Knowing how to save money with coupons can be very useful when it comes to your financial life. With the way our economy is going, and with hundreds of thousands of folks without jobs, lots of families find themselves in financial trouble. Budgets are getting smaller and smaller for a lot of these families.
Thankfully, there are lots of great ways to be frugal and save money around the house and elsewhere. One of the best ways to save money is through the use of coupons. Coupons are a tried and tested method through which one can save hundreds of dollars. With a wide variety of coupons available, you can save when grocery shopping, save in restaurants, on auto vehicle repairs, utility bills and even movie passes. This is how you can save using coupons:
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1- Collect the Coupons
Manufacturer’s coupons are available in the Sunday newspaper. They are also found in other magazines, cereal boxes, inside dog food bags and in your mailbox. Proctor and Gamble and General Mills all you to sign up to receive special offer coupons.
2- Go coupon hunting
Coupons are found everywhere, all you have to do is be keen and identify where to find them. You can start at your local grocery store where coupons can be found dispensers located in the aisles. Watch out when you are at the cereal or cracker aisles, they are a coupon gold mine.
At the checkout counter, the cashier may hand you your receipt and Catalina coupons, which are item-specific coupons generated by competitor companies that offer you a discount for purchasing their brand next time you go to the store, or even a discount on your entire bill next time you shop, regardless of whether or not you purchase their products.
3- Organize your coupons
In the excitement of getting coupons, you may become overwhelmed by them and forget to check their expiry. It is important to organize your coupons to ensure that you are able to access them easily.
You can do this by buying an index card available at the Dollar Tree. On the divided tabs, label different categories of coupon items such as frozen food, laundry, cereals, pantry, and miscellaneous.
Once categorized, you can go ahead and arrange the coupons in order, with the ones about to expire ahead of those that have a longer shelf life.
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4- Compare prices
Armed with a pen and paper and the current week’s sales ad, make a list of all the items you plan to purchase from the grocery store of your choice. Place a star on every item that you have a coupon for and tick those that are on sale. By making these comparisons, you will be able to buy those items at a lower cost or often for free!
5- Save!
Finally, with all the savings you will make from using coupons smartly, open a savings account, preferably one that does not have a minimum balance requirement. By doing this, you will on your way to becoming a smart shopper and saver as well.
There you have it, that is how you can use coupons to save money.