Coupon Mom: Where To Get Coupons

it can be very easy to obtain money saving coupons once you know where to find them. the resources are at your fingertips, here I will tell you about all the different ways to find them.

Getting your local Sunday newspaper is the easiest way to get the inserts that contain coupons. If you try dollar or discount stores they often the Sunday paper for less than the listed price. For those of you that like to have your paper delivered, many papers have deals for couponers. These are often unadvertised by the companies but if you call and ask they just might make you a deal! The Idaho Press Tribune is said to give you the normal paper Monday-Saturday, then 5 papers on Sunday (that is five sets of coupon inserts!) for $18 a month. If you Google “Thrifty Mom Paper Deal” this blogger has a list of many newspapers that offer great deals for couponers for western states.

One thing you want to be sure to NOT do is to steal the inserts. There have been many people who have been caught taking the inserts from papers and actually prosecuted...so be honest and buy your newspapers.

All You is the magazine for couponers. There are coupons spread out through the whole issue, and they are also usually higher value than the coupons you can find in regular inserts and online. Aside from the coupons, All You usually features recipes, helpful articles and other interesting reads so you won’t feel guilty. The subscription price varies, and you can usually do an internet search for deals and codes to save money on the yearly subscription.

If you don’t regularly coupon, or you like to coupon in large quantities there are many coupon clipping services available to you. Through these services you can go online and order just the coupons you want, in the quantity you want for just a few cents (although some coupons that are more difficult to get may have a limit to how many you can order). Many arguments have occurred about the legality of these sites, and here are the facts: it IS illegal to sell or purchase a coupon. This is stated on the coupon itself. It is NOT illegal to charge a fee for the service, as long as the fees charged are for the clipping/organizing/shipping and not for the coupon itself. In a nutshell, these sites are legal and honest. These sites usually ship on set days, and send via US mail. This means if you need a coupon by tomorrow, they can’t help you. If you read the fine print however, and plan your shopping in advance, you can get the coupons within the week if you order early enough.

Buying coupons on EBay is a lot like using a clipping service. You can search for the exact coupon you want and browse through a list of sellers and prices. Be sure to look at the sellers rating to be sure they are reliable, and also read the fine print and the item description (check the expiration date!) to make sure it will arrive in time and be the coupon you really want. I have several friends who regularly use EBay to get the coupons they need.

Many cities have recycling centers that have dumpsters just for paper or newspapers. I have a friend who in her last hometown was able to gain permission to dig around in this dumpster and find all of the thrown away inserts. She said she could usually find 20-30 of each insert every week doing this. It will take you a while to find out what days are best for this kind of treasure hunt but once you do you can get all the coupons you need for free. Please be considerate, and follow any and all laws in your area. Some recycling centers do not allow dumpster diving, so be sure to obtain permission before doing so. Also you should not search through private trash cans or dumpsters as this is usually illegal not to mention dangerous.

My friends and family are some of my best resources for coupon inserts! I ask everybody I know receives the Sunday paper to hang onto their inserts for me. Monday morning (or Sunday evening) I would go around and collect them all. I had one elderly neighbor who always saved her inserts for me, and she also got them from her friends at her church for me. I would come by on Wednesdays and get them, and take out her trash cans to the curb for her while I was there. Most people are happy to save the inserts for you as long as you are reliable about picking them up so they don’t clutter up their house. It also doesn’t hurt to find something you can do for them, even some cookies or thank-you baskets from your stockpile.

There are also online forums that people can go on and trade coupons with other people. You will generally have to sign up, and you might have to go through a training period so that you can be considered a reliable trade. Coupons are like money for couponers , and nobody wants to risk trading with somebody they aren’t sure will hold up their end of the deal. A good forum to check out is on Hot Coupon World. Read through the FAQ’s they provide, go through your trial period (last I checked they were still doing this) and then you are on your way to receiving great coupons!

Have you ever loved a product? Had an issue? Even if you have felt mediocre about a product, tell the company that makes it! Companies value feedback and often reward this feedback with high value and/or free product coupons. I do have a few rules about writing companies: Always be honest, never outright ask for free product or even coupons (I feel it’s rude and you tend to get better coupons this way), and be polite even when complaining.

This is an excellent way to get a coupon last minute. Coupons.com and other websites (including often the manufacturers website) have lots of coupons to print. There is usually a limit of 2 printed per coupon per computer. They are sometimes higher value than newspaper coupons, but not always so check before you print! The coupons on coupons.com change on the first of every month, and the good ones run out of prints early so check the first week of each month and print what you think you might use.

Another good resource for coupons is the actual stores and products themselves. Sometimes the product will have a coupon stuck to them, called a “peelie”. You can also find coupons called “blinkies”. These are coupons that come in a little machine, usually red, attached to the shelf near the product. There is a little red light that blinks as it spits out a new coupon, thus the name. You can also sometimes find coupons on a tearpad or a hangtag attached to the shelf.