You have probably heard of “extreme couponing”. Maybe you saw the TV Show. Maybe this is why you don’t get into couponing. You don’t think you can save much money and the effort is not worth it unless you go “all the way”.
This is simply not true. I like to refer to myself as a “Selective Extreme Couponer”. Here’s how you can save big, without going all out if you don’t have time.
How to Save Big Without Going to the Extreme with Couponing
Extreme couponing takes a lot of time. A LOT OF TIME!!! While it is true you can save big with it, and build a pretty nice stockpile, it can almost be a full time job gathering coupons, sorting them, following sales and matching ads. Not to mention the time you spend going from store to store to make your purchases.
You can instead choose to be a selective extreme couponer and find that you will save a lot of time and money, just the same. Here are some tips for doing just that.
Decide what is really important for you to save on. What does your family use most often and what are you always running out of? For my family it is razors, paper towels, laundry soap, deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste and body lotion. As far as food goes, I stock pastas, canned soups, boxed sides like rice mixes and meat.
Keep your focus on only these items. Learn when they cycle through for sales. All of these items in my list have specific times of the year that they go on sale. For instance, razors are usually cheapest this time of year or in December.
Make a small space for your stockpile. It can be as simple as a couple shelves in your pantry. Just because you are not needing an entirely new room or whole basement for your coupon items, doesn’t mean you don’t need a space for them, even if it’s small.
Commit to a price you are willing to pay for each item and buy a year’s worth at a time so you know you have enough until the item cycles through on sale again. Last week, I bought 10 packs of razors for my husband for less than $2 each. These are usually $8-$10, so my savings was around 80%. I personally do not buy unless it is around 75% off or more.
Keep apps on your phone that help with couponing, such as Favado, and let you know of deals. Also, watch ads at least once a week. You can find all the latest stores deals and matchups here.
Get a stockpile of the coupons you will most use going on. Ignore the rest unless it is a really good deal and something you will definitely use and have room for in your stockpile area. You can check out the latest stockpile deals that we have in the stock up section of the blog! Seriously, IGNORE deals that do not work for you and your family and you will NEVER use. You are actually wasting money when you “run” after those deals. Yes, they are great deals.
Every deal is NOT for you!
Join groups on Facebook or forum boards online that discuss couponing so you can find hot deals in your area for the specific items you are hunting down. You can join our facebook- found here!
There is really no need to go all out with couponing to save a lot of money. The trick is to buy with purpose and time things right. I have gotten many free items just by hopping on the deal when it was available and it didn’t take too much of my time.
You can find more couponing/savings tips below:
How to Coupon Without Becoming Overwhelmed
How To Get Back Into Couponing (When You Stopped For a While)
Savings Tip: 25 Coupons To Receive Via Text!
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