Be Centsable: Five Important Coupon Rules

The economy is not showing signs of getting better anytime soon. From what I've seen in the media, more and more folks are turning to coupons to help feed their families for less. Here is a feature ABC News did on coupon parties. With more people starting to shop with coupons, I thought I'd post five rules that will help any "coupon newbie" get started.

• Get organized! Find a system for organizing your coupons that works for you. The more organized you are, the easier it is to find what you want and match coupons to sales ads. It sure beats digging through an envelope in your purse. There are all sorts of styles of coupon organizers: the simple file, a binder, a file box, the Couponizer, I've even heard of people using briefcases! It might take a few tries before you find the perfect system, it did for me.

• Think out of the box about where you shop. I had always thought CVS was expensive, until I figured out the Extra Care program. The same thing with Kroger, until I figured out how to use double and triple coupons to my advantage. So, rethink stores you might think are too expensive and explore others you don't shop at much. Don't forget about dollar stores as well; they are often a great place to find deals with coupons. Check out the coupon policies of all your local stores, you might be surprised at where you find the best bargains!

• Free is a good thing! I was amazed at how much I could get for free at grocery and drug stores when using coupons. I honestly get every free item I can with my coupons. No I am not greedy, but a food pantry, women's shelter, etc. can always use what your family won't. Not only can full size products often be had for free, so can trial or travel size products. It took me awhile to learn that as long as a coupon states that it is good on any size or does not have a trial size exclusion, you can use it on the small ones. I often times buy small laundry detergent, body wash, shampoo, etc... this way. Why not adopt a soldier, then send them a care package stuffed full of these items? You will be making their day and only be out the postage!

• Start a stockpile. This is the biggest key to seeing big time saving on your grocery and HBA expenses. Your will probably start small, but will grow as you find great deals. My first big stock up deals were laundry detergent at less than .50 a bottle and .25 boxes of cereal. As your stockpile grows, you will see savings at the grocery store. It just takes a little time.

• This is the most important coupon rule! Never , ever buy a product just because you have a coupon for it. That is not how you see savings! Combining coupons with sales is where you start to see savings.

All you have to do is be centsable and you can see some great savings with coupons! I am always glad to help anyone with coupon questions of all kinds, questions about CVS, stockpiling, anything at all to help my readers along the road to saving money. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all!

Below are some of my previous posts that have discussed how to really get started with using coupons. I hope you find them helpful! And again, feel free to email me if I can help you in any way!

• Coupons: I don't know where to start!
• Coupons: Know When to Hold 'Em, Know When to Shop!
• "Coupons Are Too Much Trouble"
• Reader Comment - How do you save that much?

SAVING is good.