The Cool Mom Guide welcomes guest poster Briana Carter, otherwise known as the famous ‘Bargain Briana‘ to give us tips on couponing.  Thanks to Briana from the great advice!  If you have a thrifty post of your own, add it to the  Mr. Linky below!

Don’t just use a coupon, use it effectively.

Before I started “hard core” couponing, I used coupons but never understand how to use them effectively. I would get to the store with my coupons and then realize the generic item was still cheaper even with a coupon. Now, as an effective coupon user, I know if I’m patient with my coupon until the best possible rock bottom sale occurs, I can get name brand items for a fraction of the generic counterparts. By practicing effective coupon usage, you can cut your grocery bill in half or more!

A few tips to use your coupons effectively:

• Choose the stores you are going to shop at. Sign up for their rewards card or any newsletters, etc. You will get the best deals if you sign up for their reward card. Learn their coupon policies (doubling, accept internet coupons, etc.) and sales dates. Sometimes sale dates vary from store to store so if you plan at shopping at more than one location, find out if they are on the same sale schedule.
• Shop at the store with the regular higher prices. Yes, the regular higher prices. They usually have the best sales to attract customers into their store. As an effective coupon user, you will only buy the items which are at the rock bottom prices and pair it with your coupons.
• Meal Plan. If you don’t already have a nice stockpile, plan your recipes around the weekly sale items and stockpile the lowest priced items. Browse websites and blogs to find some great recipe ideas if you are in a meal plan rut.
• Scour the weekly ads and find blogs/websites that already do the hard work of matching up the coupons for you. Why reinvent the wheel? Just do a google blog search of “X Store Deals” and a nice list of blogs which cover these stores should pop up.
• After you have finished making your list, stick to it. Stockpile those items which are rock bottom prices. You may want to buy/obtain at least 3-4 newspapers a week until you build your stockpile.
• Don’t use a coupon just because it is about to expire (unless it is a free item coupon!). No worries, usually when one coupon expires, another one is released

Briana Carter, a married mother of 4 active kids aged 10, 8, 4, and 2 started her blog “Bargain Briana” in the summer of July 2008 in response to a family and friend’s interest in her bargain shopping. Happy with just sharing the bargains with family, the bargains are now being read by thousands of readers every day. If you are new to couponing, you can check out Briana’s new series, “15 days of couponing” which will guide you through the art of couponing to maximize your savings so you can save money and help others.

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