How to Become a Couponer: A Beginner's Guide to Help Get Started

You’ve seen the shows and you might have even seen it in real life: extreme couponing. Sure, it might not be ideal to get stuck behind someone in the check-out line with 100+ coupons needing to be scanned. However, as you stood there with an extra 10 minutes just to think to yourself, you began to wonder how they do it.

And now, you might even find yourself being envious of those extreme couponers. How do they get all those items for a couple of cents or how do they even get paid to shop sometimes? Can anyone coupon?

We’re here to give you the answers and teach you how to become a couponer! Are you ready to save big? Continue reading below for our guide on how to start couponing.

Start Your Preparations

You’ll need to gather all of the necessary supplies before beginning your couponing journey. Here’s a list of all the items you’ll need.

A laptop or a computer
A printer (a laser printer is suggested)
A plastic binder

You’ll need a computer of some sort to look coupons up online and then a printer to print them. We suggest using a laser printer because it’ll save you on ink, and you’ll be able to print more coupons on one sheet of paper. You’ll need a plastic binder or some other form of an organizer to keep all of your coupons in order.

Once you have all of the necessary supplies, you can move on to the next step, which is locating your coupons!

Locate Your Coupons

If you’re new to couponing, then you might not be aware that you’ll need to locate your coupons from multiple sources. You don’t simply go online to one website and print all of your coupons off there and save hundreds. You have to locate several different coupons from different sources to add them together to create your big savings.

Here are our couponing tips about where you should look for them.

Online

As mentioned before, looking for coupons online is an excellent starting point. Visit manufacturer websites and even individual websites to see what coupons they’re offering. For some websites, you can set it up to send you email or text notifications that there’s a new deal.

Click on the coupons and print them out!

Newspapers

We’re going to take it back just a bit and focus on the Sunday newspaper. Yes, there are some awesome deals and coupons lurking within the Sunday paper. Cut out any coupons that you find valuable.

A good tip is to get as many copies of a single coupon as possible. So, this might mean gathering more than one Sunday paper. If you know anyone who’s willing to hand over their newspaper to you once they’re done reading it, then you’ve got yourself a good deal!

Manufacturers

Companies love hearing from their customers. Because of this, many are willing to send coupons or freebies to those who take the time to write in about their products. Not everyone will respond to you, so don’t get discouraged, but many will respond, and it’ll be worth it!

Grocery Stores

The last place to check is your local grocery stores. Pick up the grocery store’s coupon book located at the entrance, grab the coupons located on the aisles, and any other coupons that the grocery store has to offer. These are all great coupons to have and to add to your other ones.

Check For Competitor Coupons

Don’t forget to check for competitor coupons! These coupons can be found online or in the store, and chances are, the store where you’re making your purchase at will accept them. Even if it’s not advertised, many companies and grocery stores accept coupons from competitors to keep you from spending your money somewhere else.

Collect all competitor coupons that you find valuable and ask the store you’re shopping at if they accept them.

Utilize Deal Stacking

Always stack your deals. Don’t be intimidated by the small print on the coupons that state, “only one coupon per transaction.” This usually means that you can’t combine more than one of the same coupon.

However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t stack a store coupon on top of a manufacturer coupon with a competitor coupon and a rebate app coupon. In most cases, these different types of coupons for the same thing can all be added on top of one another.

Make Your Shopping List

The best way to know if you’re on the right path for savings is to make your shopping list beforehand. Know what you’re planning to purchase so that you can gather and prepare all of the coupons for those specific items. This is going to make the process much easier for you.

Get Organized

Another important step that you don’t want to brush off is getting organized. This is going to make your couponing experience much more enjoyable. Have your coupons organized with either a binder or a whole insert every time you find a new one.

Then, you’ll want to organize the coupons that you’re going to use before entering the check-out line. Read and have a full understanding of each coupon policy and the store policy before starting your purchase as well.

Track Savings, Have Fun, Know How to Become a Couponer!

When everything is said and done, always be sure to track your savings and have fun. If you made a mistake, learn from it. If you keep track of your savings, you’ll slowly learn what works and what doesn’t work for you.

Before you know it, you’ll know how to become a couponer in no time!

And at the end of the day, remember to have fun! For more helpful guides or topics, be sure to check back with us regularly.