[NSS]

Hi - I'm having trouble navigating the site and am a bit overwhelmed because I can't seem to get anywhere. I consider myself tech savvy but I don't know how to get started, yet I really want to start couponing! Could someone explain how to go about using this site effectively. The grocery store I shop at is Shoprite. I just need a little direction and then I think I can figure it out. Thank you in advance!!

[AngieP]

First off...welcome to AFC For newbies, we recommend starting off slow, the site can be very overwhelming when trying to absorb all of it at once.

You mentioned you shop at Shoprite, here's the Shoprite forum:

Shoprite - Grocery Coupons & Deal Forums - A Full Cup

You'll find the hottest items that members are buying each week, as well as much discussion on how they're buying them.

Now....in regards to couponing in general, are you a complete beginner, a novice or an advanced coupon user?

[msvidkiller13]

Hi Welcome to AFC As ms Angiep stated slow slow slow It can be a bit overwhelming, Here is link to help New Members - Please Read to Learn Your Way Around AFC! Please know if ever in doubt just ask we are all here to help each other in time where saving and sharing information is a part of living HTH

[Z and G's Mom]

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Hi and welcome to AFC! THE best, and most informative, forum on the internet!
Here’s some advice for your couponing journey…

** READ READ READ READ READ READ READ!! And then READ some more! Learn your local store’s coupon policies - GROCERY STORE FORUMS. Print those policies out and keep them with you at all time! You’ll be surprised at how often cashiers and even store managers are unfamiliar with all the intricacies of their own policies!

** Don’t be afraid to ask questions - COUPONING 101!

** START SLOWLY! If you jump in too fast, you’ll get frustrated. PLEASE don’t think that if you don’t build a massive stockpile overnight, that you are a rotten couponer! It takes time and effort!

** Not sure how to begin? Do a David Letterman… Make two TOP TEN LISTS! One for food and one for non-food items that you and your family use on a daily or weekly basis. If your family is a HUGE pasta eater, then noodles and sauce should be on your list. If you have 4 teenage boys, then body wash/soap is a MUST! Walk through your house as you are making your lists. Then, go to the grocery/drug stores WITHOUT BUYING ANYTHING! Take along a pad of paper (or 6) and make notes on current prices for those items on your Top Ten lists. Do this once a week for a few months. Start learning the sales cycles. Start learning the fluctuations in prices and soon you will be able to figure out what your stock-up prices should be. Start your stockpile with items your family will use regularly. Nothing worse than staring at a stockpile with a whole bunch of stuff (gotten for free or really cheap) that no one will EVER use!

** Start clipping your coupons! Sign up for a newspaper delivery – this is THE only way to guarantee that you will receive coupons in the papers you buy. Not all newsstand or drug store papers receive inserts as the inserts will always be placed in subscriber papers first. CALL the newspaper first and make sure of which coupon inserts they carry! Ask about special subscriptions – Sunday or weekend only, discounts for multiple Sunday papers, etc. Start asking your friends and family members for their coupons. You’ll be surprised at how many people just toss them in the garbage – YIKES! **Need complete sets of inserts? No problem! Click COMPLETE INSERTS for LOTS of choices!

MOST OF ALL – HAVE FUN! If you ever have any questions you’d rather not ask in the open forums, click JESSIE to ask me directly! Glad you’re here in the AFC family!