The Coupon System

The key to bargain shopping is settling on a coupon system. One that is easy to use and doesn't take a lot of time and trouble.

I used to spend hours every Sunday cutting out coupons and sorting them by category - not anymore. I wised up and found a much simpler system.

1. Subscribe to the Sunday paper. I use the Post-Dispatch because it has the most coupons (BND may have the same amt), but the Telegraph and Intelligencer are hit and miss with coupons. Saturdays you can usually find the Sunday Telegraph at Shop N Save for 99 cents. I prefer to have my husband pick it up from the driveway rather than have to remember to go get the paper.
   
2. Buy an accordion file. This is the one I have from the Container Store. You can get them at Walmart, Target, Dollar General etc. This has 26 pockets so you can store two weeks worth of coupons in each section. I start with one week/section and as the year goes I consolidate.
3. Pull out the inserts from the Sunday paper. Generally there is a Red Plum (RP) and Smart Source (SS) in each paper. Plus the first Sunday of the Month Procter & Gamble (P&G) has a monthly insert. Leaf through and pull out coupons for things you know you need to buy and leave the rest of them in the inserts and file away!

Why this system works. When looking on Hotcouponworld.com or any other site for deals (including this one) they will reference the coupons for products by the date of the insert.

Example: Yoplait Yo-Plus Yogurt, Any 4 Pack - 10-05-08 SS means to pull out the SmartSource (SS) from 10/5 to find the coupon.

After you get several weeks of saving coupons under your belt you'll be able to do more deals since the selection of coupons grows. The key is to use coupons at the right times to get the best deals. Sometimes you need the product and it's ok to use the coupon at those times too.