Coupons 101: Triple coupons...

For those of you who are fairly new to the whole couponing thing, I thought it might be valuable to spend a minute discussing why people flip out during triple coupons

The reason is simply because you can save yourself an extraordinary amount of money if you use triple coupons as a chance to stock up on nonperishable items that will keep in your pantry until you need them.

So, for instance, I always buy things like rice, soup, peanut butter, mustard, etc. when it’s triple coupons. Often, I can get those items either totally for free or for a very small percentage of what they would normally cost. This saves you a ton of money in the long-run and allows you to use your weekly shopping trips to pick up meat, veggies and just the really good bargains of the week.

Imagine how good it feels when you run out of peanut butter, walk over to your pantry and pull out a new jar that you know cost you 10 cents during triple coupons. Then imagine how good it will feel next time you’re in the store and you don’t have to buy peanut butter for $3 a jar. That’s why triple coupons are a big deal.

Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods are the only stores in our area that offer triple coupons. Unfortunately, there is no set schedule for when triples happen. In most cases, no one knows ahead of time. So that means it’s important to keep your coupons clipped and up to date so that you’re ready to spring into action. Almost always, triples are just a three-day promotion, so you need to be ready at all times. Does that mean obsess over your coupon file, folder or binder? No. Updating once a week or once every other week should suffice. But if you let it go more than that, you’ll be unorganized and ill prepared if triples should come one weekend.

Going to shop triple coupons does take some time. If possible, leave kids and impatient spouses at home. Check in here on my blog since I always post a list of good triples deals. I promise it is well worth it in the end. You can post some pretty tremendous savings and help yourself achieve a lower grocery bill. The other great thing about triples is that I often pick up extra “free” items to give away to local food banks or charities, and that’s a good thing, too.

Updated: July 10, 2008