Let's get back to some coupon basics!
Many of you are doing a great job of clipping coupons, saving coupons to your store cards, and putting aside coupons that you receive in the mail…good job!
The problem is you forget to use those wonderful coupons!
How many times have you been standing in line at Bed, Bath & Beyond and realized that your 20% off coupon is sitting in the kitchen drawer?
How about all those Cellfire coupons you downloaded to your Kroger card and forgot about?
Maybe you're good about using coupons when you make your big grocery trip, but you're not taking advantage of the savings on those quick, last minutes grocery trips.
The Budget Diet girl has put together some tips on coupon basics, so you'll never, ever forget to use a coupon again!
Organize Your Coupons – choose one of the following methods:
- Use a small accordion file and organize your coupons by expiration date.
- Use a 3-ring binder and baseball card sleeves to make a coupon binder organized by category (dairy, health & beauty, snacks, etc.)
- Skip the organizing if you use The Grocery Game, Inc.because they'll tell you exactly where to find the coupons each week when you print your grocery list. No need to file coupons away since you'll be using them that week! You'll just need to keep a small stack of your Sunday newspaper coupon inserts! This is The Budget Diet girl's favorite system because it saves both time and money.
Plan Your Meals
- Take the time once a week to check your calendar and plan your meals accordingly. Don't plan an elaborate dinner on a crazy, busy night!
- Try to plan meals using items on sale. The easy way out on this one is to use The Grocery Game, Inc. because their list only includes sale items. The Grocery Game believes in coupon matching, using a coupon when the item is on sale to maximize your savings.
- Make your list.
- Gather all the coupons you need, and please put them in your purse!
Other Coupon Tips
- Avoid lots of last minute grocery store trips! Unplanned, unorganized grocery trips = spending too much!
- Just because you have a coupon doesn't mean you have to use it! Sometimes it's still cheaper to buy the store brand. Always compare prices.
- Try to use your coupons when the item is on sale, and you'll really see your savings add up!
- What about my coupons to Bed, Bath & Beyond, Michaels or Chick-Fil-A? The Budget Diet girl suggests keeping these coupons in an envelope in your car! You'll always have them even if it means making a quick trip back to the parking lot before you check out!
Now that you've mastered coupon basics, go forth and SAVE!
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In full disclosure, this post contains affiliate links to help support The Budget Diet girl! My advice will always be unbiased and free, but free won’t pay the bills! Thanks!
