In tough economic times, everyone is looking for ways to reduce their spending and save money, and you are probably no exception. One way of cutting your expenses is by using coupons. If you need help learning how to find the best coupons, the following article can show you how.
Another method of getting coupons is to stop by your local cafe on Sunday. Many coffee shops provide their customers with free newspapers, and will often hand over the coupons to the first person who asks. Do not be afraid to ask for what you need! People are often willing to help out.
A great tip when using coupons is to keep track of the expiration date. You don’t want to walk into a store, pick up an item and then present the cashier with a coupon that’s expired. Some stores might still honor the deal but most won’t, and you’ll be embarrassed.
A good tip when clipping out coupons is to place them in a pouch or somewhere you can easily keep track of them. This will prevent you from creating a mess and you’ll have your coupons readily available when you need them so you won’t have to dig around to find them.
Go couponing one day each week. This increases your efficiency. The rest of the week it is fine to clip a coupon you happen to come upon, but having a designated day for coupon searching is the best strategy.
Request all the free sample offers you can find. Not only will you get the free sample in the mail, but often times you’ll receive a coupon for the item as well. Coupons that come with free samples tend to be higher value than others, so you’ll get a great sample and a great deal!
Try contacting the manufacturer directly. If there is a product that you love, but don’t often find coupons for, try contacting the company directly. Express your enthusiasm for their products and ask if they have any coupons available. Who knows? You may score some great deals on a brand you really love!
Rewards cards are awesome to use because they give you a big savings on sales but also there are usually incentives to being a member. Sometimes you will save money on gas at your local gas station if they have a deal with them or you can build points to save on groceries and other sales.
Be a conscientious coupon-clipper by never wiping the shelf clean, especially for-sale items. Buying the last two of a given item is understandable, but purchasing twenty of an item with limited stock is frustrating to other shoppers. If you know that you will be purchasing several of the same item, call the store a few days in advance to see whether they will order extra.
Make sure that you are not overly greedy when using coupons for bulk items. It is a waste of coupons and money to buy items that are going to go bad if you aren’t going to use them right away. If you buy more than you can use, share with others.
To make finding your coupons easier, try sorting them by a similar attribute. For instance, you could sort them by brand, by product type, by expiration date, etc. There are so many ways you can keep everything together so that you can easily see and use them to maximize your savings.
Stop spending the full amount on things that you buy. All it takes is five minutes to look up if there are any coupons online, and by doing this you can save a bunch of money whenever you buy anything. Look in magazines, online, or through articles to find coupons.
Exchange coupons with friends. This is a great way to help you when you find you have coupons you might not use. Instead of throwing them away, see if you can talk a few friends into swapping with you. This is a good way to help each other while helping yourself.
To minimize conflicts when you go shopping, keep a hard copy of the store coupon policy in your coupon binder. This way, if a cashier or manager says that your coupons can not be combined, you have the store words to back you up. You may choose to review the policy beforehand, to ensure you understand it.
If you are couponing to save on groceries, remember that you can’t favor brands. You have to be willing to purchase items that are both on sale and that you have coupons for. While it may be okay to keep one or two favorites, in general, you have to be flexible.
Now you should have an idea of just how much money you can save by the intelligent use of coupons. Many people have already greatly slashed their spending by mastering the use of coupons. Just start applying the tips from this article and you will be astonished at how much you can save.
