Basics to Couponing

So you may be asking yourself, how do these people use coupons and actually save a decent amount of money? Well I am about to tell you! Now I want to say that I am not an extreme couponer and I am just starting out myself, but together we can teach one another! I have always been interested in saving money whenever shopping whether for clothes or food.
Getting great deals with coupons is hard work, but is so worth it! First I would recommend anyone to get a binder with baseball card inserts inside, dividers, and a notebook, that way you can have everything you need set up nice and neatly for your shopping adventures. Second I would recommend buying multiple sunday papers with the coupon inserts, this way you will have more than one coupon per item. Third you will want to gather the flyers from the local stores to be able to figure out where you can get your best deals.

Couponing Binder
You will first want to gather the following materials:

• baseball card inserts- to organize coupons neatly with easy access.
• dividers with tabs- to separate your coupons into sections.
• notebook- to write your list down ( you may also use a spreadsheet on the computer but make sure to print!)
• a pen for keeping track of what you already bought, and other deals in the stores that are not in flyers.
• make sure the binder has pockets to fit flyers!

The type of binder that I use is one that has an over the shoulder strap for easy carrying and has a zipper to keep everything neatly inside. These are easily found in any store that sells school supplies. When setting up your binder you will want to separate your coupons into sections either according to the isles in the stores, or supplies and food type.
The way I have my binder set up is by food and there categories such as, beverages, meats, diary, cereal, snacks, cosmetics, hygiene, house hold items, children, pets, office supplies and restaurants to name a few. Also within these categories, I have the items separated by similarities such as in dairy I have yogurt, and cheese separated. In the front of my binder I have a notebook so I can easily access my list and write down the deals at the current store that I am in. After my notebook I leave a few empty baseball card inserts to allow me to put the coupons that I am going to use during the shopping trip.

Coupons
How do you find these coupons you ask? I personally buy multiple (usually 4-6) sunday newspapers that have the coupon inserts in them, and I also print coupons from manufacturers websites as well as various couponing sites.
Some of the sites that are very common to print coupons are:

• http://www.coupons.com - manufacturer coupons that can usually be printed twice!
• http://www.redplum.com
• http://www.shopathome.com
• http://www.coupons.target.com - A great way to stack coupons to save even more!

By printing these online coupons, you will be able to get more for your money by stacking coupons. What is stacking you ask? Well it is when you can use more than one coupon on the purchase of an item. For example, Target has specific store coupons that you can use with a manufacturer coupon to save more money.

Another way to get more for your money with coupons is by using the store loyalty cards, such as Shaw's, Rite-Aid, and CVS. By using these you will be able to get the deals that are going on at the store and then add your coupons to them.

Finding the Best Deal!

In order to find the best deal, you will need to do some research by using the store flyers from the newspapers and online. By looking at these you will be able to better prepare yourself for your shopping trip in ways such as writing a list for each store and organizing which coupons you will be using at each.