Couponing is more than just buying a newspaper Sunday, heading to the store later in the week and buying items that look good, and then wondering if you have a coupon to use to save.
There are a few key steps to take to describe couponing as extreme. First, it’s not about getting a room full of things; it’s the extreme savings you get when you coupon the right way.
Extreme couponing was the beginning of us making a dent in our consumer debt. Applying the following tips helped my family reach financial goals I didn’t think were possible. We ended up paying off all our debt and paid our farmhouse off in FOUR years.
You can watch a quick TikTok below on that or head here to read about our mortgage.
If you think that coupons are only for boxed foods, that is partially true. There are plenty of free coupons to print for boxed food, BUT there are more coupons for natural and organic products than ever.
Organic coupons and digital coupons for fruit and veggies have come a long way. However, don’t close the door to couponing because of what you have heard or just skimmed through a few coupons.
If you keep looking, you will find exactly what you need.
FOR A MORE IN-DEPTH STEP-BY-STEP COUPONING GUIDE TAP HERE
Only Buy Things on Sale or Clearance
If you want to start extreme couponing, you need to be extreme in purchasing. Only buy things that are on sale or clearance. This will make it easier to start couponing because your mindset has changed only to find a sale price.
The key to really cutting back your grocery bill is a combination of three things.
- Plan your meals using what you have FIRST.
- Then fill in with items you need that are ON SALE ONLY.
- Use coupons/apps to get freebies or cheap items to stock up on.
Learn to Maximize a Coupons Value
You MUST pair it with a sale to maximize a coupon’s value. That right there is extreme couponing defined. It is pairing a coupon with a sale price. Now that you are only looking for sale items, it’s easier to start stacking coupons with lower prices.
Stores That Double Coupons
When I first started extreme couponing Tops Markets was my go-to spot. It’s still my favorite store to coupon at. There are many other grocery stores that double coupons up to a 99¢ every day.
Wegmans is another popular one here in New York. When you see an item on sale for $2.50, and you have a $0.50/1 coupon to use, you may think it’s not worth saving 50¢, but when you get that coupon doubled to $1, your mindset shifts.
When you pay $1.50 for a box of cereal and stock up and grab, let’s say, four boxes, your out of pocket cost is $6 if you decide to buy four boxes of cereal one every week for the total price of $4, you will pay $16.
That’s a 62% savings when you stack a coupon with a sale price. Imagine if you had that amount of savings on EVERY item you bought?
Your grocery bill would shrink drastically. That’s precisely what happened to us when I started couponing this way. We shrunk our grocery bill so much that we had extra money to pay off student loans, credit card bills, and more. You can read our debt-free story here.
Only buy a 3-6 month supply
The key to being a successful extreme couponer is to buy what you need. Don’t get caught up in showcasing a stockroom full of goods that you got for free. Of course, you can buy a few extras to donate, but many times in our culture, it leads to more stress when we accumulate stuff.
Stick to what your family will use in a 3-6 month term. Then, you can get extreme coupons without having a room full of extras.
Only Buy What You Need
If your family hates that free cereal, it doesn’t matter that it was free. Your family will still waste it. So now you are left with using more of your precious time to get rid of it.
You may find yourself searching Pinterest for a recipe to use it up, which leads to your mind racing about the other 20 things you want to try, thanks to Pinterest, and you’re left with five boxes of food no one wants.
Of course, you can donate it, which is beautiful if you have the time to get extra items. When I first started couponing, I had a two-year-old and an almost-one-year-old. My brain was a mess. Sometimes just figuring out the additional coupons to use to get a free item that we wouldn’t use added stress I didn’t need.
Read or Pin: How to live off your pantry.
That’s not to say down the road, as those beautiful children grow and your time loosens a bit, you will be able to coupon for free items and easily donate.
It’s okay to know that you can’t do something during certain seasons of life, significantly when raising small children. We often get caught up in thinking we have to do it all, but the most important thing we can do is take care of ourselves and our children. Some days that’s hard enough as it is.
Prepare Your Own Meals & Meal Plan With Sale Items
I love extreme couponing because you can get personal care items for cheap and many pantry staples. Thus, allowing you a little more room to splurge on expensive budget breakers like meat and fruit.
Couponing is all about planning and staying on top of deals. Thankfully, sites like ours and many others watching sales and knowing what new coupons come out are more accessible than ever.
Coupon matchup lists are your lifeline to extreme couponing. However, to maximize your savings with coupons, you need to plan your meals. It’s easier to do this when stocking up on pantry staples. That way, you are going through your inventory and saving money by eating dinner at home.
Use an App to Find Best Grocery Sales
When making your grocery list, you can use the Flipp app to conveniently look at every weekly store ad to compare or find the best prices. You can even make a list by tapping the items.
You can also use the app Flashfood to find marked-down grocery items at your local store. In Western NY, Tops markets are a good one for this.
Here’s a video on that.
Master the Free Samples To Build Up Your Coupons
I went crazy for all things free when I first started couponing. All those free samples you see online grabbed them all. I loved that it had a high-value coupon anytime I received a sample in the mail.
Those rare coupons make for amazing deals when paired with a sale. But, of course, you want to build up your coupons to don’t have the frantic stress of chasing every deal.
Once you have a coupon stash, it’s easier not to feel rushed to get all the latest deals. The same feeling comes once you have a pantry stocked with goods to make your meals.
That ease of mind is worth gold at times. So, in the beginning, you can grab a couple of extra coupon inserts when you know there are coupons for items you need.
It doesn’t take long to scan the upcoming coupon inserts to get an idea of the paper that weekend is worth your time and money.
Download Cash Back Apps
When it comes to couponing, you will want to download the popular cashback apps. You may not necessarily use these right away, but it’s good to be familiar with them.
Just like following one couponer, start with one cashback app.
The easiest one I find to start with is Ibotta– you will need to scan your receipt or connect your store loyalty cards to the app. I upload my receipt because I have control issues sometimes when it comes to getting my money back!
Ibotta works at many retailers, and you pick your store and look through the offers they have. They’ve done some major freebie hauls- like the Free Thanksgiving Dinner and the latest Free Snack Haul for the Superbowl.
If you are downloading Ibotta for the first time, going through my link will get you $10 to start with when you redeem your first offer.
Only Buy What You Can Afford
Be careful when you start couponing that you don’t end up buying things you can’t afford. Even if it is a rock bottom price, if you can’t pay for it, you can’t buy it. This is one of the number of reasons people fail at their budgets.
Remember that may not always be the case if you continue to be smart with your money. Maybe in two months or a year, you will be able to buy that item without a sale price because of the hard work you put in.
The worst thing to do when you start extreme couponing and saving money is to buy the stuff you don’t need. Instead, make a goal with where that extra income will go.
A budget is needed and the smart way to manage your money. Once you give every dollar a name, you’re on your way to financial freedom. Avoid temptations to indulge in things you can’t afford, even if you have some wiggle room in the budget.
Paying off all debt is the best thing to do with that money.
Stay Organized
Learning different store’s coupon policies can be overwhelming. So try to stay organized for the coupons you need at each store. Coupon Matchup lists allow you to add items from any stores we provide and print them out or save them to your phone.
That way, each list tells you what coupon to use and how many. You will have a neatly compiled list of all the stores you want to coupon at.
Keeping your coupons organized is helpful as well. When you start bringing home inserts, you could file away whole. I always write the date the coupon inserts came out on the front of the booklet and place them in a file cabinet. Then, I cut each coupon out as I need it.
I take advantage of all the digital coupons I can. BJ’s now offers digital coupons, Tops Markets, and I love Target Circle. It is a great idea to head directly to every store’s website to see if they have the exclusive load to card coupons. Many these days do. If you have a Kroger- they are one of the best grocery stores to coupon at.
Follow ONE Couponer
The fantastic thing about technology today is all the FREE information. The downside? It can be very overwhelming when it comes to learning something new.
My favorite social media app is Tiktok- and when I’m logged into my BJs deal Tiktok account, it’s filled with all couponers. So if you like the video, I suggest heading over to Tiktok or Youtube to follow ONE couponer there.
The key is to pick one that you like the way they present the deals or write them up, the ones that you feel confident to go and do right away- that’s the couponer you want to follow.
Then only follow these coupon deals for a week or two. I suggest two weeks because there may be a week that doesn’t have any great bargains.
When you stick with one couponer, you’ll learn and build confidence to start following others or coming up with deals all on your own.
My favorite Tiktok Couponers are:
@savewithnayla
@torok.coupon.hunter
@couponswithalysia
If you love BJ’s deals, of course, I would love to have you follow my BJs Deals Tiktok page too!
@mywholesalelife
Be Patient
Don’t start big. Instead, start with one store at a time. Master that store’s coupon policy, how often they release store coupons, and if they have any special promotions running.
For example, BJ’s members have gas promotions. When you buy certain items, you get x amount of money off a gallon of gas. Tops Markets does gas promotions as well.
After mastering one store, you can slowly add other stores to your list. Every store’s coupon policy will vary. You can easily get overwhelmed when you get a new cashier who isn’t quite sure of the coupon policy and challenges you.
It helps to be confident in the store’s coupon policy states and stand up for your couponing ways. Unfortunately, today many consumers take advantage of couponing and policies, which leads to many retailers cracking down on coupons.
Don’t let that discourage you. Ethical couponing is the only way to go.
FOR A MORE IN-DEPTH STEP-BY-STEP COUPONING GUIDE TAP HERE
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