Tips on Couponing
The approach to couponing is a personal one that depends on:
1) The amount of time you choose to spend on finding, organizing, and using coupons
2) The types of products you generally buy
3) Whether you shop more on the “outside” of the store vs. the “inside” of the store
Amount of Time Spent on Couponing
The more time that can be spent on finding, organizing, and using coupons, the more money that can be potentially saved.
But the return on your investment of time spent on couponing may depend on:
- Whether you have the space to store excess groceries purchased with coupons
- If the groceries purchased with coupons can be consumed before the pull-dates, or “best before-dates” expire
- If there are coupons on the types of products you buy (see below for more details)
- If you shop the outside vs. the inside of the store (see below for more details)
- How much spare time you have to devote to couponing
The good news is that it’s up to you.
You can spend the time on couponing that best suits your needs given your time constraints.
Types of Products That You Buy
The more brands of product you’re willing to buy, the more potential you’ll have to save money using coupons.
This is because you’re not limiting yourself to coupons for specific brands only.
But if you’re brand loyal, you still have great potential for saving money on coupons by stocking up when the items are on sale and using coupons even if the coupon requires that multiple products be purchased at one time.
Whether You Shop the “Inside” Aisles or “Outside” Aisles of the Store
The inside aisles of the store are generally where you’ll find more of the processed, packaged, and canned items.
The outside aisles (aisles in the perimeter of the store) are generally where the fresh and perishable items tend to be, such as the produce, bakery, meat, deli, and dairy departments.
Although there may be coupons available for items on the “outside” aisles of the store, they may not be as common as coupons from the “inside” aisles of the store (with the exception of dairy items where coupons seem to be offered regularly for items such as yogurts, cheese, sour cream, and deli meats).
Generally, there tend to be more coupons for items located on the “inside” aisles of the store.
When shopping for the perishable items (“outside” aisles) keep an eye out for those that are on sale.
And if on sale, an option is to consider buying extra for recipes that can be prepared ahead of time and frozen, or items that can be put directly into the freezer such as meats and certain fruits for smoothies.
Saving money on groceries can be fun!
More on Couponing:
Types of Coupons
Where to Find Coupons
How to Organize Paper Coupons
Tips When Using Coupons
Check out the Most Popular Recipes on Coupon Clipping Cook Each Year.
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