Couponing 101 Part 2: What Will I Need to Know?

Couponing 101 Part 2

"What will I need to know to be successful?"

Time

    You will spend a lot of time at first setting up and organizing. There is a learning curve, but if you stay with it it will pay off in the end. Literally, pay off.

Healthy Attitude

       Remember…there is nothing wrong about couponing. You don’t have to feel like you are putting a burden on the cashier or the store. Be positive with them and feel good about the fact you are saving your family money. Be diligent about your work, but keep a good balance. You will get from it what you put in it.

A Budget

    Set a reasonable budget for what you will want to spend. Couponers suggest that $20 per person per week is a good place to start.

Store Policies

       Decide what stores you are going to shop at and get a copy of their coupon policy to store in your binder. Many coupon blogs have them or you can go directly to the store or their web-sites.
    Example of a policy-Wal-Mart
1. if an item scan at the wrong price and that item is less than $3.00 you get that item free. If the item is more than $3.00 you get $3 off your total.
2. 200% policy on fresh meat/produce.
If it's bad they refund 200% of the purchase price

A Way to Organize Your Coupons, Inserts, Store Policies, Rebates, and Store Cards

1. Calculator

2. Pencil bag

3. Scissors

4. Coupon Binder Method (example)

1. 4" D Ring Case-It Binder

2. 3 pocket currency storage page (you can use this to organize your pintable coupons, and catalinas)

3. 9-Pocket Pages, trading card supplies (for coupons) 70-80 of them

4. Top loader sheets for store polices

5. Clear binder pockets (for restaurant coupon etc)

6. index cards with categories alphabetized to use when cutting coupons from inserts. This helps in time saved as you put coupons in your binder

5. Inserts File System (examples)

1. Plastic tub

2. file folders

3. accordion file

Couponing 101 Part 2

"What will I need to know to be successful?"

Time

    You will spend a lot of time at first setting up and organizing. There is a learning curve, but if you stay with it it will pay off in the end. Literally, pay off.

Healthy Attitude

       Remember…there is nothing wrong about couponing. You don’t have to feel like you are putting a burden on the cashier or the store. Be positive with them and feel good about the fact you are saving your family money. Be diligent about your work, but keep a good balance. You will get from it what you put in it.

A Budget

    Set a reasonable budget for what you will want to spend. Couponers suggest that $20 per person per week is a good place to start.

Store Policies

       Decide what stores you are going to shop at and get a copy of their coupon policy to store in your binder. Many coupon blogs have them or you can go directly to the store or their web-sites.
    Example of a policy-Wal-Mart
1. if an item scan at the wrong price and that item is less than $3.00 you get that item free. If the item is more than $3.00 you get $3 off your total.
2. 200% policy on fresh meat/produce.
If it's bad they refund 200% of the purchase price

A Way to Organize Your Coupons, Inserts, Store Policies, Rebates, and Store Cards

1. Calculator

2. Pencil bag

3. Scissors

4. Coupon Binder Method (example)

1. 4" D Ring Case-It Binder

2. 3 pocket currency storage page (you can use this to organize your pintable coupons, and catalinas)

3. 9-Pocket Pages, trading card supplies (for coupons) 70-80 of them

4. Top loader sheets for store polices

5. Clear binder pockets (for restaurant coupon etc)

6. index cards with categories alphabetized to use when cutting coupons from inserts. This helps in time saved as you put coupons in your binder

5. Inserts File System (examples)

1. Plastic tub

2. file folders

3. accordion file