This post is the second article in my series “Becoming a Super Couponer.” If you missed any of the previous posts, check out my couponing page for lots of tips, tricks, and tutorials!
This is probably one of the most basic elements of couponing because, let’s face it, without coupons there is no couponing! So where can you find the coupons?
The newspaper is where most people get their coupons. On most Sundays, you will find a combination of the Smart Source, Red Plum, and P & G coupon inserts. The combinations change each week. For example, some weeks you will get all three inserts, but some weeks may only have one, or even no inserts.
If you are waning to get each week’s coupons, you might want to consider subscribing to your local paper. There are several different options for subscribing to the paper, and it doesn’t mean you have to get one every day. For example, I only subscribe to the Sunday paper (basically for the coupons) and it is much cheaper than having it delivered every day. In addition, when you purchase an actual subscription what you would pay for the subscription is often much less than what you would pay if you purchased the paper at the store each week.
If you aren’t ready to make the commitment to subscribing to the paper just you, you can always pick up a paper at the grocery store or neighborhood news stand on Sunday morning. I have also heard that the Dollar Tree carries the Sunday newspaper, and at $1 that is much lower than the cover price in many places. If you are buying your newspapers from the store though, always double check that the inserts are included. I wish I could say that all couponers are honest, but like everything else in life there are those that don’t play by the rules. We will talk more about that in a later post though.
There are multiple ways to acquire additional coupon inserts besides buying them. First and foremost, ask family and friends to save their inserts for you. Many people don’t use coupons, so their inserts go right into the trash. If they give you their inserts it can be a win-win for both of you. You get the extra inserts and you can thank them by giving them a few of the free (or almost free) products you score.
Other places you can check for inserts is in recycling dumpsters or bins. I have heard of people getting a lot of extra inserts by going through the recycling bins in their apartment complexes. If you live in an apartment complex or townhouse that doesn’t have a recycling area, you can always put a box by the mailboxes asking people to donate their inserts. You can also do this if you live in a housing complex where the mailboxes are grouped together.
Whatever you do, do not acquire extra inserts by taking neighbors newspapers, taking inserts from papers at the newsstand (unless you are buying the paper) or taking inserts out of papers in the paper box. That is stealing and it’s just wrong. What would be a nice way to pay it forward though is if you are buying a paper only for the inserts, instead of throwing the paper itself away, give it to the cashier to give to someone who doesn’t want the paper for the inserts. Or you could always give the paper to an elderly neighbor or someone else that could use it!
Another way to get coupons is by printing them online. One of the best sites I have found for printing coupons is Coupons.com. This site has hundreds of printable coupons, and each one can be printed twice per computer. These coupons are often variations of the coupons in the paper. Many of the coupons do have limited quantities, which means that only so many total coupons can be printed and once that number is reached the coupon will disappear. This is why it is important to act quickly when hot printable coupons are available. You can also access these printable coupons on my Printable Coupons Page.
You can also find printable coupons on brand’s websites or through their Facebook pages. If you don’t see a coupon section on their page, you can always send a message through the brand’s Facebook page or a contact form on their website. It never hurts to ask!
Where do you go about getting your coupon inserts from?
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Remember they often come in the “marriage mail”, which is in with the weekly ads grocery ads that you receive in the mail somewhere between Monday and Wednesday. However, coupons are not in the marriage mail if there is a holiday (i.e. there were no coupons this week since tomorrow is Independence Day).
I love my Kellogg’s coupons. I trade in my Kellogg’s rewards for higher cereal coupons than the coupons you typically get in inserts. We eat a ton of cereal in my house, for us it’s worth it to use them for coupons instead of the other rewards options.
I have never been too big on couponing, but I certainly should be! This is a great post and I will have to bookmark it!
I don’t do coupons anymore… I just am lazy. I would LOVE to but I found I was buying and clipping but not fully utilizing them. When I *did* clip coupons I would purchase mine from the dollar store in the Sunday paper.
I really need to get into clipping coupons. I know it would end up saving so much, but I always forget.