Couponing For Mere Mortals: Learning to Clip The Old Fashion Way

Well, by now you have mastered loading your grocery rewards card with digital coupons and signed up for your post purchase rewards programs with your favorite manufacturers. Right? If not, no worries. Here are the links to get you started.

Couponing For Mere Mortals: Saving Money With The Swipe Of Your Card

Couponing For Mere Mortals: Getting The Most Of Your Healthy Food Purchases

Moving on to the next step in couponing takes a bit more organization. With digital couponing the card does all the work for you, with paper couponing, its up to you.  Why use paper coupons when I can use digital?  Of course if we can reduce using paper its a plus, but there is still a need to clip. The biggest benefit is you can double them or triple them during rare promotions. Most grocery chains push for digital coupons because they do not double them. You are limited to how many digital coupons you can load also, usually 150. That seems like alot but overtime you can come pretty close to that number. There is still a bonus for using digital coupons too so, don't abandon ship. Grocery chains will often offer coupons for their in-house brands on their digital site, these are not available in printed form. Also, from time to time, they will track what you purchase and send you special offers to load on your card. For instance, last month Kroger offered a customer appreciation promotion and sent me 10 digital coupons, including several free items, like bread and even big discounts on natural products that are not typically offered. If you already have a routine in place with your digital coupon card, that is great because we are going to build on that process.

Get a coupon organizer. Now I've seen the extreme side of this with large three ring binders, you don't have to go there...yet. Unless that works best for you. I prefer a medium size accordion case that I can keep with me in my purse, in the event I need to make an unexpected purchase. I saw some similar ones in the dollar section at Target this weekend for $2.00.

File in a way that makes sense to you. The initial set up takes an investment in time but it will become second nature. The simplest way is to break down your pockets into general categories like, dairy, dry goods, baking needs, etc. Think of it as the sections of the store. Some couponers like to set up their pockets in order of the store layout beginning with the first section they enter. There is no right or wrong. Everyone's shopping needs are different. If you have small children you may prefer one pocket entirely for diapers and food. Play with it a bit to see what clicks. It has to make sense to you or you won't stick with it.

Follow a clipping routine. Carving out a set time each week to plan your shopping trip may seem inconvenient, but in the long run it will save you time and obviously, money. I have a time every Sunday that I get my coffee and get my list ready for the week. Its a good feeling to start the week of with a plan and adds to my overall productivity throughout the week. This is the order that I have found to work best.

1. Update your coupon file. Clear out any expired coupons before you begin clipping for the new week.

2. Make your list of needs for the week. Hopefully you are using your pre-printed cheat sheets to cut your time by checking off what you need and noting any additional items. Doing your list first, helps you stay away from impulse buys and gets you prepared to tackle the weekly sale circulars.

3. Start clipping with the weekly inserts. 

4. Load your digital coupons to your store rewards card. This is were it changes slightly. You will see some of the same coupons on your store site that you just clipped from the paper. Remember, you cannot double your digital coupon. So, if you have a clipped coupon and load the same to your store card, it will take the store coupon first and not double. There is a catch. They only double up to a .50 off. Therefore, if you have coupons that are over .50 for products that you use, load those to your card even if you have the clipped coupon. Also, load any additional coupons regardless of value for items that do not have a paper coupon.

5. File any new coupons into your organizer.

6. Finally, using your list of needs, review your weekly advertisement and coordinate that with any available coupons. You can make a note next to any items you have a coupon for digital or paper. Pull the corresponding coupons and put them in a front pocket of your organizer or a separate envelope. This helps because sometimes when you get into the store you may need to reference the coupon for things like size or quantity to make sure you meet the coupon requirements.

7. When you check out give the cashier your reward card first. Then hand them any additional coupons to take off the total. That way as they are ringing you can eyeball the monitor to make sure you items are reduced properly.

Now, there are even more advanced ways to do this process using apps and third party websites. I think its easiest to start this way, it really helps you learn how to incorporate couponing into your weekly routine. I'll be back soon to talk about some of those hi-tech savings helpers. Happy Clipping! Ta!