Where Can I Find Coupons?

Where do I find Coupons?
If you are just getting started, this may be a question that you have. If you have couponing for awhile, this can be used as a refresher. In fact, there are many places to get coupons.

Sunday Paper:

Getting the Sunday paper is a steady way to receive coupons. You can either sign up for a subscription with your local newspaper or if you have one in your area, newspaper stands. I would recommend grabbing multiple copies of the Sunday paper so if something goes on sale, you can buy more than 1. I personally buy 6 copies of the Sunday paper each week.

• Please note: Coupons are regional so you may not receive some coupons in your area.
• Sunday Coupon Inserts
o Proctor and Gamble
o SmartSource
o RedPlum
o General Mills

Printable Coupons:

Did you know that you can print coupons off the internet? There are multiple sites that you can visit to print coupons, I have noted one below. These coupons tend to rotate monthly, so my advice to you is to print them when you first see them because they may not be available later. (and yes, I go through a lot of ink because I print a lot of coupons). From time to time, companies that I have subscribed to will send me an email that includes coupons and if you visit, Savin’ It Up daily, I will keep you updated on printable coupons.

• Please Note: Most of the time, you will be able to print internet printable coupons twice when you use the back button.

Peelies:

These are the coupons that can be found on the product that you are purchasing. Have you ever bought something that had a coupon already on it? This is called a “peelie” (at least that what I call it). This coupon, depending on what it says, can either be used at the time of purchase or used at a later date. PLEASE KEEP THE COUPON.

Blinkie Machine:

Blinkie Machines are machines that…Blink!! They are the little black boxes that you may see in the store that has a red light that blinks. It is located on the shelf next to the products and they could be used immediately. They are there for you to take but please do not take all of them. I have been to the store and seen a couple who stood at a blinkie machine for hours so that they could take all of the coupons…not cool!

Ask Around:

I’m not sure you seen the series that aired on TLC called “Extreme Couponing” but one lady went door to door asking for coupons from those in her neighborhood to gather coupons. While I am not that extreme, I do ask my friends and family to save their Sunday Coupons inserts for me. If you have been keeping track; I buy 6 Sunday Papers and I might get another 10 or so from friends and family. That’s a total of 16 Sunday coupon inserts. But why would I need so many? If something goes on sale or if I can get something that I use for FREE, I am able to buy 16 and not have to worry about buying again.

Contact the Company:

Every Wednesday I post “Contact Wednesdays”. You can see all my post here. I pick 3-4 different companies that I want to contact and tell them how wonderful their product is. In the past, I contacted Red Vines (Candy Company) and was sent a box full of red vines. Now it was not coupons, but it was free products. By contacting the companies, you may receive free products, you may receive coupons, some may just send you a very nice Thank You. So come back on Wednesdays to see who I will be contacting or you can get started on your own and add comments on who you have already contacted.

• Start by taking inventory of the items that you purchase frequently and contact the manufacturer.

• Sample Email:

o I am writing to tell you how much I love your Sweet Moments Delight. They are little bites of heaven. I was a little hesitant to try them because I could not get past the idea of a refrigerated brownie, but I am glad that I decided to try them. I was not only suprised by the taste, but how I was satisfied after only eating just one. These are something that I will definitely keep on hand in my refrigerator. Thank you for creating such a wonderful product and I will be purchasing them again. Thank you for your time.

Buy Coupons:

Believe it or not, you can buy coupons. You can buy copies of the Sunday coupon inserts or just multiple copies of a particular coupon. In my area, when the $4 Gillette razor coupon circulates around, I never get them. So this is a coupon that I will buy. There are many coupon clipping services and you can even buy coupons on Ebay, which is what I do.
*Please note: When you purchase coupons online, you are actually paying for the persons time to clip and/or gather the coupons. A person can not charge for the coupon itself.

Now that I have told you where to find coupons, I guess you need to know when and how to use them. Subscribe to Savin It Up and I will keep you posted.

Couponing Series #2~Shopping Drug Stores

Believe it or not, I get the most for my money at drugstores. Drugstore like CVS, Walgreens and Rite-Aid. They offer rewards programs on certain items every week.
CVS-Extra Care Bucks(ECB)
Walgreens-Register Rewards(RR)
Rite Aid– Single Check Rebate(SCR)
All of which can be used like cash at each of the following places.

Have you ever looked at an ad from CVS or Walgreens?

The ad will show a brand of deodorant for $2.99 and offer $2.00 in extra care bucks (ECB).
1. You will pay $2.99
2. You will receive $2.00 in extra care bucks (ECB)at the end of your transaction
3. It’s like paying .99 for that item.

HOWEVER

If you are like me and use coupons, then this particular deal will be even sweeter.
1. The item cost $2.99
2. Use coupon for $2.00 off the item
3. Pay .99
4. Receive $2.00 in Extra Care Buck (ECB)
5. Make a profit of $1.01

You may use your Extra Care Bucks(ECB), Register Rewards (RR) and Single Rebate Check (SRC) for items in the store. Also be on the look out for store coupons. I have told you how to get “Manufacturer Coupons”, but drug stores also offer their own “store coupons” periodically. The store coupons will sometimes be found in their weekly ad or in the store.What this means? If there is a “Manufacturer Coupon” and a “store Coupon” available for the item that you wish to purchase, you can combine them ( use them tofether) to get the best possible deal.

How to get started:
1. Sign up for a rewards card at CVS
*Rite-aid and Walgreens do not offer a card
2. Review the sales ad that are available in your Sunday Paper
*Sales begin every Sunday

How it works:
1. Review the ad for things that are on sale and those that offer some type of reward.
2. The point is to buy the items that offer the rewards so that you have it available for the next transaction or next shopping trip.

Example Scenerio:
Transaction 1:
(1) toothpaste $2.99-will get $2.00 Extra Care Bucks(ECB)
(1) Deodorant $2.99-will get back $2.00 Extra Care Bucks (ECB)
Total: 5.98
Use coupons:
$2.00 off toothpaste
$2.00 off ban
$1.00 store coupon off toothpaste
$.50 store coupon off deodorant
Total:.48
Will receive $4.00 in Extra Care Bucks

Transaction 2:
$5.00 Shampoo ( Will Receive $3.00 ECB)
Total: $5.00
Use $1.00 shampoo coupon
Total: $4.00
Use $4.00 Extra Care Bucks (ECB)
Total:0.00
Will receive $3.00 in ECB to be used the next week.

How to use them:

At CVS:
1.The ads will tell you the limit. Such as Limit of 2. That means that you can purchase this item twice and still receive ECB. If you purchase more than 2, you will not receive anymore ECB.

At Walgreens:
1. When purchasing a product(s) that has a reward, you will receive Register Rewards(RR) that work like the Extra Care Bucks(ECB). The difference is: When purchaing products, your coupons may not exceed your product count..meaning, if you have 5 coupons, you must have at least 5 products. Also, when you buy a product that produces Register Rewards(RR), you may buy the same exact product using the register rewards(RR) on the next transaction, but it will not produce another Register Rewards.

If I buy a razor that produces a $4.00 register rewards and then I want to do another transaction buying the same razor, I can use the register rewards from the first transaction, but I will not receive another register rewards.

Example Scenerio:
Transaction 1:
(1) razor 7.99 ( will receive $4.00 RR)
Total: $7.99
Will receive $4.00RR at the end of the transaction

Transaction 2:
Can repeat Transaction 1
(1) Razor $7.99
Total: $7.99
Use $4.00RR
Total: 3.99
Will not receive $4.00RR

Please contact me if you have any questions. I know it may all sound confusing at first, but you will get the hang of it. I love shopping at the drug stores…

Coupons Series #1: How and When to use coupons

You can check out a brief summary of “How to use coupons” Here.

What is a coupon?

Well the definition of a coupon is- a ticket or document that can be exchanged for a discount or rebate when purchasing a particular product. I prefer to look at a coupon as money. Manufacturers of various products are giving you money, in the form of a coupon, to try their products. Coupons range in different amounts. You may see a coupon for $1.00 off a box of cereal to .25 off a pack of gum. They are also serveral types of coupons. There are cleaning supply coupons, diaper coupons, cereal coupons…basically there are coupons available for everything that you use. Now that we now know what a coupon is, how do we use it?

How to use coupons?

The best way to use a coupon is to use it when something is on sale.

Example:

This week, my grocery store has cereal for $1.00 a box ( It’s just a scenerio..if they really were $1.00 a box, I would be at the store) and I have a coupon for $1.00 off that same box of cereal. This would mean that the cereal would be FREE for me.

Cereal=$1.00

minus $1.00 coupon

=FREE!

So not only are you receiving a discount on the item that you may want, but if you add a coupon you will receive an even greater savings.

Coupons can be used at a variety of places-from the grocery store, to department stores, to auto parts stores, to amusement parks. There are always coupons for most things that you use and some places that you may visit.

Where can I get coupons?

You can get coupons from the sunday paper, internet coupon sites such as coupons.com, sometimes you will receive coupons in the mail. My favorite thing to do when looking for coupons is to contact the manufacturer directly. Have you every tried anything new and just loved it? I have.

Example:

I tried the Febreeze Noticeables when they first came onto the market. (I got them free of course, but that’s not the point!!) I contacted febreeze ( via website, http://www.febreeze.com) and told them how much I loved their new product, Febreeze Noticeable. Within 2 weeks, I received coupons for FREE Febreeze noticeables.

So there are many places to find coupons. I will also post coupons here on this site as I become aware of them.

What if I don’t have time for coupons?

You don’t know how many times I have heard this. The same people that I hear this from is the same people that complain they don’t have enough money. I don’t have money either, but I had to find ways to make my food budget stretch and I do this with the use of coupons. I will admit that it can be very time consuming. You have to print coupons, cut coupons, organize coupons…coupons, coupons, coupons!!!

I work full time, I go to school part time, I am a full time mother and wife and oh!! I write on this blog and yeah-I also use coupons. I know that everyone is not me, but I am hoping that I could convince more of you to begin using coupons.

I would suggest a day or 2 that is best for you to sit down and devote time to get organized.

Sunday is normally my day. Sunday morning I receive my sunday papers. ( I currently receive 4 papers every week and that means 4 sets of coupons. There are 4 people in my family and this way if something goes on sale, I could get 4 of that sale item).

1. I write the date on the top of each inserts ( I learned this from couponmom.com. Please check out how to start using the couponmom system)

* I write the date on the inserts so I know where to find the insert when I stumble upon a deal. It makes it easier to organize.

2. I only cut out coupons from 2 inserts and then I only cut out those I know I am going to use

* The reason I only cut out 2 is because I don’t have patience to cut out 4 sets

* Coupons expire fast and it will be less coupons I would have to through away

* If I am in the store and I spot a sale, at least I have 2 with me and can always go back and clip the others and return to the store.

3. I place them in my coupon binder in a specific order ( What is a coupon binder is the next topic?)

4. I login to couponmom.com to check what is on sale on sundays. Sunday sale are CVS, Walgreens, Target and Rite Aide.

5. On Tuesdays, I review my grocery store ads for sales that begin on Wednesday and compare them with coupons that I have.

This is how I schedule my coupons, yours may be different and that’s fine. Whatever works for you!

How to organize coupons?

There are many ways to organize your coupons, it all comes down to your personal taste. My sunday coupon inserts, the ones that I did not clip, are organized by the date and placed in plastic filing box. The ones that I have clipped and/or printed are in my small coupon organizer. My coupon organizer is small enough to fit in my purse because it goes wherever I go (You never know where you might find a deal). Others have been known to carry a binder. It’s about whatever s easiest and whatever is comfortable for you. My friend uses 2 small organizers-One for foods and the other for cleaning supplies and toiletries.

I have all of my coupons in one organizer.