How to save time couponing!

This article was written by Deidre from Cuckoo for Coupon Deals!

I enjoy just hanging out with my husband and my girls; I don't want to spend my whole life clipping coupons and driving to 10 stores a week.
Thus I have compiled a list of inventive ways to save time couponing, since it can be so time-consuming:

1. If you have 3 copies of the same insert to clip, make sure to stack all the individual coupon insert pages that are similar on top of each other and cut them at once.

2. Use a slice coupon cutter instead of scissors - this will cut your time by at least 1/3! I will cover this more in my Organization article coming up soon.

3. Instead of clipping all the Smart Source, Red Plum, and P&G inserts yourself, find some friends each Sunday to do a coupon insert swap with. For example, each week I slice (or cut) the Smart Source coupons and one of my friends clips the P&G and Red Plum inserts. Give them back their coupons once you've finished clipping them.

4. If a store is far away, trade weeks with a friend to shop there. For example, Target is 25 miles away from me. I print out all the deals I want to get, compile my coupons in an envelope, and give them to my friend who picks up my deals for me at Target. I do the same for her at Rite Aid and Walgreens; they are also quite a drive away from our homes. We make sure to have everything organized for the person who is going to make it easy for them. We also get separate receipts at checkout to make paying each other back easier & so we can have receipts to submit for rebates that need mailed in.

5. I always save my shopping receipts because you never know when a rebate form will appear that has an item that you already purchased on it. For example, I recently did the Coors Rebate and used a receipt for Plastic Cups that I had purchased before I even heard about the rebate. The rebate dates were so long (Dec. 15-Feb.8) it was easy to find receipts to make the rebate work.

6. Gather all the ads for deals you want to do and price match them at Target or Walmart. Remember, they won't price match Rite Aid Single Check Rebates, Walgreen's Register Rewards, B1G1 Free and other deals where an exact price isn't listed. I like to shop at local stores that are running the ad to support them, plus the local stores pay for their ads, but if I don't have time to visit them all or if the stores are too far away...

7. If you have kids, trade shopping days with your friends. I go on Wednesdays, and I leave my kids at my friend Julie's house. Shopping is much quicker without little guys jumping our of the cart! Then when it is your friends day to shop you'd watch their kids. Or wait until your spouse gets home from work and have them watch the kids. I save a lot of time by not bringing my kids on my shopping trips. I also don't end up pulling my hair out with stress! :O

8. Use a coupon-clipping service and order clipped coupons in bulk. Remember it will take a few days to get your coupons though so this is best done if you know a deal is coming in advance.

I would love to hear any tips you have on saving time couponing!