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Sparkle (2)
The question I've been asked over and over again is, "Where do you find coupons?" and I have to be honest -- I didn't really understand the question. Even before I started extreme couponing, I knew where to find coupons -- they're everywhere. I just didn't use them as effectively as I could have. Now that I've been doing this for awhile, I've decided that most of you know where the coupons are -- you really mean something else when you ask that question.
You might mean, "Where do I find coupons for the products I use?" And that's a tricky question because it depends on what products you use and how loyal to specific brands you are.
Let's start with where to find coupons.
Your first stop should be the coupon supplements in your Sunday newspaper. If you don't subscribe - consider subscribing. Most areas have inexpensive Sunday only plans and it will be worth it for you to have that first, basic source for coupons handy.
At some point you may decide to buy extra papers, depending on the coupons in each weeks' supplements. A lot of coupon blogs and forums will give you a Sunday Supplement Preview so you can decide ahead of time whether you will want to buy extra papers each week. Take a peek at the P&G supplement preview for 5/1 and the Red Plum supplement preview for 5/1. It's important to note that not all regions get exactly the same coupons, every week. For instance, on 4/17 a lot of us had two $3 off Nivea body wash coupons in our supplements -- this was a great deal because that made Nivea body wash completely free at Wal-mart, .04 at Target, and less than a dollar at both CVS and Walgreens. My SIL, the woman responsible for me becoming a couponer, did not get these coupons. She was very sad. I got lucky and received a total of six of these coupons because TW's mom brought two extra inserts home from the assisted living facility so I was able to send my SIL those two high value coupons. A lot of couponers bought extra papers that week because free body wash is awesome.- I have never bought an extra paper but I'm a big fan of internet printables aka IPs. Coupons.com, SmartSource, and RedPlum are the big three and you will need to allow installation of the coupon printer application in order to print coupons.
You don't have to visit them non-stop in order to get good coupons -- subscribe to a blog who consistently updates readers when new coupons are added to these sites and when you see an update for a coupon that you are pretty sure you'll be able to use - go print it. If it's a really good coupon -- you might want to print two.
There isn't an unlimited supply of these coupons so high value coupons or coupons that are rare will go quickly. A $2.00 off Folgers coupon will go quickly. So will a .30 coupon for Haribo (gummy bears!) One because you'll end up with coffee that's almost free and another because it's a coupon you'll rarely see. - Another place to find coupons is by "Liking" a company or a brand on Facebook. You don't have to spend three days "Liking" every brand or company whose product you might buy in hopes of finding a coupon lurking there. Again, you should follow a blog or two that consistently updates you when new coupons are available. When you get that update -- go to the page, "Like" them, print the coupon, (if it is a bricks.coupon, you can print two by clicking the back button on your browser three times after the first one prints), and you're done.
Some brands will tell their fans that a new offer is coming on X day at X time -- coupon blogs will tell their readers and at X day and X time, there will be thousands of people reloading those fan pages just waiting for those coupons. Try not to be frustrated if the page times out, or the coupon doesn't load. Be patient -- try every few minutes. Hopefully the server load will ease and you'll get a coupon before the print run expires. If not... don't worry, you'll get another chance! - Most brands, companies and grocery stores have
