Prepare to Save Money

Here are some things to do to get ready to be a "super couponer".

1. Find a place in your home for stockpiling. I call it my "fall-out shelter". I took an entryway closet and added shelves. In my previous house, there was a root cellar in the basement that I used to keep extra pantry items. You can take any part of the house and add shelves or a portable closet for storage. It's best to be a cool area and dry. If the area is away from the kitchen, my suggestion is to keep an inventory in your kitchen so you are not making unnecessary trips to see if you have something.

2. Subscribe to your local Sunday paper. In it, you will find your local store's sales ads and manufacturer coupons. (I'll talk about these things later.)

3. Obtain a coupon organizer. Mine is a sturdy plastic expanding file, apporiximately 6" x 4". Coupon organizers marketed as "coupon organizers" are typically not large enough for me. I found mine in the office supply department. It holds lots of coupons and still fits in my purse. Some people tell you to not clip the coupon until you are ready to use it, but it is not practical for me to lug around a 3 ring binder everywhere I go. Mark the dividers with categories that make sense to you. These are mine: Breads, Meats, Breakfast, Diapers/Wipes, Fruit/Veggies, Juice/Dairy, Medicine, Pasta/Rice, Soup, Toiletries, and Misc. (I need to tweak it a little.... I have no need to buy diapers anymore. Yay!) Like I said, these make sense to me. Someone else may go in my organizer and get lost. Some things don't necessarily belong in any of these categories, so I stick them in a place that may only make sense to me. Also, large categories such as toiletries are cumbersome, so I paper clip like items together, ie: hair products, deoderant, etc.

4. Talk to your husband (if you are married) and tell him what you are doing. Some folks, especially men, cannot understand the need to buy six boxes of spaghetti at a time. Explain to him that the things you are stocking up on will not go bad by the time you get around to using them. Show him receipts or sales ads as examples on the amount of money you could save by buying things on sale and with a coupon. If he still doesn't agree, then quit reading. But, continue to watch out for those sales and just buy the amount that you need. If he does agree, sharpen your pencil, and get ready to make a list! (Who knew a person could get so excited about making a list...)