Getting started 101

Wednesday, February 9, 2011


Hi guys! If you're new to couponing and don't know where to start, you're in luck! There are some tips and tricks I want to share with you so you can become a coupon master in no time!

First thing first- Where do you get coupons?

Newspapers:

In almost every Sunday’s newspaper, there will be coupon inserts. There are SmartSource (SS) inserts, Redplum (RP) inserts and P&G; inserts. Some weeks you only get one insert, some weeks 2 and sometimes we get lucky and get 3-4 inserts.
I subscribe to the Sunday paper so the coupons are literally delivered to my door. If I see the week is a really good one ans there's lots of coupons I will use, I'll go to the store and buy a few extra papers.
*A hint for those who shop at Publix- get two papers a week. When a BOGO sale comes around you can use two coupons for the two items and there's nothing worse than knowing you could have gotten something for free or really cheap if you had had another coupon...for me anyway. :)
Aside from buying newspapers to get these coupons, you can ask your neighbors/friends/family for their coupons if they don’t use them.
Printable Coupon Websites:

There are several sites that you can get coupons from. Some include: Coupons.com , SmartSource , RedPlum , BettyCrocker , EatBetterAmerica , SnackPicks and facebook pages.

Peelies:

These coupons can be found on products and are like stickers that peel off the product. Most of the time they are manuf coupons but from time to time they are store coupons so read them carefully before using them (you might be able to stack them with other coupons)

Tear pads:

These coupons can be found near products in stores on, well, a tear pad! :)

Hangtags:

These coupons are found hanging from bottles like wine, detergent, cleaning products, etc

Blinkies:

These coupons can be found in machines near products. They have a blinking red light which is how they got the name Blinkies.

Coupon booklets found in stores:

Many times stores will have booklets full of coupons in their store. Sometimes these booklets contain manufacturers coupons (with or without store logos) and sometimes they contain store coupons. Keep an eye out for these types of booklets while walking into a store and while walking around the store (there is never a set place to find these booklets).

Inside Free Sample:

Many times you will find coupons inside of free samples that you request so always check for them before throwing out the packaging.

Home Mailers:

These coupons come in the mail and you usually have to sign up to receive them. MOST of the time they are high value coupons since they aren’t readily available to everyone or they are for a new products and the company wants you to try it.
A REALLY great site to sign up for is www.vocalpoint.com. I get a ton of high value/free item coupons from them.


Order Coupons:

You can order coupons from many sites. My favorite is Ebay. If you know there's a really hot deal coming up you can order as many coupons for the deal as you need.

Trade for Coupons:

You can trade for coupons at several places online. I've traded several times on Hotcouponworld.com. It's a great thing to do because you can get the coupons you want, get rid of coupons you don’t need and it only costs me a stamp to mail the coupons.

You can also start coupon trading groups where you get a bunch of friends together to trade coupons. This can also be a fun “girls night out”.

Email companies:

You can get GREAT coupons by emailing companies and telling them how much you love their product. I've gotten TONS of free product coupons this way. Go email your 5 favorite companies now and tell them how much they rock!

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