Finding Coupons

Here's the beginning of what I've been promising for so long....
First things first. You can't coupon without coupons.
There are lots of different ways to get coupons, the easiest is the Sunday paper. There are 2 main coupon inserts, SmartSource (SS) and RedPlum (RP). Typically once a month, there is also a Proctor & Gamble (P&G) insert. Different areas get different coupons or different values on their coupons. Getting friends and family to save their inserts for you is an easy way to get multiples of coupons you need.

Obviously you don't want to throw these out until they expire in case a deal pops up and you need them. I organize my inserts in an accordion file. On Sunday (or whenever I get around to it), I clip the coupons I KNOW I will use. The rest of the insert stays unclipped and goes into a page protector marked with the date and then into the appropriate month's file.



The database at Hot Coupon World and coupon blogs will refer to an insert where it's from, such as 5/2 SS. With the inserts organized like this, it's easy to find coupons quickly.

Another of the easiest ways to access coupons is to use your printer. Internet printable coupons (IPs) have become really popular and are often high in value. Most allow you to print 2 copies per IP address. There are several websites that offer different IPs throughout the month.....Coupons.com, SmartSource.com, and Redplum.com. Many manufacturer's websites have IPs, as well as sites like BettyCrocker.com and Boxtops4education.com. Some websites will require you to register, so it might be a good idea to use a separate email address to avoid junk mail. Although you will want to check it as they will alert you when new coupons become available.

There are several different types of coupons you can obtain while out shopping. Tearpads are are stacks of coupons you might find throughout the store, usually near the product they're for. Peelies are stuck on the product. Blinkies are those little boxes with a light that spit out coupons one at time. When you come across these coupons in the store and they're for a product you purchase regularly, it's a good idea to take a couple, but don't be selfish, leave some for others. Catalinas are printed out at the register when you check out. You'll also often find coupons inside of the package, so be sure to always look at those instructions or on the inside of the box before throwing that stuff out!

When there's a product you use often, but have trouble finding coupons for, you can email the manufacturer. Just find their website and shoot them a quick email stating how much you enjoy their products and politely request to be signed up for any mailings or coupons they have available. More often than not, they will send several coupons and sometimes they're for a FREE product!

E coupons are coupons you load to your shoppers card and are automatically deducted when you check out. These are great if you don't want to clip. These can NOT be stacked with a paper coupon and since they also don't double, I tend to not use these very often except for when cellfire offers a $$ off everything promotions. Dillon's website and Shortcuts are other sites that load coupons to your card. Savingstar is a different type of ecoupon. You load it to your card and instead of deducting from your bill, the savings add up in your account. You can cash out using several different options at $5.

Signing up for free samples and coupon books will also get you a lot of coupons! If you pick a couple blogs to follow (several of my favorites are linked on my sidebar), you can stay in tune to when these become available. Following these blogs also alerts you when new IPs come out. You'll also find weekly coupon match ups for stores like Walmart, Target, Dillons and Walgreens.

When you need multiples of a particular coupon, sometimes it can be worth it to order from a clipping service or ebay. If you can spend a couple bucks getting the coupons and then save 10x that using them, it's definitely worth it.

Earlier I mentioned Hot Coupon World. Their database is a HUGE resource and you don't even have to register to use it. It's basically a search engine for coupons. When you search for a particular product, it will list all the known available coupons for that product, what the source is and when it expires. Become a member of the site (it's free) and you can trade coupons with other members and have access to their forums.

There you have it! Start collecting your coupons! Next time, I'll share how I organize all my coupons and how I use them.