Every customer is always looking for ways to save while they buy. One of the easiest and most practical ways to save is through coupons. In the recent past, coupon redemption has been a key saving strategy both online and offline. Therefore, there is no doubt that the trend will persist this year. As a smart couponer, you need to know how you can leverage the discount offers this year. You need a priority list, and here are the best practices that you need to follow to redeem your coupons:
Table of Contents
Befriending Coupon Sites
It goes without saying that the best deals are on coupon sites. They are there to provide you with the most recent discount offers purposely. There is a number of popular sites available to find the latest deals. The easiest way to do it is to sign up for a user account and to set customized alerts. You can also download their mobile version to conveniently set up coupon alerts.
Coupon Trading
At times, you may be having coupons that you do not need. There are other couponers out there in the same situation. What if you trade your coupons? This is what coupon trading is all about. It’s a practice that protects you from wasting your coupons.
Coupon Organization
Once you get the coupons that you need, the next thing is to organize them. You need to arrange them based on the store, nature of discount or product to be redeemed. To effectively do this, you’ll need an organizer wallet. You’ll need to print the digital coupons to organize them in the wallet. The wallet will help you see and access the coupons easily.
Preparing the Grocery List
Once you have the coupons that you need and are ready to redeem them, you need a grocery list. The grocery list should take the arrangement of the coupons in the organizer’s wallet. This will help you save time when redeeming your coupons.
Learning Couponing Etiquette
It’s necessary that you know acceptable couponing practices. For starters, you are only allowed to redeem valid coupons. Thus, coupons that are expired should be avoided. You’ll have to confirm this before you go to the store to redeem the coupons. In addition, you need to avoid the couponing pitfalls such as:
- Coupon duplication
- Coupon stealing
- Misuse of rainchecks
- Shelf Clearing
Understanding Couponing Language
Lastly, you have to know the language that is used in the coupon sites. The most common ones are:
- Manufacturer coupon: This means that the coupon is offered by the maker of the product.
- Store coupon: This is also known as the retailer coupon and is offered by the store selling the product.
- Coupon stacking: This is when you use both the manufacturer and the retailer’s coupon on a transaction.
- BOGO (B1G1): It means that you get a free item after buying a similar one.
- One coupon per transaction: It simply means that you can only use a given coupon once to shop.
Generally, coupon redemption can be a great way to reduce your monthly shopping expenses. However, the experience can be overwhelming if you are not prepared for it. It takes the above practices to be better equipped for the cost-saving strategy.
