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7 Ways to Become a Successful Couponer For Family Saving
There was a time when a mom or dad would go into the store, use a coupon, and feel a tinge of shame. Were they sending the message that they were so poor that they needed that thirty-five cents off a box of Cheerios? But any feelings of coupon shame are certainly a thing of the past. Now couponing is not only growing in popularity, but it has become something of a hobby, a sport with absolutely no stigma.
Family budgets everywhere are feeling the financial pinch, and there is nothing wrong with being frugal. In fact, it is a point of pride for many. Some go overboard and enter into the realm of “extreme couponing” where they have spare rooms dedicated to their coupon cost-saving bounty. But you needn’t go there. Any family – in any financial demographic – can benefit by participating in the rising coupon culture. Here are 7 ways to get in on the action for saving for your family.
Scour your Sunday paper
The Sunday papers –nationwide– are one of the most popular places to get those savings. And not just your paper, your friends’ and neighbors’ too. If you are bold enough, ask them for their coupon sections, if you know they aren’t going to use it. You can also get the whole family involved and have your pre-school age kids cut out the coupons for you and work on those all important scissor skills in the process. The older kids, get them involved with the math aspect and have them figure out how much you can, and will, save.
Pair manufacturer coupons with store sales
One way to get the most bang for your buck? Pair a coupon you got from the paper or online with a store’s sale. You can get double the savings. This is a couponing must.
Club Cards
To get those in store deals, many stores ask you to join their “club”. Do it. It’s free, easy, and will really save you money.
Shop Around
Sometimes your local Piggly Wiggly doesn’t have all the deals you can take advantage of. You may find yourself going to several stores to get in on all the best each store offers. And search out stores that do coupon doubling.
Get Organized
Successful couponers all have one thing in common: they are organized. Make sure to divide up your coupons and store offers in a way that makes sense, by category –- or if you know your store that well -– by aisle.
Go Online
There are several places to go online to get deals. You can go to Coupon.com, CouponCabin.com, Coupon Mom, Shop at Home, RetailMeNot.com. Those coupons can be offer some sweet savings to your paper coupons and store savings.
Coupon Service
If you decide to flirt with the realm of extreme couponing, then you can join one of the popular coupon slipping services. These companies do the scouring and clipping for you and you buy the coupons directly from them. While coupons are something that is generally free, you can still save money by buying them, and buying them in bulk. There is a informative round-up of many of the coupon clipping services right here. But these services are really for those dedicated to the couponing lifestyle.
Other online deals on everything else
It’s not just food, detergent or shampoo you can get a discount on, there are a plethora of deals for housecleaning, clothing and shoes for the whole family and almost everything else. Some popular favorites? Groupon for local deals, Gilt.com, RueLaLa, SeenOn for designer goods, and Mini Social for goodies for the kids.
Do you coupon? Do you have any tips to share?
Image: Flickr
Looking for smart ways to save? 15 Money-Saving Tips for Parents!
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9 Comments
Kate commented on May 22 11 at 2:58 pmI wish couponing could be as ‘extreme’ in Canada, but alas, not where I live.
Rosana commented on May 23 11 at 10:58 amI was hoping that was something I could do to reduce our grocery bill but I have two problems with it:
1. There is not really big savings in relevant nutritional foods like vegetables and fruit.
2. To get the real savings you have to embrace cuponing as a part-time if not full-time job.
brsmommy commented on May 23 11 at 11:24 am@Rosana–I agree with you that it’s hard to find fresh fruits and veggies with coupons, but I’ve found that if I “coupon” to get things like shampoo/conditioner, soap, cleaning supplies (I make my own cleaner from vinegar and water, but I still buy dish detergent and clothes detergent), and paper products, it makes paying for the healthy food less of a sticker shock. But, you’re right, “couponing” is like a part-time job. I’m a SAHM, so I had to embrace couponing as part of my job, and get around to it when the wee-ones are in pre-school/school for the morning, or after they go to bed (I’ll organize and cut coupons in front of the TV). Then, it’s all about getting out early on Sunday mornings (before church and usually when the kids are still asleep and my DH can get them breakfast and ready) to get the coupon stuff before the other couponers come out. Not a perfect system, but it does save a couple Ben Franklins every week doing this!
Regina commented on May 23 11 at 1:21 pm@Kate – If you shop online, check out Coupons.ca (for full disclosure, I work for the company that operates it). The site just launched last week and offers coupons in both French and English, with more than 1,000 free coupons and coupon codes for popular Canadian merchants and US retailers that ship to Canada.
jenny tries too hard commented on May 23 11 at 2:55 pmI’ve started couponing recently. I don’t get extreme savings but I’ve saved around $30 a week and I don’t think it’s anywhere near a part time job; it only takes me a few hours a week. I cut out and organize the coupons (three papers) while I watch the Sunday morning talk shows on the DVR Sunday night after the kids go to bed and I check southernsavers.com for the match-ups Monday morning and hit the drug stores on my way to or from work…today was the first time I’ve ever found nearly all the deals I wanted to get gone (pout). We only have HEB and Wal-Mart for traditional grocery stores, though, and neither of them double coupons or do super crazy sales so I just use coupons for most of my groceries on my regular shopping trip, more or less as-needed. The drugstores are where I save the most…free toothpaste and deodorant, nail polish and Axe for the smelly teenagers in my house goes a long way.
@Rosana I hear you about the fruits and veggies; those don’t happen much. A few weeks ago I had coupons for tomatoes and clementines but that’s about it. But saving money on paper products, toiletries, cleaning supplies and pantry foods like cereal, coffee, peanut butter, pasta, condiments every week means there’s more money left for full-price produce.
valetdeals commented on Jun 03 11 at 8:30 pmAnother great site for printable grocery coupons is http://www.valetdeals.com where we create a personalized, updated daily, list of coupons for you to print without wasting time having to search for them. Go give it a try, it’s free.
Pemba commented on Sep 13 11 at 6:27 amIts all about time. Advancements has been always there in every sphere of life, the biggest one being the internet. Shopping online is the buzz today and so has coupons and promotion codes come in limelight. I too shop online and do look for some exciting deals at http://www.couponmall247.com/ and other sites too.
Aetiyuel commented on Dec 09 11 at 1:50 amCertainly, online shopping has made a drastic change by allowing the customers to shop 24X7 with discount offers everytime. In addition Coupons and Promo Codes are there to entice the customers to shop and save at the same time. The Fresh new avatar of http://www.freshcouponcodes.com has brought remarkable change by covering most of the online stores of the United States. Get the best available Deals and Offers consisting quality Coupons and Promo Codes to avail instant Discounts at checkout and save Big on your budget.
madame commented on May 04 12 at 11:14 pmsince TLC started airing that stupid coupon show, all of our coupon inserts mysteriously have disappeared from our sunday papers…now our stores have also put EXTREME limits on merchandise too….they even mentioned it was becuz of tlc extreme couponing program. I hate that show and hope it gets cancelled.
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