Using  multiple sets of coupons each week is one the most important secrets to coupon shopping.  Why should you get more than one set of coupons?  Multiple sets of coupons will help you  build a stockpile of things that you use most often.  Buying sale items in bulk with a coupon will offer you huge savings in the long run.  For example, let’s say cereal you normally buy is $4.00 a box.  The cereal goes on sale for $1.50 a box and you have a coupon that gets you $.75 off.  You are now paying $.75 per box.  If you have several coupons, you are able to buy several boxes of cereal for only $.75 each.  When the first box is gone, instead of going back to the store and paying $4.00, you just open your pantry and pull out another box.

So, how many sets of coupons should you use?  If you are just getting your feet wet using coupons, start out using three sets of coupons per week.  Three sets will help you stock up but not feel overwhelmed.  Otherwise, a good rule of thumb is to get one set of coupons per member of your household.

Subscribing to the Sunday paper is the easiest way to get your coupons every week.  When you purchase a subscription you are guaranteed delivery and don’t have to worry about missing coupons.  You always want to subscribe to the largest paper in your area.   The largest paper gets the most and best coupons from the manufacturers.  If you live in Arizona, The Arizona Republic has a great deal for Coupon Sense subscribers to get up to six Sunday papers delivered for about half off the newstand price.  (Log in to your Coupon Sense account and choose “Order Newspaper” from the left side of the screen to find out more about this deal.)  In other areas, call your newspaper and ask if they will deliver extra Sunday papers.  Newspapers want your business and in most cases, will gladly deliver the extra Sunday papers.

Collectable Coupons is a service that will mail the coupon inserts to you each week.  If you don’t want a newspaper subscription or you live in an area where you can’t get the paper, this is an excellent option. No longer in business.  You can Google “Whole Coupon Inserts” to see other companies that send out coupons.

Subscribing to the paper is your best and easiest bet to get your multiple coupons, but there are other ways to get extra coupons and they don’t involve any dumpster diving!  Here are some ideas:

• Ask family members, neighbors, friends or co-workers who don’t use coupons to save them for you.
• Go to a retail outlet such as a gas station or grocery store and buy several papers each week.  There is a huge caveat to this option. Sunday papers bought at these locations do not always contain coupons.  Only home delivery papers are guaranteed to have coupons.  Make sure you check.
• Use the pet rock method.  At homes that receive the Sunday paper, leave a pet rock with a note attached that says you are collecting coupons to help your family and to help a local food bank.  Include a time frame in the note of when you will come to pick up the coupons and have them leave them under the rock by their front door.  Early on Sunday morning set the rocks out by the Sunday paper.  (The rocks are used to weight down the coupons later.)  On Sunday evening, return to collect any coupons.  Honor your note buy donating a portion of what you buy to local food banks or other charities.
• Many hotels offer complimentary papers to their guests on Sunday.  Contact a hotel and ask if you can pick up any unused papers on Sunday night.

No matter how you choose to get your multiple coupons, it’s worth the investment.