I’ve been couponing since January and I must say it’s addictive.   In the right combination of sales and coupons you can get tons of stuff for free or cheap.   Here are the basics on how to get started:

Get lots of coupons

  • At my house we get 2 newspapers every Sunday.
  • You can trade coupons with other people who are into couponing.
  • Go online and print internet coupons when products are on sale.
  • Using these techniques I have doubles and triples of most coupons.

Organize your coupons

  • File them in envelopes with dividers in a shoebox.
  • You can buy a coupon filer at the dollar store or Wal-mart.
  • I use a binder with baseball card holders to alphabetize my coupons.

Make a list

  • Get a stack of sales papers and go to 2 or 3 different stores.
  • I do all my shopping for the month in one day in about 2 or 3 hours.
  • Think about what is on sale and what you can freeze first.
  • There are tons of blogs out there that will compile lists of stores with coupons and internet coupons with sales.   Just print the lists and pull the coupons you need.

Stockpile and go shopping less often

Check couponing   blogs and compare savings

Using these techniques, I have been able to keep our grocery and toiletries budget for 3 people under $200 a month.

Now what about you? Have you found it’s worth your time and effort to clip coupons?