WHERE TO FIND COUPONS

WEEKEND NEWSPAPER: In my area we receive our coupon inserts in the Saturday paper; however the majority of you will want to purchase the Sunday paper to receive all your coupons. ALWAYS CHECK to make sure the paper you are purchasing has the coupons inside. I've been burned a couple times...got home...no coupons! Ugh. That's the worst. Usually on holiday weekends there are no coupon inserts (boo!), but sometimes they surprise you, so always check. The coupon inserts are as follows: RedPlum, Smartsource, Proctor & Gamble. Click here to view a list for 2010.

INTERNET SITES LIKE: coupons.com, smartsource.com, redplum.com, bettycrocker.com, pillsbury.com, etc. What I like to do is make my grocery list and if there is a certain item that I have to purchase and don't have a coupon, I will go to the company website and see if they are offering any coupons. I have about a 50% success rate with that method.

ASK FRIENDS and FAMILY: Chances are most of your friends and family are not using all of their coupons. Speak up and ask if you can save them from the trash! My mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law both give me their extra coupons and I repay them with some of the free stuff I got from using them! Seems like a fair deal to me.

BLINKIES and TEAR PADS: Blinkies are little machines that spit out coupons and tear pads have coupons attached to them. Be on the look out for these at all times!

PEELIES: These are coupons and offers attached to products.
 
CHECK RECYCLE BINS: Now some of you might turn your nose up at this idea, but if you're anything like my husband...you live for dumpster diving! Hey, don't knock it. You can get lots of freebies!

TRADE ON THE INTERNET: There are several coupon trading sites. I myself do not use them, but if you're short on coupons I would research that.

MAGAZINES: Several magazines feature a few coupons per month...don't let those get away!
I cannot say enough about ALL You magazine, which features 40+ coupons each month. This magazine can be purchased exclusively at Walmart or you can get a subscription here!

STORES: Many stores, especially drugstores like Walgreens or CVS will put out their own monthly coupon booklets to be used exclusively in their stores. The great thing about these is that they can be stacked with a manufacturer coupon, which makes for some great deals! Another way they promote coupons is in their weekly ads, so don't forget to check those out.

EMAIL YOUR FAVORITE COMPANIES DIRECTLY: Just ask! I try to email about 15-20 companies each month to compliment them on a quality product. In response they mail me coupons! It only takes a few minutes of your time and the majority will respond with coupons. These coupons are usually higher value than ones you find anywhere else. To avoid bombarding your inbox with junk mail, I would definately open a separate email account through yahoo or hotmail just for this purpose.

MAILERS: If you sign up with different companies they will usually mail you promotional offers and coupons periodically.

INSIDE PRODUCTS: Make sure to check inside the products you buy. Also sometimes manufacturers will put coupons on the box, so don't throw away anything without checking for coupons first!

LOAD ELECTRONIC COUPONS TO YOUR STORE LOYALTY CARD: This is explained in detail here.