Getting Started

Here is a brief tutorial in what you need to know to get started in couponing.  And as always, feel free to post a question or comment or email me!  I would be happy to hear from you!

Where to Find Coupons 
Here are the top places to find coupons:
1) Sunday Newspapers – These are the biggest sources of coupons. To find additional copies, check recycling bins or ask your family/friends if they are using theirs. On a holiday weekend, there are usually no inserts, but there can be as many as three inserts in one week.
2) Mail – Many companies will allow you to sign up to receive coupons and coupon books in the mail.
3) Free Samples – Signing up for free samples is a great way to get some higher dollar coupons. I’d advise creating a separate email address for “freebies”.  Usually the free sample will come with a coupon to purchase the item at a discount. 
4) In-Store – You can often find coupons called “blinkies”, which are the little machines that spit out coupons by the products they are for. There are also “tear-pads” as well. You can sometimes even find “peelies” right on the products themselves.
5) Printable Sites – Two of the big printable sites are Coupons.com and Smart Source.com. These coupons rotate week after week and sometimes even have maximum printings that when the limit is reached, they are pulled off the site. So if you see one you think you might need, you should print it. (You can usually print two per computer.)
6) Blogs – Blogs are a great place to find coupons.
7) Search Engines – If you are looking for a specific coupon, just type the brand name followed by the word coupon and you might be able to find one that way.
8) Join Groups/Surveys – There are some groups you can sign-up for that will offer/mail you coupons from time-to-time.
9) Manufacturers Websites – More and more manufacturers are hosting coupons on their own sites now. If you use a lot of a particular item/brand, check their website to see if they offer coupons. If they don’t, email/mail them and request some.
10) Magazines – By far, the magazine with the most coupons lately has been All You magazine, which you can only get by subscription or at Wal-Mart. The price of the magazine is well worth the coupons inside. Make sure you check your magazines to see if there are some inside.
11) Forums – There are several great forums out there to check into.
12) Store Websites – Make sure you sign-up for your local store’s loyalty programs and register at their websites so you can get emailed coupons. Also, coupons from store websites are sometimes stackable with manufacturer’s coupons.
13) Phone Book – Don’t forget to check your phone book for coupons for your local area businesses.
14) Entertainment Books – The Entertainment books have coupons for restaurants, entertainment, retail stores, etc.
15) Facebook – Many manufacturers now have Facebook pages and will give you coupons for simply “liking” their page. 
16) eCoupons – There are many website available that will provide you with electronic coupons that load right onto your store savings card.  These coupons are then automatically deducted at the register when you purchase those items. 

How to Organize Coupons
1) Coupon Binder – This is some form of binder that they put “baseball card sleeves” in to hold the coupons. The coupons are “clipped” and folded into the slots of the sleeves so that you can just flip through your coupons page by page.



2) Coupon Box – This is some form of box where the “clipped” coupons are usually kept in some type of labeled envelope system. If you go with this method, I’d highly advise a box with a secure lid! Usually, when they shop, the box is put in the child seat of the cart for easy access.



3) Coupon Insert Method – This is where the coupon inserts from the Sunday paper are kept intact, and either not clipped or partially clipped, and filed by week. Usually an expandable file folder that has tabs for labeling is used.