|  Getting
Started
If
you have not yet taken a Super-Couponing®
workshop, it's the best way to learn how to cut your grocery
bill dramatically with coupons! In
just one hour, I'll teach you exactly how to match
coupons to sales, know what coupons to use, and only cut
the coupons you need.
View
my live workshop schedule, or
purchase the workshop
on DVD for $20 and learn
at home, at your own pace!
Order
your Super-Couponing®
DVD now!
Now,
you're ready to get started!
With
my Super-Couponing®
system,
you're only going to cut the coupons you need for this week's
shopping trip, and the rest stay in the newspaper insert
that they came in. This "clipless" system is designed
to do just that... you will clip less!
Note:
Keep in mind that I blog daily at www.jillcataldo.com
too, offering news, articles and tips, posting "Deals
of the Week" writeups of everything free and cheap
with coupons, and answering questions from readers. Join
me on my blog and learn more great ways to save!
Jump
to:
Organizing:
When
your coupon inserts arrive in your weekly newspaper, keep
all of them. Write the date on the front of each one large
enough that you can read it.
Then,
keep the inserts in an expandable accordion file. Use one
pocket for each month, putting all of the inserts from the
current month in the front pocket, the previous month's
behind that, and so on.
An
alternate method: Using a split accordion file
Another
method for organizing coupons is with a split accordion
file. These files have the same large, letter-sized pockets
as a standard accordion file, but they also have a smaller
set of shallow accordion files attached at the bottom:
These
smaller pockets are perfect for organizing all of the other
loose coupons that we get -- Catalinas that print at the
register, loose "blinkie" coupons we find in coupon
dispensers in the store, coupons we may receive in the mail,
and coupons that we find inside products we've already purchased.
This
split accordion file has six smaller pockets in front which
are labeled:
Catalinas
Cleaning
Grocery
Health & Beauty
Frozen
Pet/Baby
You
can label your pockets to organize your loose coupons however
you'd like! You may choose to label your pockets with other
categories like Organic, Dairy, or whatever suits your needs.
Now, as I'm planning my shopping trips, it's easy to quickly
flip through the loose coupons as well and see if any of
them line up to this week's sales too.
An
alternate method for multiple inserts: A file crate
If
you're crazy for coupons and enjoy getting multiple newspapers
and inserts each week, you may find that your library of
coupons will eventually exceed the capacity of an accordion
file. Using hanging file folders and a file crate or box
is another low-cost option for organizing many inserts.
File
crates or boxes have parallel rails on each side to support
hanging file folders. Use one folder for each month, keeping
each month's inserts together -- and you'll have plenty
of room for storing multiple copies of inserts each week.
At
the store:
Because
we're not taking a large amount of coupons to the store
each time, it's not necessary to use anything special to
carry coupons in! Many people simply carry them in an envelope
or sandwich bag. A small coupon wallet is another great
way to carry coupons:
This
coupon wallet has pockets labeled with the names of stores
frequented, as well as a pocket to hold all coupons for
FREE items. It also contains a small front pocket to hold
shoppers' discount cards for various stores, and a large
front pocket to hold the coupons that will be taken to the
register. As you go through the store and add an item to
the shopping cart, it's easy to remove the corresponding
coupon from that store's pocket and place it in the front
pocket of the wallet.
Then,
when you arrive at the register, you can simply take the
stack of coupons from the front pocket, along with your
shopper's card, and hand it to the cashier. This is a much
easier, less labor-intensive method than most people have
traditionally used to organize coupons. The "old"
way? Cutting and organizing every single coupon received
in the newspaper each week, and carrying all of them to
the store for every shopping trip in a large binder. With
this method, we only cut the coupons we need for this trip,
and each shopping trip can be planned in about a half-hour
to an hour.
Grocery
List Matchup Sites and Coupon Lookup
 Now,
as you plan your weekly shopping trip, let one of
many popular coupon sites help you by matching
these coupons to the sales at your store:
Easiest
sites for beginners:
- Savings
Angel -
even assigns you an "angel" who you can speak
with on the phone to help you get started to make sure
you understand exactly how to use a matchup list!
- Coupon
Mom
- Grocery
Game
Additional
matchup sites:
These sites give you lists each week that match current
coupons to your area stores' sales. Use a free Coupon
Lookup if you need to look up a specific coupon
by typing a brand, like "Pillsbury," or a product
type, like "dog food."
 All
of these sites refer to your inserts by an abbreviation
that indicates the date and name of the insert. So, if the
coupon you need is in the March 1st Procter & Gamble
insert, the site will say "3/1 PG."
Insert
Abbreviations:
| PG
|
=
Procter & Gamble |
| SS |
=
SmartSource |
| RP |
= RedPlum |
| KL |
=
Kellogg's |
| GM
|
=
General Mills |
| U |
=
Unilever |
Again,
you'll only cut the coupons you need for this week's trip,
so there's no need to carry all of your coupons to the store
with you. Everything else stays in the insert, and the inserts
stay organized in your file, ready for when you plan next
week's trip!
Printable
and electronic coupons
Printable
coupons: My favorite sites are...
All
of these sites are free to use and none require registration!
Remember, most printable coupons have a print limit of two,
so always go back and try to print again until you receive
the message that your print limit has been reached.
Electronic
coupons:
In
addition to the wonderful coupons we find in our newspaper
inserts and online, many stores are also offering electronic
coupons as well! These coupons can be loaded onto your shopper's
card for your store, and you automatically receive the savings
at checkout.
Cellfire.com
is a site that contains electronic coupons that you can
load to your store card just by visiting the website and
choosing the coupons that you want. You can even load them
to your card via your cell phone.
The
following stores currently participate in CellFire:
- Baker’s
- City
Market
- Dillons
- Dominick's
- Fry's
- Gerbes
- Hilander
- JayC
-
King Soopers
- Kroger
- Owen’s
- Payless
- QFC
- Ralphs
- Randall’s
- Safeway
- Scott’s
- ShopRite
- Smith's
- Tom
Thumb
PGeSaver.com
also offers electronic coupons, and they function in the
same way. Load them to your card and start shopping!
The
following stores currently participate in PGeSaver:
- Carr's
- City
Market
- Dominick‘s
- Fry's
- Genuardi's
- JayC
- King
Soopers
- Pavilions
- QFC
- Ralphs
- Randall's
- Safeway
- Smith's
- Tom
Thumb
- Vons
ShortCuts.com
is another site that lets you load store coupons to your
shopper's card. And guess what... there are even MORE coupons
on their site.
The
following stores currently participate in ShortCuts:
- Baker’s
- City
Market
- Dominick's
- Dillons
- Fry's
- Gerbes
- Hilander
- JayC
- King
Soopers
- Kroger
- Owen’s
- Payless
-
QFC
- Ralphs
- Randall’s
- Safeway
- Smith's
- Tom
Thumb
If
your grocery store happens to participate in any or all
of these, you can have store coupons from all three sites
loaded on your card simultaneously -- which you can then
stack with manufacturer coupons from the newspaper or internet.
SoftCoin
offers seasonal promotions featuring electronic coupons
for the following stores:
- City
Market
- Dillons
- Dominick's
- Fry's
- Genuardi's
- Hilander
- JayC
- King
Soopers
- Kroger
- Safeway
- Tom
Thumb
Again,
visit the site, enter your card number, and load them to
your card. It's easy! You'll also find a link to these coupons
from the individual sites of the stores listed above.
Upromise.com
is a different kind of electronic coupon. When you load
these to your shopper's card, the amount saved goes into
your child's college savings fund at Upromise. And, you
can use manufacturer coupons in conjunction with Upromise
coupons as well. MANY stores nationwide participate in Upromise
-- too many to list! Visit
their site, register your shopper's card, and get started
saving! After you log in, click eCoupons, and you're ready
to load them to your card.
Individual
stores' sites
If
your local store doesn't participate in any of these programs,
make sure to check the store's site as they may offer their
own electronic coupons there. The Jewel-Osco chain offers
its own electronic coupons called Avenu:
Log in with your shoppers' card, add the items to the card,
and start saving! It's as easy as that. And again, we can
use manufacturer coupons with these, as the electronic coupons
function as store coupons as well.
The Giant Eagle chain of grocery stores also offers their
own electronic
coupons:
Again,
log in with your card, load them on, and start saving!
Even if your store doesn't offer electronic coupons, check
their website regularly, as they may offer printable store
coupons that can be stacked with manufacturer coupons too,
as Target
does nationally. The Meijer chain of supermarkets does:
Click
"Specials" and you'll receive a list of coupons valid for
the current week. Clicking each item will bring up a separate
window to print that coupon.
In
some areas of the country, SampleSaint
is also offering electronic coupons that you load to your
cellular phone:
Might
be worth checking into if you have web capabilities on your
phone and are in their current market area!
I'm
doing my best to keep this list as updated as possible.
If you discover additional stores participating in electronic
coupons, please feel free to email me at jill@supercouponing.com,
and I'll get them posted as well.
Still
have questions? I have a detailed Frequently
Asked Questions section on my blog, written specifically
for new coupon shoppers. Take a look!
-
Jill |
