1. Print only the coupons you will use.
This is really difficult because you never know if there will be a good deal on something, and its hard to know you could have printed a coupon yesterday, that tomorrow will make you money with a new deal that is available.
Allow for some trial and error. Don’t get stressed out if you don’t print a coupon that you end up needing. Or if you print some that expire before you use them. It happens. And it happens to me often. I look at it as a learning experience. With time, I am learning which deals I will definitely be able to do, and which ones I simply don’t have time for.
2. Set your printer default setting to draft.
It will use less ink overall, and you don’t need super quality printing for coupons. Please note that not all computers will let you do this. I can’t do this on my Apple computer, but we can on our PC.
3. Set your printer default to black and white
And choose black and white printing whenever possible. Coupons are not required to be in color, and black ink is much less expensive than color ink.
4. Buy your ink wisely.
I buy my ink at Staples. I save 10% off coupons, buy ink when it is on sale (for instance, buy $40 worth of HP ink and save $10), and use my Staples Rewards and Ink Recycling Rewards to save as much as I can.
I earn Staples Rewards through my purchases of ink, and also sometimes through the items that are FREE after rebate. Sometimes you’ll see deals where you can buy pens for $1.99 and they’ll give you $1.99 back in rewards. If I know I’ll be buying ink in about a month or two, I’ll do this to get the products for free, since I know I will be spending money to buy ink anyway.
I’ve never refilled my ink cartridges or bought generic ink. If anyone has had a positive experience doing this, let me know. I’d love to hear about it!
