How to be a Couponista

Hi friends!

I hope that you are all having a great summer, getting lots of water and all that good stuff! Some of my friends have been asking me about coupons so I thought that it would be a fun topic for my next post. If you've ever seen 'Extreme Couponing' or any similar show you may be overwhelmed or intimidated. But I promise that it's definitely do-able.

Excellent Book on Couponing!

• Visit Krazy Coupon Lady. This website has excellent resources for beginners or even advanced shoppers! You can filter out by item or by store. Basically, part of the site presents items that are on sale and what coupons you should use with them. Most of the time it will reference SS, RP or websites. I will explain what these are a little later in the post. If you don't have the time, or expertise to match the circulars with the coupons you already have these lovely ladies do it for you! The blog is updated every weekend. 
• Determine what sources you would like to use to obtain coupons. If you get a Sunday paper, that is the best place to start. Most of the time, I like to browse the paper every Saturday, pull the coupons that I want and store them in my binder (Pic below). Then, I either go to the dollar store to buy 1-2 more papers or get duplicates from a family member.



My Trusty Coupon Binder

• Another option is online coupons. Coupons.com, Proctor & Gamble or Johnson & Johnson offer manufacturers coupons online. 
• Some stores offer "store" coupons. These are typically available online. A good example is Target, as they use Sunday papers and their website to present store coupons. A store coupon can only be used at the store that sends it out so make sure you read them carefully. 
• Set up a binder. KCL has a PDF file with a cute format and a table of contents. You can use the pages as dividers to keep your binder organized. Or you can make separate sections on your own. The sections in my binder simply include: food, personal care brands a-m, personal care brands n-z, home/cleaning, and other. It's really important to keep your coupons organized so that you don't lose them! It also may be helpful to keep the coupons that will expire first near the top.
• If you want extra credit, go read a couponing book. For a while I refused to read them because I thought that I knew everything that I need to know. Wrong! Who knew there were so many strategies! There are many resources for couponing and finance texts in the Kindle online store, for free. I recommend Confessions of a Coupon Fashionista by Charmaine Gerber. (Note: I guess there was a promotion when I got it, it's currently $2.99)

Those are the main points! But here's a little bit more information. The main inserts you want to look for in the paper are called Smart Source and Red Plum. These will be booklets which contain many coupons. Proctor & Gamble releases a coupon book once a month, but they also post 4-6 coupons online. 

For restaurants and services, you should check mailers that come during the week such as "Valupak". Yes there is a lot of junk in there but, the coupons are typically valuable (BOGO free entree at a restaurant, etc). 

As I mentioned before, make sure you read the coupon thoroughly. Be sure you understand the quantity you must purchase to receive a discount, how many like coupons may be used in one transaction, what stores it is valid in, as well as the expiration date. You can get the best discount when you combine an in-store promotion, a manufacturers coupon and an in-store coupon. Also, be aware that some stores will send coupons via text message (Target) and some have mobile applications that send discounts to a loyalty card based on your previous purchases (Safeway). 

Additionally, Target offers a service called cartwheel. I don't quite understand the logistics yet, but apparently you get a virtual "cart" which allows you to claim so many discounts at one time. I believe that you will get more "spots" for the discounts when you connect to friends via social networks who also use the service. Target is really beginning to grow on me because they accept manufacturers coupons, store coupons, small discounts through cartwheel, and you can save an additional 5% off by using their debit or credit Red Card. 5% is small but when combined with those other discounts, it can save you a lot of money in the long run. 

As far as items that you can not buy in big box retailers or grocery stores, your best bet is to join their loyalty programs. It can get really annoying to keep receiving emails, but some companies send awesome coupons that are available only online such as The Limited, New York & Company and Jos A. Banks. Something I have found useful is to dedicate one email address to your loyalty programs and promotional offers which is separate from your professional email address. 

Also, many credit cards offer enticing cash back offers. My card of choice is Discover because they offer between 5%-15% cash back at nearly every store I like to buy from! But this only applies to online purchases, so don't expect such rewards in store. Stay away from store cards offering 15-20% off unless you have excellent self-control (but I would recommend not getting them at all). While you can only use them at one store, I believe many of us forget that they are real credit cards and too many open accounts will adversely affect your credit score! Some stores such as Target and Nordstrom are offering debit options which provide you the same loyalty benefits as their credit cards without affecting your credit score, although I believe Target runs a credit check for approval first. 

Personally, I use my credit cards like debit cards and I make sure to pay off the full balance every month. Similarly to combining store and manufacturer's coupons, using a cash back credit card with a loyalty coupon will help you save some extra money. But you should only pursue this strategy if you are in a position to keep the card balance paid, otherwise you are just getting yourself into debt. 

I know that there is a lotttttt of reading in this post, but there was a lot of ground to cover. Maybe when I get a little more advanced I will write another post. Also, all this talk of credit is inspiring me to write a post about personal finance soon. 

Well I hope this post helped you beginner couponistas out there! Have a great weekend and happy shopping :)