subject: Saving Money with Discount Coupons [print this page] Saving Money with Discount Coupons Saving Money with Discount Coupons
Most of the Retailers are offering a variety of discounts and shopping vouchers to entice the shoppers into their stores. From the hundreds of items available in the store, Discounts are offered on chosen items each week or for a period of time. It is possible to save hundreds of dollars on the household bills by the,
The Forward planning.
Undertaking some research on prices.
Exercising discipline in purchasing and storing the products.
Planning to Stock Items:
Having a specific place in the home to store the items which is very important. A pantry cupboard set aside for this purpose or a set of shelves in a spare room will suffice for some dry goods which are canned items. If purchasing cold or frozen items, then a fridge/freezer will be required.
Once the items are placed in a pantry or shelves, then they are readily visible, one tends to forget that they are there. Therefore, a whiteboard or similar that can be placed on a wall near the pantry or cupboard is necessary. When the items are placed in storage, it is important to write on the board with the following information:
Quantity and item description
Date purchased
Expiry Date, if it is relevant
Number remaining which provides the column which have a reducing number as the item is used.
Doing the Research:
If there is more than one store that carries similar items within the close proximity of the house it would be beneficial to do a comparison of the prices from the stores. For instance, one store may offer an item at a discount price but the other store may carry the identical item at the same price or even lower. In this instance, buying in quantity from the first store will not result in actual savings.
Collecting the Discount Coupons:
The weekend papers and the local papers publish discount coupons for various household items. Cut out the coupons for the items that the household is interested in and place in a file with the name of the store offering the discount. The Catalogs and flyers that come through the mail also carry shopping vouchers for items on sale. Similarly these can be collected and filed.
The filing system has to be organized in such a way that is a cross-referenced by the store name and by the date of expiry of the discount coupon or voucher.
How to Maximize Savings:
When preparing the shopping list for the week, look at the discount items for that week and try to work out how much of a particular item the family would use for a month, or longer if it is an item that does not deteriorate. Make a list of the items and the quantities which will be needed, taking into account which is already available at home and the week's budget.
When the items are brought home, try to place the number of items required for the week in the kitchen pantry, laundry or in the other area as required and the balance on the storage shelves. Do not forget to write the details on the whiteboard of the wall. This is an area where the cooperation of the whole family is needed. If someone uses an item in the storage area and forgets to change the number on the board, the total is not accurate always.
Thus, Collecting the Discount coupons and shopping vouchers with the researching prices and planning for the storage of goods which require the investment of some time. However, if it is done in a disciplined way with the money saved will be compensated for the time invested.
