How to use those coupons you're collecting

When you use coupons it's important to know each store's coupon policy. (I will post more of that later).

Some basic rules to go by are:

1. Use your coupons when items go on sale. Never pay full-price (especially for health/beauty products).

2. Begin to build a stockpile of items you use frequently. E.g. cereal, condiments, canned beans, etc. (More on stockpile later too). This way you aren't forced to pay full price when you run out. Rather, you can buy those items dirt cheap and have them on hand.

3. Buy the smallest size you can with a coupon. This will result in getting close to a free price for that item.

4. If allowed, stack your coupons. Use a store coupon along with a manufacturer coupon. E.g. Fred Meyer has a $3 in-store coupon for Glad Sense and Spray. You can "stack" that with the $4 off Glade Sense and Spray Manufacturer Coupon.

5. Use "doublers" when available. Some stores (e.g. Safeway and Albertsons) have "double manufacturer coupons" up to a certain value. You can double any manufacturer coupon (unless otherwise stated) up to that dollar amount. I love Albertsons for this; they usually have their doublers up to $1 whereas Safeway will double up to .50cents. E.g. Kotex pads were on sale at Albertsons this week for $3. I had a $1 coupon and used a doubler to make my coupon $2 off, meaning I only paid $1.

6. Do more than 1 transaction. Just a note for fellow Central Oregonians: I never do more than 2 at one time...I can't bring myself to hold up the line that long. Doing more than one transaction will allow you to use the maximum number of "doublers" each time. Safeway allows up to 4 doublers per transaction, Albertsons allows for 3 per transaction.