So you’d like to know how to extreme coupon? It’s a sport, but fortunately it’s not a contact sport.
Extreme couponing is a great way to save yourself some big bucks when you go to the grocery store (and the drug store — more on that later). People who are well versed in the discipline can easily find themselves saving 70-90% per trip.
Maybe you’ve watched TLC’s Extreme Couponing show and found yourself inspired. Now, you’re right here looking for some advice on how to get started.
I’ve got you covered.
1. Start Small
If you’ve watched the aforementioned Extreme Couponing show on TLC, then you might have witnessed people going to the store and ringing up $700 worth of merchandise. Following that, the cashier asks the inevitable: “Do you have any coupons?” question (and I am absolutely certain that the cashier was not prompted to do that by the producer). After presenting the coupons, the shopper ends up with a bill that is down to $70 or $80 from the original $700.
You’re not going to do that right away.
Those people are experts who have been clipping coupons expertly for quite some time.
2. Get a Cheap Laser Printer
It’s the Information Age. You’re not just going to get coupons from the Sunday paper (more on this anon). You’re going to be printing out coupons from online sources.
A lot of coupons.
If you already own an inkjet printer, and use it to an even modest degree, then you are already fully aware of the heartache you frequently experience as you are required to purchase inkjet cartridges every now and then to continue your printing habits.
Inkjet cartridges aren’t cheap.
If you decide to print out online coupons with an inkjet, you’re going to take a significant bite out of your savings as you’ll need to replace your cartridges frequently.
Keep in mind, your laser printer does not have to be a color laser printer. An inexpensive black-and-white laser printer will do the trick. Amazon has some great laser printers for sale.
3. Gather the Coupons
You’ll find that there are two primary sources for coupons: old school sources and new school sources.
Old school sources include paper flyers that you might receive in the mail as well as the huge series of insets that are likely to be found in your local Sunday paper. Keep in mind: When getting the Sunday paper, you’ll probably want multiple copies of the same paper so that you can really stack up the savings on your favorite deals!
New school sources include online coupon sites. There’s plenty of them around. Just Google “online coupons” and you’ll find no shortage of them.
Of course, coupons.com is always a great site for online coupons.
4. Combine & Conquer
As you’re gathering coupons, you might notice insignificant savings like “25 cents off” a $3.00 product.
You’re thinking: Meh.
Nope. The secret behind extreme couponing is to combine deals together with coupons and rake in the savings.
Suppose the product mentioned above is also a “Buy 1/Get 1 Free” deal on a weekend before your “25 cents off” coupon expires. Your price just went from $3.00 per unit to $1.50 per unit.
Suppose further that you have two coupons because you followed the advice in the previous point about buying multiple Sunday papers. Now, you’re going to save a combined 50 cents for two products that would normally offered for $6.00. Your savings are over 50%.
Likewise, there might also be a further discount available, such as a tax-free shopping day or a special savings if your overall bill is ore than $50.
Are you getting the picture? The secret to extreme couponing is to not just use one coupon the way that most people do, but to stack up the coupons and combine them with other great savings that are being offered.
That’s how the extremists do it.
One of the best and easiest ways to combine and conquer is to combine a manufacturer’s coupon with a store coupon. That’s a great way to easily see savings of 50% off of some of your favorite products.
5. Double It Up
I’m not sure what’s going on in your neck of the woods, but around here we have double and triple coupon days at Harris Teeter. Normally, Harris Teeter sucks for good prices, so I shop there rarely. However, I can clean up if I go into Harris Teeter on a double coupon day loaded up with coupons.
If there is a grocery chain near where you live that offers such deals, see the previous point about combining and conquering. That’s how you save yourself some big bucks.
6. An Ounce of Preparation is Worth a British Pound of Savings
If you’re plan is to just roll out of bed on a Sunday morning and say to yourself: “Hey, I think I’ll go extreme couponing today!” then you’re delusional.
This is a sport that, like any other sport, requires discipline, practice, and preparation.
For example, if you want to take advantage of the aforementioned double coupon days at the local grocery store, you need to know when that store is offering those double coupon savings. To do that, you need to stay on top of the situation. Make sure that you’re always reviewing the weekly flyers from the grocery stores near you. They’ll advertise special savings. Then, you can combine your coupons with those advertised savings.
The key to preparation, of course, is to keep your eyes open for those combo savings deals that I mentioned previously.
7. Keep Files
All good couponers keep a filing system. That’s where they store their coupons for use when they need them.
All you need is a filing cabinet or a box where you can store hanging folders. Separate your coupons by the week in which you received them, with Sunday being the beginning of each week.
Obviously, coupons have a shelf life. They’ll expire after a certain period. So, you’ll need to go through your files every now and then and remove the ones that no longer need. The good news is that, as you’re going through the coupons, you’ll see some great deals that you may have missed the first time.
8. The Discipline: Only Buy Products with a Coupon
Extreme couponing offers a whole new way of thinking about how you do your shopping. Here’s the tough part: You only buy products when you have coupons for those products.
Does that sound difficult? It is difficult. However, that is how extreme couponists save money.
That’s how they save a lot of money, actually.
So, instead of making a grocery list and then finding coupons that fit your grocery list, you work in reverse. You find coupons and then make a grocery list from your coupons.
Obviously, this will be difficult at first, so start small (see Point #1). Just buy 3-4 products with coupons your first week. Then, save the rest of your coupons in your filing system (see Point #7). The rest of your grocery needs you can buy at retail.
The following week, use the coupons that you’ve gathered over the two-week period (and the requisite combined savings deals) to shop for 5-6 products. Pay full price for the rest.
You see where this is going. Develop your extreme couponing habit slowly over time.
9. Do Drugs
How do the best extreme couponers save big bucks? They shop at drug stores.
Drug stores like Walgreens and CVS not only offer great deals on a weekly basis, but they also have rewards programs on top of that. Add to that your massive portfolio of coupons, and you have a recipe for 90% savings.
No, that was not an exaggeration. Some couponers save 90% by shopping at drug stores.
Pick up the rewards card at your local pharmacy (it’s free). Start shopping there with the “combine and conquer” mentality mentioned previously. Use your rewards card and the money you save in just one year will astonish you.
10. Give Back
Proverbs 11:24 teaches us: “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.”
Disregard the title of this article (the part about being a “miser”, that is). Use some of your savings to give back to society. Help those less fortunate than yourself.
The more you give, the more you get. That’s simply an immutable law of the universe. You might be someone who subscribes to the idea of “karma.” You might believe in the Biblical doctrine of reaping what you’ve sown. However you explain it, it’s true.
The bottom line is that giving improves your bottom line.
And that’s really what this article is about, isn’t it?
The post How To Extreme Coupon: A Miser’s Guide appeared first on Brian M. Carey.