Couponing 010 - Remedial Couponing

If you want to start saving money by using coupons like those extreme couponers on TV, but don't know where to begin, here are the basics!

Start with one store (I recommend CVS) and one coupon blog that matches the coupons to the sales for you. In addition to mine, SouthernSavers, IHeartCVS (she has sites for the other 2 as well), and Coupon Mom are all great places to start.

Make a list of everything you want to get and exactly what coupons you need. You should know what the coupon is for, its value and where it came from so you can find it yourself. If you haven't started a coupon collection yet, you need to start! Read my tips on getting organized here. Put together all the coupons you'll need along with your list before you head out the door.

When you get to the drug store, always grab the weekly ad. This will help you to verify a sale at your store (this is especially helpful if there are no shelf tags showing the sale on the item you wanted to buy). Also, if you shop at CVS, ALWAYS visit the coupon kiosk (AKA - magic coupon machine) first when you get to the store. The more you visit it, the more likely you will get a coupon for something you need and you never know when you'll get one that you'll want to use right away.

Once you've found your items, you're ready to check out. If you're using store and manufacturer's coupons (the ones you'd find in the Sunday paper) for the same item, it's usually a good idea to hand the manufacturer's coupons to the cashier first.

That's it!! Hopefully your list worked out, you saved a lot of money and you're walking away with rebates to roll next week. Once you've passed remedial couponing, try reading my posts under "Couponing 101" and get the hang of shopping at all 3 drug stores.