Josh Elledge - Chief Executive Angel
Couponing can be a great way to stretch your grocery dollars, but you can't go about it haphazardly. Without a good system in place, you'll not only miss excellent deals but you'll also likely become overwhelmed and give up.
Here's how to set up a system that will make it easy to garner great coupon savings week after week.
Have designated supplies
Start by gathering all your couponing supplies in a central location. Nothing kills a coupon clipping session faster than searching 30 minutes for the scissors.
Avoid that frustration by having a dedicated drawer or bin for your couponing supplies. You'll probably want to have all the following:
- Scissors
- Pens
- Printer ink
- Paper
- And, of course, coupons!
File coupons right away
Speaking of coupons, file those right away when you get them. Setting your inserts aside on the coffee table is an excellent way to have the cat or kids scatter the pages to the wind.
Instead, place them in your binder, filing cabinet or coupon drawer as soon as you get them.
Dedicate a time for weekly match-ups
Now that your supplies and coupons are gathered, you need to set aside time to match up deals each week. You can use Enlightened Shopping at SavingsAngel.com or find the deals yourself by matching your coupons to the weekly sales.
I find shoppers are more likely to stick with couponing if it becomes a part of their routine. So find a time each and every week when you can look over the deals and give your coupon stash a little TLC.
Shop the off-hours each week
Of course, finding the deals doesn't do you much good if you don't actually go to the store and buy the items on your list.
Again, without an established routine, I find some shoppers never get around to the store. They say they'll go tomorrow or the next day and before they know it, the sale is over.
Select a time to shop each week and make it during the off-hours ““ Tuesday or Wednesday nights are often good bets as are most weekdays ““ to minimize any distractions while in the store.
Stick to your list
Impulse buys are the biggest threat to your grocery budget, and retailers have perfected the art of helping you buy items you didn't need and maybe didn't even particularly want.
Make a point to only buy items that are on your list. The only exception to this rule is if you see something like marked-down meat or bargain-priced clearance goods that won't be there on a return trip.
However, even then, be sure you're buying items because you can use them, not simply because they are a good price.
Stash your savings
Finally, do something good with all that money you're saving at the grocery store.
Retailers such as Meijer prominently display your total savings at the top of your receipt. If your budget allows, take that amount and move it over to your savings account. Then, at the end of each month, use it to make an extra payment toward your debt or deposit the money in college or retirement savings account.
Stick with couponing and you can easily have hundreds, if not thousands, of extra dollars each year to pay off debt, beef up your savings or splurge on something fun like a vacation.
Josh Elledge is chief executive “Angel” of SavingsAngel.com, a website that teaches consumers how to save money through a free money savings video eCourse and podcast. SavingsAngel also provides hundreds of 50% off or better deals each week to members by matching local grocery and drug store sales with its free database of over 5,000 accessible coupons.
