Considering the state of the world economy and its trend, saving has become a more important aspect for most people.

Most shoppers seek discounts in shopping to help in their savings plan.

Coupons are used to offer these discounts to manufacturers, sellers, and other entities. They also serve as marketing strategies that encourage the purchase of particular products from specific stores.

As simple as it seems, many people do not have the skills to make the most out of coupons.

Proper use of coupons offers an opportunity for one to save thousands of dollars from shopping.

Without proper coupon skills, an individual may collect as many coupons as possible yet get low discounts for their purchase. College students stand a chance to live comfortably with the little money they have if they learn some extreme couponing tips.

This is the most extensive beginner’s guide towards successful extreme couponing that offers value for money when shopping. The tips are from an expert analysis of what works best when couponing.

All you need to succeed in saving through extreme couponing is here.
Enjoy…

1. Learn where to find and collect coupons

There are many sources where one can find coupons. The internet has many websites that offer coupons.

Couppin.com is one of the most renowned couponing websites that have coupons for cash discounts of up to 80% for various products.

One should beware of websites that offer coupons that do not work hence requires one to know the legitimate couponing websites.

Sunday edition newspapers also have coupons. It is advisable that you collect at least five coupons, hence requires one to collect as many newspapers.

Additionally, the newspapers distributed in larger cities have more coupons compared to those for sparsely populated areas. Magazines also bear coupons for products aligning with the target audience for the magazine. For instance, lifestyle magazine holds coupons for grocery shopping, home appliances and fashion and beauty products.

Manufacturers also include coupons in product packages. One should be keen to check for any coupons before throwing out the packages.

Manufacturers’ websites also offer coupons. Some email services also come with coupons.

2. Proper organization of Coupons

Most people lose chances to save money due to poor organization and storage of coupons.

To avoid losing coupons or keeping them beyond their validity period, one needs to organize them into different sections, depending on their use and validity.

The Proper organization allows one to select the right coupons whenever they go shopping.

Keeping them in a binder or cardholder helps one to differentiate the coupons easily.

3. Learn the couponing terms

Understanding the couponing terms for the store one is shopping is important to plan how best the coupons can work for them.

There are stores that allow only one coupon per product purchase while others have a limit on the number of similar coupons that one can use in a single purchase.

Jordon Cox, an extreme couponing enthusiast, highlights the importance of learning a store’s policy in couponing. Cox hit the news headlines in June when he spent just 4p on £600 worth of shopping.

Learning store policy ensures that an individual can plan the coupons in a way that maximizes the discounts. Stacking coupons can lead to huge discounts if the coupons are layered appropriately in line with the store’s policies.

In some cases, the coupons can lead to a reduction of the price to below 0.

Such a deal is called a money maker or the overage.

In most cases, the stores do not give the money back, rather allow one to use the extra amount in the store. Such deals can help one to stock up on more products.

4. Avoid impulse buying

Plan your shopping, before leaving home for the store. This ensures that one carries the right coupons and avoid overspending.

Couponing is about saving money.

On the other hand, the coupons are a marketing tool which could incite an individual to purchase more due to the discounts. This leads to overspending and ultimately eats into one’s savings.

When going shopping, search for the average prices of the products you are to purchase. This helps one to consider the kinds of deals they get from using the coupons. When shopping, concentrate on the items that fall below the expected prices for people using coupons.

Tracking when the prices are lowest can help one to plan their shopping such that they can stock up enough for the period until when the sale prices are low again.

5. Identify the coupons you need

Collecting coupons is a tedious job that takes up a lot of time.

Therefore, it is wise that one concentrates on coupons that are of value to them. For instance, while the internet offers numerous opportunities for collecting printable coupons, it would be costly if an individual did not choose the coupons the needed wisely.

The cost of printing requires one to spend on a printer, papers, and ink. On the newspaper and magazines spending time cutting needless coupons that cannot help you eats into a person’s time.

Such practices cause demoralization of the collectors. Learning some skills such as how to cut multiple coupons from different newspapers at one go can help to save time when collecting.

6. Take advantage of other marketing strategies used by stores and manufacturers

Besides the renowned sources of coupons, most people are unaware that stores and manufacturers offer coupons to most of the customers they communicate with.

For instance, manufacturers may offer printable coupons through direct mail to consumers who give them feedback whenever asked.

Questionnaires and reviews could include one numerous coupon. Some stores also offer coupons to customers who sign up for savings cards and other subscriptions.

Conclusion

Proper use of coupons can help an individual to cut on costs for many products.

If taken seriously, coupons can help a person purchase goods at no cost or a really small percentage of the original price. For one to enjoy the great discounts that are offered in coupons, they need to take coupon collection seriously.

Learning where to collect coupons and the kinds of coupons that one collects is important to ensure they are usable and more productive.

Additionally, proper storage for the coupons is also necessary to make sure that they are in good shape and easily accessible.

Knowledge of the prices of products to purchase with the coupons helps one get the best deals by buying the products at their lowest rates. It is also important that couponing does not encourage one to consumerism as it would cause one to lose more money through impulse buying.

Author's Bio: 

Author, Freelance writer