Using coupons, or “couponing,” can save you thousands of dollars a year. To gain the skills needed, it takes practice, patience, knowledge, and discipline.
You can even download digital store and manufacturer coupons directly to your supermarket reward card. When leaving for a shopping trip, always make sure you have your reward card as well as any coupons you might need.
File your coupons in an organized way, by category, store and expiration date. You can use a sorting file made for this purpose to sort by category (or store) and place the coupons that expire soonest in the front of that category.
Don't have the time to spend filing your coupons? Take a folder and simply store all the coupons you receive (and are likely to use) over an 8-week period.
On week 9, get rid of week 1 coupons and continue this way so you always have the most recent coupons available. When creating your grocery list, go through all your coupons to see what matches your list and bring them with you.
Don't rush to use every coupon, but wait until a sale can be coordinated with it. Store and manufacturer coupons can be combined or “stacked” to maximize your savings.