I know some of you are new to Frugally Thrifty and I wanted to welcome you on your new journey! Saving money can be so uplifting when you see the total of your grocery budget decrease over time. Learning to use coupons does take a little time to learn each store’s coupon policy and just how you can maximize your saving, but the end result is what makes this whole process amazing! 
It took me about 2 months to see a difference in my spending habits and for my grocery budget to decrease. Seeing the savings is not going to happen overnight and there will be times when you just want to throw in the towel. I have been there and that is why I am here to help you on your journey with these 8 hot tips that will help you get on your way to saving money sooner rather than later. Welcome to your new savings journey! Enjoy the ride!
First, let me tell you that there are many ways you can stay up to date with Frugally Thrifty. You can subscribe for free daily updates via Email to have the best coupons, freebies, and giveaways sent directly to you. You can also follow on Facebook and Twitter. Now, let’s start saving some money!
8 Quick Tips to Start Using Coupons
1. Start collecting coupons for a couple weeks before you head out to do your first trip to the store. You can purchase the Sunday paper each week @ your local convenient store or subscribe to your local Sunday newspaper (many offer just the Sunday edition to be delivered which will save you money). There is generally anywhere from 1-4 inserts each week. These coupon inserts include: SmartSource (SS), RedPlum (RP), General Mills (GM), and Procter & Gamble (P&G – comes out at the first of the month). On holiday weekends, there generally is not any inserts. Each week I will let you know just how many coupon inserts you can expect to see each week. This week’s preview is available here
2. Get multiple copies of the paper each week. I recommend 1 Sunday newspaper per family member in the house. I usually purchase 3 Sunday newspapers each week for our family of 4 because for every 2 kids, I say they eat the equivalent of 1 adult. That will definitely change as they get older. Some ways that you can get extra coupon inserts each week are:
- Ask friends, neigbors, & relatives (free if they aren’t going to use them anyways)
- Join your local Freecycle group and see if anyone has any available or would like to trade each week with you (win…win )
- Order multiples subscriptions through your local newspapers
- Order clipped or whole inserts from coupon clipping services, such as Coupons by Dede
- If you area allows it, you could check the local recycle bins. I highly recommend finding out the law on this in your state or city. Some allow it, others do not. I have never done it because it’s illegal in our area L
3. Use printable coupon sites. Each site allows you to print each coupon twice until they reset or new coupons are added each month. Sometimes new coupons come out in the middle of the month and I will let you know when that happens. My favorite sites to print coupons include:
4. Check your local grocery store for blinkies. Blinkes are those little red machines you see on the aisle by the products they are for. There are quite a few of these little machines in each store. The manufacture places these in the stores to entice you to purchase the product (even if it’s not on sale), so what I do is grab a few and hold onto them until I find a sale. Because they are manufacture coupons, you can use them anywhere!
5. Sign up for free samples. When the manufacture offers a free sample, they generally include a coupon with the product so you can save on it later. I have received coupons for free products and high value coupons off the product you are trying. This is just another great way to start stocking up on coupons.
6. Head over to your favorite manufactures website and you would be surprised how many offer coupons directly from signing up with their newsletter or even on their Facebook wall. Facebook has become my favorite way to get coupons for products. There are so many manufactures offering them on a regular basis. Sometimes they even offer a giveaway for free products to so many people that sign up at the specified time. If you are signing up for the free newsletters, I highly recommend setting up a secondary email account for the newsletter sign-ups. This will keep your personal inbox free and clear of all the coupons you will start receiving from these companies. If you need a secondary email account, you can set one up for FREE through Gmail (google platform). Gmail is the best FREE email platform by far that I have ever used.
7. Sometimes you will get coupons at the register called catalinas (CAT). These coupons could be for $X off your next purchase for buying a specific product or a coupon for a product you purchased. These coupons are marked with the stores logo and are usually only allowed to be used at the store you received it at. I have not tried to use them at Walmart, but it is my understanding that you can use these CAT’s from other stores at your local Walmart. Guess I should try that and let you know how it goes 
8. Use the Frugally Thrifty Coupon Database to find all the latest coupons in one spot. This is the best way to help you save time and money. Think of a product you would like a coupon for and type it in the search bar, hit enter, and you may be surprised how easy it is to find coupons
Check out more couponing 101 tips below:
- Stockpiling 101 & What Is A Good Price To Pay
- Coupon Myths Debunked: Part 1
- Coupon Myths Debunked: Part 2
- Part 1: Meal Planning & Coupon Policies
- Part 2: Shopping & Coupon Lingo
- Part 3: Where to Get Coupons & Organizing
- History of the Coupon in Celebration of National Coupon Month
- Coupon Facts in Celebration of National Coupon Month
Check out blogs that will help you save money. My personal favorites include:
- Frugally Thrifty(of course!)– Frugally Thrifty is updated on a daily basis with free samples, new coupons, & even giveaways. Who doesn’t love winning something?
- We Use Coupons (forum style)
- Be Centsable (grocery deals by state)
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment or email me directly at: kristi @ frugallythrifty.com (take spaces out) and I am here to help!
Welcome!