Hello all of my friends on a budget! I think we've all seen shows like "Extreme Couponing" advertised all over television. I recently just watched this British documentary about extreme cheapskates and one of the people in the show was a mother obsessed with couponing. She based everything her family did on coupons and saved a ton of money along the way. Overall, couponing is a really obvious way to save money. Why wouldn't you take two minutes to print out a piece of paper and save money? The truth is that couponing has a sort of negative reputation. It's seen as a thing that cheap people or your grandmother do and the shows we see on the TV sure don't help that image. The important thing to note about coupons is that it really depends on what you do with them. The people you see on shows save a ton of money but in reality are really just wasting their hard earned cash. You see these couponers buy 50 cans of sardines and a bunch of other random items with hundred of coupons they've been hoarding. Only because they're "on sale" and "save money". That's the stupidest thing in my opinion. Why would you spend money on things that you don't even like or could possibly consume?! It just doesn't make sense. More people should coupon but in a smart and thoughtful way. Here are my rules to using coupons: 1- Only print coupons for things you use or want to try When you come across a coupon for a product you usually buy print them up! If they are non-perishable items then print up a few (not 100!!!) and store the extras for later. There will most likely be another coupon for the same product in the future so don't think that it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. Sometimes you'll find coupons for the same thing but made by different brands. It's worth trying out but stick to one and see if you like it. Then you can pick up more if you want. 2-Keep them organised Keep an eye out for a coupon organizer at garage sales or dollar stores, they work best. If not then a little pouch should do the trick, just organize them from oldest to newest so you know which ones you have to use up first before they expire. 3- Sign up with brands
Take a look at the brands you currently have and check out their websites and see what offers they have. Some that I've found let you print them up freely whereas other sites ask for your email and postal code, etc. I would recommend signing up with P&G. They ask you to create an account but their coupons give you access to tons of brands like Secret, Always, Dove, Swiffer, etc. I don't really trust couponing sites, there are a million, but they all just use the coupons from the brand sites so it's easier to just go to them directly. P&G's link: https://www.pgeveryday.ca/ 4- Don't just save on groceries Coupons are available for tons of other things. Groupon is pretty good for restaurants and city related activities but there are also tons of clothing stores with online coupons. Old Navy is a good example. I've also got coupons from town websites for tourist activities and there are tons of brands who will send you coupons if you send an email. (Make sure it's friendly and complimentary of their company!) 5-Don't make it a game When you get too into couponing you begin to spend money on things you don't really need. To me, couponing is the same as buying from the sale rack. If there is a chance to save money on something I will use then of course I will spend a bit of extra time to save that money. It's important to be conscience of what your buying and plan ahead. I hope that these tips helped a bit. If you've found any cool ways to save money, please share in the comments and feel free to suggest a topic for the blog. Keep up the saving! Cheers, Mae (a.k.a the girl on a budget)
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