Be Centsable: Five Important Coupon Rules

The economy is not showing signs of getting better anytime soon. From what I've seen in the media, more and more folks are turning to coupons to help feed their families for less. Here is a feature ABC News did on coupon parties. With more people starting to shop with coupons, I thought I'd post five rules that will help any "coupon newbie" get started.

• Get organized! Find a system for organizing your coupons that works for you. The more organized you are, the easier it is to find what you want and match coupons to sales ads. It sure beats digging through an envelope in your purse. There are all sorts of styles of coupon organizers: the simple file, a binder, a file box, the Couponizer, I've even heard of people using briefcases! It might take a few tries before you find the perfect system, it did for me.

• Think out of the box about where you shop. I had always thought CVS was expensive, until I figured out the Extra Care program. The same thing with Kroger, until I figured out how to use double and triple coupons to my advantage. So, rethink stores you might think are too expensive and explore others you don't shop at much. Don't forget about dollar stores as well; they are often a great place to find deals with coupons. Check out the coupon policies of all your local stores, you might be surprised at where you find the best bargains!

• Free is a good thing! I was amazed at how much I could get for free at grocery and drug stores when using coupons. I honestly get every free item I can with my coupons. No I am not greedy, but a food pantry, women's shelter, etc. can always use what your family won't. Not only can full size products often be had for free, so can trial or travel size products. It took me awhile to learn that as long as a coupon states that it is good on any size or does not have a trial size exclusion, you can use it on the small ones. I often times buy small laundry detergent, body wash, shampoo, etc... this way. Why not adopt a soldier, then send them a care package stuffed full of these items? You will be making their day and only be out the postage!

• Start a stockpile. This is the biggest key to seeing big time saving on your grocery and HBA expenses. Your will probably start small, but will grow as you find great deals. My first big stock up deals were laundry detergent at less than .50 a bottle and .25 boxes of cereal. As your stockpile grows, you will see savings at the grocery store. It just takes a little time.

• This is the most important coupon rule! Never , ever buy a product just because you have a coupon for it. That is not how you see savings! Combining coupons with sales is where you start to see savings.

All you have to do is be centsable and you can see some great savings with coupons! I am always glad to help anyone with coupon questions of all kinds, questions about CVS, stockpiling, anything at all to help my readers along the road to saving money. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all!

Below are some of my previous posts that have discussed how to really get started with using coupons. I hope you find them helpful! And again, feel free to email me if I can help you in any way!

• Coupons: I don't know where to start!
• Coupons: Know When to Hold 'Em, Know When to Shop!
• "Coupons Are Too Much Trouble"
• Reader Comment - How do you save that much?

SAVING is good.

Taking A Step Back - I'm a Coupon Junkie

I have to confess something: I am a coupon junkie. Now you may laugh at that, but it's true. It took me getting away from how I'd been shopping to realize how much of an addiction I have. I felt that I HAD to go to CVS weekly, sometimes several times a week. Things didn't even have to be "money makers" there, if it came out to be free then I wanted it. It had nothing to do with need. It was a compulsion. The same thing with the grocery store. If it was free after coupon, I would go and get it. I felt that I must. Why not? After all it was a freebie.

Now, I have never been wasteful with things I get this way. We use them, donate them, send them to the troops, or pass them on to a neighbor. I don't want you thinking I have shelves full of things we will never use collecting dust. Waste was never an issue. I felt that I was doing a good deed by passing things along.

After moving to a new town, I've had lots of time to think and pray about things. I realize now that I was doing a good thing, but with wrong motivation. I loved the thrill of the hunt for great deals. I adored getting free stuff, regardless of what it was. I had a burning desire to shop, which is very much out of character for me. I was doing all of it for me, how it made me feel.

Now I know better. I still faithfully clip coupons and scope out fantastic deals. I am still passionate about frugal living, doing the absolute best I can with as little expense as possible. I still love teaching others how to live well on less. But, I don't do it for how it makes me feel. I no longer get anxious and tense over missing a great deal. Sure, I get disappointed from time to time. And I do sometimes really miss CVS, but it doesn't consume me. I no longer have the burning desire to rush out shopping. When the stockpile gets low, I restock, but I don't add to it all the time. I once felt like I had to do this or we'd starve. I would truly like to have a better food stockpile, but I now realize that will come in time. For the longest I was motivated by envy and jealousy, thinking"I want a stockpile like Jane Doe's! I have to get a huge stockpile RIGHT NOW!" This had very little to do with taking care of my family and everything to do with my selfishness and greed.

Things are different now. I do what I do because it is responsible, it is being a good steward, it blesses my family. And I feel so great! Before I was wound up rather tightly and all my focus was on how well I did with my couponing. I think a lot of us get caught up in the euphoria of scoring great deals. There is something extremely satisfying about knowing you are feeding your family better than ever on less than you ever dreamed. Just make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. Don't let it consume you.

This has been on my heart for a while now. I know a lot of you bloggers out there are very like minded as far as why you do the things you do. I just wanted to share what I had struggled with so it might help others. Maybe I am in a select few who got "hooked on the coupon high" I don't know. But, I just felt this needed to be shared.