How do I find coupons for me?

Manufacturers publish coupons to get product awareness, make better sales and to promote new items. When coupons are published they have an expiration date anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months from the date of publication. Normally within the life of the coupon, there will be a sale at one of your local stores and you can match the coupon to the sale for additional savings. So, the key concept is to get the coupons for items you normally would purchase and hold them until there is a sale. Patience can have big payoffs!

Manufacturers release coupons in a variety of ways. Below are various ways to acquire coupons:

Sunday paper coupon inserts

Magazines – All you has a lot of coupons and can be bring into being at Wal-Mart, Women’s Day, Food Magazines, etc.

Newspapers and local supermarket flyers

Blinkies – located in the supermarket aisles in little red machine

Peelies – located on actual product

Tear Pads – located on special displays in a store and sometimes at customer service desk. Mail-in rebates are often displayed on tear pads.

Wine Tags/Neck Tags – these are tags that hang on the neck of a wine bottle or any other bottle with a neck.

Internet Printable – only allowed 2 printed coupons per computer used. Check your store policy, some stores don’t accept or limit the amount you can use in a shopping trip. In addition, they may admit printed coupons but none over a convinced value or for free items.

E-Coupons – lots of local grocery stores and pharmacies (CVS, Walgreens, etc.) offer electronic coupons to be loaded to your membership card for use. Just check the policy for these types of coupons – if the store has a “doubling coupon policy” e-coupons may not be doubled.

Coupon Clipping Service. A service can make your life so much easier, you only select the coupons you are going to use, so no extra papers or clipping coupons. Make sure you pick a service that offers a good variety and is reliable. A coupon clipping service is an advantage, because they source coupons from around the country, not just one area, so the variety is much better than what you can find in your local papers. Choose a service close to your location to ensure you get your coupons timely for sale items, or consider upgraded trackable shipping.

How do I use coupons?

•First, READ READ READ your coupon. Make sure the coupon expiration date is good. Read any limitations listed, such as “only 4 like coupons per shopping trip”. If the coupon states “16oz or larger” you can’t buy a 12oz product and use the coupon. You can only use 1 coupon per product being purchased. So if you buy 3 tubes of toothpaste you can use 3 coupons, but you cannot use 3 coupons for 1 tube of toothpaste. Make sure to match the product you are buying with the coupon.

•Manufacturer coupons are universal and can be used anywhere that accepts coupons. So if you live in TX and go to CA for a trip and want to use a manufacturer’s coupon you can do so.

•Coupons cannot be copied – it is illegal. Only original coupons can be used.

•Wherever you shop, learn the coupon policy. Read carefully, if you have questions, ask. If you are only allowed 6 like items per order, be aware. This is why extreme couponers break their orders up into smaller groups to comply with store policies. Look at things like – do they double coupons? Up to how much? Do they have a special day every month when there is additional savings? Senior Day – 5% off? Triple Coupon Day? Some stores may double up to $.50 or $.99; others may limit double to $1.00. Some stores accept expired coupons up to 30 days after expiration. Others price match competitors and will accept their coupons too. Some won’t double on certain items like dairy products. Some won’t double e-coupons. Some won’t accept coupons that won’t scan – will not hand enter coupons if they do not scan. Some FREE coupons are not accepted if printed from the internet. There can be limit differences on printed coupons vs. published coupons. This knowledge may lead you to some new stores for shopping!

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