Coupon Tips

Are you looking to get started with coupons? You will need to start by subscribing to your local newspaper! Ask friends and neighbors for their coupons too. Check local coffee shops and book stores for newspapers that people leave. You can even check local recycle bins for papers.

After collecting your coupons, here is what to do next…

Organize Your Coupons
Start with a small $1 coupon organizer until you’ve mastered your own system and you want to get serious them you can go to a 3 ring binder with dividers and clear baseball card sheets! Be sure to label your dividers. Some Examples are:

* Canned/Frozen
* Dairy/Meat
* Produce
* Breakfast/Breads
* Baking
* Pasta/Rice
* Boxed helpers
* Condiments
* Snacks/Drinks
* Cleaning
* Baby/kids
* Pets
* Household

Tips and Tricks
With multiple/duplicate coupon inserts, start by tearing out pages from your coupon inserts and laying them out on the floor. Continue doing this and matching up identical pages from the rest of your inserts. Then staple each stack of like coupons together so you can cut them all out at once and that also keeps your coupons together as well! Invest in an electric stapler and good pair of kitchen sheers!!

Buying in bulk is not always cheaper
Don’t be brand loyal. The store brand is not always cheaper than name brand when you are using coupons!
Look for clearances and then use your coupons on top of the sale price
Don’t forget to price match
When you get extra items free don’t forget to donate
Use a store coupon along with a manufactuer coupon
Don’t forget to do your rebates
Sign up for store loyalty cards
Look for deals here at ConsumerQueen.Com before you shop.

WHERE TO FIND COUPONS:

You can get coupons many different ways!!

* Get the Sunday Paper

* Look for papers left in coffe shops or ask your friends and neighbors to save them for you.

*Look for tear pads in grocery stores

* Print coupons online: You can print coupons from company websites as well as from our site by clicking here..http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=13305&zid=pp18&nid=10 also check out the list of printable coupons we have here in our coupon forum:

http://www.consumerqueen.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=22

ARE YOU REALLY SAVING MONEY !

Here are some things to think about when coupon shopping. Time is money and you really need to justify what your buying is really saving you money. Here are a few do’s and dont’s to think about.

*Shopping with kids: If you have to shop with your kids make a list of the deals before you go. Let your kids know you will only be buying what is on the list. If you are finding yourself buying alot of extras(snacks, drinks,toys) to keep your little ones busy you really aren’t saving money in the long run.

Pack a snack bag in the car or to take in the store as well as book or something that will occupy them.

* Gas Prices: Do not drive clear across town just because your friend calls you and says hey my Target has razors on clearance and they have 3 left. The gas you use driving all across town is going to counteract the coupon savings. Don’t worry another deal will come along. You have to use your common sense I see way to many people who will use up a 1/2 a tank of gas just so they can get 3 bottles of shampoo for free.(thats obsession lol)

* OBSESSION: This my favorite, and one I have been guilty of until I had one of those AHA ! moments!!

Couponing can turn into an obsession, it can be quite the high to start seeing how much you can save. Some people find themselves starting to buy junk that they will never use and think they are saving alot of money only to think when they got home I just paid 10 cents for this plastic flower pot with a wooden flower sticking out of it and was normally $3.99. Great deal but now what do I do with it?

You start running out of room in your house and your family is starting to get upset because all the junk is taking up space. (now i am not saying don’t buy 10 bottles of laundry soap when you know you are going to go through a bottle a week) I mean stuff that people buy that is just junk. This can also turn into hording!

*HORDING:Hording is when you go to get a deal and you clear off the shelf so noone else can partake in it. I don’t mean you take the last 2 I mean someone who comes in and shops every CVS or Walgreens in the city and wipes every sale item off the shelf. This only hurts us couponers in the long wrong as regular customers cannot get in on the deals. Remember this is taking your time, gas and you are paying tax on all these items as well.

*Learning The Lingo*

Below are terms that you may see used on blogs and message boards. This hopefully help you better understand what people are talking about!

Coupon Inserts:(From the Sunday Paper)

P&G : Proctor and Gamble Insert

RP: Red Plum Insert

V: Valassis Insert

SS:: Can mean 2 things. Smart Source or Sunday suppliment

*Coupon Terms*

YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary
BOGO or B1G1F: Buy one Get One Free

CRT: Cash Register Tape

Blinkies: Coupons found in Blinking Dispensers on store shelves.

Catalina: A coupon that prints out at the register at time of purchase.

ESR: Easy Saver Rebates from Walgreens( There has been talk that this is being discontinued)

ECB: Extra Care Bucks- Print at the time of purchase at CVS stores.

MFR: Manufacturer

FAR: Free After Rebate

OYNO: On your Next Shopping Order

RR: Register Rewards -Coupons that print at the time of purchase at Walgreens

WYB: When you Buy

OOP: Out of Pocket

Peelie: Coupon attached to the outside of a product

MIR: Mail in Rebate

UPC: The bar code on the product that you scan at the grocery store

*REMEMBER*

You do not have to stress out over getting a deal, another one will always come along ! You will find yourself less stressed and more organized in the long run.