Couponing 101: Complete beginners start here!
If you have absolutely no idea how to do this ‘coupon thing’, this is the place to start! You’ve already taken the first step: you’ve found Hotcouponworld! Read the Getting Started forum completely. There is a LOT of constantly updated information here. Even experienced couponers can learn a thing or two!
This thread is intended to give you the basic and not-so-basic tips to save a lot of money on groceries, cleaning supplies, and health and beauty products using coupons. So let’s get started!
What stores do you have in your area?
Make a list. It may be bigger than you think! Once you learn how to work the system, you may find yourself shopping at stores that you thought were “too expensive”, because they actually have better deals in the long run!
Familiarize yourself with their coupon policies. Ask at the customer service desk. Policies vary by store, chain and area of the country. Some stores that you thought do not take coupons actually do! Did you know that Dollar General takes coupons?
Double Coupons: The stores will double the face value of the coupon, meaning that your coupon is worth twice the face value. The best kind of grocery stores double coupons up to $1.00 (commonly known as Super Doubles). Many other stores double coupons up to $.50 or $.60. Some stores also have a limit as to how many of the same coupon they will double.
No Doubles: Your coupons will be accepted at face value only.
Triple Coupons: This rare bird comes as a promotion in certain areas. The store will triple the value of your coupon up to a certain value. In this instance, a $.50 coupon would be worth $1.50!
Some stores will allow you to ‘stack’ their store coupons with your manufacturer coupons for even greater savings! Some of them are: CVS, Walgreen’s, Rite-Aid, Toys-R-Us, Target and some grocery stores. These store coupons can come from home mailers (get on the mailing lists!), store ads, flyers and the stores’ monthly magazines.
If the store has a loyalty card, get one. Or two. This is often the only way that you will get the sale prices.
A very few stores-- mostly in the Midwest-- will take coupons that have already expired. The dates vary from 3 months to 6 months past the expiration date.
Certain stores will accept competitor's coupons for everything from FREE gift cards with a prescription to the Catalinas that print after the order.
Questions to ask:
Does your store double coupons?
What is the maximum value that you will double?
How many ‘like’ coupons will double?
Do you ever have triple coupon promotions?
Do you take Internet printed coupons? (This is a big one. Many stores no longer take them.)
Can I combine store coupons with manufacturer coupons?
Does this store take expired coupon
Do you accept competitor coupons?
Get the weekly ads for all of your stores!
These are usually delivered in your home newspaper. If they are not, you can view them online at the store’s website.
Your goal is to match the weekly sales with the coupons in your possession. You will spend less if you have a plan. Don't buy everything you need at one store just because it is convenient for you. The store across the street might have other things from your list on sale.
NOTE:brand loyalty goes out the window for serious couponers! Buy what is on sale!
The previews are also frequently posted in the individual Store Deals forums on Hotcouponworld, and the members will help you! Make sure that you read the ads yourself, though, because a hot deal for one person might not be hot for you!
NOTE: If a store has something on sale for lets say 10 for $10.00 or 2 for $5.00, you are not obligated to buy the full number (10 or 2, etc.) to get the sale price… unless the ad says so! Something that is 10/$10.00 is actually “each item is $1”.
Also, these types of sales are not always the best deal. Sometimes they even increase the price for this type of sale. Example: a can of tomatoes is on sale for 5 for $5.00. But since you are now so price-savvy, you know that the regular, everyday price of the item is only 89¢! You know to pass on this 'sale'!
Example:
Finesse shampoo or conditioner is on sale for 2 for $5.00 which is really $2.50 each. You have a $1.00 off 1 coupon, and your store doubles coupons up to a dollar! The math looks like: $2.50 - $2.00 = 50¢ each. That is a good deal for something that usually costs $3.49!
Or
Hamburger Helper is on sale for 10 for $10.00. You have a 50¢ off 1 coupon. You store doubles that coupon, making the item FREE!
Where do I get all of these coupons?
Your first source should be the Sunday newspaper. The coupons are usually with the magazine section inside the funnies! There are three kinds of coupon inserts to look for: the SmartSource (SS), the Redplum (RP), and once a month, the Procter & Gamble Brand Saver (P&G). There are no inserts on major holidays, so you might want to save your money on those days. Check out the Sunday Coupon Insert Schedule to see what Sundays will have coupons in them or not.
The first key to saving money is to obtain multiple copies of the inserts-- lots of them. You want to do this as inexpensively as possible.
- You probably already get a paper, either home delivered or at the news stand, so you have one set of inserts there. If you buy it at the store, make sure the coupons are actually in there before you pay for the paper!
Some stores discount the price of the Sunday paper, or offer a special deal on two.
Then you can ask everyone you know. Most people don’t use coupons, or if they do, they cut one or two and toss the rest. Get those. Ask your mother, your neighbors, your church friends, coworkers-- anyone that you can think of!
If you live in or close to an apartment or condo complex, check out the recycling bins. You’d be surprised how many people just toss the whole center section! These are usually pretty clean, since recycling companies require you to separate newspaper from other recyclables.
Join the “Dumpster Divers”! This is what people call it when they go to the local recycling center to poke around for extra inserts. Make friends with the people who run them if you are confronted—they can become your best friends! They might be able to tell you when the carriers come to dump their extras. More information on Dumpster Diving.
Ask at the local store on Sunday night or Monday morning. Many papers require that only the front page of unsold papers be returned for credit, or if they need the whole paper, they don’t want the inserts. It never hurts to ask!
Look at hotels, nursing homes, McDonald's on a Sunday morning... anywhere that people sit to read the paper and leave the inserts.
There are reputable coupon clipping services that will send coupons for a handling fee. Free from the sources above is always best, but sometimes you have to spend money to make money!
Another source of coupons is online printable coupons. There are many links to these in our Coupon Database! Most sites allow you to print two copies of each coupon. One caveat, however, is that many stores no longer accept them due to fraud. You will need to ask if your store accepts these. A preview of the coupons that will be appearing in the next weeks' inserts can be found in our Insert Coupons forum.
Organize your coupons
Some people keep the inserts intact and file them by date (SS 12/4, V 12/11, P&G 1/6, etc.) This system saves a great deal of time initially, but getting ready for shopping is more of a chore. You have to cut the coupons that you need at that time.
Others clip all of the coupons from the beginning, and file them in various ways. The most popular is the "binder method": some form of 3 ring, zippable binder with baseball card and other inserts.
Make sure that you go through your coupons and weed out your expired coupons at least once a month! This prevents the task from becoming overwhelming, and prevents embarrassment at the store if you try to use an expired coupon.
Stockpile!!!
The second key to saving money is the stockpile! Once you have found that great deal, you need to buy a lot of it. Not just 1 for now and 1 to have on hand for later, but 10 or 20 or more. This is the logic behind all of those coupons that you obtained from everyone you know!
This is only a sensible idea if you have room to store it, and the item is non-perishable. Many of our members can tell you that you have more room than you think you do! Hotcouponworld has threads on Stockpile Expiration Dates and What You Can and Can't Freeze to help you! You know what your family needs, but everyone needs toilet paper, toothpaste and deodorant!
Hard-core couponers have on hand a one or two year supply of things like toothpaste, toothbrushes, body wash or soap, and cleaning supplies. When you use one of them, you can just go to wherever you store your stockpile for another. You have purchased these items at the price you wanted to pay, not the price the store wanted you to pay! Free or nearly free is better than full price any day! Once you get better at this, you will see the maximum amount that you are willing to pay drop like a rock! See our thread on Bottom Line Prices!
Other Tips and Tricks of the trade:
Ask for rainchecks!
Take a look here: Understanding Rainchecks
Sometimes you have prepared yourself, gone to the store, and they are out of what you want. Rainchecks are the solution: they give you the sale price on the item when it is back on the shelf, even when the sale is over. You may have anywhere from 2 weeks to a year to get that price, depending on the expiration date of the raincheck. (Some stores' rainchecks never expire!) By that time, you may have newer and better coupons!
Originally Posted by queenofthehivemomof5Tcom
I do my shopping for stuff I already have coupons for early in the sale. Our sales here end on Tuesday night at the grocery stores or Saturday night for the other stores (drug stores).
I always hit the grocery stores one last time on Tuesday night for rainchecks. You can get rainchecks for items out of stock. That’s what they are there for.
So if "Hot Pockets" are on sale and they are out of just one flavor I get a raincheck.
Often times you can tell them that you need a raincheck for the item you want and they don't really care or check to see if its out of stock. So theoretically they don’t have to be out of stock of something in order to get a raincheck, but that is dishonest, to each his own. I personally play the your out of "Diet Coke" can I get a raincheck on the Coke products on sale for .80 cents please. Does that make sense?
With raincheck now in my binder I now have TIME to collect coupons! You can trade for them or buy them! None of the rainchecks here have expiration dates on them but some stores may..I don't know. I have rainchecks issued to me from a year ago. I get rainchecks on stuff that doesn’t have coupons, too. Meat especially. When boneless skinless chicken breasts go on sale for $1.49LB I buy a bunch (40lbs or more) and freeze it... then I get a raincheck too in case it doesn't go on a good sale by the time I run out of chicken.
Look for unadvertised sales!
One store may have too much of a certain item in stock, and will put it on sale. Others will have items on clearance. This is why you need to have all of your coupons with you as you shop!
Look for in-store coupons!
There are lots of coupons to be found in stores, if you know what to look for! They may be better coupons than the ones in you binder, or may be combined with the coupons that you have for even more savings!
NOTE: If you find a great coupon in the store and decide to take some for yourself, couponing etiquette says that it's polite to leave some for others!
- Peelies: these are the coupons that are stuck to the product. If you don't need the product now, you might later.
- Blinkies: those coupons in the SmartSource machines that may or may not have the little blinking light.
- Catalinas: these print from the machine next to the register, and are usually red, green or blue. People frequently leave them in their shopping carts-- grab them!
- Tearpads: usually these pads are on the shelf or display.
- Try Me Free or Rebate forms: these are a great way to try a new product and/or make money on a deal! Buy an item on sale, use the coupon, and send away for the rebate!
- Winetags: these are coupons that hang around the neck of wine bottles. They can require a wine purchase or not, depending on the state.
Many of the store flyers will have coupons or they will print Catalina coupons for an amount off your next order!
Keep your eyes on the cashier!
Occasionally, you will run into a cashier who is a master of the sleight-of-hand. This results in some of your coupons not being scanned. Stand up for yourself and don't let it happen. If you had 10 coupons and she only scanned 9, speak up. It's your money we're talking about here.
Also, many stores have a "scan right guarantee": it scans correctly or it is free, or you get double the difference back. Make sure that you get the price that you were expecting!
Buy the smallest size possible!
Stores like Sam's Club and Costco may have you convinced that the bigger sizes are the better value. You're a couponer now, and you know better!
A large product may be much less expensive with coupons, but the smallest size may be free! This is part of the logic behind multiple coupons. One of our members bought the 34oz coffee for a few dollars until she realized that the 11-13oz size was totally free!
Don't let the cashier pull the "one coupon per purchase" line on you!
One coupon per purchase does NOT mean one coupon per transaction. Each item is considered a purchase-- many coupons actually say "one coupon per item purchased, which is a much better way to phrase it.
Item 1= this is a purchase; Item 2= this is a purchase; Item 3= this is a purchase; etc... Have them ring them up in individual transactions if they don't get it.
To further drive your point home, you can show them a receipt that has total items purchased= xx, followed by a transaction number.
Be on the lookout for those FREE coupons!
You've seen others using them, and heard Hotcouponworld members talking about them. Where do coupons for FREE stuff come from?
- The newspaper: companies will put coupons for free items into the regular inserts to get you to try the product. EX: the recent FREE Oust fan
- The mail: get on as many mailing lists as you can. Go to the company web sites and sign up for the newsletter. We have threads on Contacting Companies to Request Coupons and Baby Mailing Lists.
- Pay attention to the forums here at Hotcouponworld. Members will frequently post when companies are offering free coupons in a contest, as a giveaway, or for answering a survey.
- You can contact the companies with a compliment or complaint, and will sometimes receive coupons for a free product.
Again, read through the Couponing Basics forum. And if you have any questions, just ask! Our moderators and members are glad to help.
Don't get discouraged if you aren't getting the same deals that you see on the boards. Some of us have been couponing for 20 years or more! You will get better as you learn, and a penny saved is a penny that you didn't give to the store.
Also, there is no reason to start stockpiling flat out, no-holds-barred. Start out slowly if you're on a budget. You can allot $20 each month for the first few months to building your stockpile and slowly increase the amount as you become more coupon-proficient.
If you miss a sale, don't worry! The deals almost always come around again-- sometimes better the next time! See our thread on Sales Cycles to see the best time to buy many items.
Remember, everyone has to start somewhere. We're glad you started at Hotcouponworld!
Up Next - Couponing 102: Trading, Rebates & Tracking Your Savings!
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Do you have any questions about our couponing 101 guide? If so please feel free to leave a reply below with your question and one of our coupon experts will be happy to answer your coupon questions!
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Couponing 101: Complete beginners start here! 
Re: Couponing 101: Complete beginners start here! 
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