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I've had several emails after my Homeland post asking how I saved so much money and if I had any good advice about couponing, so I decided to blog a series on how to coupon. Every Friday I'll be blogging 1 of 10 consecutive lessons on couponing and by time we're done, you'll be ready to save mega bucks too!
Lesson 1- Coupons: Where to Find Them
Sunday Paper- There are several places you can obtain coupons your best bet is the Sunday paper. Every Sunday (excluding holidays) there are usually two coupon inserts, the Smartsource and Redplum. Once a month (the first Sunday) there is third insert from Proctor & Gamble. Occasionally, there will be an extra Smartsource or Redplum or inserts from other companies such as General Mills, Campbell's, and Kelloggs/Keebler. You want to obtain at least 5 copies of each insert. You can do this by asking your friends and relatives to save them for you or if you subscribe to the paper ask your paper carrier for his extras (they just toss them). If you have a paper recycling bin near you, ask permission to get the extra Sunday papers (this where the carriers toss them ). You need the extra copies for stockpiling. We'll discuss stockpiling in later a lesson.
Online- Printables or IP coupons as they're called are fast becoming the way of the future as far as saving money at the store. There are so many sources for coupons online, almost too many to mention here. A lot of times manufacturer's will offer coupons on their website but your best bet for coupons are from the following:
- Coupons.com
- Red Plum
- Target Coupons
- The Coupon Network
- Cellfire
- Organic Coupons
- Other printable coupons
This list above contains just a few of the places you can find printable coupons but it will get you started.
Grocery Store- Grocery stores can be a treasure trove of coupons if you know where to look. Here's some places to look for coupons when you shop:
- Store ads- many stores will have manufacturer's coupons or store coupons in their weekly ads or have special coupon fliers in the store. Usually you'll find them on display near the entrance.
- Peelies- Manufacturer's will often place coupons right on their products that you can peel off and use. Peelies can be on boxes, cans and even frozen foods.
- Tearpads- Another way manufacturer's entice you to buy their products is to send pads of coupons to retailers. Stores then place the coupon pads near the intended product for you to tear off and use.
- Blinkies- When my grand-kids were little they were fascinated with these things. Blinkie machines are found in the grocery isles, have little blinking red lights and automatically spit out coupons. Blinkies however, are usually low in value and state do not double. My store doubles coupons so I don't use a lot of these. But don't discount blinkies, especially if the coupons are for something you regularly use. Your store may clearance something down that you can get free with a blinkie.
- Wine Tags- If your state allows wine to be sold in stores (Okla. does not) then watch for coupons hanging around the neck of the bottles. Most state you do not have to buy wine to use them.
Magazines- More and more magazines are placing manufacturer's coupons in their issues. The best magazine hands down for coupons has to be All You. All You Magazine can only be found at Walmart or obtained by subscription. Each issue has over $40.00 in coupons! Right now you can get a FREE 2 issue trial of All You Magazine by clicking HERE.
Blogs and Message Boards- Follow a blog or join a message board to keep up with all the latest coupon deals. They do all the work for you by searching out places to find coupons such as facebook, manufacturer's websites etc. and posting in their blog or message forum.
Ok, now that you know where to find coupons go out and get 'em! Next week we'll cover how to organize and store those great coupons you've scored.
About the Author
Queen Mum has written 4254 posts on ConsumerQueen.com.
Queen Mum does all of our store matchups and misc deals.She also Helps Melissa with Coupon Classes. *Click below to send Patsy a Deal.*
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Cool do you remember if the last two sunday papers only had one? I live in OKC so it is the daily oklahoman. I probably just missed them or something. Do you know where I can subscribe to the Sunday paper I tried to find it online but I can’t find it? Thanks
I know you can call the Daily Oklahoman and subsribe over the phone
I got a deal on the Oklahoman by calling the circulation dept. They offered me one year for $20.00 for the daily paper, which was a lot cheaper than just the Sunday paper. I guess this was a special from a flyer they were circulating. Just an fyi I hope helps anyone looking to get a subscription.
Thanks Melinda!
i have a question, i live in wyandotte oklahoma and am new to couponing, i have been doing alot of online reading about how to use it to its fullest advantage and i came across several blogs saying that people who use coupons to “the extreme” are criminals committing coupon fraud, but is it fruad when the coupon says ANY of a certain brand and you choose the size that would make it free? they were complaining mainly about the tlc show extreme couponing, and one person even said that getting an item free with a coupon is stealing even though the store does get paid the amount of the coupon from the coupon maker, oh and some stores like walmart now offer cash back when the coupon is worth more than the cost of the product at their store and this lady said that was stealing to, i just want to know what you think, and what would your advice be to someone who gets accused of this stuff
Getting an item free with a coupon is not stealing or coupon fraud unless you did something dishonest to get it like use a coupon that wasn’t good on the item you bought. If the coupon says for example, $1.00/1 ANY Tide then you can use it on ANY Tide. It’s not stealing to get overage at Walmart…if it was stealing Walmart wouldn’t do it. All you can do is just ignore people who don’t know what they are talking about. As long as you know you are being honest that’s all that counts. Stick with our blog….we’ll keep you on the right track and show you how to get legitimate deals LOL!!
I am just starting out at couponing and i baught a sunday paper last sunday but there was NO coupons in it! How many papers should I buy? And how many coupons should i collect befor starting?
Im really wanting to do this but i have never even used a coupon befor!
Any help or hints would be very helpful!
I have been doing a lot of reading on couponing but im still stuck.
I am going to try this thing out… Any pointers can help!!!!
I do want to start saving on my grocery bill, but I don’t see much in coupons for a lot of the stuff other than cleaning products I actually use. I rarely buy canned food, processed meats, dry pasta, soda and other like beverages. How can I save on products such as fresh produce and meats. Some of the coupons for meat products you have to use in combo with a sauce etc. that I will not use. I know I can give it away, but then I will be paying a discounted rate for a product I do not use and although I can give it away, I still have spent money on the product.
Any help with this is great. I don’t want 20 cases of Gaterade or 100 boxes of pasta.
Olivia there are coupons for fresh vegetables and meat but they don’t come out real often. If you do organic there is a link on our website for organics. Just click on coupons and then printable coupons from drop down box and it will give you a link to organic coupons. Just watch our website as we post meat and veggie coupons when we find them. There is a coupon for $.55/1 Nature Sweet Cherry Tomatoes in the smartsource sunday coupon insert on 6-12-11. You might check and see if your area received it in your area:)
we buy the paper on saturday and sundays but sometimes they dont bring coupons one time that happen because i did not check inside the paper know i check all the time especially on holidays we dont get only one booklet just like example detergent etc no food coupons thank for your help i am learning how to use coupons.
I have a friend who now lives in Georgia who has started couponing and it made me want to get back into it (I just did really basic couponing overseas with our military commissary years ago). Anyway, she found that her Walmart there offers two papers for the price of one on Sundays only, but that not all locations do. Does anyone know if any stores that sell the paper offer a discount like that in the OKC (hopefully Moore) area? Thanks!
I live in Augusta Ga and would like to start couponing.I would like a coupon buddy whom allready inton this to work with.ANYONE OUT THERE TO GUIDE ME………….
i live in Georgia how many coupons are in the daily newspaper?
i need some one to help me out.how do i contact the daily newpapers people so they can give me their extras?
There usually aren’t any coupons in the daily paper, only the Sunday one. Since we are here in Ok, I’m not sure how many coupon inserts are in your paper. Usually everyone gets the same amount of inserts but the coupons or coupon values in the inserts can be different depending on where you live. The Newspaper companys only get so many coupon inserts to put in their papers so they don’t have any extras they can send you BUT if you have your paper delivered you can find out who your paper delivery person is and see if they can give you a few of the papers they have left over
You know, my wife and I recently came back to “couponing” as a way to afford some of the basics like food and clothes, but over time, we have really come to love finding a good bargain out there. There was even more joy in finding the good deal….more so than the actual buying. We use groupon alot now.
Cheers
im want to start using coupons any tips on how i should shop .I stay in Sacramento Ca. And i would also like to know how can i get a price list of the items in the store or can i. Really want to learn……
Unfortunately stores will not release a price list of all their items. You can try and see if you can find the items online from that store (if possible) but many stores online and in store prices vary. They do not release a price list since it would be too easy for competitors to price all their items lower. You can always start a price book and track the prices of the items you use most often. After a while you will be able to see when the highest and lowest prices on each item is and plan your shopping and stocking up accordingly. ~Princess Karen
I’m staying in Gauteng province, and i want to start couponing and i always bought sunday paper which is called Sunday times but i did’nt find any coupons. Should i try buying even more sunday paper, If i find them How many should i collect before starting, which shops in Gauteng are using coupons.
I’m staying in Gauteng province, and i want to start couponing and i always bought sunday paper which is called Sunday times but i did’nt find any coupons. Should i try buying even more sunday paper, If i find them How many should i collect before starting, which shops in Gauteng are using coupons. Please i need help. Or someone who’s already using coupons in Gauteng.
I went into our local grocery store (upstate NY). They had a newspaper representative taking subscriptions. I subscribed for the Sunday only paper (which includes holiday’s too). It was $11 for 3 months and the representative gave me a $15 gift card for the grocery store + a coupon book for area restaurants and merchants.) Call your local paper and find out if they have any subscription deals like this.
Thanks Rhonda! What paper is this that you are speaking of?
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