Coupon Tips!

Whether you're a newbie or a seasoned pro, you can always sharpen your coupon game. Here are some tips that will help you do just that:

1) Don't throw away your inserts. By all means go ahead and clip the coupons you're planning on using, but save the rest. Sometimes sales pop up, and the coupons you thought you didn't need will make an item completely free. It's better to hold onto them for a while than to kick yourself because you had the coupon, but threw it away!

2) Organize your coupons in a way that makes sense for YOU. If you feel comfortable with a binder, by all means get one. If you don't - you don't have to. You can also use an accordion folder, envelopes, or you can create your own method.

3) Print out a copy of each store's coupon policy that you frequent. If a cashier starts to argue with you, you can pull out the printed copy and show them in black and white!

4) Buy more than one copy of the paper. It's always good to have a couple of each coupon. Why? It helps you stock up when there are great sales.

5) Join Swagbucks. You can earn points (Swagbucks) for searching the Web, taking polls, playing games and more. You can then trade in your Swagbucks for prizes. The most popular is a $5 Amazon gift card, which only takes 450 Swagbucks. Why does this help you with couponing? Because you can redeem your Amazon gift cards for ink and paper. Free ink and paper means free coupon printing!

6) Read coupon blogs for the best deals, but remember that coupon bloggers don't always get everything right, nor do they always have altruistic motives. I often see deals posted often that either a) won't work or b) violate coupon rules. Use your own head before you rush out to do a deal you see online. Read each coupon's fine print and think about the store's policy - that way you won't be disappointed if the deal doesn't work.

7) Share your stockpile. Couponing allows you to bless yourself and your immediate family, so why not bless more people, too? If you can score a bunch of an item for free, why not give to your church or food pantry? What about your extended family? And don't forget your veterinarian!



8) Learn how to put together your own deals. While it's awesome that there are so many blogs to do the work for you, if you learn how to create your own scenarios, you can customize them to suit your own needs. All you really need are the circulars, a coupon database (like the one found at We Use Coupons) and a little patience. Because you've read and understood your store's coupon policy (you have, right?), you'll know what you can and can't do. Go through the ads and circle everything that looks like a good deal. Search the coupon database to see what coupons are out there. If you have questions - ask! Join a coupon forum or email me at tomandsophiasaver@gmail.com - I'll be happy to help :)

More to come!