Ahhh……..many of you are new readers, and you’re probably at the point where…well, you’re overwhelmed!
When I first started couponing I was quite the thrill seeker – ask my hubby. On any typical day, I would go crazy when finding a deal….
…… I constantly buried myself on deals, blogs, forums…. I spend every waking moment planning scenarios on the computer 
……… I would stay up until wee hours of the morning (well, I still do!) planning for my NEXT trip.. only to be 
the next day. Ahhh….always walking around like a zombie! When I had a successful trip to Fry’s, or else, I felt like I had won the lotto…… I’d walk around the parking lot 
WOO HOOO!!! I’M THE BOMB! OH YEAHHH BUDDY! I’d be sitting in my car screaming out the window “HOT DEAL! HOT DEAL… HOT-T-T-T DEALLLLLLLL”… no joke, I still do, with the heart racing blood pumping that goes with it, I’m surprised I haven’t had a heart attack yet.
Many of you are new to couponing… and perhaps this is your first Fry’s Mega event… perhaps you are swimming in coupons and not sure where to start. So what do you say some of us help you out?! Great idea then. Let me give you a few tips to help you keep your sanity, and get started in your new profound hobby and (lets say it!) ADVENTURE… because any of us will tell you that this is quite an ADDICTIVE ride! So grab your 
…..and get ready!
I’ll start by telling you what I do… and though it may not fit for everyone, it sure works fine for me. I’m a PILER. Pile here. Pile there. Pile everywhere. Well maybe not everywhere…but you get the point! There are deals coming at us for this week…and sometimes deals for NEXT week, and even sometimes deals for 3 weeks from now. So how do I keep them all straight?
PILES.
As I post deals, or printables, I will have a scissors next to the computer. I print. Clip. And pile. I have one massive pile. When I start pulling coupons for a “trip” to the store, I pile them. Then when I have piled all the possible coupons, I sit down at the table ( or sofa ) and make my trip more organized – by aisle.
Lets talk about some other tips… to help you get started:
- Start small. I suggest trying ONE grocery store – maybe Fry’s. Use the grocery matchups on my main page, print the coupons you may need, and then print your shopping list. Smaller trips usually work better when you’re starting out.
- Try not to feel like you “have to get every deal” – trust me – the world will not collapse if you miss free Cocoa Puffs. The deal will be there tomorrow, and if you don’t get it, remember that deals always come back in cycles.
- Having a lot of newspapers is fun (and nice) but don’t get more than you’ll realistically use.. otherwise you tend to stress over having too many coupons you have not used.
- Not familiar with the terminology that I use? Go HERE to see some basics, and definitions!
- Unfamiliar with Walgreens or CVS? I suggest starting your drugstore adventure at CVS. Walgreens is, well, usually difficult for beginners. Follow my scenarios for that particular week (listed in the matchups for that store) and see how you do!
- Don’t expect to spend nothing right away! ANY savings is GREAT savings! Just remember that your goal of this new adventure is to keep more of your money in your pocket… if that is $50 then you have hit home.
- If you have questions, head over and visit my Facebook community. We are a chatty bunch of folks! We love to help answer questions and encourage!
Whew…. this adventure really can stress a person out. Trust me. Even those of us who have couponed for a long time get really really exhausted… probably because our mind is always rolling through the next “possible deal”…….!
Let me ask those of you who have been here with us for a while… did you get overwhelmed starting out? And if so, what did you do to alleviate the frustration?
Oh yes, I was overwhelmed. Still am, at times. =) When I first began, I was trying to do every single deal, pouring over the computer every minute of the day. And nothing was getting done- including sleep.
I decided to stop clipping and started collecting whole inserts in a folder instead..and instead of trying to do multiple stores I mainly did just one. My husband went to Sheryl’s coupon class and for awhile he was doing the grocery runs. Because of his job change, I’ve had to take it over again. So basically, I have all my coupon folders organized by month, with the more recent inserts on top. Then I follow this blog- the coupons are easy to find now that they are organized and I only clip the ones I need. I use the LIST feature on this blog; I print out my list and then add the quantities next to the items. It goes so much FASTER!!
I’ve recently added Safeway and Walgreens as well. You start out slow and gradually you feel more confident to do more. If you don’t catch every deal- no worries! You can catch it again later- don’t let it stress you out!
Finally, don’t compare yourself to everyone else. So what if they only paid a dollar and you paid $10.! you set the goals you need for your family, and the items you need may be different than what someone else needs. So long as you are saving lots more money than you were, YOU ARE A WINNER!
Great advice Sheryl, I was completely overwhelmed when I started couponing, the only thing that saved my sanity was a spreadsheet and envelopes – using the spreadsheet gave me a printable shopping list that also gives me what I am expecting the prices to be and what I am expecting to get back rr’s or ecb’s – I have one for each specific store that I shop and I love them and still use them. I use envelopes to write my shopping lists and will have one for each seperate transaction – it makes it so much easier to pull coupons out if I have to get a raincheck or add coupons in if I find a freaping awesome clearance deal. Small simple things, but they both work really well for me! Also, I am a cheaper that writes my lists in pencil so that I can erase and reuse my envelopes!!
overwhelmed- only in the fact i couldnt find the time. Once i set aside a day for planing and a day for shopping, im able to hit every store i want. Take your time, you will get there and its easyer once your stock pile is up n running.
What a great article on how coupons and deals can kinda take over! I have been a fanatical coupon user since May 2008, and I used to drive all over Timbuktu for even the smallest freebie. I have now gotten to the point where I do finally realize that the deals come back around, or that we are so well stocked I just don’t need another free shampoo. It’s much more managed now. However, the mega sales still overwhelm me because there are so many deals to keep track of. When I am done with those shopping sprees, I am usually exhausted but giddy at the same time.
I love this hobby and I love your site!!!! I have been a stockpiler for more than a year now and a couponer all my married life. The way we live is amazing!!! I have been teaching others how to do this and every person I have taught is amazed. My husband and I have produced a dvd teaching the craft of couponing and to prove it to folks we did a little experiment this weekend. I made a list of varied items. He shopped and paid full price (without his Fry’s card). It killed me to pay full price but we are trying to make a point. His total for 39 items was $129.10. I bought the same basket of goods, and by using coupons, my VIP card, and one $5 oyno coupon, I paid…… .87 Yes 87 cents. Now if that doesn’t make all this craziness worthwhile I don’t know what does!!! Our home is very well stockpiled so really my weekly shopping consists of buying my produce and 3 or 4 items (in multiples) per week. I feel bad for the folks who don’t want to do this or know how. Thanks for your website. I tell everybody about it. It truly is the best!!!! Happy Saving to All, Leigh
I’ve been doing this for 2 years and still tend to get overwhelmed with wanting to get all the deals but knowing i can’t possibly do them all…. my family (5 grown kids with families) haven’t bought shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, female things, toothbrushes, body wash, and more in over two years…it’s addictive for sure, but…… well worth it!
I just started couponing late last year and got the “fever” bad. So bad that I got overwhelmed and quit for awhile and did the whole couponsense (admatching @ Walmart) ugh!!!. I am just now starting it back again, but with more confidence and definitely more restraint. What has helped me, as previous posters have written, don’t think you have to get every deal. I use an accordian style plastic envelope to separate my transactions if I have more than one (usually for Walgreens). With the other stores, I just use Sheryl’s list, print or clip out my coupons (sorted by week), print my list and I’m ready to go. Good luck everyone! (and me!) lol
Hi, I have a question about the Calender of events. Lower bottom right. Is that a preview of the upcoming wednesday sale? I selected the Frys 5/25 and when it opened the page was blank and it said something about copying it over to my google calender? Im not sure exactly what that is, can someone help and explain if i need to download or open an account. If its a preview of the upcoming frys deals that would be AWESOME! I dont even know if thats possible…im always missing the deals because some people clear the shelves at my Frys and im over it!:O) I only need 2, if im lucky enough to have 2 coupons. If someone could help that would be great! thanks
This is a really great blog. I have a site I just started called PhrugalPhoenix.com and I want to gather together as many Phoenicians as possible to advertise (free for local businesses and sites) so I can aggregate as much information on frugal living as possible. It is a free site and is open to all although people can register so that when we start a newsletter, they can get it.
Our focus is also frugal living and coupon matching but I am sure you could get some good local traffic from our site. We just started at the end of September and we have over 20 visits a day (not pages, visits) on average. We can even do a nice front page article for you to get you some exposure. We just did a couple articles for LocalFirstAZ.com to get some exposure for them.
Let me know if you are interested in a free page or article on the site, we would love to have you there!
Hi, although I am new to your site, I am not new to couponing. I have couponed all my life (41 yrs – less about the first 6=35 yrs), my mom was a couponer, so I inherited it. Your website has allowed me to find lots more deals that I never knew existed, I was limited to coupons from the Sunday paper and coupons that showed up on products or catalinas that printed, thank you so much for all your hard work to help the rest of us.
I am not sure if you have ever posted this or not, but I have a helpful hint for everyone for their bread purchases. I shop at the holsum bread outlet store at Crismon and Main St (Apache Tr) in East Mesa/Apache Junction. They have excellent name brand bread dirt cheap! For an example, if you buy 5 loaves of Natures Own Honey Wheat you get them for $5.00 ($1 a loaf) then they have packages of hamburger and hotdog buns 12 ct for $1.49 each. They have the individual snack cakes zingers, cup cakes, apple pies, etc for $0.69 each (sometimes on sale for 2/$1.00). If you spend $6.00 in one transaction you get a free loaf of bread from a special rack sometimes with rye, sourdough, raisin, etc. They also have their reuseable grocery bags that you purchase one time for $0.99 each and then everytime you bring them in the store and use them you get an additional 10% off your purchase each and everytime :) So on a $8.00 shopping trip I get 5 loaves of bread, 1 hamburger buns, 1 hot dog buns and then I get 10% off, makes it $7.20 plus then I get a free loaf of bread. This is such an awesome place. I know there are outlets all over the Valley including Sara Lee and Wonder.