If you are a new couponer, just starting out, here are 10 things you need to know:
- Don't go out Sunday and buy a ton of newspapers. If you buy 10 papers at $2.50 each, you need to use at least $22.50 in coupons in order to make your money back. I have a family of four and I buy 1-2 papers a week. I subscribe by mail to the Sunday edition of the Owensboro Messenger Inquirer so I don't have to use gas to go out and get it. You can't save money if you're spending all your money to buy newspapers. Plus, the other folks who got to the store after you cleaned out the paper rack will have nothing nice to say about you. Karma, people, karma. Leave some newspapers for the next guy. Believe it or not, some folks actually get the paper for the articles!
- Do beware of Expiration Dates! Another great reason to only purchase the minimum number of papers each week is simple: coupons expire. And with the increase in coupon use, it is increasingly difficult to find items in stock. There is a really good chance that you are going to find an empty shelf and the item won't be restocked before your coupon expires. Even if you get a rain check, there is no guarantee that the item will be instock again before your coupon expires.
- Do keep an eye on the Sunday Coupon Preview so you'll know if there are going to be any coupons you want in the Sunday paper. But! Keep in mind that coupons on the preview list may not be in your local Sunday paper. Coupons vary by region and the really great coupons may not be available here in Hopkins County. It's a sad reality that we live in what I like to call the coupon dead zone.
- Do subscribe to the daily emails of your favorite coupon websites and blogs. Almost every coupon website or blog I have stumbled across offers a daily email. You can subscribe to the Hopkins County Couponer's daily email from the home page!
- Don't think you have to buy ten tubes of toothpaste this week! A tube of toothpaste will last the average person about 1-2 months. As long as there is a P&G insert, there will be sales for cheap toothpaste. I haven't gotten a P&G insert this year without a Crest coupon in it.
- Don't be brand loyal. You really can't be brand loyal when you coupon. If you want to get the best deals on Health & Beauty and Household items, you really need to buy what is on sale.
- Don't buy things just because you have a coupon and it's on sale! Here's the imaginary scenario: "Cheesey Cheese Bites are on sale for $1.25 this week and I have a coupon for $1 off making them only a quarter each. I've never heard of Cheesey Cheese Bites and I don't like cheese." Just tell me, why would you buy a product that you don't like? Don't buy it if you aren't going to use it and you can't donate it!
- Do buy items to donate! If you haven't read it before, I'll post it again. I believe that Couponer's CAN make a difference, one donation at a time. No one in my house eats tuna, but I printed out every Starkist coupon I could get because I could use it for free tuna at Kroger earlier this year. I'm going to make it part of my donation to the school food drive this fall. Donating is a great thing!
- Don't clear the shelf! Ok, if there are two tubes of toothpaste and you have two coupons, by all means take both tubes. But, if it is 8 AM on Sunday morning, you have ten coupons, and there are only ten tubes of toothpaste available, don't clear the shelf! Seriously, that toothpaste will be on sale again.
- Do adopt a military family overseas and send them your expired coupons! Check out CouponsToTroops on Facebook for more details. It costs $12.95 to send a big, flat rate box to APO (military) addresses, so get together with a few coupon friends and send over your expired coupons.
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