The first thing for you to do is collect coupons! The more coupons you have the more money you save. Coupons can come from Sunday paper inserts or can be printed online. Some coupons are only available through one source, so it it best to get the inserts and print coupons. I recommended that you get 1 Sunday paper inserts for every family member. I have a family of two so I have a paper delivered to my home and I try to purchase an additional paper every week. If you have friends or family members that don't use their coupons they may be willing to just give you them to you. For my first year of couponing I only used my one sets of inserts and was still able to obtain a closet full of products. Start small and your toiletry and household product collections will add up quickly.
The three main drugs stores in my area are CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid. All of them have rewards programs where you purchase certain products and get rewards back to use on your next purchases. See the 101 tabs for specifics on each store. CVS is the easiest store to start with. Their rules are the easiest and they have limits on products so if you start with just one set of inserts then you will still be able to get the maximum free products. From there continue with Rite Aid and then onto Walgreens. Walgreens still hurts my head and I understand all of their rules!!
Keep all your coupons organized. I currently am using 2 small coupon holders. You can find these at any local store. I have my first holder divided into toiletries, make up, households, medicine/vitamins, refrigerated, frozen, drinks, condiments, dry goods, pets, and misc. My second holder is divided into stores.. I cut one packet of coupons weekly and place them in order of expiration month in the appropriate slot. My extra inserts I date and keep when I need an additional coupon. I mark all my cut coupons with color coding dots and match these dots with the inserts. This way when I need an additional copy of a coupon I can check the color and easily find what insert it was from. Then I collect my weekly deal coupons and place them into the store slots of my second holder. This way I have just a small coupon holder to take into the stores with me. Many people sort their coupons in big binders, but I don't like to carry all that bulk into the store, so I have chosen a smaller holder. Organize your coupons that best way that it works for you.
Once I have my coupons sorted into the store slots, I make a list, and head to the store. CVS starts their ad Saturday evenings and the remaining stores start on Sunday. (CVS has the new ad and the old ad mixed together Saturday evening. You can save time by getting both weeks sales in 1 shopping trip! Always be willing to be flexible in the stores. A good majority of the time they do not have everything that I have on my list to purchase. Be flexible and be willing to figure out the best scenario in the store. Your first trip or two you will have to pay out of your pocket for the products. If these products have rewards then you can use the rewards to pay for products on your next shopping trip while paying very little out of pocket and hopefully getting more rewards for future trips.
Then go home with your new products. Most products will need to be put away until you need them. The idea of couponing is to stock up on necessities so that you will not have to purchase in the future at full price. It is also a great idea to purchase almost all free products. Any additional items that you have can be donated to a local food bank or shelter. You will end up with lot of toothpaste and toothbrushes. These are great items to donate. I cleared our home linen closet for our free products that we intend to use. The idea is to purchase what your family will need and not go crazy. You can do this even if it is just you in your household. It is nice to have a few extra bottles of shampoo and bodywash laying around that you didn't have to pay for!
Enjoy all of your products. Many of the products that are offered for free are new release items. It is fun to try the new items. Don't be too brand loyal or you may miss out on a good deal. If you have any questions don't hesitate to send me a comment and I will be happy to get back to you. Happy couponing!!
