Saving Time on Couponing
One reason many people don't like to coupon is because of the sheer amount of time involved. Yes, it can take a lot of time- things that are worth doing take a lot of time. Raising your kids. Working. Standing in line at Starbucks. However, the time you spend couponing can yield returns that can equal upwards of $40 an hour!
That being said, there are ways to decrease the amount of time you spend couponing, whether it be searching for deals or just the grind of clipping and filing. Here are some ways that you can slash your time, as well as some ways I myself save time- complete with pictures, 'cause we all know how much I love pictures! ;)
That being said, there are ways to decrease the amount of time you spend couponing, whether it be searching for deals or just the grind of clipping and filing. Here are some ways that you can slash your time, as well as some ways I myself save time- complete with pictures, 'cause we all know how much I love pictures! ;)
Finding Deals and Shopping
One thing I have heard at my workshops and from readers is that they spend a lot of time trying to track down these deals to save money. They feel like they are having to spend a lot of time online trying to get ALL the deals. The fact of the matter is, you won't get ALL of the deals. Freebies go fast. While they are fun to get in the mail, no freebie is worth neglecting your family or stressing out about because you didn't get it. There are new freebies all the time- you'll get some, you'll miss some. No big deal. Don't stress yourself out over a sample of a diaper or a free pack of gum! I promise you, it is NOT worth it.
As for the grocery deals, designate a day or two to check the grocery deals going on. We all know that I love Southern Savers- Jenny does a ton of work breaking down the ads and doing coupon match-ups. You can print the entire list and keep it with your coupons if you need to so that you don't keep finding yourself checking it constantly online. I do grocery store lists for Kroger and Publix doing just the cheapest deals for those that are looking for the real cheap stuff. It is easily accessible at any time by clicking the store name to the right on our home page.
A great way to make sure that you are not missing any deals is to subscribe to the RSS feed of the blogs you follow. It then shows up on your Yahoo homepage or anywhere else you want it to, and gives you a glimpse of the newest steals and deals that have been posted. This is one of my favorite ways to follow blogs- I spend a lot less time since I don't have to scroll through a bunch of different articles on a different sites. Another great way is to become a fan on Facebook. That way you will get all of the steals and deals through your news feed, and you can always head over to the Fab Steals and Deals page to see all of the posts I have written- they post to FB pretty quickly.
If you find yourself spending a lot of time online searching for deals, give yourself limits. You can either give yourself X amount of time each day for online deal searching, or you can allot certain timeslots to checking your favorite sites. This will help keep you grounded and give you some perspective. Couponing can save you a lot of money, but don't negate the savings by losing time with more important things.
As for shopping, there are a few ways to save time. You don't have to hit every single store every week- pick one or two. Don't stress out about running all over town trying to get every deal. Items that are on sale at Publix this week will be on sale at Kroger in a couple of weeks. EVERYTHING goes on sale.
Try to be as organized as possible. Make your list at home and remove all of the coupons you need BEFORE you go to the store. You don't want to do that in the store aisle- you get flustered, you miss deals, your coupons get all out of whack- no fun. Count your coupons, stick them in an envelope and pull them out at checkout (counting helps to ensure that you KNOW if your cashier missed one). Try to stick with your list as much as possible. Do keep in mind, though, that there are often unadvertised deals that you can find- that is the only time you should be searching through your coupons. You also want to keep your coupons as organized as possible- and this includes rain checks, etc. You don't want to be searching for them at checkout!
Lastly, whenever possible, leave your kiddos with your partner or a sitter. It makes shopping go so much faster. I am FULLY aware that this is not always possible- I know that I have a lot of single moms out there, or people with crazy work schedules. If you have to take them with you, be sure to bring along snacks for your kids (or hit up the bakery for a free cookie!) as well as activities- this helps to alleviate boredom, which translates into inconvenient tantrums that make you want to hurry (and that cost you money!). Do you have a smartphone? Download some apps for your toddler. I keep episodes of my kids' favorite shows, as well as games, to keep them occupied. No smartphone? Bring small toys or books, or those mess-free Crayola Wonder activities- whatever your child likes. For older kids, get them involved! Have them match coupons to items, pull blinkie and tearpad coupons, work on math skills- you are showing them so many skills with your couponing. Take advantage of it!
As for the grocery deals, designate a day or two to check the grocery deals going on. We all know that I love Southern Savers- Jenny does a ton of work breaking down the ads and doing coupon match-ups. You can print the entire list and keep it with your coupons if you need to so that you don't keep finding yourself checking it constantly online. I do grocery store lists for Kroger and Publix doing just the cheapest deals for those that are looking for the real cheap stuff. It is easily accessible at any time by clicking the store name to the right on our home page.
A great way to make sure that you are not missing any deals is to subscribe to the RSS feed of the blogs you follow. It then shows up on your Yahoo homepage or anywhere else you want it to, and gives you a glimpse of the newest steals and deals that have been posted. This is one of my favorite ways to follow blogs- I spend a lot less time since I don't have to scroll through a bunch of different articles on a different sites. Another great way is to become a fan on Facebook. That way you will get all of the steals and deals through your news feed, and you can always head over to the Fab Steals and Deals page to see all of the posts I have written- they post to FB pretty quickly.
If you find yourself spending a lot of time online searching for deals, give yourself limits. You can either give yourself X amount of time each day for online deal searching, or you can allot certain timeslots to checking your favorite sites. This will help keep you grounded and give you some perspective. Couponing can save you a lot of money, but don't negate the savings by losing time with more important things.
As for shopping, there are a few ways to save time. You don't have to hit every single store every week- pick one or two. Don't stress out about running all over town trying to get every deal. Items that are on sale at Publix this week will be on sale at Kroger in a couple of weeks. EVERYTHING goes on sale.
Try to be as organized as possible. Make your list at home and remove all of the coupons you need BEFORE you go to the store. You don't want to do that in the store aisle- you get flustered, you miss deals, your coupons get all out of whack- no fun. Count your coupons, stick them in an envelope and pull them out at checkout (counting helps to ensure that you KNOW if your cashier missed one). Try to stick with your list as much as possible. Do keep in mind, though, that there are often unadvertised deals that you can find- that is the only time you should be searching through your coupons. You also want to keep your coupons as organized as possible- and this includes rain checks, etc. You don't want to be searching for them at checkout!
Lastly, whenever possible, leave your kiddos with your partner or a sitter. It makes shopping go so much faster. I am FULLY aware that this is not always possible- I know that I have a lot of single moms out there, or people with crazy work schedules. If you have to take them with you, be sure to bring along snacks for your kids (or hit up the bakery for a free cookie!) as well as activities- this helps to alleviate boredom, which translates into inconvenient tantrums that make you want to hurry (and that cost you money!). Do you have a smartphone? Download some apps for your toddler. I keep episodes of my kids' favorite shows, as well as games, to keep them occupied. No smartphone? Bring small toys or books, or those mess-free Crayola Wonder activities- whatever your child likes. For older kids, get them involved! Have them match coupons to items, pull blinkie and tearpad coupons, work on math skills- you are showing them so many skills with your couponing. Take advantage of it!
Clipping and Organizing Coupons
This is definitely one of the most time-consuming aspects of couponing. Organization is key to being successful- but finding the time to stay organized can be hard. Here are some tips to shaving off some of that time.
I, for one, do NOT clip every single coupon that comes out. That would take FOREVER! What I do is cut only the coupons that I know:
1. Are for items I regularly use
2. Are for items that will end up being free or super cheap
3. Items I am interested in trying (if they are cheap enough)
Everything else stays in the insert. I buy 4 papers every single week, and I clip all of the like coupons at the same time (see slideshow at the bottom). I then put the stack of coupons into piles organized by my notebook divisions. That way I can file them away in an orderly fashion instead of flipping through my notebook over and over and over. The rest of the coupons that I do not clip go back into the insert, all like pages together (all of page 1 together, all of page 2 together, etc), and then the insert is dated and filed by date in an accordian folder. This ensures that, if an item ends up being cheap or free and I haven't clipped it, I can go straight to that date and clip it- if you toss them, you miss out on those deals.
Many people don't clip coupons at all until they make their grocery lists- they leave them in the inserts and just clip them as they make their list and get ready to shop. This way does not work for me, but it works for many others.
I also dedicate the same time each week to couponing. If you have been around for a while, you know that I have Coupon Monday- my sis comes over and we clip coupons while the kiddos play. Not only is it much more fun doing it with a friend, but having the routine makes it something that we look forward to- and we aren't trying to find time to "fit it in".
Use any "down time" to doing these tedious tasks. Clip your printables while watching American Idol or while sitting in carpool. Remove expired coupons while the kiddos are napping or while walking on the treadmill. I know that it sometimes seems like you would rather just sit there and veg whenever you get a break in your crazy day (I know it does for me!), but dedicating time whenever possible will help to make it more manageable and ensures that you don't fall behind- once you fall behind, it is really hard to get caught up- and then you lose motivation, and then you quit. It is worth doing! Don't let yourself get so stressed out that you give up!
I, for one, do NOT clip every single coupon that comes out. That would take FOREVER! What I do is cut only the coupons that I know:
1. Are for items I regularly use
2. Are for items that will end up being free or super cheap
3. Items I am interested in trying (if they are cheap enough)
Everything else stays in the insert. I buy 4 papers every single week, and I clip all of the like coupons at the same time (see slideshow at the bottom). I then put the stack of coupons into piles organized by my notebook divisions. That way I can file them away in an orderly fashion instead of flipping through my notebook over and over and over. The rest of the coupons that I do not clip go back into the insert, all like pages together (all of page 1 together, all of page 2 together, etc), and then the insert is dated and filed by date in an accordian folder. This ensures that, if an item ends up being cheap or free and I haven't clipped it, I can go straight to that date and clip it- if you toss them, you miss out on those deals.
Many people don't clip coupons at all until they make their grocery lists- they leave them in the inserts and just clip them as they make their list and get ready to shop. This way does not work for me, but it works for many others.
I also dedicate the same time each week to couponing. If you have been around for a while, you know that I have Coupon Monday- my sis comes over and we clip coupons while the kiddos play. Not only is it much more fun doing it with a friend, but having the routine makes it something that we look forward to- and we aren't trying to find time to "fit it in".
Use any "down time" to doing these tedious tasks. Clip your printables while watching American Idol or while sitting in carpool. Remove expired coupons while the kiddos are napping or while walking on the treadmill. I know that it sometimes seems like you would rather just sit there and veg whenever you get a break in your crazy day (I know it does for me!), but dedicating time whenever possible will help to make it more manageable and ensures that you don't fall behind- once you fall behind, it is really hard to get caught up- and then you lose motivation, and then you quit. It is worth doing! Don't let yourself get so stressed out that you give up!
