If you’re anything like me, when I was first exposed to the world of budget saving couponing, I was so overwhelmed that I didn’t know where to begin. I started once, thought it was too difficult and quit. I didn’t think you could truly save the money people said they could, and it definitely didn’t seem to be worth my time. However, I have now discovered that it does work and I can save more money than people said you could save.

Some basic couponing principles to follow are:

1. Use coupons when items are on sale
2. stock up on items that you frequently use
3. Be willing to go to more than one store for your purchases

Often I buy the smallest rice, diaper package possible because I am more likely to get that item free. Most stores allow you to stack coupons. That means that you can use a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon on an item that is on sale and often get that item for pennies or even better for free.

When I first began couponing, I learned how to coupon at one store at a time. This was so much easier than trying to learn how to coupon at all of the stores at the same time. Some stores can be confusing at first, but I have posted the basics for each of the stores that I have learned to coupon at. Coupons really can help you save much money and live within your budget.

I am here to help you in that process! Sign up for my daily newsletter so that you will know about the latest coupons, freebies and deals. Feel free to ask me questions. I love helping people that are learning how to coupon!!

To help those of you who are new with this, I’ve come up with a Weekly Plan to ease you into couponing and explain some things along the way. I hope you enjoy and start saving money.

Week 1 – Getting Organized
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons. This may seem overwhelming, and you may think – why do I need all of these? Start by clipping all of them because you’ll be surprised at the coupons you can use and then get paid for buying an item that you had already gotten for free. Since you don’t know which ones of these there are yet, clip all of them.
* Start printing coupons. These are the best sites to find printable coupons:

1. Coupons.com
2. Red Plum
3. SmartSource
4. Coupon Network
5. Free Coupon Alerts
6. Target coupons

* Buy a 3 ring binder, baseball card holders, and dividers. Click here and here to see how to organize this notebook.
* Unless you’re Superman or Wonder Woman – don’t try and shop this week.

Week 2 – Get Started (Rite Aid and 1 Grocery Store)
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons. For reasons why see week 1.
* Print all coupons from bar in the left column. (You can click “See all Coupons,” then select to print all.) Check back at Smartsource.com and redplum.com to see if there are any new coupons to print.
* Using Budget Saving Mom’s deal finders (the drugstores should be published Sunday/Monday, and the grocery store deals will come out Monday/Wednesday/Thursday), pick a drug store and one grocery store to go to. I would suggest starting with Rite Aid because they are the easiest to follow. To see Rite Aid’s policy click here. For a list of all store policies and budget saving tips, click here. REMEMBER YOU HAVEN’T STOCKPILED VERY MANY COUPONS YET, SO YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GET ALL THE DEALS THAT ARE LISTED. BE PATIENT, WITHIN 3-4 MONTHS, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET THE ENTIRE LIST OF DEALS.
* BEFORE going to the stores, get two envelopes and label them with the names of the stores. Print the deals from Budget Saving Mom’s site that you plan on buying. Pull the coupons that correspond to the deals that you will be getting and put them in the envelope. You can still bring in your notebook and search for additional deals after you have gotten the items from your list in your cart (or stroller if you are like me.)
* Since you’re new at this and until you have a good idea of how much you should pay, limit yourself to buying only items that are free, less than a dollar after coupons, and things that you are pretty sure you will use. Remember, when you’re buying an item that you can get multiple sizes of, get the smallest size you can to maximize the amount of money you will save. (For example if you have a $1 off coupon for a body wash, buy the 4 oz. one that costs $1.25 as opposed to the $3.50 8 oz. one).

Week 3 – Rite Aid and another grocery store
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons.
* Print all the printable coupons on the sidebars.
* Go to your drug store from last week. And using Budget Saving Mom’s deals that are listed, pick the best money saving grocery store for this week to go to.
* Do the same as last week. Print your list, highlight which items you’re getting, and put your coupons in an envelope and bring your list. Also, bring along your notebook for any extra time you may have to find other deals.

Week 4 – CVS and a grocery store
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons.
* Print all the printable coupons on the sidebars.
* Try out CVS. When you get into the store, don’t forget to get a CVS card BEFORE you make your purchases. To see how CVS works, click here. Limit yourself to only purchasing those things that you can get Extra Care Bucks back and that will then turn out to be free or moneymakers.
* Also, pick the grocery store with the best deals for this week, print your list, pull your coupons and envelopes and hit the road. Print your list, highlight which items you’re getting, and put your coupons in an envelope. Also, bring along your notebook for any extra time you may have to find other deals.

Week 5 – CVS again with extra care bucks and a grocery store
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons.
* Print all the printable coupons on the sidebars.
* Do CVS again, this time you can spend some of those Extra Care Bucks, but make sure that you are also purchasing something that will replenish your Extra Care Bucks stash.
* Pick your grocery store to shop at. Print your list, highlight which items you’re getting, and put your coupons in an envelope and bring these items with you. Also, bring along your notebook for any extra time you may have to find other deals.

Week 6 – Walgreens
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons.
* Print all the printable coupons on the sidebars.
* If you’re feeling bold, you can try out Walgreens. Click here for instructions on how to save at Walgreens.
* Pick your grocery store. Print your list, highlight which items you’re getting, and put your coupons in an envelope and bring these items with you. Also, bring along your notebook for any extra time you may have to find other deals.

So, there you go – you’re 6 weeks into this, your stash of coupons should be building, and you should be saving money!

For additional information:

1. Stocking Up (buying more than you need right now to save later)- a new way of shopping.
2. Balancing Coupons with Life: part 1, part 2, part 3
3. A Newbie Success Story
4. Store Policies
5. Additional ways to get coupons
6.Budget Saving Tips when shopping
7. Budget Saving Freebie Tips

Remember to sign up for my FREE daily newsletter, so that you can get the deals delivered to your mailbox each day!

I hope that this helps you save money on your budget, leave a comment or e-mail if you have any questions.

Here are some additional great reads for beginning couponers:

How To Coupon from How To Have It All

How To Start Using Coupons from Luv A Bargain

Basics for Beginners: I visited my sister this week, and she was a self-proclaimed “abysmal failure” in the world of couponing. So, she asked me to help her this week. Here’s what happened in her words:

I am definitely proof that anyone can coupon. Unlike my sister, I do not have a photographic memory. I can’t add/subtract or multiply to save my life. I definitely gravitated towards the more creative artsy side, whereas my sister was always the practical one. So, I’d tried to read the blog and felt like a total failure. I’d get up to the counter, the cashier would ring me up and I’d either a) stand there like a moron and forget to GIVE her the coupons, or b) have gotten all the wrong things and the coupons didn’t match. I was also totally baffled by how in the world my sister could post these amazing things – like saving 80% or more on groceries. So, here’s a testimony from a total space cadet that is now convinced, I can actually coupon, do it well, and what method works for those of us on the more creative side of life :).

Myths Busted:
MYTH: I can do as well as what my sister posts at the beginning of my foray into couponing.
FACT: I can only do this well after several months of stocking up coupons and faithfully printing off the coupons she references (check out the side bar for some of these).

MYTH: All drugstores have the same prices.
FACT: Apparently I am extremely poor living among people who are WAY too wealthy for their own good. When my sister’s Walgreens in Winston-Salem has GoodNites go on clearance, they and most of the country mark them down to $2. MY Walgreen’s marks them down to $9. BIG DIFFERENCE. Even my CVS was a few cents higher in price in some things than my sister’s.

MYTH: All I have to do is walk into the drugstore and look for the little hanging signs that say rebate, sale, Extra Care Bucks, etc.
FACT: My store owners are morons. I have to pick up a sales paper at the front of the store because most of the time they haven’t hung the little signs. Now that I KNOW this – I won’t spend forever walking up and down the rows hunting for little hanging signs.

ACTUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
This is the part I’m REALLY, REALLY excited about! My sister walked me through the first couple of stores, and then, at the end, she hung back and I took the lead. And (now, remember we were using her coupons for a lot of it). We went to CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Lowe’s Foods, Harris Teeter, and Walmart (which she will post about soon). We SHOULD have spent – $344.52. We ACTUALLY SPENT $51.76. THAT’S A SAVINGS OF OVER 85%%%%%%%!!!!!!!!!!! WOW! I did it!!! Check out our picture! (This is actually only part of what we bought. Remember my space cadetness – I left a lot in the refrigerator and on the counter.)

WHAT METHOD I’M GOING TO USE AND WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND FOR THOSE A LITTLE LESS ORGANIZED THAN MY AMAZING SIS:
1. I have 3 children – a 2 year old, and 1 year old twins. First, I’m no longer going to try to do this with 3 children with me. Period. Maybe one store here and there. Nope, not going to happen. They hate me by the end. And I don’t really like being with them at that point. So, for the sake of our relationship – I’ll be going solo.
2. While I’m at HOME, I’m going to print out my little list from her site, highlight the ones I’m getting, and put my coupons in an envelope and only carry that into a store.
3. If my store owners are pandering to the way too wealthy – that doesn’t mean I’m going to buy that item. I like the cheap side of life a lot better. So…when it’s marked up at my store, I’m either going to question it – or (novel concept) NOT buy it. And with my little list – I’ll know what it was supposed to be :).
4. I’m going to store up on the free stuff.
5. I realized my sister doesn’t buy every great deal on the list every week. She only buys the stuff her family eats and the cheapest stuff and waits on the rest. So…that’s what I’m going to do too.

SO…I’m TOTALLY sold on couponing. You can do it too!