I come from a long line of couponers. I look forward to greeting cards stuffed with coupons from mom, as well as that monthly card from grandma including a Ruby Tuesday coupon. Still, I consider myself only to be in the beginning stages of perfecting my couponing craft. I’m nowhere near those extreme couponers on TLC, and I definitely haven’t mastered the nuances of double-couponing or internet couponing yet.

But even though I’m not an expert, yesterday, every single item we purchased was either 1) on sale, 2) coupon-ed, 3) on sale and also coupon-ed. I saved $31 dollars on purchases between Kroger & Walgreens, spending 60 dollars instead of 90, so I think I’m doing pretty well.

Here are some tips for beginning couponers as you are getting started or perfecting your craft.

1) Invest: Couponing requires the investment of time and money, but these are well worth the ultimate savings. I coupon the old fashioned way, which requires a good pair of scissors (believe me, your hand wants it) and either a subscription to the newspaper or heading out bright and early on a weekend to pick up your paper (Note: we only get a Saturday paper, but most sales don’t start until Sunday). I spend about 45 minutes to an hour working through every flyer and clipping coupons, usually on a Saturday after breakfast. Buying this paper, versus couponing only on the internet, makes life so easy by having all of the coupons and sales right in front of you so you can easily develop your shopping plan. I begin preliminary sorting, putting frozen foods in one section and paper goods in the other. This helps me later, when I file the coupons.

One of my biggest suggestions is to invest in a coupon organizer. I used to keep coupons in envelopes. This was a haphazard method which made couponing seem more like a hassle than it was worth. My savings increased monumentally once I decided to buy an organizer and actually get organized. November of 2010, I bought mine from Etsy, an accordion style organizer that fits in my purse with an owl pattern on the outside, for about 10 dollars. You can find more inexpensive organizers at places like Walmart or Big Lots, or you could probably even make your own organizer, but remember that this is an item you will use several times a week, will want easy access to, and will want to love. At times when couponing seems tedious, these little owls make me happy. Etsy even has organizers that hang off the back of your shopping cart to help you improve your shopping experience.

My coupon organizer is broken up into the following categories: Today’s Shopping Coupons, Baking Products, Beverages/Snacks, Canned Goods/Frozen Foods/Soups, Cereals/Breakfast Foods, Cleaning Products, Dairy Products/Meats, Drug Items, Paper Goods/Wraps/Baby Products, Pastas/Rices/Helpers, Sauces/Seasonings/Condiments/Dressings, New Products/Pet Foods/Miscellaneous.

I also spend about 10 to 15 minutes every week cleaning out the expired coupons, usually before I file the new ones. It’s important to maintain your organizer. Keeping it clean will keep you from feeling overwhelmed when you’re searching for that coupon that you know you have.

2) Clip everything: No, you might not think that you need some of these items, but clip them all just in case. I clip everything with a “be prepared” kind of mentality. For example, we don’t normally eat crackers or keep crackers around the house, but I clip the coupons anyway. When I was invited to a baby shower in November, I went through my coupon book to brainstorm what I should/could bring, and I found a great coupon for Triscuits. I brought cheese and crackers, which were a hit, to the shower, and I saved money! Also, clipping everything doesn’t just help you out, but it can also help out a friend or neighbor. Though we don’t own a dog, I even clip out dog food/dog treat coupons to give to a friend of ours who does have a dog.

I could also subtitle this category “Don’t be a snob”. Sometimes you will see brand names that you don’t recognize and go “err…”. But couponing isn’t just about saving on those big brand names; it’s also about trying new (sometimes unknown) brands and new foods. Clip everything, and then consider those unknown items when you’re in the store. One coupon-purchased item that comes to mind is Langers Pineapple juice, an item I would’ve never tried because I didn’t initially recognize the name, that I really enjoyed with breakfast.

3) Stock up: No, we don’t all have big apartments or houses with a lot of room for stocking up, but when an item is on sale, it is worth the Tetris game of trying to make space for these items. I especially feel strongly about stocking up with paper goods—always stock up if you have coupons for Kleenex, toilet paper, or paper towels. This week, Walgreens had a coupon for 99 cents Kleenex boxes (78 to 110 sheets) with a maximum of three boxes purchased. I bought the maximum—three. Since I’ve been sick the last week, this purchase helps replenish my supply and also stock up. This is a coupon that Walgreens repeats (alternating between Kleenex and Puffs), and I regularly utilize.

The other week, I had a buy one/ get one free coupon for Suave lotion. Though I don’t normally use Suave and I already have a lot of lotion in the house, this seemed like a good deal, so we picked them up. (These numbers are approximate, as I do not remember the exact numbers.) Each lotion was $2.50. So already I was saving $2.50, since one of the lotions was free. However, because the coupon said “Buy one/get one free, up to $3.00”, Walmart deducted $3.00 instead of the $2.50 I’d expected, making the one lotion cost only $2.00. Because I wasn’t afraid to stock up, I saved 60% off my purchase instead of the expected 50%. And sometime I’m sure these lotions will be put to good use.

4) Restrain Yourself: Yes, it’s good to save money, but not at the cost of our bodies. Being healthy always comes first. For example, right now I have coupons for Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix, the new Oreo Ultimate Icing, Hershey’s Smores Dessert Icing, Two Stand Up Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Drops, etc. Am I going to race out to use all of these coupons just because I have the coupons? Absolutely not. I do not let the coupons run the shopping trip. I am in charge of the shopping trip.

I’ve clipped everything just in case I need the coupons (who knows—I could be asked to bring a dessert to a dinner party in the next month), but some of these items really are “just in case” kind of items. This is where restraining yourself and using good food judgment is so important. What are the just in case items and what are the items that I need? I avoid buying heavily processed food items, even if I’ve got the coupon. I make sure to use the healthy coupons that I have (Smart balance Milk & butter run regularly in the paper—I hardly ever buy regularly priced milk). The impulse sale buy is okay (Yesterday I saw 2 Kroger Steam Veggies for 4 dollars, great deal!), but you can’t buy EVERYTHING, especially if everything includes the processed foods, the potato chips, the sweets, etc. on every single shopping trip. It’s one thing to stock up, but it’s another to use coupons and stocking up to justify bad health habits.

5) Be Guiltless: I realize that I won’t be able to use coupons for every item on every single shopping trip, and I will never lose sleep over it. I’ll never find a coupon for Bogie’s litter or catfood. (Let’s hope I’m wrong on this!) This morning I had a delicious breakfast of chocolate chips & almond butter mixed in cottage cheese—none of these items were sale items. Restraining myself and making sure that my health is the number one priority helps me feel guiltless when an item I want or need isn’t one that I am saving money on. Yeah, I’ve got the Tide coupons, but we’re always going to buy All because we have sensitive detergent skin. And of course, sometimes personal taste comes into play. Derrick’s Blueberry Frosted Mini Wheats are hardly ever on sale, but I won’t force him to eat Cheerios for every breakfast just because I have the Cheerios coupons. We don’t eat food just because it’s on sale. We eat food because we enjoy it and it is tasty.

Every shopping trip is a balancing act. “How much money can I save?” is a game, not a chore. Because I keep the couponing in game territory, I don’t feel guilty when an item doesn’t make the coupon cut, when an item’s not on sale, when a coupon item I was searching for is out of stock. It happens. There’s always next week’s newspaper, and there’s always next week’s shopping trip.