Things You'll Need:
- Coupons
- Scissors
- Sale ads
- Extra storage space
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Step 1
The first thing you need to do is get over the idea that using coupons is embarrassing, silly, or for "other people." Coupons are like free money put into your hands every week through your local newspaper. A good rule of thumb is to buy one copy of the local paper for each member of your family.
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Step 2
Shop around. Find out the coupon policies at different stores in your area. I have one store that triples coupons up to fifty-cents every day of the year. Another only doubles up to fifty-cents. This means the same coupon at Store A is actually worth $1.50 and worth $1.00 at Store B.
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Step 3
Don't disregard Drug Stores! CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid all accept coupons and have incentive programs to keep you coming back for more.
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Step 4
Let the grocery sales ad plan your dinners. Instead of planning your dinners and just buying what you need, look at what's on sale and know that's what you'll be eating.
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Step 5
Learn to stockpile. If something that you use often is on sale half price, plus you have a coupon that makes it 75% off, buy four. For the price of ONE, you now have four of an item you need. It's a hard habit to get into at first, but once you start doing it, it becomes habit.
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Step 6
Understand that at first you may spend the same or more on your groceries. But once you build your stockpile, you will not have to spend nearly as much - and will even have weeks when all you do is grab a gallon of milk!
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Step 7
To maximize the ability to stock pile on frozen foods and meats, invest in a deep freezer if at all possible. You can freeze bread, yogurt, even milk if you choose to.
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Step 8
Remember to match your coupons to your sale ads to truly maximize the savings. Doing this often results in free or nearly free items, but it can be a time consuming task. There are many sites out there that can help you. Some are free and some charge a fee. Obviously, the free sites aren't as organized and thorough - you do get what you pay for!
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Step 9
Pay attention to store policies - some will only double or triple two identical coupons. Some stores will let you split your order into two transactions so you can actually double/triple four coupons. With some stores, you might have to make a second trip to take advantage of all your coupons. It may seem not worth it at first, but the savings add up more than you can imagine!
