Whenever I start to share my couponing adventures, I inevitably am asked "Where do you get your coupons?" I am just a beginner, less than a month into my sobriety from full retail prices so I am sure I don't have anywhere near the coupons as some seasoned vets. Yet, my coupon binder literally weighs more than my first child. I am going to give you a list of some places you can get coupons, and which ways I think work the best.
-Newspapers- This is where the bulk of your coupons should come from. The trick to getting the good deals is to get multiple Sunday papers. For example, I usually get 1 Moberly Weekender, 2 Columbia Tribunes, and 5 KC Stars. The reason you want at least 1 of each is that they each have a different coupon insert because they are different regions. For example, 1 week my Moberly paper had a ton of Lysol coupons that no one else had, 1 week my Columbia paper had Prarie Farms coupons (yes for milk!) that neither other paper had. For this I pay around $15, but I saved over $80 in groceries this week. I think it's a fair trade.Plus, you can get Sunday only subscriptions which work out to way cheaper than buying them from Caseys or getting them from the machine. I just have been too lazy to get it together. When you buy 5 KC Stars, you then get 5 copies of each coupon therein. So when you can get Sunny D for free with coupon (Gerbes this week) you can snatch up a month's worth (or more) because you have enough coupons to do that. Be forewarned, it takes a long time to buy the paper, seperate the pages, stack the pages, clip the coupons, organize the coupons, re-organize the coupons according to expiration date, and so on. But you will get better at it. The way I see it is if I spend 2 hours a week couponing and another 4 shopping to save $80 on my groceries, I just paid myself $13 per hour.
-Internet coupons-I love internet coupons. Most of the time they have a higher value than newspaper coupons, and longer expiration dates! There are 3 catches to internet coupons: 1. Because of fraud, a lot of stores won't take them or at least will give you the stinkeye about it. 2. Ink for most printers is around $30-$40 for a refill. 3. You are limited to how many you can print from 1 computer. Avoid the pitfall of printing a coupon for a new item unless you have actually been to the store, seen the item, and know the price. Some smaller brands put thier coupons out there without any stores around here carrying said item. So now you're out the $.35 or whatever it cost you to print the coupon and no way to use it. ONLY PRINT COUPONS YOU ACTUALLY PLAN ON USING. I actually won't print a coupon unless I am leaving to go to the store and get that item. Remember, we coupon to save money. Wasting a bunch of ink and paper on an item you aren't getting is not an efficient way to coupon.
-Coupons from packaging- Believe it or not, the items you are getting at a discount or free can sometimes also help you get your coupon count up. There are 2 ways to get coupons from packaging. 1. Peelies- Peelies are the little stickers on the outside of the package that contain a coupon. Here is a little trick. The manufacturers put the peelies on the biggest, most expensive package of whatever they are trying to give you a coupon for. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking that sticker off that package and using it to buy a smaller, less expensive package. The manufacturer is trying to attract you to his/her product. In my eyes, it shouldn't matter what size that product is. As long as you plan to use it, go ahead and peel it.
2. Inside the packaging-These are the coupons that the manufacturer is hoping you'll miss and throw away. 98% of people do. Keep them. If you like that product or it goes on sale, you'll be happy you did.
-Blinkies- This is just a cute name for the little machines in the store aisles that spit the coupons out at you. Again, there is nothing wrong with you standing at the machine (if you have the patience for it) and taking 50 of those little coupons, AS LONG AS YOU PLAN TO USE THEM. Most of these cannot be doubled, but still worth grabbing. Also note, you don't have to use the coupons from the blinky machine at the store where you got it. That is a manufacturer coupon, good to use anywhere.
-Store coupons- Store coupons are just that. An additional discount the store is going to give you if you have the magic slip of paper. The difference is that with a manufacturer coupon, the person who makes the item gives the discount (and pays the store back that discount + a handling fee), and with a store coupon, the store gives the discount. In most cases you can use both and get a super discount!
-Ebay- So there are actually people who do all the couponing work, then list the coupons on eBay so that you don't have to spend hours clipping! It is illegal to sell coupons, so you will see on each listing something to the effect of "you are paying for a coupon clipping service, not for the actual coupons". This comes in handy when there is a good sale on something and you want to really really stock up. I usually will check the sales ads on Tuesday and if I can get something free I will go on Ebay and snatch up 10 more coupons for that item. It's not something you'll want to use all the time, but it does have it's perks.
-Catalina- A Catalina coupon is the one that comes with your reciept at the end of your shopping trip. Most of the time, the computer can tell what you bought the most of or the types of things you bought and will give you a coupon for something along those lines. A Catalina is a manufacturer coupon, but it must be used at the store that gave it to you.
-Ecoupons- an E coupon is a coupon that can be downloaded to something like a rewards card and used at a specific store. Gerbes uses softcoin.com to put coupons on your Plus card. Also, target is leading the way with E-coupons. When you sign up at Target.com they will send you a text message containing your coupon. Hand your cell to the cashier at checkout and BAM! Money in your pocket.
Coming up tomorrow...Double-coupon, Triple-coupon, Stacking, and more!
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