Extreme Couponing Tips and Tricks

One of the most common ways to save money on your grocery bill every month is by using manufacturer's coupons collected from the Sunday newspaper. People are saving hundreds of dollars a month by simply taking the time to collect and cut these coupons out. It can be time consuming but doesn't have to be and the rewards are more money in your bank account while still creating healthy and great tasting meals for your family.

printable coupons

Extreme couponing is a full time job. People spend many hours a day searching for and collecting coupons from many different sources. Dumpster diving, asking friends and family, writing companies and searching the internet for printable coupons are the daily activities of an extreme couponer. These are the people that will save thousands of dollars a month but unfortunately for those of us that work full time with families there usually isn't enough time in the day to perform these extensive tasks

PRINTABLE COUPONS

Luckily there are coupon cutters that will do the work for you for a small fee. These individuals collect coupons from many different sources and offer them for you to purchase for a handling fee. It is illegal to sell coupons so you have to remember, they are not selling the coupons to you. You are paying them a small fee for the time that it takes for them to put your coupons together and send them to you. These services are extremely valuable if you would like to become an extreme couponer but don't have the time to collect the coupons that you want. Handling fees vary but can be as low as 6% of the coupon's face value.

Matching up the coupons for the best deals is another time consuming task for the extreme couponer. The easiest and fastest way to do this is to take 15 minutes to examine a sale ad when it arrives and circle the deals that you are interested in. Match up the coupons with the deals for each store that you plan to visit. Write on the ad how many coupons you have, the value and the final price of the item. This will help you determine the savings you will receive as well as know how many of that particular item you need to put into your cart. It will also help you determine the amount that your bill will come to so you know how much cash you need to have on hand for your trip.

When you do your shopping you will want to have your store ad, your coupons and a list of everything that you intend to purchase that day that isn't on sale. This will help keep you focused in the store and cut down on impulse purchases that can easily lure you in. If you don't have a coupon for it and it isn't on your list, don't buy it. Stick to that one rule and it will help you immensely in the long run.

Following these few simple tips will help you get the most out of your couponing experience and put you on the right track for your successful savings in the couponing world.

Extreme Couponing Tips and Tricks

PRINTABLE COUPONS

Extreme Couponing Without The "Extreme"

You may have seen shows about "extreme couponing" - using coupons to buy hundreds of dollars worth of groceries for just pennies on the dollars - on TV, but maybe you think you don't have the hours and hours required to research store sales, and look through paper coupons and online coupons to see what's available. Good news - you don't have to spend hours to save money with coupons! Read on to learn how to coupon and save thousands of dollars per year, without "extreme couponing."

printable coupons

Learning to Coupon: Sales Cycles

PRINTABLE COUPONS

You may have heard the "extreme coupon" folks discuss store sales cycles. First, most grocery stores follow a twelve-week sales cycle. During the cycle nearly every grocery store item will reach a high price and a low price. It's essential to buy the items you use while they are at their rock bottom low price, and stock up for the next twelve weeks until they reach their low price again. This way you avoid ever paying the highest price for your pantry essentials, and can get brand name products for much cheaper than the store brand. Unlike the "extreme couponers," you don't have to buy 100 boxes of cereal, but stocking up on six boxes of cereal at a time could save you an extreme amount of money in the long run

Combining Sales and Coupons

Using paper, direct to store card or printable coupons alone, you will always save you some money, but couponing, even extreme couponing can only save you so much. You can save even more money when you combine your coupons with other sales. Once the items you like have reached their rock-bottom low price you can save a bundle using your coupons at the same time. Think about it - would you rather save $.50 off a .00 box of cereal or save $.50 off a .00 box of the same cereal? It's a no-brainer, right?

Organizing Your Grocery Coupons

Walking around the grocery store holding a stack of coupons can be confusing, takes a lot more time than it should, and often you miss a lot of bargains due to lack of organization. One tip for organizing your grocery coupons is to use a binder or accordion file to organize every single coupon you receive in the Sunday newspaper each week (even if you think the store brand will be cheaper). If you don't want to cut out each one, just keep them uncut within their inserts and file them by date. Grocery coupon listing websites will tell you which coupons to use each week as well as which insert you can find them in. This makes it quick and easy to maximize your extreme couponing savings at the supermarket!

Everyone has their own version of extreme. If you have never used coupons before, extreme couponing may be saving just a week on groceries. But with the help of a grocery coupon listing website, even coupon "newbies" can save hundreds of dollars on their groceries every month. These websites make it easy to use coupons by doing all the work for you. They tell you when each product has reached its low point in the sales cycle, which coupons to use with each sale, and much more. You're friends will be shocked and amazed at how much money you save on your groceries using your newly learned extreme couponing techniques!

Extreme Couponing Without The "Extreme"

PRINTABLE COUPONS