Getting Started in the Coupon Game

Are you interested in saving money on your everyday grocery and household purchases? Today is the day to start on your couponing adventure! This post is intended for those of you who want to know where to start.

1. The first step is to buy the Sunday paper. Since I am in the Grand Rapids Michigan area, our local paper is the Grand Rapids Press. I subscribe to the Sunday only delivery option and it is about $8 per month. With each Sunday paper comes 3 different coupon inserts. They are the Smartsource, Red Plum, and P&G. Most weeks will include 1 Smartsource and 1 Red Plum insert. One paper per month (usually at the beginning of the month) will include a P&G.
2. The next step, and the key to the couponing game, is to keep all of your coupon inserts, and keep the coupons in them. Speaking from experience, you never know what coupons you will need down the road. I personally keep all of my inserts sorted by name and date in a big slotted folder. About once every few months I go through and take out the older expired ones. But nothing with a current date gets thrown away, ever.
3. Next, learn the lingo! When we say "$1 coupon from 11/27 PG" it means a coupon for $1 off the given product, in the P&G insert from the 11/27 newspaper. On that same note, "$.50/2 coupon from 9/14 SS" would be a $.50 off 2 of the given product, in the Smartsource insert from the 9/14 newspaper.
4. Finally, master the printable coupon. If we say "$1 printable", the coupon is located on a website, and needs to be printed in order to redeem in store. Most internet printables allow 2 to be printed per computer. I always print the maximum allowed, just in case!

So there you go! It may seem confusing and overwhelming when you start, but I can personally guarantee that it gets so much better. One year ago, I began the trek down this couponing road. I started my new year off with the goal of saving money, and though it took a few months to really start getting it, the amount of money I have saved is definitely worth it. My only regret is that I didn't start keeping track of how much I was saving!