Coupons are great, and they will save you money however you use them, as long as you use them to purchase foods and items you use. Spending two dollars and using a coupon for a dollar off doesn't really save you money if the item collects dust for three months because you don't like the product.
If you want to save LOTS of money by couponing, it will take a little research. As I get older, I realize that nothing is ever truly free, and anything worth having or doing takes a bit of work. The way the people on television saves lots of money is by combining coupons with in store deals and other benefits. You have to be on your toes to do this correctly because you have to know whether the milk on sale at Food Lion is cheaper than WalMart's regular price. You will also need to organize your coupons and take some time to find, clip, and organize them. You also cannot go to just one store and buy all of your items if you want to take maximum advantage of the sales because different stores have different prices, sales, and coupon policies.
For example, I have a 50 cents off coupon for Cambell's Chunky soup. The canned soup is on sale, let's pretend, at Farmer's Foods for 1.50 a can. That is the same price as it is at Walmart, but I'm still going to buy it at Farmer's. Why? Because Farmer's doubles coupons up to $1, so my 50 cent coupon is worth a dollar at Farmer's, and only half that at Walmart.
Ideally, to really save money over time, you will also need a place to stockpile your stuff. If you find a deal where you can get deodorant for a quarter, then you will want to buy enough to use until you can find another great sale (usually six months to a year). You can also use your stockpile to donate to canned food drives, etc. Though you won't need this in the beginning, eventually you'll want to to maximize your savings.
Some stores have other great benefits: Register Rewards (Walgreens) and Extra Care Bucks (CVS). These items will give you a coupon for a certain amount of money off your next purchase, and you can use that money on anything. Plus, you can still use coupons!
For example, CVS was running a deal on tampons. A package of them was 6.79, but you received 6.79 in Extra Care Bucks to use on your next order. However, I also had a coupon for $1 off those same tampons, so I only had to pay 5.79 for them, thus getting free tampons and a giftcard for a dollar more than I paid for them. They, in effect, paid me $1 to take the tampons out of the store.
Where do I find coupons?
The best place is the Sunday paper. Other places include http://www.coupons.com/, http://www.redplum.com/, http://www.smartsource.com/, All You magazine (available at Walmart), and the websites of various products. I really like the Betty Crocker website. Sometimes you can find coupons actually on the products (called peelies) that you can use on your next purchase, or on this one.
How do I organize my coupons?
There are several ways to organize your coupons, and really anything that keeps them together for you would constitute as an organization system. Some of the coupons websites I frequent suggest buying a binder and those protective sleeves people use for baseball cards. I had an empty photo album around the house, so I use that, because it was free.
My friend Courtney uses one of the small expandable file things that are made for coupons and organizes hers that way. Other people use an envelope.
I like to keep everything in the binder and then pull the coupons and put them into a plastic baggie when I plan out a shopping trip.
So, why do stores give things away for free? Is couponing ethical?
I am adding this because whenever I read posts or YouTube videos by couponers, I see a lot critical responses and questions on this topic.
No one really loses from couponing. Most of the coupons are manufacturer coupons. A big company, like say, Betty Crocker, decides to put out coupons to increase sales or promote an item. They only release so many coupons, so they have already budgeted to reimburse retail stores, say, one million dollars from one million coupons. So the big company do not lose anything. In fact, the coupons have enticed shoppers to buy a product, a product the company probably still made some money on, and a product the consumer may buy again at a later date.
The retail companies, like WalMart, Food Lion, etc, do not lose from coupons because the company, like Betty Crocker, reimburses them for the coupon, plus eight cents processing fee. Even if I took one thousand dollars worth of coupons to WalMart, it doesn't hurt WalMart because Betty Crocker will pay them back, and Betty Crocker had already budgeted to spend this money.
The people on Extreme Couponing order multiple Sunday papers, get papers from family members, and go through the recycling bin to get multiples of coupons. They are only using coupons that other people wouldn't use anyway, because remember there is a limited number of any coupon.
Helping Others...
There are many things you can do with your stockpile and excess items to help others. You can donate to any type of homeless shelter, women's shelter, disaster relief, canned food drive, etc. Many animal shelters need litter, food, and treats, all of which can be purchased with coupons. You can send care packages overseas to our soldiers through Adopt a Soldier programs. You can also mail your expired coupons to military bases, where they can use expired coupons for up to six months. I am going to start stocking up on toothbrushes and toothpaste to put in my Operation Christmas Child boxes this year.
Learning from the masters...
I am such a coupon novice. I started this blog to let people know about deals in the area, but I felt I needed to added a tutorial for those who are also new to couponing. To learn more, check out some of my favorite websites, and feel free to share yours!
The Krazy Coupon Lady
A Frugal Chick
Southern Savers
My Coupon Teacher
I suppose this didn't seem so brief, but I read a lot of blogs, websites, and watched many YouTube videos to give you that overview. My Coupon Teacher has a great step by step plan to learn how to coupon, and The Krazy Coupon Lady website gives you more specific information about individual store's policies.
Good luck, and happy saving!
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