Does it seem overwhelming to you? Don't worry... It did to me too! I started couponing at the age of 18. I'm only 19, so I haven't been doing this forever, I promise! It gets to be second nature very quickly!
But where do you begin? How do you get started? Here are the steps that Rachel over at Surviving the Stores gave to me when I first started...
1. Start getting the Sunday paper from a big city near you. This is very important. These bigger city papers usually have a couple coupon inserts each Sunday. You will hear me talk about Smart Source, Valassis (Red Plum), and Proctor and Gamble inserts. There are also many sites you can print coupons from that I will refer to throughout our journey.
2. File your coupons. It can take a couple months of collecting from the paper before you can become truly effective at couponing. Don't get discouraged! Use this time to build your coupon stock and learn. I will be posting my method of coupon organization in a later post.
3. Purchase the All You magazine from Wal-Mart every month or subscribe to the magazine. It will cost you less than $2.50 and it is always worth it! There are so many coupons available in these magazines that it's almost ridiculous.
4. I recommend taking a small notebook and using it as your price book. As a beginner, you'll need to learn what is truly a good deal and what is not. I will explain more about the price book later, but it is basically a list of the most used items in your home and the cheapest selling price you can find it without it being on sale. Try comparing prices at two stores nearest you to get the best deals.
5. I can't stress this last one enough... Print a copy of the coupon policy for EVERY store you shop at. This will save you some trouble in the end when you have those crabby cashiers. If you can not find these policies, either e-mail the company, or ask me and I just might have it for you.
Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or additional tips that you think would be helpful to our beginners.
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