Learning to Coupon in 5 Easy Steps!

I had an old friend (she wasn't old... we have just been friends for 19 years) come to visit the other day and she asked one question about what we were having for dinner which quickly led into how I coupon now (quick trip from anything in my kitchen).  She followed it up with real interest on how it was done.  I showed her two of my under the bed boxes with my stockpile.  I might have forgotten to mention the two on the other side and the small one with the medicine (Sorry Jess).  I didn't show my cereal cupboard, my pantry, my downstairs pantry or the freezer so I was trying my hardest to hold back (especially since she brought her new boyfriend who I hadn't met before and didn't want to make a crazy impression).  I hate to be a coupon pusher but she became my follower that pushed me into double digits so this post is for her (of course, everyone else is welcome to read too)!!  This includes some of my secrets that only my closest couponing friends know.  I learned with lots of bumps along the way with only the help of the internet but now I am here to help :)

How to Start Couponing in 5 Easy Steps

(and save lots of money)

1.  Get the newspaper:  I used to buy the Washington Post (the local paper for this area) at the grocery store in a bag with two.  If you buy one paper, it is $2 but the bag made it $3.  Then I found out it was easier and cheaper for me to work it into CVS transactions and use my CVS ECBs (more on learning the second language of couponing later).  Now, I get the local Fairfax paper from the library which is free and it has coupons in it.  It doesn't have all the coupons that are in the Washington Post but I have two nice friends who keep their papers for me so sometimes I pick up a few extra coupons from them that I don't have otherwise.

2.  Find information about your local stores:  I used to do most of my grocery shopping at Giant with a few stops at Safeway and Wegman's if they had deals going.  I considered myself a pretty savvy shopper and only bought things when they were on sale.  The first lesson to couponing is that you might be shopping at different stores after you start because not all the stores stack up the same after couponing!!  I do 90% of my shopping at Harris Teeter now.  Don't discount the dollar stores that are now taking coupons too!!

Here is a link to the states and the National stores like CVS, Target, Wal-Mart and others.

Since I live in VA, I click on the link to VA and it brings up all the stores in my area and the different bloggers that do matchups for those stores.  She lives close to West Virginia but there isn't much listed for that area that is different that VA except some stores which probably still aren't close to the border.

Find a few websites that you like the layout and provide information about a few stores that you are interested in and make sure you get their e-mail or check in on their blogs regularly.

3.  Learn the language:  Seems like the hardest part but of the foreign languages that I have tried to learn, couponing is the easiest.  It might be so much time spent working with the government but it is mostly initials and I found it easy to remember once I started.

The coupon inserts found in the newspaper have intials

P&G = Procter & Gamble
RP = Red Plum
SS = SmartSource
GM = General Mills
Common Coupon Abbreviations:
$1/1, $1/2, etc. = One dollar off one item, one dollar off two items
2/$1, 3/$2, etc. = Two items for one dollar, three items for two dollars
BOGO or B1G1 = Buy one item get one item free (B1G2 = Buy one get two free)  more options available
Blinkies = coupon dispensers with blinking lights found on the grocery/drugstore aisle
Cat or Catalina= Catalina coupon, prints from a separate machine when your receipt prints
DND= Do not double
ECBs = ExtraCare Bucks (CVS "money" back from buying something at CVS)
FAR = Free after rebate
IP = Internet printable coupon
MFR = Manufacturer (sometimes used instead of MQ for Manufacturer's coupon)
MQ = Manufacturer’s Coupon
MIR = Mail-in rebate
OYNO = On your next order
OOP = Out of pocket
Peelie = Peel-off coupon found on product packaging
PSA = Prices Starting At (estimate based on websites or other information available)
RRs = Register Rewards (Walgreen's "money" back from buying something at Walgreens)
SCR = Single Check Rebate (Rite Aid monthly rebates program but not used as often anymore)
Stacking =  Using a manufacturer’s coupon and store coupon on one item
WYB = When you buy
YMMV = You mileage may vary (some stores may allow you to do a deal, some may not or they might not have the deal available)

4.  Organize your coupons and Organize your life:  It might seem a little extreme right now as you are just jumping into it but anyone who has couponed for awhile will tell you that a coupon organization system gone wrong will ruin a quick trip to the store!!  (I hear my mother in law's voice in my head right now with her pile of upcut coupons and her broken coupon basket).

I use a coupon basket/envelope system.  Here is what it looks like when it is all cleaned up and everything is in the basket.

 Here is the inside with the envelopes.  If you have a really good monitor or computer, you might be able to see in the left hand corner, I have the date and SS written so all my coupons are cut up and in the envelope from that date of Smart Source.  In my envelope, I have grouped my coupons in paper clips by food, refrigerator, freezer, and non-food. 

Since I have been doing this for awhile, I usually also put the ones that I know that I won't use in the back without a paper clip.  Really, did she just say that she keeps the coupons that she knows that she won't use???  YUP!!!  Sure do!!  I am often asked for coupons from my friends and family and if they are in there, then I can share.  On a more selfish note, I have used those to buy things at a profit before and who wouldn't buy things if they had the coupon and could make a profit!!!

In the front of the basket, are my other folders which are actually the bottom of old folders that I had from my old job and I cut the top off and down the middle to make two folders.  They are a little worn after three years of hard use so I think that I am going to have to take the packing tape to them to re-enforce them.  I put all of my internet printables here so that I have them at a moments notice as well as any other coupons that I get at the store or through the mail that need to be filed. 

In the left side of my coupon basket, I have my calculator in the front and my pens in the back.  On the right side, I have my scissors in case I need to cut anything while I am at the store.  I use all of those items lots so it is great that they all fit in my basket so that I have them on hand.

There are many other systems including the very popular method of coupon binder where the coupons are sorted into baseball card dividers.  I have never done any other system then what I have now so I can't advise well on them but there are tons of websites out there when you do a search that show the different methods in details (which are really interesting) but I found a system that worked and stick with it.

5.  Plan a trip to the store:  This used to take me a long time so don't get discouraged but after awhile it is something that I can do in a few minutes or on the fly as I am already at the store (sadly missing a few deals for unprinted coupons).  Pick a store that you want to start with and try to search for the deals that are there.  It is sometimes easiest to start with a store that you already shop at so that you already know where things are so you are only focused on the couponing but it is also easy to go to the one with the deals you need the most.

If you look on a coupon matchup site like Southern Savers, they list their coupons like this:

Maruchan Yakisoba, 3.79-4.05 oz, at $1.19 (59¢) -.50/1 Maruchan Yakisoba, SS 8/26
-$1/2 Maruchan Yakisoba, SS 8/26
(use .50/1, makes it FREE)

Sadly, I got the $1/2 coupon so I will quickly calculate that I could get these but I would be paying $0.09 each.  You would look and say that you might like to try those but you didn't get papers back in August so you are out on that deal.  That passed quickly because you will have your own stockpile of coupons soon enough.  Stay patient and get the deals that you have coupons for or can print them online.

Often, it helps to start at CVS or Rite Aid because they often use more recent coupons but they have a whole other system to use because you get back "money" from their store that you have to use within a certain time- often 2 weeks for Rite Aid and 4 weeks for CVS. 

So long story short, this is the time to use your phone a friend and call me!!!  I walked my mother in law through the match ups and the trips to the store and with a few under her belt, she was ready to go out and save on her own!!  I am always available to take trips to the store (which as my cousin and sister in law learned), also means that I provide a few coupons that they might not have as long as they give me the date of the insert to look in my envelope :)

Other Helpful Hints:

-Start a price book or use one online like below and update as you find deals in your area:

Organized Home

Southern Savers

My Litter

-         Determine budget going forward by track spending current spending (rule of thumb is to cut back a little the next month and see if it is any more difficult to maintain).

-         Find areas in your house to start a stockpile (use under bed, linen closets, laundry room and others).

-         While at the store, pay close attention to everything ringing up to make sure pricing matches what you thought and all coupons are rang up correctly.

-         Never leave a store without double checking your receipt and go to customer service with an issues that need to be resolved immediately.

-         Clean out coupons at the end of each month to make room for new ones.

-         Start Menu planning based on foods on sale and in stockpile.  I use a free calendar to write down something for every day of the month.  It helps so that you use the things you get :) 

-         Sign up for Upromise, Saving Star and online saving with store cards to save additional money.

Please feel free to add any additional tips you think would be helpful to a first time couponer!!!!  We wish you all the luck in this new adventure!!!!!