It’s no secret that using coupons can save money on your grocery and household item bills. It can even help with clothing and other items as some stores offer coupons specifically for their stores. (If you are just starting out in using coupons be sure to check out my Beginner’s Coupon Guide). But what about the time it takes to coupon? Doesn’t it take so long it isn’t worth it? Sure, you could spend hours each week couponing but there’s no need. I’m going to show you how to coupon in 30 minutes a week.
Newspaper inserts – 10 minutes
Whether you buy a newspaper, get coupon inserts from friends and family, or make use of a coupon clipping service, this will take about 10 minutes. Once a week go through the inserts and cut out what you will use before the expiration date. If you use a coupon clipping service, look through the website and order the ones you need. Since it’s a coupon clipping service, they will already be cut for you.
Don’t spend a lot of time looking at each and every coupon and taking your time flipping the pages. This a coupon insert, not a magazine you are enjoying. Look at the pictures on the coupon. If you see an item you will use, check the expiration date and the description. If you can still use it, put it in a pile to cut later. Once you have all the ones you want set aside, then cut them out. Doing it in batches like this really helps save time.
Printable coupons – 10 minutes
Once a week set aside about 5 minutes to go through coupons.com to find coupons that you can use. Generally speaking, coupons here will be good for one month. However, it can vary. Sometimes they expire, sometimes later. There is no way to know until you print. My rule of thumb is to only print coupons I plan on using within the month to avoid wasting time, ink, and paper.
Plan on another 3 minutes for searching for specific brand coupons that you did not find on coupons.com. You’d be amazed how many more coupons you can find! The brand of probiotics I used to use often had a monthly $5 off coupon. Sometimes I can find a coupon for applesauce pouches for my kids through the brand’s Facebook page. Other times I’ve been able to find coupons for baby yogurt by going straight to their website.
Yes, this is time consuming so you may be wondering why I said only 3 minutes. You aren’t likely to search for multiple coupons in one week. Most likely you are only going to search for 1-3 coupons.
The remaining three minutes are for cutting out the coupons you printed.
Coupon in just 30 minutes per week. Find out how! Click To TweetCouponing apps – 10 minutes
The final 10 minutes in how to coupon in 30 minutes a week is going through couponing apps. These are the things like Ibotta, Checkout51, MobiSave, Savings Star, etc. As you are looking through these, be sure to check the “any brand” type ones. These are the ones that are just off any brand of milk, bread, produce, etc. Many of these apps have a few of these offered each week. The other thing to keep an eye out for is for products you already have a paper coupon for. Stacking a paper coupon with apps is allowed in most cases.
With Checkout51 and Ibotta, there are often bonuses. An example that I’ve seen is $1.50 off a certain brand of ketchup then another $0.50 off if you buy it at Walmart. Since the bottle is $1.97, even without a paper coupon to stack with it, it would be free in the end.
Couponing doesn’t have to take all your time. Sure, you could spent a ton of time looking for and cutting out coupons but there’s no need for that. Time is hard to come by so it’s best to use what we get wisely. By staying focused and having a plan, you can totally coupon in 30 minutes a week.
I’ve been couponing for several months and every little coupon adds up!
It really does!