Photo by MissMessie

Welcome to our 6th post on Extreme Couponing!  Believe it or not, we are almost all the way through the series!  Can you believe it?  Only one or two more after this one.

So, if you’re new to this series and want to catch up with the rest of us, here are the previous posts:  #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5.

When you are just starting out with coupons, the whole thing can be overwhelming. You have to learn a whole new way of shopping and of thinking strategically about what you’re buying and how you’re buying it. Also, there’s literally a whole other language when it comes to the world of coupons. Here are some tips that I’ve learned over the months of attempting to make it a little less overwhelming.

#1- Start small. I highly recommend, when you’re first starting out, doing either one of two things. Either choose one store to begin with and learn their coupon policy, and get familiar with how they work. Every store is different in how they handle coupons, and when you try and learn all of them at once is asking to be overwhelmed. Almost every store now in our area has a coupon policy online now that can be found, read, printed and carried with you, to present if ever there’s a problem. This not only gives you confidence, but it can be a quick way to end a dispute if the checker says you can’t do something that you should be able to do according to their corporate policy. The other way to start small would be to focus on only a few things to stockpile. If you’re a new mom, or going to be, one way you could start small would be to focus on stockpiling diapers and wipes and baby supplies. That is one area where the costs can be huge and the savings can be great. And you’re focused on such a small selection of items, that it seems less overwhelming. This is what I did when I first started. I started stockpiling lotions and shampoos and other toiletry items. Mostly because they don’t go bad and I wouldn’t have to worry much about “overbuying”. This slowly helped me learn the process of using coupons as well as a little taste of different stores in the area.

#2- Be organized. One of the best ways we can be kind to the cashiers is to be organized about our coupons when we get up to the register. This not only saves time, but it makes the cashier feel better about you in general, and if you’re organized and ready when you get up there, you make sure to have all the coupons you need. If you’re not organized, inevitably you will forget a coupon and end up kicking yourself over it later.

#3- Be nice. When you go through the lines with your organized coupons in hand, be sweet to the checker. I’ve heard that a checker gets evaluated on how quickly they get their transactions done…so although taking coupons is part of their job, scanning coupons slows them down, which isn’t necessarily a good thing for them. So smile, be sweet and kind and treat them courteously and with respect. You’ll get much further.

#4- Abandon brand loyalty- In order to get the most mileage out of your time and effort put into this, you need to be willing to buy whatever brand is on sale that you have a coupon for. If you have a list of brand name products that you aren’t willing to deviate from, then you won’t get a lot of usage out of your coupons. Ask yourself this- is this a brand name product that I would want to buy even if I had to pay for it rather than getting another brand for cheap or free? For some items, your answer may be yes- I myself am rather partial to Charmin toilet paper, and Huggies diapers, but on the whole, I’m pretty flexible with what brand I buy.

#5- Buy the smallest size that the coupon allows for to get the best % of savings- Most times a coupon will specify what size of product the coupon is good for. Usually (unless there’s a great sale on a larger size) the smallest size of product is going to be cheaper than a big size, like a 4 pack of toilet paper rather than a 12 pack….so the best thing to do would be to buy 3 4-packs of toilet paper and use a coupon for each.

#6- If the store has run out of an item you wanted to buy, make sure to get a rain check for that item. It might help you in the long run. It gives you some time to order more coupons if you want to stockpile that item.

#7- If you want to get really into couponing, clip ALL the coupons, not just the ones you think you need or want. In order to determine whether or not to clip a coupon, ask yourself these questions-

1.Is this something my family uses?

2.Is this something that I would want if I got it for free?

3.Is this something that I would want if I was earning money on it?

4.If I got this for free, or earned money on it, is this something that I could donate to someone who did need/want it?

5.Do I have a couponing friend who might want to trade for this coupon?

I’d like to take a moment to mention question #4.  One of the great things about using coupons, is that it enables you to be more generous than you normally would or could on your current income. If you know someone who is out of work or struggling financially, you may not be able to gift them $100 to help them out, but you sure could grab $100 worth of items from your stockpile that you spent significantly less for and bless them with it.

So there you have it- the tricks of the trade!  Our next post will be on stockpiling…so stay tuned!

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