If you are reading this website you know that coupons can save you a lot of money. Pair a coupon with a store sale, clearance deal, rebate or ,if you are lucky enough to live in an area that double coupons you can get excellent deals.
But How do I get a coupon stash started? That's the question lots of people who want to start saving money ask. It might seem like the first newspaper you buy after you commit to start clipping coupons has useless coupons for products you wouldn't use, or it might be a holiday and there aren't any coupons at all! Here are some other ways to start building up that coupon file:
::Print: Check out the online coupons at Coupons.com or SmartSource.com. If there is a great diaper coupon I know I want more of, I'll ask my mom (or my sister!) to print them for me as she would not use this coupon anyway.
::Let the Companies Know You Like Them: You might get some coupons by sending an email to your favorite companies. It just takes a few seconds and sometimes they send you out coupons as a “thank you” for being a loyal customer. If you sign up on the products website as an email subscriber, join their club, become a fan on facebook, sometimes they send out coupons or samples in the mail or printable deals via email. If you're worried about cluttering up your inbox with a bunch of mass mailings, a second free email account works great for this! If you sign up for a free samples of products they usually come with coupons in the mail.
::Buy or Trade Coupons: Sometimes it is worth it to buy coupons on Ebay. Just be really careful that you will get the coupons in the mail before the deal is over! You can also join message boards on websites such as afullcup.com and Hot Coupon World to trade coupons. How this works is you list what you have to trade and other people list what they have to trade.
::Keep Your Eyes Open: Coupons are in all sorts of places! There are tearpads on displays and all over gas stations and grocery stores. There are “peelie” sticker coupons stuck to a number of products at any given time. One of the grocery stores in my area has a bin of coupons in the front of the store for customers. I bring the ones I do not want and take the ones that I want. I have read that some libraries do this also. If you belong to a playgroup or mom's group consider starting a coupon box where everyone can share their coupons!
::Buy the Sunday Paper: Even if you were disappointed the first time you looked at a Sunday insert, keep trying! As you learn more about coupon shopping, you'll find better deals and more uses for many of those coupons that seemed worthless at first glance! If you do not get the paper ask your non-couponing family members or neighbors if you can have their coupon inserts. Most people are glad to give them away and reduce waste since they're going to throw them out anyway!
Spend a little time gathering coupons before shopping and you could save a tone of money!
Gabrielle Watson says
May 25, 2010 at 9:43 amThese are all great ideas of ways to save. I am new to this whole COUPONING phenomenon, and your blog and many others have really inspired and encouraged me to start couponing full time to save loads of money 🙂
Thanks for all the hard work you do 🙂
-Gabi from Savannah, TX
marybeth @ www.babygoodbuys.com says
May 25, 2010 at 11:20 amGabi,
Sometimes it’s hard to get started when you see other “professional” coupon shoppers have tons of coupons and are able to take advantage of deals you’re not ready for. Just start slow and stick with it!
Brittney says
May 26, 2010 at 12:54 amYou can build a ood stash within 3 months. Get at least 2 of ur largest local cities paper every week and find a Website that matches adds with coupons. Different ares of the country have different adds and therefore different sites.
Heather T. says
May 26, 2010 at 7:37 amIts amazing how much you can save with coupons it drives me nuts yes nuts when I see people buying things without cupons, I have been in line or shopping and given people coupons its all about helping everyone and maybe I inspire others to start couponing. To those just starting the tips above are good and remember no coupons on holiday weeks although p&g has started it because they are usually on the firstweekend of the month. Some sites have a heads up on the coupons that are coming out that weekend. I started samll now I have three different coupon binders its a passion for me and saves thousands a year and with 3 young boys we need to save all we can.
Heather T. says
May 26, 2010 at 7:38 amI forgot to add, my local dollar store has the sunday paper for a dollar just check and see if yours does also I believe its dollar tree funny that I don’t know the name but you have to get there when they open they run out fast! Good Luck!