This is something I wrote for a friend who wanted to "know how to do that coupon thing..."
So here's what I came up with. Please add your own tips!
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Anything that you buy a lot, or just like - call the 800 # or email the company (just Google the name) and compliment them (
or complain, if something was wrong with a product) and ask if you can get coupons for their products. Last week, I got about $39 worth of coupons in my mailbox. 6 for
free flour tortillas from Mission,
free POM juice,
free Amy's pizzas (2 of those @ $6.95 each),
free Coffee Mate,
$3 off any Campbells products, and lots of other $1 off coupons.
Print coupons from:
Smartsource.com
coupons.com
Boodle.com
Redplum.com
bettycrocker.com
and of course, the AWESOME coupon database here at WUC includes these and MUCH more! Just click on Coupon Resources, then "Coupon Database"!
To get two of each coupon...after they print, hit the "back" button, then refresh, it'll print two of each that way. After two, it'll usually say "Sorry, you've printed the maximum number allowed." If you really want to get more coupons to print, download Mozilla Firefox (it's a browser like Internet Explorer - I use it at home more than Internet Explorer myself). You can print from the same sites twice on IE, and twice on Firefox.
***NOTE: Enable your "Print Preview" so you can see how the coupons will print on the page. Most times, you can print one, flip the same paper over and print another on the back - saving paper/money!***
- Put in "printable coupons" in Google to find more sites to print coupons from. Go to the sites of your favorite products and see if they offer printable coupons - most will have a link on the main page that says "Coupons" or "Promotions" or "Save on..."
- Register at FoodLion.com for the Shoppers Companion and they will email you coupons every week or so. Note: these are only good at Food Lion stores.
- Check your favorite stores websites for similar programs! Harris Teeter also sends out weekly specials and eVic deals that are not advertised.
- Get the Sunday paper that has coupon inserts - I got a "bridal special" that ours was offering online and got a year of Sunday papers for about $42. It's more than paid for itself already, and I just started getting it in January.
- Tell your family to save you their coupons. Look in all your magazines you get and clip the coupons - even if you won't personally use them. (more on this later)
- Check out stores on Monday morning and see if they have any Sunday papers left over. Ask if you can have them - the worst that can happen is they say "No" - but many times they will let you take them. Free coupons!
- SHOP AT CVS! I get all of our paper products, shampoo, soap, etc there... look at the Sunday flyer and buy stuff with coupons you have that also give you back "Extra Bucks" (it's like cash at CVS). Then you can "roll" the ECBs (extra bucks) to buy more stuff without paying cash the next time. For example: You might spend $10 the first trip - but if you buy stuff that gives back ECBs, you can get $10 worth the next time to buy more stuff that gives back ECBs...and on and on. At one point, I had $69 in Extra Bucks!! I have enough shampoo, soap, body wash, Q-Tips, Johnson Buddies soap, toothpaste, etc to last us 6 months - most 100% free or close to it. It's also good to save your ECBs in November/December to get those great last-minute gifts for FREE, or the After-holiday SALES on wrapping paper, bows, candy, etc. They will be marked down to pennies on the dollar after the holiday. ECBs DO expire, though, so be sure to keep up with the dates!
- Walgreens also has what are called "Register Rewards" or "RR" for short. Same as CVS, just a different store. Walgreens seems to have a bigger variety of items than CVS (just my experience, yours may vary). Another great thing about Walgreens is that you don't have to sign up for the RR - they just print out whenever you buy a qualifying item! Check the weekly flyers and the Walgreens board here for the weekly and monthly deals. RRs also expire - 2 weeks from date of issue, I believe.
- ALWAYS check the Clearance Racks/Shelves/Bins! This goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. At Target - shop the perimeter of the store (next to the walls) - that is where they put the endcaps with clearance items. Match up your coupons with those items and you could get a lot of freebies or near-freebies!
- Get your prescriptions filled at CVS to get Gift Cards when you transfer. Transfer a couple to CVS for one month, then back to the mail order company or wherever you usually get your meds... you get a $30 Gift Card for transferring a prescription to them. You can get A LOT at CVS for $30 using coupons and Extra Bucks. NOTE: CVS takes competitors coupons for prescription gift cards! If you get a Rite Aid coupon (usually in their flyers weekly), KMart, Target, Walgreens, etc - CVS will honor them and you can get a CVS gift card instead of the other stores, if you prefer to shop there.
- Join weusecoupons.com (you all have already, obviously ) and read their forums - especially the ones for stores you frequent most.
I have a whole folder on my computer here at home with nothing but WeUseCoupons.com links so I can find stuff fast when I need it - I bookmarked the CVS forum, Coupon Database, Subscribed Threads, and the main site... plus all the coupon links I posted at the beginning of this email, so I can just click on 'em, and print away. Do the same with the threads for stores that you like!
Once you learn your way around WeUseCoupons - you can "trade" for coupons you want. For instance, Lowes Foods here had Propel water on sale for $1 a bottle. They double up to 99˘ coupons, so I traded someone else for a TON of 55˘ off coupons... I got free water for all of DD's softball games last season, and plenty left over for home. They actually PAID ME to bring it home - 55˘ doubled = $1.10 off each $1.00 bottle of water --- I make 10˘ on every bottle we buy.
- Trading is why you keep ALL coupons - whether you will use them or not. Your trash might be just what someone else wants for a trade. I usually trade for postage stamps, just because it's easy and I don't have a whole lot of coupons saved up yet. Like I'll send 3 postage stamps to someone and they send me 15 coupons for whatever they have that I want. Get it?
- You can't say "I only shop at Walmart..." or whatever, though. You have to be in the mindset that you'll shop where the DEALS are. I used to never shop at Lowes Foods here, because they were more expensive than Walmart & Food Lion. Then I figured out they double coupons, so I sort my coupons by 99˘ or less, and $1 or more. The 99˘ or less coupons - I use at Lowes and get double the value off. The others are fine for Walmart or Food Lion, where the products will be cheaper, but the coupons don't double.
Couponing is a fun hobby - and it's like having a 2nd job
(without leaving the house!) because you save SO much money. The first week I really got into it - I cut our grocery bill from about $150 to around $65. I was almost crying when I left the store, I was so happy! (and sad, thinking about all that money I had wasted so many times before!)
**UPDATE: After a little over 1 year of couponing, I have a chest freezer AND fridge/freezer crammed FULL of good food, a great stockpile built up of toiletries and cleaning stuff - and I don't have to buy anything but milk and eggs and bread for at least 3 months! It's SO nice to know that in today's economy, my family will be able to eat and not spend money on cleaning/toiletries/etc if something horrible should happen and our income is compromised.
Oh, last but most important - NEVER EVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT YOUR COUPONS! You never know when you'll run into a great deal and there's little worse than finding something you could get for free or pennies, if only you had the coupons with you.
Have fun! Enjoy! And be prepared for your friends and family
to start saying "You got all that for HOW MUCH??" 
03-18-2009, 01:39 PM
Couponing Tips & Tricks!
Please add your own tips, folks! We can all use all the help we can get!
for the newbies!
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