Coupon 101: Florida

As you may have noticed, there seems to be a BIG difference in the couponing experience for the Florida couponer.

I am a lifetime resident of Florida and like the majority of couponers, the down economy has created a need for my family to coupon. However, in an area where the cost of living is difficult to keep up with, stores here in the South Florida area do not allow doubling of coupons so it makes it a bit harder to become quite as successful as you may have seen on a popular TLC show that looks into the lives of some of the best extreme couponers I have ever seen. This for me was a bit discouraging when I started this new venture until I realized one thing. I may not get all of my items for free, but I can still get really close to it. Besides, knowing that I am paying for the majority of my groceries with "paper" is mind blowing.

Now, I have to touch on this for a minute. If you want to save money, do not make up excuses as to why you do not have the time to do it. Don't say that you want to get your groceries for FREE and do nothing to make it happen! It is so simple that you can sort your pages and snip your coupons while watching your favorite TV show at night after the kids go to bed. Let's be honest here. If you can't find two to three hours a week to save hundreds of dollars, then you really do not care about saving money. Ever heard the old saying "money doesn't grow on trees?" Well, it really kind of does! So I must say "Thank you" to the beautiful trees in our land and the men and women processing it into paper so I can pay for my groceries with it. Think about it, you are afforded the opportunity to cut a few coupons and use it as money towards your purchases. Who wouldn't want that?

The first step to saving big: Get Coupons!
You need coupons in order to use them. First things first, subscribe to your local newspaper and get a minimum of two copies delivered each Sunday. You want two papers so that you will have duplicates of every coupon to use when there are BOGO (buy one get one FREE) deals.

Tips to sorting
I have found that it is easier if you lay out all of the "like" pages together. This way you can cut them all at once vs doing them individually which is a HUGE time saver. This is especially helpful if you are buying 10 papers with like coupons as I do.

Importance of Organization
Organization is a key element in the art of saving. Yes, I called it an art. Why? Because it does take a bit of dedication. If you are not organized, it will be very difficult to keep track of which coupons you have and in turn you will miss a great deal of opportunities to increase your stockpile.

I find it helpful to use a three-ring binder with sections labeled into categories such as cereal, dairy, frozen, baby, drug store, etc...

Find the Deals
Since coupon doubling in Florida is not allowed, you may want to become really familiar with stacking.

Stacking: Using 1 manufacturers and 1 store coupon per item.

This is especially beneficial when you are scoring BOGO deals! In this instance you can use 2 manufacturer and 2 store coupons!

Also, you want to find out if your store will accept printed coupons. There are many websites like Coupons.com as well as other coupon databases and manufacturer websites that you can print valuable coupons from.

Iphone and Android applications are great tools in locating the greatest discounts and many of them are FREE.

Patience and Dedication
If you are just starting out as a new couponer you must be patient and vow not to give up if you do not "get it" right away. Coupons cycle about every 12 weeks and expire about every 10. So, this is something that you must remain dedicated to.

Learn to shop a little differently
You have to change the way you shop in order to get the most out of your coupon experience. You may have to shop at a few different stores. You need to get used to buying things as they go on sale vs as you need them. Trust me, there is nothing better than needing toilet paper, soap or toothpaste and being able to just walk over to your stockpile and know that you got it for 30 cents vs the $2.49 you would have to pay today if you went out and got it!

You need to retrain your brain to think about the savings as a whole... just $20 a week adds up to $1040 a year. Now imagine if you were saving $200 a week or $10,400 a year. Now that's an entire salary for some people. The possibilities of what that money could free you up to do is endless.

For great deal alerts and links to FREE items, follow this feed on Facebook: Snip n Save Savvy Shopper.