I am not trying to be an extreme couponer. However, I am a mom trying to nutritiously feed my family for the best values I can find. These are some tips and tricks I have found to help out with my coupon mom adventures.
Always shop with a meal plan at least in mind. – When I do not have a meal plan in mind we will end up going out to eat at least once that week because I did not have a proper plan while shopping.
A coupon mom shops with a full stomach. – What do you want to fill your cart with? Impulse purchases because it looks good to eat right now, or what your are planning to use? Shopping on a full stomach will not only help your budget, it will help your health.
Watch the register. – You want to watch your sale items, make sure they come up the right price. Also watch your coupons and make sure they are coming off correctly.
Check your receipt. – Usually I am checking my receipt to see how much I save, but I am also making sure all my digital coupons were taken off.
Do not buy things that your family normally doesn’t like because it is a good deal. – If your family does not like skillet boxed meals and you can get 5 boxes for $2.00 that is not a great deal. It will sit in your house uneaten, wasting $2.00.
Only buy what you are going to use before the expiration dates. – My family does like skillet boxed meals from time to time. However, it would not make sense for me to buy 50 boxes. 1. I don’t have the room for that many. 2. That would be 3 years worth of boxed meals for us and it would probably expire before we got through it all.
Do not let your “good” coupons expire. – Yes, my husband does not need 3 packages of refills for his razor before the end of the month. But when he needs the third package, it will be there and I will not have to spend money on razor blades for him for 6 months. It saves us more money in the long run.
Always try to match coupons with sale items. – Using a coupon when something is not on sale you will save face value, or double depending on where you shop. If you can pair that coupon with something that is on sale you are getting that amount off the sale price. Bonus – be sure to match up store coupons with manufacture coupons.
Be sure to compare prices. – Lets say you are purchasing cereal. It is on sale at grocery store A for 2.50 per box. Grocery store A does not double coupons. It is also on sale at grocery store B for 2.75 per box. Grocery B does double coupons. Take the value of your coupons off the sale price and purchase it where you will save the most money.
Do not forget to use coupons on buy one get one items. – You can usually use 2 manufacture coupons when they are on sale buy one get one.