Preparing Your Shopping List

Preparing the shopping list is one of the most confusing tasks for the novice coupon shopper. We're accustomed to preparing a shopping list just as our mothers did in the past. Typically, the list is made of the items that you would like to have in your pantry or refrigerator. We have seen our mothers and fathers do this for many years. We are simply following the actions of our parents.

With couponing, a shopping list is prepared based on the items that are for sale and not on the items you want to consume the following week. Your shopping list will be based on sale items and sale items purchased with coupons. As a beginner, you will not have coupons for every item that you purchase. To establish a pattern of savings, you will need to learn to to purchase only the sale items. As you learn to review your grocery receipt, you will soon learn the majority of your savings are from store specials and not coupons. The coupons combined with store specials increase your savings. If you decide that you no longer want to use coupons, you will see savings by purchasing only the sale items.

I begin preparing my shopping list one week from the day that I am actually going to the store. It is less of a task if I am working 10 to 15 minutes each night preparing my shopping list and gathering applicable coupons. One deterrent from using coupons is waiting for your shopping day to prepare your lists and search for coupons. I prepare my shopping list using the couponmom website. I search for the grocery bills by state to find my favorite grocery store. I select my grocery items and print the list. This website provides a chronological listing of the grocery items so that you can gather your coupons by date. I check this grocery list against a shopping list at hotcouponworld. This website provides a community based database of grocery items. When I search for my favorite grocery store on this site, I review my shopping list. I crosscheck my list to be certain I have not ommitted any published coupons or printable coupon offers. During the week I clip coupons and print coupons for my shopping list. On my predetermined shopping day, I am ready to go shopping without any last-minute scurrying for coupons.

If you wait until your shopping day to gather your coupons, you are likely miss savings and eventually stop using coupons. Again, this is my area of expertise. This is a mistake I made many times. Using coupons for groceries and non-groceries has become a habit for me.

Collecting/Obtaining Your Coupons

I know I talked about organizing your coupons before I explained how you should obtain your coupons. Even though this may seem odd, this is the best way to get started with your coupon collection process. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to correctly build your foundation for collecting coupons. One of the main reasons people stop using coupons at the grocery store is the process of gathering the needed coupons for your grocery list. If you cannot find them, you will not use them.

When you decided which blog or website you going to use to print your grocery list, you will need to retrieve your actual coupons based on that blog site. One of the first sources for collecting your coupons is the Sunday edition of your local newspaper. The Sunday paper will have all of the circulars and coupons. The coupon inserts in the Sunday edition are Red Plum, smart source and Procter & Gamble. For some shoppers, this is the only source for coupons, this is the only source for coupons.

Once I have retrieved the coupon inserts from the newspaper, I write the published date of the coupon insert on the front of the circular. Sometimes I purchased as many as 4 to 5 newspapers. I removed all of the coupon inserts and date them. Next, I make a file based on the published date of the coupon inserts. I do not clip coupons at this time. This may seem strange to the new couponer; however, this method saves a lot of time. I only cut coupons when it is time for me to go shopping. You can file your folders as you would any other office file. Currently I have two file boxes: one labeled SmartSource and the other labeled Red Plum. I make a folder for Procter & Gamble and place that in one of the two file boxes.

One of the best places to get coupons outside of the Sunday circulars is the "All You" magazine. I do not clip coupons from the magazine either until it is time for me to go shopping. The great thing about this magazine is the coupon index located at the front of the magazine. The Index provides the name of the coupon alphabetically and the page number. I have a separate file box these magazines. Their other magazines that have coupons but I prefer this publication as it has the most coupons and coupon shopping tips.

Coupons are often located on the actual merchandise itself. They can be in the forms of cutouts or adhered coupons. Most grocery stores have smart source coupon boxes that are located in front of various merchandise. The boxes have a blinking red light. Blogs shopping list often refer to these coupons as "blinkies." While I'm shopping, I collect these coupons. Some stores offer various publications to promote sale items and offer coupons to the shoppers. Sometimes, they are located at the front of the store and throughout the store at various displays.

I have only listed a few places where to begin your coupon gathering; however, you will begin to notice coupons and places you never thought to look. It is exciting to find new locations for coupons. One of the new stars on the block for coupons is the Internet. If you search the Internet for food manufacturers, you'll often find promotions utilizing coupons. When you register at the sites, you will begin to receive newsletters and promotional coupons. Some of the advertisements on this site promote some of the best sites to obtain your Internet coupons.

My Internet printable coupons are the only coupons I actually clip and organize. I place these coupons in the clutch organizer. I also file my "blinkies" and coupons from store tearpads in my coupon clutch organizer. I realize some shoppers for to clip coupons every week from the newspaper. Filing is quicker and easier. I never said couponing was easy. If you make the process of collecting and organizing your coupons tedious, you will eventually stop collecting coupons and using them at the store.

Next, I'll begin to give you some very simple instructions on obtaining your shopping list and organizing your coupons.