How to Get FREE Office Supplies in a Less Than Thriving Economy

Yes you can legitimately find FREE office supplies in today's economy. It all depends on your perception aligned with the true bottom line reality. Start off by using the $10 -$20 and higher valued coupons that your local and nationally based retailers always send to you or those coupons that you find online and begin to calculate your savings.

To make this really work in your financial favor, make sure that you are purchasing what you really need and what you were going to buy anyway. Identify the true value of your purchase and take those intended invisible greenbacks and put the real money away until the beginning of the next calendar or fiscal year. Have a "use it or save it" mentality and always try to save something. Add that figure to your projected budget for the upcoming year to lower the percentage of out-of-pocket cash flow dollars and get a jump start on the office supply fund. This works for almost any budget whether it is large or small, because if you set it, you can save some of it!

Check out these websites: http://www.dailyemails.com or http://edealsetc.com and input these keywords: coupons for office supplies. These sites feature national and continual discounts on office supplies including furniture. Most of the deals shown are ongoing so that they will not actually go away; instead, they are just given a new expiration date by the retailer. Not too long ago, I considered Internet coupons as, well, if I get a good one great, if not, no big deal. And I found it hard to take the time to take a pair of scissors to paper for coupon clipping. Well today, I've had a change of heart and a boost to the mind. I'm keeping my office running on a realistic budget in order to bank the savings and you can too!

At first, dangle just your toes in the waters by comparison shopping for the best deals around. Your goal is to save the most amount money in the shortest period of time. Consider the online and offline shops that are the trusted retailers you've dealt with before. If you find some lesser known retailers who have caught your interest, but you are otherwise unfamiliar with, then at your discretion, test them out on a smaller scale in order for them to earn your trust. Also remember to analyze those free shipping offers when making your final decision to buy. And don't forget about your nearby pharmacy who often has well stocked office supplies on sale before, during and after the school shopping season.

All the savings in the world will not make a difference unless you track your purchases. Knowing where and when to take advantage of the highest discount potential keeps more money in your pocket.

I caution you to resist the urge to increase your office supply budget after you realize those first initial savings At least hold off until the next quarterly, monthly, semi or annual business plan review to make any budget adjustments, should you decide to do so. You want to welcome the savings in this area of office supply budgeting, but not depend on them. So banking any realized savings may be your added bonus dollars that to be used for software upgrades to stay competitively benchmarked, or for other business needs, or as suggested earlier, it can be used to offset your office supply budget in the next year. However you decide to use the calculated savings, holding off on any budget assessment decisions for at least 30 days and preferably 3 months will give you plenty of "buffer" time to ensure that your choice of where and what to spend money on is thoroughly thought out.

It's a good day when I start out using a coupon when preparing to shop for office supplies. Then it gets better as I double the savings impact with FREE shipping. Finally, I start to chuckle as I triple the rewards by placing my order online, saving time, money and gas. I challenge you to loosen the more-often-then-not firm grip of any business induced stress. You can save money while purchasing office supplies in this still yearning to mend economy. And when you do, go ahead and lift the left side of your lips upward, now the right side. Guess what? You're smiling. Just another business continuity tip gladly passed on from me to you.