The first thing you will need to get started are coupons. There are several ways to get ahold of them. Sunday papers usually have several coupon inserts in them. There are also lots of online coupons you can print at home. The best websites are redplum.com, coupons.com, and smartsource.com.

The inserts that come in the Sunday papers are as follows:

• Smart Source (SS)
• Proctor & Gamble (P&G)
• Red Plum (RP)

When I refer to an insert I abbreviate it as shown above.

Other coupon lingo:

• B1G1F/BOGOF- Buy one get one free
• Catalina- This coupon prints out in a little white machine beside the register.
• ECB- Refers to CVS Pharmacy’s “Extra Care Bucks”
• RR- Walgreen’s coupons that you can use on your next purchase 
• Peelies- Sticky coupons you can peel off of products

Getting started with couponing can be a bit overwhelming. Hopefully the following tips will help you along the way.

• Don’t feel like you have to get every deal out there. You won’t be saving much if you spend time and money buying things you don’t need.
• There are two ways of organizing coupons that I think work great. The first is to date each set of Sunday coupons that come in the newspaper and then file them in date order. Then when a deal is listed and you want to find the coupon for that item you can just pull it out and cut. The second is to cut coupons and organize them into a filing notebook that works for you. I have seen people use small accordian folders for particular stores as well as large notebooks with baseball card collecting sheets used to organize them. The important thing is to find what works for you.
• Wait to use your coupons when items go on sale. Don’t feel like you have to use them right away.
• When you are getting a killer deal on an item get as many as you can so you don’t end up paying retail prices the next time you need the item.
• Buy a couple Sunday papers. I like to get around 4 because it allows me to stock up on items my small family uses.
• Look for the smaller sized items to use your coupons with. A lot of the time you will be able to get free or near free items when combined with a coupon.