organize your coupons
Photo by L. Davis

First, let me start by saying that this post is a recap my first experience in a coupon class for beginners.  I am not a coupon diva, coupon maverick, or coupon goddess, and I actually don’t really like to go shopping. So, when my good friend @couponanalyst told me she would be teaching a class today at a women’s conference I only signed up to help her out as a “teacher’s assistant”.  I surprised myself when I started taking notes along with the other women about different ways I too could walk out of store and pay next to nothing on products I grudgingly buy but need, like contact solution for instance.  Here is a quick sample of some tidbits from the class I thought I would share with you.

1. Do not photocopy a coupon. It’s considered coupon fraud and you can go to jail for it.
2. To get a great deal you can do something called stacking. Stacking is when you get a product on sale and combine it with a manufacturer’s coupon and a store coupon.
3. Unlike what is displayed on shows like extreme couponing, (I have never watched the show and I probably never will) you can’t use more the 1 store coupon and 1 manufacturer’s coupon per product. Also, many super couponers don’t actually condone the practices displayed on that tv show, they think it’s inconsiderate of other shoppers.
4. Manufacturers actually make money off of the coupons they put out there so, the old principle of it takes money to make money still applies; consumers are not hurting their businesses by using the coupons.
5. It is true that you can go shopping and legally walk out of the store paying absolutely nothing for your purchases.  

The class was much more informative than this short post. I was very impressed (again I am someone who generally does not like to shop), and have even considered using the nice coupon file (for a “coupon infant”) I was given for volunteering. If you are interested in couponing, coupon classes, and saving money in general, I recommend you check out couponanalyst.com

 Until next time………