Mavourneen our fantastic WUC moderator wrote and posted this in our Articles forum!
If you are new or new-ish to couponing ( and frugal living in general! ) , here are 5 definite “must do” moves for the new year that will take your couponing to the next level.
1. Start utilizing an insert or clipping service to get quantities of inserts or key coupons
If you have been buying 3 to 5 Sunday papers for the past few months and are seeing the savings from getting those inserts – take it to the next level by getting inserts delivered to your home.
WUC has a group of recommended insert sellers listed in 2 places: in the “FSOT” area of WUC or in the drop down menu at the top of the screen labeled “Coupon Resources”
If you don’t have access to a large number of inserts for free, this is the next best option for getting the coupons you need to save your family money and yourself time.
2. Sign up for Swagbucks.
If you haven’t started using Swagbucks for Internet Searches: Sign up For Swagbucks Here , click on the link and sign up now.
Just by changing to the Swagbucks toolbar and using their Net search instead of Google, you’ll be rewarded with “Swagbucks” – which are redeemable for things like Amazon gift cards and Paypal $$! Since most insert providers take Paypal, paying them with Paypal couldn’t be easier! Just search the web and other online activities through their site to generate Swagbucks, then redeem the points for Paypal. Pay for inserts through Paypal, and you’ve spent NOTHING out of pocket for your inserts.
You can also redeem those points for Amazon gift card codes which NEVER expire. Redeem your points and park the money in your Amazon account for next Christmas – no better time to start saving for Christmas 2012 than right now!
3. If you have children and need to start saving for college, sign up for Upromise
Upromise has 2 programs that are VERY useful to couponers with kids. Follow the steps to registering with Upromise ( it is VERY safe and easy to do ) and purchase you make online through their site and at the grocery store on especially selected items each month are credited towards an online account which can be spent for your children’s college education. You don’t save the money upfront. It is deposited into your Upromise account.
Example: This month, there is a .25 offering for Bounty napkins. If you buy Bounty napkins, .25 will be deposited into your Upromise account by the manufacturer ( Proctor and Gamble in this case ). These quarters and dollars add up, and CAN be used with a paper coupon!
Also, you can access coupons.com printable IPs through Upromise. When you print and redeem them at the store, you will also get redit to your Upromise account – just for printing and using IPS!
4. Come out of the “Couponing Closet”
Though becoming much more common, many of us coupon in secret – our friends, coworkers, and families might not know how we are using coupons to our advantage. Well – tell them. Positive reactions are MUCH more frequent than negatives, and enlisting as many eyes as possible to gather coupons is an increased blessing.
For example, my Mother In Law knows I am an avid couponer. ( She’s waaay more laid back about it! ) When I go to her house for meals on Sunday, I’m always greeted by a stack of magazines and inserts she saves for me to go through before she recycles them. My co-workers also know I coupon, and will bring me inserts and tearpads they find. While I don’t always need what they bring me, I always thank them warmly and sincerely.
Mention your couponing to co-workers, friends, fellow church members – whoever you think might be of help. You will be surprised at the help you will receive if you just ask!
5. Get involved in the forums here at WUC!
Monitoring the forums where you shop is the first level of couponing. Getting involved to share, connect, and learn is the next step to being an effective couponer. Nobody like to go it alone – and if you’ve had limited success couponing but are a “lurker”…you are missing a key component to your growth as a couponer – encouragement and fellowship.
Along with promoting honest coupon usage, there is nothing our members like better than helping a new couponer understand and grow.
Ask questions and post encouragement to other members who post trips and savings. Befriend members and ask advice.
We are a community because the members here stop to make it so. Our leadership team devotes countless hours to maintaining this site, posting deals, and working to provide the best savings content on the Web.
We look forward to hearing your growth as a couponer throughout the coming year!
Click here for more great articles on our blog, or head over to the Articles Forum!
Thanks for the Upromise info. I’ve been wanting to learn more about it, but hadn’t taken the time.