Extreme Couponing-How to Do it and Do it Right!

The Art of Couponing is purely simple. It is the art of matching coupons with stores sales, rebates, and other promotional offers to get the lowest possible price and to stock up on much needed supplies. You can literally find coupons EVERYWHERE; you just got to know WHERE to LOOK.
A GREAT place to start is your local Sunday NEWSPAPER! You know, those loose inserts that try to fall out when you pick up the newspaper on your doorstep if the rubberband is not over it? Alot of advertisers and companies want to gear you up no matter WHAT time of the year it is to tell you all about the deals that they will have starting on Monday morning and ending on Sunday night. There are alot of coupons to clip from the Sunday newspaper.
ANOTHER great place to find coupons is MY favorite-the INTERNET! There is a vast array of coupons from companies online and offline that can give you an AWESOME savings! For example: Last week, I was needing a new pair of shoes so I went on the Internet and found a printable coupon from a local shoe store and received $5.00 off for a pair of brand-name shoes. I printed the coupon and headed out on my journey only to find even MORE good news! Not only did I receive a pair of brand-name shoes for $5.00 off, but I also got those same shoes for 50% off store sale price. For a $20 pair of shoes, I ONLY paid $3.49 cents! Now, THAT'S extreme couponing at its BEST! And I really LOVE my shoes! I am going to share with you some great online places you can print some really good coupons:

Needing some info on where to find some great coupons online? Here are some of my FAVORITE printable coupon websites:
1.REDPLUM-(www.redplum.com)
2.SMART SOURCE-(coupons2.smartsource.com)
3.COUPONS.COM-(www.coupons.com)
4.COOL SAVINGS-(www.coolsavings.com)

ANOTHER way to find coupons is to receive coupon mailers from unsolicited companies or from a manufacturer with whom you have signed up in the mail or online. I like to surf a lot of FREEBIE sites for FREE SAMPLES and a lot of times when I receive a FREE SAMPLE of something, I will ALSO get coupons in the mail along with it.

To get started, FIRST pick one or two stores and learn as MUCH as you can about the stores and what they offer. If they have a store's savings card program, JOIN IT! My oldest two sons work for Kmart and you will not BELIEVE the vast majority of people who REFUSE to sign up for the Kmart Rewards Savings Card. It's FREE and it only takes a couple of seconds to fill out. What I do is buy various things I need there throughout the year, and my Kmart Rewards Savings Card builds up REWARD POINTS. Those reward points turn into CASH BACK. I use these points at the end of the year to buy Christmas for my family. YES, I said CHRISTMAS PRESENTS! You will not believe how many items I had in my cart and got for FREE because of my Rewards Points. Just a thought there. ;) Next, access the store's weekly ad circular online or in-store. It NEVER hurts to find out where the good deals are. Did you know you can find out about the store's rain-check policy and senior or military discount program, if applicable to your situation? Some stores HAVE those DISCOUNTS!
You can get a copy of the store layout from customer service or make your own aisle-by-aisle map of the store - very helpful and a huge time-saver when you are organizing your coupons and making your shopping list. It always helps to know the store's coupon policy, if available, and keep a copy with you.
NOW, I am going to show you what QUESTIONS to ask customer service or the store manager based on COUPON POLICY.

Does the store double coupons? If the answer is yes, what value will the store double up to? The total value of it - or only to a certain amount? Everyday - or on what specific days? Caution: If you have a coupon worth $1 but the store only doubles up to $.99, then the $1 coupon will not double. So you're better off with a coupon worth $.75 since it will double to $1.50.
Is there a limit to how many of the same coupons can be doubled (in other words, if you have a stash of identical coupons, will the store let you double coupon on all the matching items)? If not, how many like coupons will double in a transaction?
Does the store ever offer any promotions for triple coupons? On what specific days? Does the store take competitor coupons? Expired coupons? Will the store price match (in other words, match the advertised price of an identical item from other stores in the area)? Are store coupons available? If so, can a store coupon be combined with a manufacturer coupon? Does the store allow for overage? Overage occurs when the value of your coupon exceeds the cost of the item you're buying. The amount of overage is then applied to your other purchases.
When the store has a Buy One, Get One Free sale, is each item half-off? If the answer is YES, then you only have to buy one item to get the 50% off price. Will the store accept two manufacturer coupons - one for each item - on a Buy One, Get One Free sale? Will the store accept a Buy One, Get One Free coupon on a Buy One, Get One Free sale? If the answer is YES, you end up with two items for free!
These are some questions you can ask and get answered so more savings go your way.

Here are a few great tips that you will need to know before you head out to the store.
1. Collect and Organize your Coupons for Easy Access at the Store. You want to make sure you have those specific coupons handy for whatever store you are going to. If I were you, I would go to your local dollar store and buy a inexpensive coupon organizer. It is very handy and gives you easy access to the savings.
2. Be aware of the terms and conditions on your coupons. Coupons have varying terms which state what items qualify for the discount, what size(s) you need to purchase, and the date the coupon expires. Some coupons say "Do not double," but most will double automatically at the register if the store doubles coupons.
3. Get a copy of the store's weekly ad circular, or view it online, so you can match sale products with coupons - doubling or tripling coupon value if allowed by store.
4, Make a shopping list in order of the store's aisles so that you can easily navigate through the store.
5. Decide on a grocery budget and bring CASH - NOT a credit card or check - AND a calculator to the store. With cash ONLY, there is NO temptation to put extra items into the cart. Use the calculator to check deal scenarios and to track the total of your items.
6. Plan to purchase ONLY what is on your list unless you find a freebie.
7. Plan to look for unadvertised sales and clearance items. If you have a coupon for an already heavily discounted item, the cost can be free or very little.
8. Don't be brand loyal.%u2026 Try new products and be open to purchasing products you wouldn't normally use.
9. Consider buying products, which you don't need, to get products you do need. To understand this backwards-sounding rule: Let's say Walgreens has a promotion in which you earn a $5 Register Reward on your next purchase if you buy 10 Gillette shaving products. The least expensive Gillette product is shaving gel at $2 which you can buy for free by stacking a Walgreens $1/1 coupon with a Gillette manufacturer $1/1 coupon. With 10 Walgreens coupons and 10 Gillette coupons, you get 10 shaving gels for free plus a $5 Register Reward to use like cash on your next purchase! So you end up getting products for free and making $5.
10. Understand how coupon overage works: Overage can play a big role in reducing your grocery bill.
In closing, make couponing work for YOU! If you have children, make coupon clipping a fun activity. Or clip coupons while you are watching your favorite TV show! You will NEVER know how much money you will SAVE unless you give extreme couponing a try! Feel free to sign my guestbook and give me your ideas! Happy Couponing! :)