New Q Shoppers, Don't be Scared! You Can Do This!!

Quote from peter26 : You can rep and leave a nice comment, but it won't add rep points until you have more posts. The points don't really matter, it's the rep comments that are fun to read.

I second that! The rep points are a nice bonus, but are really irrelevant. It all depends on how active you are and for how long. But the comments are always fun

Quote from sjk37169 : From what I've read, you can't rep until you have 50 posts, so we have a ways to go yet

I'm new here & this all seems overwhelming to me. Where can I read instructions on how to get started? Thanks

Quote from coupon*clipper : I have tried several different methods and the one that finally worked the best for me is a plastic sterilite box, shoe box size. I label a 3x6 envelope for each category. Not only grocery items, but I also have categories for "CVS rainchecks", "catalinas","Gap coupons", etc. The box fits in the child seat portion of a shopping cart (my kids no longer do, lol). I have my shopping list written on an envie, and I already pulled the qs out at home. But if I run into a clearance or unexpected sale, I still have my box to find the corresponding qs. HTH someone! I haven't read every thread, but I would love to learn some tips for gathering more inserts!

My tip is to find a dependable & affordable clipping service. I only buy the individual coupon's I need instead of the whole insert. Also trading is a great idea. Hope that helps.

Quote from cajunmoma : I'm new here & this all seems overwhelming to me. Where can I read instructions on how to get started? Thanks

Try HERE

Quote from cajunmoma : My tip is to find a dependable & affordable clipping service. I only buy the individual coupon's I need instead of the whole insert. Also trading is a great idea. Hope that helps.

!!

I guess it depends on your couponing style. If you are only doing deals that suit exactly what you want to buy for your family, pets, gramma etc then that is probably a good way to do it.


But what if you realize there is a deal coming up that pays you to take toothpaste home? Even though you didn't need toothpaste it sure would be nice to get the RR's or Ups ( or Downs whatever you RA'ers do! ), the overage towards the rest of your groceries or even gift cards. You look around and all the toothpaste q's are sold out on every site or da 'Bay has them for astronomical prices. You might wish you had the inserts then. Just trying to provide you with a different perspective....

What a great thread to have here. Thank you so much for starting it. It has really helped me.

Quote from hawaiiandawn : !! I guess it depends on your couponing style. If you are only doing deals that suit exactly what you want to buy for your family, pets, gramma etc then that is probably a good way to do it. But what if you realize there is a deal coming up that pays you to take toothpaste home? Even though you didn't need toothpaste it sure would be nice to get the RR's or Ups ( or Downs whatever you RA'ers do! ), the overage towards the rest of your groceries or even gift cards. You look around and all the toothpaste q's are sold out on every site or da 'Bay has them for astronomical prices. You might wish you had the inserts then. Just trying to provide you with a different perspective....

I think buying newspapers is the way to go --- I get two copies of the main local paper, one copy of the smaller local paper, & one copy of the Spanish language paper --- add in the huge amount of tearpads, blinkies, coupon booklets & flyers found for free in stores --- that is enough coupons that I end up throwing out a shoe box full of coupons per month.

This is usually the time of year when we start getting a lot of new folks. Where is everybody??

I'm new and excited to get into this couponing thing. Made my first coupon heavy purchase at Kroger. Got a $40 purchase for $19. Big move for me using only IPs. Right now concentrating on Kroger so I don't get overwhelmed. Hoping to branch out to RA eventually.

Quote from mindbender14 : I'm new and excited to get into this couponing thing. Made my first coupon heavy purchase at Kroger. Got a $40 purchase for $19. Big move for me using only IPs. Right now concentrating on Kroger so I don't get overwhelmed. Hoping to branch out to RA eventually.

Congrats! 50%+ off is great!!!! You've definitely got the right idea to start with one and then add another as you get comfortable. Best of luck!

Quote from rydergal : Congrats! 50%+ off is great!!!! You've definitely got the right idea to start with one and then add another as you get comfortable. Best of luck!

Just wanted to chime in and say that's a great way to start, 1 store at a time. It can be so overwhelming at first but grasping one store and their policies at a time is the trick. I missed last year CVS because I was learning frys (kroger) and now this year I can participate in the cvs bf sale which I've learned in between.

New coupon shoppers, you've got some famous company. Lady Gaga just tweeted this:

Lady Gaga ‏@ladygaga
why do people look at me like I'm crazy when i use coupons at grocery or try bargaining at retail, IM FROM NEW YORK WHERE IS THE SALE RACk

thanks!