Having a hard time couponing

[taravolo]

I am having such a hard time couponing. I have been clipping coupons for 3 weeks now and have only found like 3 deals not freebies. It took me FOREVER to even find those deals. Did anyone else have these problems? I want my groceries to be free like so many other peoples.

[foggierbard9]

The deals don't come overnight, and sometimes they are few and far between. It has taken me over a year to really get into finding the deals and knowing what I am looking for to make it work for me. A lot of the people on here that get lots of free stuff have been doing this for years, so don't get discouraged right away, even if you are only cutting your budget by a little bit to start, that is more $$ in your pocket than you had before, and gradually you will get in the swing of things and the deals will seem to come more often.

[taravolo]

The thing is I have always used coupons for years but not the way people do on here so I have been saving a little for so long. I want to save a ton. I am ready to take it to the next level. Maybe I just need to be organized but I am too broke to go buy a binder right now.

[puakinikini]

Don't get discouraged. Like you I had always used coupons, but I really had no clue what I was doing. My advice, read, read, read. Make friends with people in your area that also coupon. It is best if they live near you, but not in your neighborhood (as then you are not competing). Be active in the forums of the stores that you shop at. Join the trader group and start trading for the Qs you need or ones you don't get in your paper. It took me 6 months to get a hang of it. I remember the first time I brought home 40 pkgs of free toilet paper, my DH almost croaked - but now he is used to it. JUst hang in there.

I still do not get my groceries free - but I am happy saving over 60% each trip. I buy a lot of fresh fruit/veggies/meat and we do not get wine tags here - so it adds up. I also have 1 in diapers who is allergic to dairy and has a number of skin conditions - so my bill includes special stuff for her. Depending on your area you may not be able to live on $15/week - but you can definitely do better than you did before!

[rachellepeters]

I am pretty new to this...3 months in, and the first week, seemed worthless, but now. I save pretty much 90-100% at Wags and CVS and 75-80% at the stores.

Here's some advice.

Buy the papers, but don't clip and throw away. If I did that I'd only save 2-4 coupons that I THINK I'd use, and then the good deals would be thrown away. GREAT deals come up sometimes a MONTH after the insert comes out, so hold onto them

See a decent printable....PRINT THEM and hold them, the printables will disappear, so I am printing 5-10 per day and saving them.

Email companies, EVERY ONE that you can think of and just tell them you love their products and were wondering if they'll have coupons in the paper soon. NExt thing you know your mail box is filled with frees or GREAT coupons.

The best tip I saw that helped me learn was....DON"T shop with a list of what you need for the week. Shop for those frees and stock up on them as you begin to acquire 5-10 items of frees or almost frees over the weeks then all of a sudden you'll only be shopping for the necessitites, milk, meat, eggs, etc.

Print, clip save....the deals will eventually come around. But right now, start emailing companies for every product you have in your house from feminine products, make up, hair care, food, toilet paper, etc. And in a week or two you'll have some great coupons.

GOOD LUCK

[taravolo]

I have been clipping every coupon in the newspapers. I only get one newspaper because it costs 3 bucks. Although this past Sunday it was only 2 bucks. Maybe I am clipping too much.

[CQintraining]

When I first started I clipped all of them because I was afraid I was not going to have one with me and I would miss a deal. It was easy when I only had 1-2 copies to cut. Now I have multiple copies so I may clip food ones that I always need but usually I just file them by week and read the deal threads to see what to clip.

I do not have double/triple coupon stores here so I do not get too many free food deals, but since I do get my H&B products free at Wags/CVS I have extra $$ for food. I shop the food sales and save at about 50% most of the time, but then a good deal may show up and I do actually get free product and that is when multiple coupons are important.

I use WAGS and CVS overages (monitors, cold meds, etc) to pick up food staples using up that overage, so that counts as Free Food.

I tried the binder method but with multiple inserts copies (8-10) it did not work for me. I just use a 4x6 index card file with seperate files/envelopes for product catagories. Easy to keep with me and take advantage of clearance deals.

As pp said, read, read, read. Start with one store and add on more as you get comfortable.

Get multiple copies of coupons. Ask friends, neighbors, co-workers for any they don't use. Check dollar stores for cheap papers, but get there early. Be sure to check local free papers (here they are at store entrances), ours just recently started carrying the SS inserts so I can get multiple copies of them for free but I dont get any copies of RP or P&G. Keep your eyes open at all stores for tearpads, blinkies, special displays. Collect and trade for what you do need. Follow blogs that cover your stores to know when the Hot Printables are available, and get some if you can.

[434Teresa]

I find great deals and almost frees every now and then...but I dont have stores that double or triple coupons like alot of the people on here do so I dont save as much as they do..
I do alot of my shopping at walmart for I only have one other grocery store in my town so I just use the sales ads and price match things at wlmart so I dont have to waste gas driving 30 minutes one way and all over there to save a few cents. I am happy to bring my total from $300 to $60/$80 most of the time. Sure its not free but thats great savings and its stuff we use not stuff we might use or that I might sale in a yard sale later..so many couponers find deals on things that they dont even use but will still buy it anyway,myself I look for things that we use not just any great deal unless its free then it gose in my christmas gift box for next christmas..

1)price match at walmart other store brands can be match to great value brand
2)use coupons
3)write companies and ask for coupons to try their items..i do this in my moms name also at her address
4)just because a store doubles dont mean its the better deal, i drove to kroger to double coupons one time but i found that the prices where higher and i was out $10 or so for the gas.
5)print coupons from the coupon websites and from the product website.
6)send in rebates you can find some good ones on here that other have posted for us..
7) when you have b1g1 free coupons besure to use a coupon on hte one you buy.
8)ALL YOU has some good coupons in it from time to time.
9) let people know you use coupons and would like them from books or newspapers they buy, this alone can save you money.

[Kulis]

Try not to get too discouraged. Many of the people here have been hard-core couponers for a long time. They have great systems in place that took them maybe even years to refine. Glean what you can from their posts.
I found it helpful to focus on one grocery store and one drug store until I got the hang of things and then I gradually added other stores.
It also helped me to think in terms of two types of buying: buying to meet current needs and buying for the future (stockpiling).
Also, you'd be surprised at how many people you probably know throw away their Sunday inserts without even looking at them. Ask neighbors or co-workers if they'd save an insert for you.

[Cynthiabutterfly]

It took a long time (felt like years) to get to the point I am at, and I still struggle every week.

Just try to take baby steps.

The one thing that made the biggest difference for me was buying multiples. Get your hands on 2-3 papers per person in your family, and then when you do find a freebie, you'll be able to get more than one!