Let the Hunt Begin!

You have your sorting system set up, but it’s empty. So, where can you get coupons?

Of course, your Sunday papers will have them. I suggest you pick up not only your local paper, but major metro papers as well. Sometimes the values on the coupons are different based on region. Some papers get coupons that others don’t.  I pick up no less than 5 papers on a good insert week!

Sign up for loyalty programs. Store cards are one way to receive discounts, but you can also get coupons directly from the companies you use. Huggies, Gerber, Proctor and Gamble and Kellogg’s have spectacular loyalty programs. They have Internet printable coupons as well as sampling programs (which come with coupons in most cases) and will mail coupons directly to your home.  Check anything you love for a website with coupons.

Write directly to companies to ask for coupons. This has mixed results. I’ve received replies ranging from “we don’t send coupons” to multiple coupons for FREE items from companies. If you love something, let the company know. If you have a bad experience with a product, let them know. They’re usually generous to those who are kind and honest.

Check websites that are dedicated solely to coupons. Some of the sites I find most useful are coupons.com, smartsource.com, and redplum.com. There are also coupons available on CVS.com, Walgreens.com and HEB.com. Many websites will allow you to print coupons two times. You may have to download a printer driver to make sure the bar codes print clearly. (Just a warning, I have trouble getting SmartSource coupons to scan at Wal-Mart and HEB.) BettyCrocker.com tends to have good coupons too.

Load e-coupons onto loyalty cards. Check store sites, such as Kroger.com and Brookshires.com, to load e-coupons onto your card. These are useful if you don’t want to spend time clipping and sorting. Just load them onto your card (after you register it) and print a shopping list. Once your card is scanned at the register, the coupons will automatically deduct as your items are scanned. Sites to check for e-coupons are cellfire.com and shortcuts.com but for our area, these only work at Kroger.

The best place recently for coupons has been Facebook. It’s simple to sign up and companies have been offering coupons and samples from their pages with increasing frequency.

My final source is magazines. All You, only sold at Wal-Mart, is full of coupons every month. You’ll save way more than you spend on it. Subscribe for the best price.

Check my site: faithfulfinances.blogspot.com. I update often with new deals, coupons and samples that I’ve found. Every Friday, I put up a link that sends you to a list of the coupons for the coming weekend.

Now that you’ve got your coupons all organized, how do you use them to your best advantage? Well, check back for more!

(Re-print of my column in today's local paper where I live.)