Couponing Info, Part 1

The first thing a lot of new couponers do is clip a lot of coupons and then go use them during the first week. This could prove to be very costly if you are buying things you would not normally buy simply because you have a coupon for it.

Another thing new couponers might do is clip only the coupons for products he/she already buys, but still use them all during the first week. This will save money, but is not maximizing on savings. To truly maximize on savings, you need to wait until an item you have a coupon for goes on sale. An example of this is: Box A normally costs about $4. You have a coupon for Box A for $1 off of 2. If you buy 2 of Box A with the coupon, you will pay $7 for 2 of Box A. Now, the week after you make this purchase, Box A goes on sale 2 for $5. If you were to purchase 2 of Box A at this price, you would already be paying less than you paid with the coupon last week, but imagine if you still had that coupon. You could buy 2 of Box A for $4 (that's 1/2 of the original price).

The lesson learned here is to be patient. Wait for the sales to happen. If the item is not seen on sale before a coupon is to expire and it is something you would have bought anyway, then you would want to go ahead and use the coupon on the regular price. Otherwise, maximize your coupons by combining them with deals, sales, and in-store coupons. (In-store coupons are those that are put out by a store to be used ONLY at that store and are NOT marked as manufacturer's coupons.)