Tuesday, August 31, 2010

It's Raining Coupons!!!!

The most important thing about couponing has to be . . . where do you find the coupons? 

The most obvious is the Sunday newspaper.  There are usually up to three inserts in the paper.  They are called Red Plum, Smart Source, and Proctor and Gamble (P&G).  Occasionally, General Mills has one as well.  My personal favorite is the P&G because it is filled to the brim with toothpaste, shampoo and household coupons.  Not every insert is in the paper every week.  And every once in a while, there is a week without coupons, usually the weekends around major holidays.  Go to http://www.sundaycouponpreview.com/ to see a basic list of the available inserts each week, as well as the coupons that may be included each week.  The website isn't foolproof because the bigger cities will get more coupons, and some coupons are regional instead of national.  The website can still be a guide to helping you get ready for your shopping trips.  Just remember that it's not exact.

Besides the newspaper, there are so many places you can go online.  The three big ones online are http://www.coupons.com/, http://www.smartsource.com/, and http://www.redplum.com/


Here are some other sites I've found.  Sometimes they duplicate the coupons that are listed above, but often you can find unique ones.

http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/coupons/
http://www.kraftfirsttaste.com/default.aspx
http://www.bettycrocker.com/coupons-promotions/coupons/coupons
http://www.campbellskitchen.com/coupon.aspx
https://www.hormel.com/account/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2faccount%2fdefault.aspx
http://www.pillsbury.com/coupons-promotions
https://www.wealthoforalhealth.com/Coupons.promo?sessioncheck=true
http://www2.kelloggs.com/Coupon.aspx?id=1992
http://www.dove.us/#/insider/coupons.aspx

Generally, coupon websites will let you print a coupon two times, though some do limit you to one coupon.  The websites will need to download software in order to print your coupons.  The software enables your printer to print the bar code on the coupon.  Some of the websites require you to register before you are able to print coupons.  They generally add more coupons and reset old coupons at the first of the month, but sometimes some can be added in the middle of the month.  Coupons have a certain amount of prints that are allowed, and when that runs out, no one can print that coupon unless the counter is reset.  Disappointing, but good incentive to go by your favorite websites at the first of the month.


I know you're getting a lot of information, but just take what you can for right now.  Don't overwhelm yourself!  It's easy to get started in couponing and then get burnt out because you dive into the deep end! 

Please comment if you have any questions so far.  If not, I'll see you soon!

Welcome!

Hi!  Thanks for dropping in!  I hope that reading this post is the beginning, or the continuation, of your learning how to make your money work a little harder than it has been. 

What are we going to do here?

My goals are to teach you where to find coupons and the rules to using them.  Couponing comes with its own set of guidelines and lingo.  Also I want to learn how different stores use coupons because they can all be different.  Some double, some even triple, some don't.  Some have loyalty cards, and some have shoppers' cards that let you upload coupons to them so you don't have to clip.  There are even coupons that help you save money for your kids' college!!

Another thing I would like to do is to help each other find money-saving ideas that go a little beyond cutting out your expensive Starbucks habit. 

My biggest goal is for this to be a place where we can talk to each other and learn from each other.  I'm still learning myself, and I've realized that for all the couponing websites there are, I've not found many that are devoted to teaching you how to use coupons.  There are plenty out there that list deal after deal, which is wonderful and useful, but I think some of us need this teaching blog as well.

So let's get to it!!