Coupon clipping is soooo in. But if you've never done it, the whole process is kind of mysterious. How does one become a coupon diva? Watch our video savings experiment, then follow the simple five steps I outline and you'll be saving a bunch in no time.1. Clip ALL the coupons in your Sunday newspaper and sort by category. I use these categories:
- Baby and toys
- Cleaning products
- Diet and miscellaneous
- Food -less processed items like bread, dairy, cereal, baking ingredients, juice, etc.
- Food -more processed items like freezer items, canned goods, meal prep, etc.
- Make up
- Medicine
- Paper and water products
- Pet stuff
- Target coupons
- Toiletries in general
- Toiletries for the mouth - laugh now, but wait till you see how many coupons there are for toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash
- Vitamins and gum
Tip: I recommend clipping everything because you never know what's going to go on sale. If something you don't use ends up being free, you can give it to a friend or charity! Feeding America will help you find a food bank near you.
2. Browse the store circulars and look for sale items that you have coupons for. Circle all the items you'd like to buy.
3. Match the coupons you have with the sale items for the best deal. If you don't have a coupon in your stash, no worries. There are more coupons available online! Two great places to start looking for online coupons are HotCouponWorld.com and AFullCup.com. Registration is free and you can print coupons from home.
4. Check your list of "matches" to ones other people have found and shared online to make sure you didn't miss any. Mercedes at CommonSenseWithMoney.com does a great job finding matches at Walgreens and CVS. I also like Hip2Save.com, which has matches for Rite Aid and Target.5. Bring your coupons into the store and shop for less!
