Where to find Coupons
The first thing that you need to do is start collecting coupons. I am frequently asked where I get all my coupons and I would have to say that I find them all over. Here are the most common places to find them.
Sunday Newspaper: I get the majority of my coupons from the Sunday newspaper. There are four different inserts that you may find in your newspaper. They are SmartSource, Red Plum, P and G, and General Mills. The number of inserts will vary from week to week. You can see a preview for the coupons to expect in your paper here. The coupons included in the inserts do vary a greatly across the country so you may not receive all of the coupons listed, but at least it gives you an idea of what to expect. Bigger cities definitely have better coupons. When I lived in smaller areas I used to go to the store and buy newspapers from the nearest city. Even though I had to pay more for these papers than my local one, I ended up with much better coupons. If it is a good week and I think I will use several of the coupons I will buy 4 papers. That way I can stock up a little, but it doesn't get too overwhelming. If you have a large family you may want to get more than 4. Be sure to ask your friends and neighbors that don't use coupons if you can have their inserts. That will help you cut down on the cost of the papers. I know that some people dumpster dive for coupons, but I haven't tried that. Even if you have to pay for your papers it will still save you money in the long run. My newspaper costs $1.50. That means I only have to use one or two of the coupons from it to break even and all the rest are all savings. One note, be sure to check that all the inserts are in the paper before you buy it. You don't want to get home and find out that all the inserts are missing. Sometimes you may have to go to more than one store to find a paper with all the inserts.
Printable: I am definitely using more printable coupons now than I have in the past. The number of printable coupon websites just keeps growing and growing. I have a link at the top of the blog called Coupons. It is a place where I post websites with printable coupons. I am always adding links to it so be sure to check it frequently. You can also find printable coupons on company websites and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. They have really become popular on Facebook and it seems like I am posting several Facebook coupons each day. I usually post them on the Coupons Equal Cash Facebook page so be sure to join it so you don't miss out on those.
One concern about printable coupons is the cost of the ink and paper required to print them. I try to get my paper FREE at places like Staples when they offer copy paper FREE after rebate. I also try to print my coupons in black and white. I don't ever seem to have a problem with them accepting them at stores. I am also trying to do a better job of only printing coupons that I actually plan on using.
Tearpads: In a lot of stores you will find little pads of coupons attached to displays. You may not have even noticed these before, but keep your eyes open when you shop and you will be surprised at how many you can find. They are usually at the end of the aisles (endcaps) or on the big displays that they have set up. If I see a tearpad of coupons for a product that I like or want to try I will take a couple of the coupons to use. If the item is not on sale or the price is high, just save the coupons until you find a sale to use them.
Blinkies: These are the coupons that pop out of those little machines when you are shopping. I usually see them at grocery stores and drug stores. Once again, I will take a few when I see products that I know my family uses. You can use these coupons at other store, too. They are manufacturer's coupons, not store coupons. You will not find these at Walmart, Target, and Meijer.
Catalina coupons: The coupons that print out of the little machine when you pay for your groceries. Some are tied to the products that you buy and some are just random. Some of the Catalina coupons are good on a specific item and some are just bonus ones that are good on almost anything you buy on your next order. Walgreens calls these Register Rewards (RR).
Store Reward coupons: Some stores print out reward coupons at the bottom of your receipt. CVS gives Extra Care Bucks (ECB or EB) and Rite Aid gives UP Rewards. These are usually given for purchasing a specific product.
Winetags: I don't see these that much anymore, but sometimes wine bottles will have coupons attached to them or on a tearpad nearby. Some require you to buy the wine and the product on the coupon, but some actually have no wine purchase required. I used to find a lot of these for meat and produce.
Coupons in the mail: I don't get that many coupons in the mail, but keep your eyes open and you may find some. Many companies will send them with FREE samples. Another way to get coupons in the mail is by emailing or calling your favorite companies and complimenting their products. Many companies will send you coupons when you do this. Sometimes they are even for FREE products. You can also let them know if you have a complaint and they will usually send you coupons to reimburse you for your purchase.
Store coupons: I find a lot of store coupons on store websites. Some are digital and you load them to your account or store card and some are printable. I also receive coupons in the mail from some stores like Kroger and Target.
Coupon Clipping Services and Ebay: You can order also coupons online. You pay a fee for the service to clip the coupons for you plus shipping. The advantage is that you get exactly the coupons you want and the amount that you need. I have a list of some places to order coupons on my Coupon page.
Tips to help you get started
Once you have accumulated some coupons, go through and cut out all the coupons that you think you will use. Then put the rest of the coupon inserts in a file to save. That way you will have them later on if you find out about a good deal or if you want to trade some of them with another couponer.
Find some way to organize your coupons. There are lots of ways to do this. I use a rubbermaid box with a handle that was originally made to hold cancelled checks. I have dividers in it for different categories. Some people use 3-ring binders and put all their coupons in baseball card sheets so they can see all of their coupons. If you are just starting out I would recommend one of those accordion file coupon holders. You can find them at Dollar Tree for $1 or a little bit nicer ones at Staples, Walmart, Target, etc. You will probably outgrow this fairly fast, but I think that it is a good way to start. It is overwhelming enough at the beginning without having to worry about the binder. Another inexpensive way to start is to use a shoe box or baby wipes tub and put small envelopes in it for each category.
I try to make it really easy for my readers by pointing out the good deals that I see on my store matchups, but there may be items that you need that I haven't listed so you should get in the habit of checking the sale ads and seeing if you have coupons that match up the items in the ad. There are bloggers all over the country so you should be able to find someone that does matchups for your local stores.
A few things to remember:
Just because you have a coupon doesn't mean you need to run out and use it immediately. Wait until you find a sale on the item to use the coupon unless you really need the item right away. When you can match up the coupon to a sale, determine if that is a good deal or not. If it is a good deal, buy a few extras so you won't have to pay full price next time. If it isn't a good deal just wait until you find a better deal.
You can use more than one of the same coupons in an order. For instance if you are buying 3 jars of peanut butter, use 3 coupons for the peanut butter. Some stores have limits on how many coupons they will double so make sure you know the store's coupon policy. If you need to you can always do more than one order so that your coupons will double. Also if the store has store coupons you can usually stack them with manufacturer's coupons for even more savings. An example would be the little coupon booklet at Walgreens. You can use those with manufacturer's coupons for additional savings.
Try to stock up, but don't buy things just because you have a coupon. Determine if it is something that your family needs. You can save a lot of money just by only buying things that you really need. If it is something that you can get for FREE after a coupon and you know that your family won't use it consider dontating it to a food pantry or shelter.
Building a Stockpile
I know that a lot of you are anxious to build your own stockpiles, especially after watching Extreme Couponing on TLC, so I wanted to give you a several tips to get started. If this list is too overwhelming just focus on the first couple of tips for awhile and return to this article when you are ready to move on.
Be patient
You are not going to build your stockpile in a couple of weeks. It takes time to build one. The main idea behind stockpiling is getting products at rock bottom prices to save you lots of money. You are not going to find every product at rock bottom prices in just a few weeks. It may take a year or more to create your stockpile, but that is okay.
Save on weekly shopping trips
Even if you are getting things at rock bottom prices it still takes money to build your stockpile. Many people find it difficult just to pay their weekly grocery bill so adding to it can be difficult. I suggest that you look in your freezer and pantry and see what you have. Try to build as many meals as you can around these items. By doing this, it frees up more money from your weekly budget to use on stockpiling items.
Don't have a much food on hand? The next thing I suggest is scouring all the weekly store ads. Look at what things are on sale and try to plan your menu for the week based on these items. You will be surprised at how much you will save just by doing this. People get in the habit of just throwing the same things into the cart whether they are on sale or not. By having a plan ahead of time you will eliminate most of the full price purchases that you would normally make.
Match up coupons to sale items
While you are going through the sale ad to plan your menu be sure to check and to see if you have coupons that match up to the items. This will help you save even more money, especially if you can find stores that double coupons. I know it can be confusing at first, but fortunately, there are tons of bloggers out there who are willing to help you with this. Check around for bloggers in your area who post coupon matchups for your local stores. It really is a good idea to find at least a couple of them. That way if one misses a good deal another blogger may catch it. After a few weeks of following these matchups you may find that you are able to spot the good deals all by yourself.
Understanding the matchups
When you first start reading coupon matchups it can be very confusing. Couponers tend to use many abbreviations to save time. Here is an example of a deal I have posted on my matchups. Let me go through it and explain it to you.
$.99 Mueller's Pasta
-$1/2 (3/27 SS#1)
$.49 each after coupon WYB 2
It says that Mueller's Pasta is on sale for $.99. You should use the coupon for $1 off a purchase of two boxes that I found in the March 27th SmartSource coupon insert #1. (There was more than one SmartSource insert this week so I numbered them one and two.) After the coupon you will pay $.49 each when you buy 2 of them.
Does that make sense? I also like to post any store coupons that you can pair with the manufacturer's coupons for additional savings. Here is an example.
$2.50 Nabisco Crackerfuls
-$1/1 (4/17 SS#1) Use 2
-$1/2 Meijer Mealbox
$1 each after coupons WYB 2
If you buy two of the Nabisco Crackerfuls you can use two $1 manufacturer's coupons off one item from the April 17th SmartSource #1 insert plus one Meijer Mealbox coupon. You will notice that I have included a link for the Mealbox coupon because it is a printable coupon. In the end I will pay $1 each after all three coupons when I buy two of these items. Looking for more help with these abbreviations? Check out my Lingo page. You will find it at the top of the blog.
Start stocking up
Now that you understand how to match up coupons to sale ads you can start to build your stockpile. When you find items that your family uses at rock bottom prices you can buy a few extra to stockpile. I know that on Extreme Couponing they show people with enough products to last them a year or more, but you don't need to accumulate that much. How many people have room to store that much anyway? Stores usually put items on sale every six weeks so if you can stockpile enough of an item to last you a few months you should be fine until the next big sale. If you can get something for FREE and it is something that you know you will use you may want to get 6 months to a year's worth, but you don't have to. Usually three to four months worth of an item is good. The longer you use coupons the more you will learn about sale cycles and determine what works well for your family. When I find peanut butter for FREE or very cheap I will really stock up because I know that it is something my family goes through quickly. I have learned over the years when to stock up on things and how much to buy.
Shop at several stores
Once you start stockpiling you will find that you can get better deals by shopping at multiple stores. By increasing the number of stores you shop at you are increasing the number of sale items available to you each week. I think that people tend to avoid certain stores thinking that they are too expensive. Over time you will find that with store coupons and rewards programs you will be able to get things for FREE or cheap at all stores.
Storing your stockpile
Once you start building up a stockpile you are going to have to find a place to store it. Not all of us have beautiful shelves and huge areas to store our stockpiles. Be creative. Find a place in your basement or garage or an extra closet. You can even store things under your bed. I have lived in several homes since I began stockpiling and some are definitely better than others for storing stockpiles. Just make the best of it and try to find places for things. If you have limited room you may only be able to stock up for a month or two, but hey it is still going to save you money.
Rotate your stockpiles
Don't forget to organize your stockpiles with the items that are about to expire to the front. Did you go a little overboard with certain items? Donate them or give them to friends. Nothing makes me madder than letting things go to waste, especially food. I feel terrible when I find something that has expired and I know that are so many people out there who would could have used it.
How To Use a Coupon Database
I know that people wonder how to find the good deals at the store. Here is what I do when I am creating my matchups. I look at the sale ad and then I check coupon databases to see if they have any coupons that matchup to that item. My favorite coupon databases are on CouponMom.com and afullcup.com. I really like CouponMom because they have the database listed by state and I find that the majority of my coupons are same as the ones in her database. I also like A Full Cup because they list more printable coupons.
Here are step by step directions.
1) Go to http://www.couponmom.com/ and join. It is free.
2) Click on Coupon Database at the top.
3) Select your state or region in the box at the top right and push Go.
4) Type in the item you are looking for in the box and push search coupon database. For example, if you are looking for Tide Laundry Detergent just type in Tide. She doesn't put hyphens and apostrophes in her list most of the time so when in doubt type it both ways. Aunt Millie's is just listed under Aunt Millies.
5) If you see a coupon listed deduct it from the sale price in the ad to determine what your price will be after coupon. If there is more than one coupon listed you can try them all and see which one would give you the best price. You will also need to know if your store doubles coupons. It is usually written in the ad, but you can always call them and ask if you are not sure.
6) Next check your coupons to see if you have that coupon or coupons. The database will tell you which insert it is from so you don't have to cut them all out if you don't want to. At the beginning you probably won't have that many of the coupons, but over time you will. You can try to order them from a coupon clipping site if you don't have them.
7) Decide if you think that this is a good price. If so write it on your list. As time goes by it will get easier to know if something is a good price.
8) If you want you can also check the coupon database at http://www.afullcup.com/. Once again you are going to have to register, but it is free.
9) After registering click on Coupons at the top.
10) Select Coupon database and enter it the product you are looking for.
11) Follow the same steps as above.
12) I also check printable coupon sites to see if they have coupons for the product. I have a list of printable coupon sites on the Coupon page on my blog.
13) Repeat this process for all of the items in the ad that you are interested in.
14) By now you probably see why it is great to find a blogger that does the store matchups for you. They are extremely time consuming. I do matchups for Meijer, Kroger, VG's, CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart. If you need other stores, let me know and I can try to help you find bloggers that cover these stores.
Have other questions? Please post comments or email me.
