* of questions about where to get the coupons and how to organize them once you have them, so I want to give you a few options and let you decide for yourself.
The most important thing, in my opinion, is deciding whether or not you are going to subscribe to the Sunday paper or just go buy an issue every week. When we started couponing in January (2011), we subscribed to the newspaper. In our experience, though, it ended up being easier and more convenient to just go buy a paper, so we ended up canceling our subscription in April. Whoever delivered the paper would miss our house some weeks, so it was a hassle. Also, once I realized that the gas station right around the corner sold *double coupon editions* of the paper, I was hooked. One coupon insert of each major source (Smart Source and Redplum) is simply not enough. I LOVE getting two of each every week! :) Some people buy multiple papers to "stock up" on coupons...I have one friend who buys four double coupon editions every Sunday...I, however, would suggest starting small so you don't get overwhelmed.
Once you get these coupons, what do you do with them? I know some people like to clip and organize them in big ol' binders in those protective sheets that look like baseball cards go in them. I HATE clipping, though, so here's what I do. I bought one of those plastic file organizer boxes from Wal-Mart...you know, the ones with the handles...anyway, I had one of those from my first year teaching, so I pulled it out and started to file coupon inserts in it. I have an individual file folder for each week's inserts. This way, when I look on Southern Savers (my favorite couponing website), and read something that looks like this:
CVS ECB Deals:
Herbal Essences hair care - $5 ECB WYB 2 @ $2.99 each
-Use (2) $1 off Herbal Essences hair care RP 5/22
(Makes it free + profit!*)
*You pay $3.98 and receive $5 ECB, so its like you're getting paid $1.02 to take it out of the store!
...I can go to my coupon files, find the Redplum (RP) coupon insert that was in the May 22 (5/22) paper and, if I bought my double coupon edition paper, I could clip two of the Herbal Essences coupons and head over to CVS to get a great deal on my favorite shampoo! :) I don't have to spend time looking through a binder or clipping coupons every week...I can just read the "code" and know just where to find it. Makes it so much easier.
These are the two most important concepts for newbies to understand, so hopefully I have made it a teeny bit clearer! Please leave a comment and let me know if there are more questions/concerns I can help with!
