Notice I didn’t say “Extreme Couponer”. There is a reason for that. While I think it’s great to save money and to get things for free, I do not agree with the selfish methods that you see featured on that show. Stockpiling 10-20 of something is fine. 200+ is just plain selfish. IN other words, if you have more than a years supply of toothpaste, hand lotion, or diapers for a baby that you don’t even have, then you are being a bit ridiculous in my opinion. That being said, here is how to get started couponing.

 

 

1. Buy several Sunday papers each week.  Something like 85-90% of all coupons come from the Sunday papers.  You are going to want to get more than one or two papers so that you have several coupons for the same item. It may seem counter-productive to spend $20 on just newspapers when you are trying to save money, but remember, that $20 may save you hundreds!
2. Develop a method to clip all those coupons. I group all of the same pages together and then use a large paper cutter to cut multiple pages at once. Then I use a paper clip to hold all of the same coupons together.
3. Find a storage method that works for you. I personally use a binder but there are many other methods out there that may work for you. File boxes work well as long as you don’t accidentally spill it. (Been there, done that. Trust me when I say you do not want to pick up hundreds of coupons off of the floor in the middle of a store) With a binder, you will also need plastic pages to put your coupons into. I personally use 4×6 photo album pages. They hold bigger coupons than the baseball card holder pages do.
4. Check out websites such as afullcup.com or weusecoupons.com to help with sales and coupon matchups. The forums are great to share couponing techniques as well. Utilizing websites such as these takes a lot of work out of the couponing process. You will off and saving in no time.
5. Don’t forget to take your coupons with you when you go shopping. Nothing like finding a clearance rack with things you know you have coupons for and then not having your coupons with you!
6. Have a storage plan in mind. Found a deal on spaghetti sauce? Great but you gotta put it away too!

 

Remember that couponing does save you money but it really isn’t quite as easy as they make it look on tv. It does take work.  Would you rather put in 10-15 hours a week couponing, or 20-40 hours a week working to earn the extra money you’ll need if you don’t coupon?