Method to My (Couponing) Madness

Hello Friends!

There is a method that I follow when I begin collecting coupons for my upcoming shopping trip. This method will help you create your shopping list and get your coupons in order, as well as locate additional coupons.

1. First, get together a list of items that you will need. I organize my shopping list by aisles. (Can you tell I was a librarian yet?)


2. Go through your coupons to see what coupons you have. I note my coupons on my grocery list, which saves me from having to sort through them while shopping (When shopping with toddlers, time is of the essence!).
   
   Here's an example of what a portion of my grocery list would look like:
   
   Health & Beauty: Aisle 2
   
   
   • Old Spice APDO or Body Wash (-$.50/1)(2)
   • Schick Xtreme3 8ct Disposable Razors (-$5.00/1)(1)
   • Rice Milk (-$1.00/2)(8)
   
   After the item, in the first parentheses, I put the value of the coupon; in the second parentheses, I put how many of those coupons I have or the number of items needed.
   
   Categories on my list include: Health & Beauty, Laundry, Baby, Misc Home, Pets, Paper/Wraps, Sodas, Snacks, Cereal, Juices, Ethnic, Soups/Canned, Spices/Condiments, Frozen/Refrigerated. These--and their order--will vary, depending on where you shop.


3. Next, I begin looking for coupons for other items on my list.
   
   
   • I always start with the sales brochure and Website for the store, to see what deals are listed and see if any store coupons are available. I will sometimes note these deals on my list, especially when I am going to Rite Aid and will be buying items that will earn me +UP Rewards. Then, I can see exactly how much I will be spending and how much I will be earning.
   • If I am going to Target, Rite Aid or CVS, I will sometimes begin by checking some of my favorite coupon blogs (which you will also find on the right, listed as "Coupons - Blogs") to see which deals they have already located.
   • Next, I search through the general coupon sites (which you will find on the right, listed as "Coupons - General")to see which coupons are available.
   • Then, I check the manufacturer's sites to see if any coupons/promotions are listed at those.
   • Here's where my skills as a librarin really help out... Lastly, I do a Google search, just to see if I may have missed anything. I do this by performing an Advanced Search (located to the right of the basic search box. In the Adanced Search, I change the Date, limiting it to "past year." (You will have to click on the link for " + Date, usage rights, numeric range, and more" to make this change.)

Hope this helps you get started and helps you save more. I will post other tips later.

Enjoy!
-Sus.