Starting to Coupon?

I've gotten a couple of requests about how and where to begin with the couponing for grocery shopping. So I thought I would post my tips and ideas. As you begin you will start to find your own niche and what works for you. Go with it, and remember the most important thing is to not stress out!
When beginning, only cut out coupons you know you are going to use. Cutting out everything is a waste of time. If you don't have a dog don't cut out the coupons for dogfood! I know this sounds common sense but you won't believe what some people do! The first couple of weeks you might feel more comfortable putting all your coupons in one place and not have them organized. Then when you head to the grocery store make a mental note about how you shop. Where do you start? How do you go down the aisles? What do you buy first and what do you buy last? Write the answers down. This I find will help you organize your coupons. For example, when I shop at the grocery store I start out in the frozen (I don't know why, that just happens to be on the right side of the store!). So I put all my frozen coupons together in an envelope. The next aisles are my canned and boxed goods, so all those go in an envelope, etc.
On Wednesday's I sit down (during nap time) and look at the grocery store flyer. I do this because it happens to come in the mail on Tuesday afternoon. I look at all the sales for that week and with a pencil I circle the items that we use in our household. Then I start at the front of the ad and I look for coupons in my stash that match up to the items I have circled in the flyer. I get everything together and then I make a written list of what I am going to get at the store. I write the item down then next to it I write how many I need (based on what the coupon says). I know this sounds tedious but I don't have much time when I shop. I don't have time to flip through coupons and read them. I have a time limit when I shop so I have to do it the fastest I can and I have found this way works the best! There are always items that I need that I don't have coupons for, that's when I head to the computer. Coupons.com is a great site to find what you need. Also, I check the actual company website, you can find great coupons on there! Print them off and use them, that's what they are there for! Then there will be times that you can't find a coupon for an item that is currently on sale. You have to ask yourself if you really need that! If it's a great deal, buy it, if not, don't! In our house we don't buy much that we don't have a coupon for, we make do with out it for awhile! But that is a personal decision you have to make.
After a couple of weeks you will start to get the hang of this and start to see how much money you are saving. This is when you can go bigger. Ask neighbors if they use their coupons, if not ask them to save them for you. Collect as many as you can from the Sunday papers and you can save even more!
When starting out, don't shop at every grocery store in town. I only shop at one! I don't have time to shop all over town and compare ads and sales. I don't even have the time to read the blogs that do the sales/coupons matchup for me! I have my one store I go to and that's it. I do go to one drugstore as well, and I do the same process for that as well.
Don't stress over it. Just like anything else that is new, it will take time to get better at. You will never be perfect...there is always something new to learn. But remember what works for me may not work for you. You will have to find what works best for you. So be patient, calm and START SAVING!!!