Prices are rising across the board, while unemployment rates are growing. It’s only normal to want to assert some control in these situations and the best way to do that is through slashing the costs of day-to-day life. For instance, you can reduce your gas prices; reduce the price of services like landscaping, cable and even for your utilities. However, you also have to consider the general everyday items that you need. This includes food and maintenance items.
Moreover, there is only so far that sacrifices can go. You need to maintain a regular life while still saving some money. You can’t stop eating – or even worse, start eating poorly – and stop maintaining your home and yourself.
But how should one do this while still staying comfortably within the budget?
Well, there are many ways. And couponing is at the heart of them – click here to learn more about couponing.
Types of couponers
There are different levels of couponing, of course. Some people are saving more, some less. It is important to know the types of couponers if you want to start yourself.
Here they are:
- The casual type – This type of couponers usually has less than 10 coupons per shopping trip and they save a few bucks but not a lot. Savings here are minimal and it’s not a really big operation. All you have to do is cut out or print out a coupon when you see it and hand it over when shopping. Quite simple.
- Generic brand buyer – Some people often find themselves in this area. You know that you can save money by buying generic products and you avoid branded products. Even if you have one for a branded product, you buy generic ones. You can save up to $300 per month without actually couponing, which is a good strategy, but not a complete one.
The problems arise when you actually really want the branded product. They are usually higher in quality, which means you are missing out. You will eventually want a branded product and fall off the generic brand wagon. - Coupon dealer – When you have the right circumstances, you can buy a branded product and still save yourself a lot of money. Things go on sale often and you are usually there when they do. You like to combine the sale with coupons to get a great deal.
Many of these shoppers go even further by saving receipts and getting even better savings online. Waiting for a sale, which ideally happens once a month is a good idea as you can get cheaper products than you would by buying a generic one. You can save a lot of money this way simply because you wait for the sale and you carry a stack with you.
It also takes some effort. Definitely more so than just buying generic or having a coupon every now and then. You need to organize your collection, clip them and have the patience to wait for the sale. But by doing this, you can save a ton on everything you buy and the time spent is often worth it. - Extreme couponers – This type of couponer does a lot of work and research. They have bigger deals and better ones at that, but they spend a lot of time looking for many deals.
For example, they use a store and manufacturer coupon on the same thing or they use two coupons on a 2 for 1 deal. Interesting, right? They get extra ones by investing in more newspapers. They do everything to get more and then they stockpile them in order to use them as close to the next sale as possible.
It all revolves around the use of manufacturers and store coupons and sales. You can save a great deal of money this way and even get some things free. And this approach is definitely worth it. You can visit this page to learn more: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/extreme-couponing/
5 steps of couponing
This may sound awfully complex, but it’s really not. Here’s how to do it:
Gather coupons
For this operation, you will need plenty of coupons. However, it doesn’t mean going crazy with it. Get copies of the same coupon and when you find a good deal, you can easily maximize how much you save. You are going to use them as cash, so it’s best to gather them properly. Here are some good sources:
- Sunday newspapers – You can buy multiple copies and then clip them. Alternatively, have them delivered to you for a price on sites that sell them.
- Printable coupons – You can find many great deals online. People love to find them and share them. Set up alerts for manufacturer and store coupons. All you have to do is print them and file them.
- Grocery stores – You can also get them from the stores. There are devices that share them and you can usually find a bunch of them near the entrance. You should also use coupon booklets.
- Manufacturers – A fun trick you need to know about is that you can actually write to the creators of your favorite items and they will send you a coupon or a sample of a new product. Of course, as CouponCodeQueens.com recommends, you would write about how much you love their product, not the discounts themselves.
- Neighbors – Since many people forget about them, you can bank on this and ask them for their coupons. Put those deals to good use.
- Online- If you don’t have time to gather them face to face, there are coupons online. Bountii suggests you shop conveniently at your homes. Surely, you can compile a lot!
Organize
When you get all of these resources, you will need a way to organize them properly. Where can you keep them? How can you keep track of all of them? The trick is to find a system that works for you.
You need to have a good idea of what products you have coupons for and when they expire too. A pile will just confuse you and hamper your chances of success.
A popular choice is the coupon binder, which is a binder mostly for baseball cards, but you will use it for coupons. It will hold all of your individual clips, neatly sorted out by product and first letter. It’s a simple system, but it also has a few disadvantages.
Of course, it is amazing because you can carry it to the store and see if you have a deal for a specific product. You can make notes too. But, you will need to commit to filing and it’s going to take you a while. You will have a harder time finding near-expired coupons and remembering them too. It is a commitment.
Another popular choice is the whole inserts as a way of filing. This way, you do not clip anything until you’re ready for shopping. It saves a lot of time and it’s easy to maintain. You also don’t have to take all of them to the store. However, you also don’t have the advantage of making decisions easily at the store. You will also need a system for loose coupons.
Now all you have to do is go shopping.
