6.24.2009

Couponing, Part 1

Someone told me I should do a post on my coupon usage. I started to think about it, and realized that there is way too much info for just one post. So today I will post the first part of my coupon series.

First, an explanation. I am by no means an expert, but I use coupons all the time. I am always on the lookout for more ways to save money, and people ask me about how I do it all the time.

The most common type of coupon I use is the one everyone thinks of when you say coupon: cut from the newspaper or printed from the internet, a manufacturer's coupon for a retail product. Most people know about the coupons in the paper, but don't bother cutting them out, because they think that they won't save that much money, so why bother? Also, a lot of people don't know that you can print these coupons off of the internet.

The place I find most of my internet coupons is Hot Coupon World. If you sign up for the mailing list, they send you an email once a week, telling you what new coupons have been posted. I highly recommend checking out that site.

Also on that site, you will find Target coupons. These are awesome! If you have a manufacturer's coupon for a product, and a target coupon for the same product, you can use them together! CVS is the only other store in our area that will allow that. I have gotten so many really good deals at Target because of their policy.

I plan to explain CVS couponing in another post, so check back.

One mistake people make when they use coupons is buying a product they never intended to buy, just because they have a coupon. That is a good idea if it's something you've been wanting to try, but in general I try to avoid this. When I look at the coupons available online, I don't even print out the coupon if the product isn't something that I need. I save myself paper, ink, and time that way.

I will post more about my coupon usage later - I plan to make this a little series.

What coupons do you use? Do you have any tips? Let me know!

3 comments:

Stacy said...

I use to be really good at using coupons then for some reason I got away from it. I'm trying to get back into it again. My only problem is I buy a lot of stuff at Sam's Club and they don't take coupons. I'm going to check out that site and see what all it's about. Every little bit helps. Thanks for this post.

Philigry said...

oh, thanks for the info. i need t do this more. great tips!

Michelle said...

I do the same! I will use a coupon whenever I can! Also a lot of times I cut out food/restaurant coupons that come in the mail. With 3 kids it also saves me a it of money if I choose to eat somewhere where I have a coupon for. And I always carry them just in case! We try not to eat out but sometimes we have to and I like to be prepared. Good tips!