Coupons: How to Strategize and Save

Of all the components in your budget toolbox, coupons may be the most useful.  However, to really get bang for your buck- and to fully leverage the power of the coupon for your bottom line, couponing must be approached like a skill- one that takes practice, research, planning and commitment.

 

Plan to Save

Don’t forget that your time is valuable too and in order to make this activity maximize on savings, strategy must be adopted. Only clip coupons that you are likely to use. Spending time collecting and organizing coupons that are not useful not only wastes time, it can result in unnecessary spending.

Come up with a storage and organization system for your coupons, so that they are easily and logistically accessible when you need them. Something as simple as envelopes or a wallet with separate compartments works well. Some people find using a binder with slide-in pages useful.

After research is done, and coupons are collected, lists should be constructed around couponable items. Organize your coupons in the order that correlates with your shopping list, so that check out is easier

 

Surf for Savings

Coupons are available in every retail nook and cranny, so time and focus in sourcing them is a must to get the best mileage for your dollar.
Sites (like this one, for instance) offer online coupons for a wide range of useful household products. Also look online both on your favourite retailer’s sites and on product specific sites. If you don’t see coupons for a product that you’d be interested in, you can always contact the manufacturer directly and ask.

Remember, the marketplace is competitive and many manufacturers are only too happy to be able to oblige a prospective customer
Subscribe to electronic and coupon services to have the coupons come to you, so that you can save both time and money.

Old-Fashioned Savings

Although we are very much in a digital age, don’t forget about print coupons. Scour newspapers, flyers, as well as your physical mailbox to find theses savings support tools.

 

Coupons In Store

Be sure to scan the aisles when shopping for in store tear-off coupons, which are often positioned on the shelves in front of your desired product. Many grocery or superstores have a display at the entrance with a variety of coupons, so make a point to stop on your way in the store.

 

Double your Savings

While a number of stores have restrictions on this, when couponing you should operate with the mindset that if you don’t ask, you don’t get.
When you are cruising the flyers for coupons, check out the sales at the same time. If applicable, apply the coupon to the sale item for extra savings.

Some stores allow you to use multiple coupons for a single item, seriously cutting the cost of a product.