Buying generic items is still cheaper than buying the name brands with coupons. I have to say when I first started I thought the same thing till I realized it's all about the timing. You have to pair a coupon when an item is on sale. Only then will you get your WOW savings! For example : Say your buying deodorant, normally it's $2.50 and you have a $1.00 off coupon. $1.50 not SO bad but just wait! That same brand of deodorant is on sale at Rite Aid for $1.08 so with your coupon you only spend $0.08!! Now that's a WOW price!
How do you get so much at one time? Well I have a subscription to my local paper where they deliver 6 papers to my door every Sunday. I have my Husband trained well, he gets up Sunday morning, put's our dogs out and then heads to the end of the drive to scoop up all my papers. Try to contact your local paper and see if they can give you a deal for ordering 5 to 6 papers. Also on a side note: Alot of the coupons these days are saying "Limit 4 like coupons in same shopping trip" So if you want to start off with 4 papers it's ok! If you opt for the 5 or 6 then you will have to make a second trip or take a "Coupon Buddy" and put the stuff in their cart that the other coupons would be for. Then that way you don't have to make a second trip.
Ok, now that we got that outta the way let's move on! Next you will need a binder and baseball card holders as well as tabs you can label. Now since this Binder is about to become your best friend make it a cute one! Also if you can find one with a handle or strap that's a bonus! Next you will need the baseball card holders. I find that this method is worth the extra time of putting them in there individual spots. That way when you go looking for something it's easy to find. The next thing you will need are the dividers. Now I say make the colorful so that they are easy to pick out when looking for certain sections. You will need at least 2 packs of 5 if not three. It really depends on how far you want to break out your sections. I also like to keep a highlighter, pens, and a calculator in my binder so that I have them with me when I go to the store.
I also invested in a medium sized paper cutter. I find it quicker and more efficient than trying to cut them all with scissors.
You can normally find these at your local Wal Mart for around $20. Trust me they are worth it!
Now the trick to doing these coupons quickly is to gather up the different bundles of coupons. Normally there are three coupon bundles Red Plum, Smart Source and Proctor and Gamble. The P&G bundle only comes out at the first of the month and their coupons are also only good for that month. But not to worry, they come out with similar stuff every month. The easiest way I have found is to go through the bundle laying out each page with the coupons you want to keep in rows. Then as you go through all 4,5 or 6 bundles you should have small stacks with all the same coupons lined up. Then you can just start sliding them through and cutting them up. I find it easier to go ahead and fold them all to about the size of the baseball card holder so when I'm done cutting they just slip right in. NOTE : When they say that the blade on those things is sharp, you better believe it is! I know from personal experience I darn near sliced my finger off! So be careful!!
For the tabs it's best to be as detailed as you can. The more organized you are in setting up your binder the easier it will be for you later and especially in the store! These are the sections I broke my Binder into :
~ Bread & Cereal ~ Cleaners ~ Dairy/Freezer ~ Breakfast Freezer ~ Meats
~ Paper Goods ~ Dry Goods ~ Snacks ~ Canned Goods ~ Baking
~ Oral Care ~ Body Wash/Deodorant ~ Shampoo/ Hair Products ~ Lotions/Sunscreen
~ Meds. ~ First Aid ~ Candy/Gum ~ Pets
~ Misc.
Most of the tabs are self explanatory but there are a couple that need explaining :) For instance Dry goods is where you put your packaged foods and Misc. is where I put everything else I don't have a spot for like hand soap, Purell , office supplies and so on.
After you cut out your coupons and get them in the right spot half the job is over! And trust me you'll get it down to a science where it only takes you an hour to cut them all out and get them organized! It really goes by fast!
Now we are ready to start matching deals with the coupons you just cut out! When you are going through your paper looking for the coupon bundles you will want to pull out the weekly inserts from your local stores like Kmart/Walgreens/Rite Aid/ and Grocery Stores. If you do not have a place online that condenses all this info for you in your area then you are gonna have to do it yourself. But don't fret it's not to hard! Some ads even say there is a coupon in the paper! What you are going to have to do is ask yourself what are you willing to pay for a product? This is also called "Making a Price List" You make a list of items and what you are willing to pay, if the product isn't close to that price list then now is not the time to buy! For instance : For tooth paste you shouldn't pay more than $0.50 Paper Towels 6 pack $4.00 Toilet Paper 12 rolls $4.00. These prices I have listed are WOW prices!!
If you are lucky enough to have a place that does this for you on a website in your area then that makes all the difference in the world! You can just hop online find your products and make your list. If not there are a couple of websites that track deals nation wide that you can follow. So far my greatest find has been http://www.thekrazycouponlady.com/ This website has it ALL!! It even has deals for travel, style, and decor items! My local website that I use is http://www.savvyshopperdeals.com/ there website serves all of Utah and also Georgia. These websites are your lifeline! They will help you see when a certain item is on sale. That sale price combined with your coupon BAM! It's magic! That's when the deals get AWESOME!
Go through the deals and pair them up with your coupons. Pull your coupons out and put them in spare baseball card holders so it eliminates confusion at checkout. Print you list stuff it in your binder and don't forget your calculator!
So we have our Binder full of coupons and we have located the deals... Now we are ready for the next step!
