Couponing Tips

There are a lot of tips that I have learned on how to coupon but to be honest I am still a beginner myself. I just started doing it in August and I am still learning the ropes. So the first thing I did to get started was to ask experts that I know...two in particular...my sister in law who lives on the west coast and a lady in my ward who lives on the east coast. why does it matter where you live? because there are definitely different grocery stores on the east coast compared to the west coast but at the same time there are still Walgreen's, CVS, Rite Aid, target, etc. after talking with both of them I decided to start collecting coupons.

Tip #1: cut all coupons even if you dont think you will use it!

To collect coupons you can do this in many ways I personally subscribed to the Sunday paper, look for blinkies in your aisle as you grocery shop, most grocery stores and especially walgreens have catalinas---SAVE THEM!!! Also there is a magazine called All You that you can buy at Walmart that has a lot of coupons in them. So thats how I started I started collecting coupons and I got a organizer to keep them...well organized. Everyone divides there coupons up differently and once you start you will find a system that works for you.

Once you have coupons get to know your grocery stores: which grocery stores double your coupons, which ones triple. Meaning if you have a coupon for 0.75 cents then the grocery store will double or triple that coupon giving you more money off that item.

Next get to know Walgreens and RiteAid. Especially Walgreens!!! Most of the free stuff I get I get at Walgreens. They have a system called Register Rewards. When you buy an item that has a register rewards attached to it after you purchase you item. A register reward will print out of the catalina and that register reward is as good as cash at Walgreens. Beware they do expire in two or three weeks. So for example the first time I went to Walgreens and started couponing I used the coupons I had to buy items that had register rewards attached to them. My first trip was came to $20 out of my pocket but I got $15 in register rewards back. The next week I went to Walgreens I only bought items with more register rewards attached to them and I paid with my previous weeks register rewards...so how much did I spend the second week out of pocket cash maybe a buck or two. This is called rolling your register rewards. I know it sounds so confusing but once you do it you will understand.

Finally I look at these websites daily to see the current deals out there:
http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/
http://www.fistfulofcoupons.com/
http://frugalchicliving.blogspot.com/
http://thekrazycouponlady.com/
http://www.frugallivingnw.com/

I also subscribe to a website for like $5 for three months or something like that it is called:
http://www.refundcents.com/

So those are most of my tips I will post more if you have questions or anything let me know. Good luck and oh I almost forgot most of these websites help you get started as well and tell you how to start couponing.