Pull out your pencils and notebooks, Lords and Ladies. It’s time for another class in our Royal Academy of Savings. Today I’m sharing with you some of my favorite tips for using coupons. We’ll be focusing on the best places to find coupons. A few basic notes before we begin:
- Start simple. Don’t expect to save $20 in coupons the very first week you begin to collect them (although you might!). It takes a bit of time to get your own system down but once it’s in place and you have a good stash built up, you can expect to easily save $10/week in coupons on products you need and already buy, easy. Many of you will save more than that and many of you will save more than me! So give yourself some grace as you begin this Royal Savings Quest.
- Don’t clip what you don’t use. I don’t have a cat; therefore, I do not buy cat food, even if I can score it for free. If you have a plan in action to donate it somwhere or give it to someone, that’s fine. But be realistic about your follow through. Do not purchase something just because you have a coupon.
- Match sales (in a later course of Couponing 101 we’ll talk about where and how you can do this) and make sure you’re really getting the best price. Sometimes it’s still cheaper to buy generic and there’s not much difference.
Now our main topic: Where to Find Coupons
- Places you can get coupons:
- The Sunday Paper. You can either get a Sunday subscription or go to the store or gas station to obtain a copy. A good rule of thumb is to buy the number of papers correspondent to the number of people in your home.
- Store Websites. Target and Meijer both have GREAT sites for coupons good only in their stores. Often these can be bundled or stacked with other offers. If for some reason you’re in Target and have forgotten their coupons go here for a great tip on what to do. Kroger (and its affiliates) offers coupons that you can load directly to your cell phone via Cellfire and coupons that you can put on your Kroger Plus Card through Shortcuts.com and P & G eSaver .
- Magazines: All You is my favorite place to get coupons! It’s also a great magazine for frugal living tips. Monthly there are at least $30-$40 worth of coupons in its pages. Queen of Free readers can get two years worth of subscription for only $17.95, courtesy of Lady Ann-Marie! The ordering procedure has changed a little so check it out today here .
- CouponWebsites: The companies that provide handy dandy inserts in your Sunday Paper also supply coupons online. Red Plum , Smart Source , and Coupons.com (on my sidebar) all offer great coupons that you can print from the internet.
- A Full Cup is a great site to peruse the web for other coupons. They also have a Target Coupon Generator that helps you quickly print multiple copies of Target’s coupons.
- Comapany Websites: Betty Crocker, Eat Better America, Pillsbury, Box Tops for Education are all great places to get coupons.
- Trial Programs like Vocal Point , Kraft First Taste , and General Mills Pssst offer you a chance to sample products and get great coupons to use and share with friends.
- In Store: Blinkies (those little blinking light coupon dispensers), Tearpads, and Peelies on products. Keep your eyes peeled when you’re in the store. If you have kids, make it their job (just make sure they don’t get too zealous and take too many or peel them off of products you have not or are not going to purchase).
- Dr. Office and Pharmacy: Be on the look out the next time you make your next trip to the Doctor’s Office or Pharmacy. You can often find coupons there.
- With Samples: If you’ve ever ordered a sample with the help of the Queen before you know that many of those also come with coupons, too! Take Freebies 101 to learn the best tips for ordering and receiving free samples.
- eBay: I haven’t done this but there are places on eBay where you can purchase specific coupons. If you know what you’re looking for, this might be a great place for you.
- Conferences, fairs, or festivals: All often have plenty of fun handouts and many times coupons number among these giveaways.
- Your mailbox: Our midweek fliers often have great coupons for places we do go. Again, if it’s not a purchase you’d make already, throw it away.
Congratulations. You’ve completed segment one of our course in the Royal Academy. Keep reading for more posts on the best ways to save with coupons in Couponing 101.
Great tips! I need to be better about this.
Great tips! I need to be better about this.