Coupons help families save money.
Many find the process of couponing, the use of coupons to purchase items at a discount, intimidating. Those who are successful at it dedicate time to research and prepare for each shopping trip, from collecting coupons to finding the best deals. The result of that effort is a stockpile of often-used items that last their family months for a percentage of the original cost. A stockpile is typically a collection of numerous items from a variety of stores. With some basic knowledge of couponing, anyone can learn stockpile common items.
Instructions
1. Collect coupons through a variety of sources. Coupons can be found in numerous places including the Sunday newspaper, online through coupon blogs and manufacturer's websites, mailers, in the grocery store itself, and in doctors offices. Ask your neighbors and friends to give you their coupon inserts to grow your collection as well.
2. Find out the coupon policies of each grocery store in your area. Focus on the stores closest to your home to minimize driving and wasting gas. Typically, stores that double or triple coupons have the best deals when using coupons. A store that doubles a coupon gives the customer twice the face value of the coupon when used. A triple coupon is three times the face value. Pick your most desirable store based upon its coupon policy.
3. Search through your local grocery store ads, focusing on the store or stores with the best coupon policy. Typically, they come out in the local newspaper Tuesday or Wednesday or can be found online on the grocery store's website. Try to focus your research on the night the ad is released and go to the stores the first day of the sale to have the best chance at fully stocked shelves. If you can't find the item on the shelf, request a rain check, which allows you to buy the item at the sale price once the shelf is restocked.
4. Search the ad for sale items for which you have a coupon that matches. This is the method that most major coupon users utilize to reap the most rewards. They do not use a coupon on a full-price item, they use the coupon on the item when it is on sale - preferably for its lowest price.
5. Purchase the items at their lowest sales price to begin your stockpile. In most cases, items go on sale every six to 10 weeks, depending on the grocery store sale cycle. To limit the size of your stockpile, you don't need to purchase more of one item than will last your family that time period. It is important to note, though, that a stockpile is built by purchasing multiple items of a specific product at the lowest price, so buying one of a product will not start a stockpile.
Tags: grocery store, best deals, coupon policy, face value, have best
