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Saving coupons can be very useful. It can be hard in the beginning to keep up with all those little slips of paper. The key to saving them is organization, organization, organization. If you put them in order of the date they expire, then separate them as food, non-food and so on, you can be a pro in no time!

I have been saving coupons for over three years now. In the beginning, I would forget I ever had the coupon to begin with, then when I would buy the item that I had the coupon for, I would have left it at home. I learned to get them together, and keep them in plastic zip bags in my purse so that when I would go shopping I would have them with me.

You have to take them with you if you are going to use them. I put them in separate bags, so that my food coupons are in a separate bag than my non-food coupons. I have never been a stickler for keeping up with who has what on sale, and now days, most stores will either put the same products on sale, or match what's on sale at another store. I just focus on the coupons.

I have run across some really great deals, and saved even more with the coupons, making them work to my advantage. You can almost get some items for free if you run across a really good sale, then have a coupon to get more off of the sale price. You can do this with other things besides groceries, like clothes and books.

The best way to save is to use those coupons that say you get so much off of one item. I don't see that it's much of a savings if you only need one of something, but you have to buy two, or three just to save a dollar. I usually put the multiple purchase coupons until last. In most cases, I never use the multiple purchase coupons unless I'm planning on buying something that I would buy more than one of, like soup.

It's best to organize coupons as you get them. Go ahead and clip them then bag them up so that they don't get damaged or misplaced. Before you go shopping, make a list, and if you know right away that you have coupons for some of those items, get them ready. Put them in your wallet along with your cash or in your check book. That way you don't forget them. You can't save money if you don't use them.

Think before you use the coupons. If you don't really need, or even use a product on the coupon, then don't buy it! This can lead to overspending and then you really don't save money. Only use coupons for the stuff you already use, or really want to try. I learned that I would blow way too much money if I bought a lot of stuff just because I had a coupon.

Some coupons offer you a free product-these are the really good ones. All you have to pay is sales tax. I've used so many of the freebies, and I've gotten to try to really great stuff for it. I know that it can be frustrating to get to the register and think you got what was on the coupon and the cashier points out that you didn't get the right item or that you had to buy something along with the item to get it free, so read the coupon carefully!

I enjoy clipping coupons and I enjoy saving the money too! You just have to know how to handle them. It's easy to get sucked into bad deals but with a little planning and coordination, you can get the hang of it in no time.

Learn more about this author, Sharon Duncan.
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