If you’re reading this blog, either you are debt free or you want to be debt free. We get into debt when we spend more than we earn. You can prevent this deficit in one of two ways – create more income or reduce your expenses. Buying household items like food, health & beauty supplies, and toiletries can easily be a large discretionary line item in your monthly budget.
Using coupons is a great way to reduce your spending on groceries and other household items. Overwhelmed at the idea? Read on for an introduction on how to get started with coupons.
This post is by Raki Wright from Outside the Box Mom.
This post is sponsored by Frugaa Stores. Every little bit helps keep the blog lights on.
The opinions and great advice - that's all Raki.
You’ve decided that your grocery budget isn’t big enough, but you don’t have any more money to put into it. Here come coupons. Using coupons is a great way to reduce that expense.
The best way to stretch your grocery budget is to combine low or rock bottom prices with additional savings from manufacturers’ coupons.
How do you find out about the best grocery store deals each week?
Check out one of the top deal blogs. There’s likely a blog covering grocery stores in your area. Simply check their website to see the week’s sale items, make your grocery list, clip or print any available coupons, and shop. Do a Google search for “your grocery store” deals (example: Kroger deals).
Where can I get coupons?
Subscribe to the Sunday newspaper or ask friends and family for their coupons. You can also print coupons from sites like Red Plum, Smart Source, Coupons.com, and Frugaa. Set aside time each week to clip, organize and match coupons with sales. This time can also be used to go through your old coupons and weed out any that have expired.
How do I know what’s a good deal?
Recognize that there is likely a 6-12 week sales cycle – meaning that the low price you receive today is likely to return again in the next 6-12 weeks. So, buy that item only once every 6-12 weeks or buy enough to last until the sales price comes back around. Get to know common prices on the products you buy. Or, consult price books on your favorite deal blogs, which are subject to regional variances.
How can I stay organized?
There are several different ways to manage your coupons. You can clip all of them each with and store them by category in a binder. Or, you can use the method I prefer, which is to review the deals at the stores I shop at on deal blogs, clip corresponding coupons, and file the remaining coupon sheets. I file whole coupon inserts, check store deals blogs, make my list of best deals for the week, shop with that list, and skip some unadvertised deals I happen upon in the store (because I don’t carry all of my coupons with me).
Help! I’m overwhelmed.
Start small and slow. Pick the most expensive item or the items that cost you the most collectively (because you buy them most frequently). Then, work your way up to at least 10-15 items which you could get for much less if you used coupons. Once you begin to see your grocery bill decrease and your grocery budget stretch further, you will want to try more and more deals.
Additional Coupon Resources:
- The New Frugaa Stores
- $5 Dinners
- A Little Blog on the Homestead has wonderful organization ideas and plenty of tips to get you started.
- Cook Craaft Love has a getting started series. You can pick up more in-depth tips here.
- Scissor Saving Sarah has a great section filled with all things coupons.
- While not a specific blog on coupons, LE CHAIM On The Right uses an interesting history lesson to awaken your frugal inner self.
Do you use coupons? Why or why not?
This post parties with Broke Rich Girl.
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