Couponing has become very popular in today’s struggling economy. Everyone is looking for different ways to save money, especially at the grocery store. It is easy to walk into the grocery store and come out having spent much more money than you had planned, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can save money at every grocery visit by using coupons. Those who don’t use coupons tend to argue that it is too time consuming and complicated, but it can actually be quite simple once you get started.
There are different types of coupons. You can get manufacturer coupons, store coupons, printed coupons online, e-coupons and online coupon codes. Manufacturer coupons can be printed online or you can clip them from newspaper inserts or magazines. Store coupons are usually given to you either at the store or in a circular for the store. Electronic coupons are uploaded to your rewards card to be used later in the store. Online coupon codes are used for online shopping.
Some stores will double your coupons up to a certain value, so if you have a coupon for 25 cents off, the store may match that making your total discount 50 cents. You can also combine manufacturer coupons with store coupons. If the manufacturer sends you a 25 cent coupon, the store doubles it to 50 cents, and you have a coupon from the store for $1 off your next purchase, then you end up getting your item for $1.50 off the original price. If your item only costs $1.50 to begin with, then you are getting it for free.
There are websites available to find what are called match-ups. These websites have taken the store’s weekly sale products and matched them up with the relevant coupons. So if a store had popcorn on sale for $1.50 off the regular price and you have a 50 cent coupon that the store will double to $1, then you can get your popcorn for 50 cents. All this information is on these match-up websites. You can print off a list of products that have been matched up and take it to the store with you, along with your coupons, and you will be able to save a lot of money.
Couponing does not have to be complicated or time consuming. When you clip out your coupons, order them by product type and keep them somewhere. Many people recommend using a binder with baseball card protector inserts to keep coupons safe and easy to find. It is not uncommon to see someone walking around the grocery store with her binder spread out across the cart so she can match up her coupons as she shops. So why not join her and be on your way to saving big chunks of money?