There are oh so many things I could go on and on about when it comes to couponing but I will stick to the topic, which as the title may have clued you in on, is where to find coupons. Let me tell you right now I am no expert. I am just a person who believes that being smart and efficient can save you time and money. I have always said that lazy people do twice the work of smart people because they half-ass stuff and have to re-do it. Quite honestly I simply do not have the time or patience to be lazy. I am a think about it, design a plan, and get it done efficiently but correctly the first time around kind of gal. This is a philosophy that I definitely bring to the couponing experience. Personally, I do not have 20 - 60 hours a week to dedicate to couponing. I would prefer sipping margaritas by the pool over scouring the computer for hours upon hours to try to find a deal any day. However, I am also a realist who knows that you get out of any venture exactly what you put into it. So I researched this whole couponing thing thoroughly (reading blogs, exploring all sorts of websites, heck I even watched videos about how to coupon on YouTube) and then proceeded to make a plan. I am going to delve into the first phase of any good couponing experience now... I will save the rest for later blogs. How would I ever get you to come back and read more if I tell you everything now???? At this point you may want to grab a pen and paper or you may just want to say to heck with this blog I would rather go watch a show about Noodling.
In my not-so-expert opinion the number one most important trick to maximizing your savings when using coupons is that you have to have as many coupons as humanly possible and have them organized so that you can find them in a split second if need be! It's a numbers game... plain and simple. Different couponers use different methods and I will explain several of those to you now. A LOT of EXTREME couponers have accordians in which they file their coupon stash. They file their weekly inserts in these accordians by the date and then by insert type (for example SS or Smart Source, RP or Red Plum, or P & G or Proctor & Gamble...you see the pattern!). So let's say thekrazycouponlady tells you Reach dental floss is on sale at Kroger for $0.95 (which it happens to be right now AND it is an unadvertised sale) and that there were $0.50 cent off coupons in the 7/31/11 SS (which there will be... I am using this example because I have already those coupons and have already replenished my stockpile of Reach dental floss this week) which Kroger will double making the dental floss my favorite price... FREE. The couponers who use that method would go to their trusty accordians and pull out the SS inserts and clip their coupons and head to Kroger... IF this were an advertised sale but it's not. For those who use this method unless someone clues them in on this sale and where the coupon is there coupons will continue to gather dust in their accordian while people like me, who always have all of their coupons on them, discover this unadvertised sale as they are perusing the toothpaste aisle, put the product in their cart, and continue to the next aisle with a smile. I DON'T GET THE ACCORDIAN METHOD AT ALL! I mean lets say you go into Kroger and they have Wacky Mac on clearance for $0.25. Well there were coupons that came out for Wacky Mac quite a long time ago but you wouldn't know you had those coupons if you didn't clip and keep all of your coupons neatly organized in your handy CUT IT OUT Coupon Organizer and those coupons would forever remain in the accordian and eventually turn into recycling instead of FREE Wacky Mac:) Ok so the secret is out I am NOT a fan of that method at all! Frankly I do not have the room to store all of those inserts!
As I mentioned before quantity of coupons is key! When I am clipping coupons I ask myself one question... If someone were to give this product to me would I use it (if the answer is yes I cut it out and save it in my CUT IT OUT Coupon Organizer because you never know when you are going to walk into a store that will have that item priced just right.) That is how I amass so many coupons... It is no secret that in today's economy we are all trying to find ways to pinch pennies (like my friend Penny Pinching Jenny). Some people choose to pick up a second job, some folks choose to trim the fat off of their budget and others, such as myself and NWF Coupon Exchange, choose to use coupons. Let's face it, working two jobs and raising a family would be extremely stressful and exhausting. And if I had to trim any more fat off of my budget I would be living in an efficiency apartment, watching basic cable (I certainly wouldn't have internet) and trading my cell phone in for... I am cringing at the thought of it... A LANDLINE! So in light of the choices hands down I pick COUPONING as my money saving method (like my friend Money $aving Michele).
There are oh so many things I could go on and on about when it comes to the different methods of couponing but I will stick to the topic, which as the title may have clued you in on, is where to find coupons. Let me tell you right now I am no expert. I am just a person who believes that being smart and efficient can save you time and money. I have always said that lazy people do twice the work of smart people because they half-ass stuff and have to re-do it. Quite honestly I simply do not have that kind of time or patience. I am a think about it, make a plan, and get it done efficiently but correctly the first time around kind of gal. This is a philosophy that I definitely bring to the couponing experience. Personally, I do not have 20 - 60 hours a week to dedicate to couponing. I would prefer sipping margaritas by the pool over pouring over the computer to try to find a deal any day. However, I am also a realist who knows that you get out of any venture exactly what you put into it. So I researched this whole coupon thing thoroughly (reading blogs, exploring all sorts of websites, heck I even watched videos about how to coupon on YouTube) and then proceeded to make a plan. I am going to delve into the first phase of any good couponing experience now... I will save the rest for later blogs. How would I ever get you to come back and read more if I tell you everything now???? At this point you may want to grab a pen and paper or you may just want to say to heck with this blog I would rather go watch a show about Noodling.
The number one, most important tip I can share with you to maximizing your savings when using coupons is that you have to have as many coupons as humanly possible! It's a numbers game... plain and simple. Different couponers use different methods and I will explain another method versus my method to give you a few examples. A LOT of EXTREME couponers have accordians in which they file their coupon stash. They file their weekly inserts in these accordians by the date and then by insert type (for example SS or Smart Source, RP or Red Plum, or P & G or Proctor & Gamble...you see the pattern!). So let's say thekrazycouponlady tells you Reach dental floss is on sale at Kroger for $0.95 (which it happens to be right now AND it is an unadvertised sale) and that there were $0.50 cent off coupons in the 7/31/11 SS (which there will be... I am using this example because I have already those coupons and have already replenished my stockpile of dental floss this week) which Kroger will double making the dental floss my favorite price... FREE. The couponers who use that method would go to their trusty accordians and pull out the SS inserts and clip their coupons and head to Kroger... IF this were an advertised sale but it's not. I DON'T GET THAT METHOD AT ALL! I mean lets say you go into Kroger and they have Wacky Mac on clearance for $0.25. Well there were coupons that came out for Wacky Mac quite a long time ago but you wouldn't know you even had those coupons if you didn't clip and keep all of your coupons neatly organized in your handy CUT IT OUT Coupon Organizer. Ok so the secret is out I am NOT a fan of that method at all! Frankly I do not have the room to store all of those inserts either!
As you learned before quantity of coupons is key! When I am clipping coupons I ask myself one question... "If someone were to give this product to me for FREE would I use it?" If the answer is yes I cut it out and save it in my CUT IT OUT Coupon Organizer because you never know when you are going to walk into a store that will have that item priced just right and you will be so happy you have that coupon. Even if you are using the other method and know that you have that coupon at home by the time you get home, dig through the accordian to find it (which I don't use this method so I am speculating but that seems like it could be extremely time consuming and frustrating!) and you get back to the store the product is likely to be gone! Clipping every coupon for items that I would use or know someone who would use them if they were free is how I amass so many coupons. IF YOU REALLY WANT TO SAVE MONEY BY USING COUPONS YOU HAVE TO HAVE A TON OF COUPONS!!!!! And you have to have them organized so that they are easy to find and you do not get frustrated or overwhelmed.
One question I get a lot is where do you get all of those coupons. I tell them in order to get this many coupons you have to "THINK OUTSIDE THE NEWSPAPER!" So many people that think if they buy 20 newspapers they will have all of the coupons they need. One of my favorite sayings is you can never be too rich or too thin or have too many coupons:) I am sure all of the seasoned couponers out there know that you have to think outside the newspaper and it would be awesome if anyone has any ideas to share that they would leave a comment on this post. Personally I look for coupons EVERYWHERE!!!! Here are some of the places you can find coupons other than the newspaper:
- The obvious place a lot of people look to find coupons is the internet. There are many blogs and websites that will direct you to some of the best coupons out there.
- Also on the internet I always go to my stores website before I go shopping to see if they have any specials or coupons that I am not aware of before I head out (not just grocery stores either... I mean Kohl's, Macy's, Target... a lot of different stores have coupons that are great coupons available on the internet so next time check before you go... if you can't find one on their website do a Google search).
- Some stores (such as CVS) will send you special coupons via email if you register your shopper's card on their website. CVS sends me $4/$20 purchase quite frequently which is $20 BEFORE coupons and discounts which makes this a powerful coupon!
- A lot of stores have digital coupons that you can download right onto your shopper's card right from their website. I choose not to do this because those coupons will not double and unless you constantly carry around an updated list of coupons you have loaded onto your card you do not even know what coupons you have. And I know at Kroger if you have a coupon pre-loaded onto your shopper's card they will not double the coupon and they will not take the paper coupon.
- Many couponers order coupons from coupon clipping services on the internet which is also a great place to find coupons.
- For those people who love their newspaper coupons but do not want to have to pay for 20 newspapers there are several good ways to get the coupons without paying for them... ask your friends, neighbors and coworkers who get the paper for their coupons if they do not use them... find a recycling center and get them out of the dumpster (this may sound disgusting to you but hey a lot of people do it and if it works for you go for it!) or simply ask the local stores who carry the paper what they do with the leftover papers every Sunday and see if they will give them to you or sell them to you for a discount. They may not do this but the worst thing that could happen if you ask is they could say no and the best thing is they could say yes:)
- I find a lot of the best soda coupons at convenient stores and gas stations. Those stores generally do not run good sales on soda so the bottling companies will put coupons right on the product to entice people to buy the soda there. I recently found coupons hanging on 2 liters of Pepsi at Circle K (a gas station) for $1/2. When I find coupons like that I will take as many as I can find and save them to use at a different store when I find a good sale. Recently Kroger had the Pepsi 2 liters on sale for $0.89 each so I used the coupons and got 2 for $0.78...pretty good deal!
- A lot of times stores will have coupons just sitting out by stuff so if it is a coupon I like I will take as many as I think I would use... keep your eyes open for these types of coupons because they are usually pretty good coupons.
- Products will have coupons on them to entice people to buy them. If it is a good coupon and the item is not on sale, again I will grab as many as I need and put them in my CUT IT OUT Coupon Organizer right there in the aisle to use at a later time and or place where I find a sale!
- Another great way to get coupons is to call the stores and manufacturers directly. Tell them you love their store or products and ask if they have a mailing list for coupons then they will come directly to your mailbox.
- Magazines often have coupons to so as you are perusing your favorite mag be sure to keep your eye out for coupons.
- If you sign up for email alerts, weekly ads and newsletters from your favorite stores etc. you will find you will sometimes get coupons or at least get a heads up on the good deals for the coming week.
- My absolute favorite place to get coupons is at coupon swaps. I sometimes have people over to my house or I will trade with the girls at work etc. All you have to do is exchange the coupons you don't want for the ones they don't want... I hate to see a good coupon go to waste!!!
HAVE A GREAT DAY & GOD BLESS ~~ TINA
No comments:
Post a Comment