How to Save with Coupon Websites

Is one of your 2010 resolutions to save more money? Learning how to really use coupons in an organized fashion is a fantastic way to keep more money in your wallet each week. Here are two tips to get you started on saving.

Get Organized

The biggest impediment to shopping with coupons is keeping them organized. There are two different schools of thought on this. Many major coupon sites suggest you get manila files for your coupons, and store them whole, without clipping. Then each week, as you go through store ads, you can pull out files and clip as necessary. Though this approach saves time, you may not always have your coupons available to you when you are out shopping and see a great, unadvertised deal. Plus, those files can get bulky and clutter up your house fast. Instead, I recommend buying a small, inexpensive accordion file (Target carries ones small enough for your purse for around $3 apiece.) Divide your categories for what makes sense for you mine are broken out into “produce”, “snacks”, “meals”, “pet food”, etc. Then spend a couple extra minutes with your Sunday paper clipping and organizing your coupons. Don’t be brand loyal when you clip, you might find a great sale on a brand you’ve never tried, and you’ll kick yourself later for not having the coupon that makes the sale even better.

Start Exploring Store Programs

Many drugstores have loyalty programs, where they offer bounce-back coupons on advertised sales. You can then match up your clipped coupons to these programs for the biggest savings. Sometimes, you’ll even wind up getting a product for free, or making a small profit on the deal. For example, I recently had a $2 off coupon for Nivea lotion. CVS put it on sale for $5.99, and offered a $5 Extra Care Bucks reward on the product. So instead of spending $5.99 for lotion, I spent $3.99 out of pocket, and got a $5 bounce-back coupon to use the next time I came into the store. In other words, I got paid $1.01 to bring home the lotion. It’s a great way to try products you’re interested in but don’t know a lot about, or to stock up on gifts for the holidays. The trick is to set aside an hour on Sundays to really go through your paper to match up deals with the coupons you already have.

There are lots more ways to take advantage of coupons, but these two tips give you great payoff with only a small time investment. With practice, you’ll slash your shopping bills way down and keep more of your money where it belongs with you.

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