Hey! You’ve made it to the end of this couponing 101 course. Congrats!!
Now, you must get out there and try one deal.
Since not all deals are made equal – some are more complex than others, I recommend that you find an easy deal that you fully understand, gather the coupons needed (if any), go out there and give it a shot.
I still remember my first couponing trip. I was so nervous, I was shaking. I must have walked through every aisles of the entire store 3 times before I had the guts to go checkout. lol. True story.
I was scared. Scared to make a mistake. Scared they would refuse me. Scared I will screwe something up. 🙂 But I made it out alive, and from that point on, I was hooked.
Here are some newbie tips for your first (or first few) couponing runs:
1. Avoid Extremely Hot Deals
Some hot deals (ones that many people desire) may not be the best deals to try as your “first run”, because they may likely be all sold out and I don’t want you to leave disappointed. 🙂 So if you had planned on doing a hot deal, keep in mind that it may be sold out, so have a backup deal to do.
2. Pick Easy Stores
For your first run, I would avoid Walgreens and Rite Aid, just because they tend to be more complicated than other stores, especially to a newbie. If you have a Target, that’s a good store to start.
I’m not saying don’t go to Walgreens. In fact, if you understand it based on our tutorials, and there’s a hot walgreens deal, and you feel up to the challenge, then do Walgreens. But if I was teaching my best friend how to coupon, Walgreens wouldn’t be my first pick to send her off on her first run (unless there’s a newbie friendly deal).
3. Nothing is 100% Smooth
…except a baby’s bottom. 🙂
In couponing, its pretty common to run into bad experiences. Maybe, your cashier gives you a hard time. Or you made a mistake in your math. Or you something doesn’t quite go as planned.
While these experiences will feel discouraging, frustrating and even painful. Know that this is normal.
4. Coupon Policy, Read Coupons, Common Issues
Its a good practice to read and even print out store coupon policies. Sometimes, stores will refused a coupon saying that its their policy, while their coupon policy states otherwise. Stay calm and point it out on their policy if you need.
Its also important to read coupons. Coupons usually have limits written on the coupon. Know this number. Stick to the limit and you shouldn’t have any problems.
Tip: The most common issue for a newbie. has to do with the verbiage “Limit Per Purchase vs. Per Transaction”. Limit 1 per purchase means you can use at most one coupon per item of the product, not transaction. Limit per transaction or per visit or per person is the total number of coupons you can use per transaction/visit/person.
Some inexperienced cashiers will confused “purchase” with the meaning of “transaction”, and tries to limit your coupon usage to one. When this happens, point this out to them, and if they still refuse, ask to speak to a manager.
5. Take it Easy on Yourself.
When you feel discouraged, give yourself a virtual pat-on-the-pack and say “Great job! You are still learning and already doing so great! I’m proud of you for trying! On to the next deal!”
Truthfully, looking back, I only have one regret, and that is being too hard on myself when things didn’t go well – whether that’s messing up the math, or picking an unfriendly cashier.
Also, take it easy. When I started, I would get so stressed out over a deal that I would lose sleep over it, and I would get sick from lack of sleep. Horrible, I know. That’s why I give this advice from personal experience: take it easy. It’s just a deal. Your health and wellbeing is more important.
So, learn from my mistakes. Be nice to yourself. If you’re finding yourself becoming too stressed out, take a step back, skip the deal. There’s always a new deal just around the corner.
Remember that mistakes create the foundation for learning any new skill. When mistakes happen, write them off as being part of the learning experience.
Enjoy!
Homework:
Go out and do your first deal. Go get em Young Grasshopper! I wish you great success.
- Got a Question? Click Here to Ask Me. 🙂
- Subscribe on YouTube For Future Videos
Speak Your Mind