Thursday, July 10, 2008

How To Find & Get Coupons

HOT TO FIND & GET COUPONS

PART 1 OF COUPONONOMY: Coupons and our Economy

The U.S. Economy isn't GOOD and everyone knows it. They not only KNOW it they FEEL IT, SEE IT, HEAR IT AND READ IT everyday! The headlines discuss "fuel prices up" "stock market down" and everything else in between. Just today I went to the grocery store and saw 2 very disturbing things.......... a plastic jug of Folgers coffee for $10.XX at Food Lion and $2.99 for get this 1 ENGLISH Cucumber! I made a $30 a week feeds your family of 4 menu & shopping list in 2002 and posted this on my website. I bet that $30 would cost TRIPLE that amount right now using the same ingredients and items! I now have had to revise my budget to $40 a week but I am also feeding a family of 6 at the moment! (4 adults, 1 tween and 1 toddler). This does NOT include cleaning products or diapers but most everything else is included. I am focusing on "How to Find & Get Coupons" today but later I will revise the $30 menu to $40 to better suit the "Coupononomy" of today.

#1 Get the SUNDAY PAPER (with coupons of course)
subscribe if you can and have delivered bright and early..........

HERE is a site to check out and see if you can get a DEAL on your subscription to the newspaper. HINT: click on NEWSPAPER PARTNERS then on your STATE /AREA to find your local paper, doesn't work as well with Zipcode

HERE is the 2008 SCHEDULE (remaining months) for Coupons that will be in the NEWSPAPER ***thank you to freelancer, TINA for putting this together for me! :)

KEY: V = Valassis
SS = Smart-Source
2SS = Two separate & unique Smart-Source inserts
P&G = Proctor and Gamble (ask me about my STOCK in P&G)

July
27 — SS; V

August
3 — SS; V; P&G
10 — SS; V
17 — SS; V
24 — SS; V
31 — No Inserts (Labor Day)

September
7 — SS; V; P&G
14 — SS; V
21 — SS; V
28 — SS; V

October
5 — SS; V; P&G
12 — SS; V
19 — SS; V
26 — SS; V

November
2 — SS; V; P&G
9 — SS; V
16 — SS; V
23 — SS
30 — No Inserts (Thanksgiving)

December
7 — SS; V; P&G
14 — SS; V
21 — No Inserts (Christmas)
28 — No Inserts (New Year’s Day)



#2 ask your neighbors, family and/or friends for their paper too ! if you can't do that.......go to the grocery store SUNDAY NIGHT or MONDAY a.m. and ask your cashier friends if you can have the coupons from a paper they are sending back. (see #3 )

#3 MAKE FRIENDS : CASHIERS at your GROCERY STORE........ friends that collect coupons........ join coupon trading groups (may have some local in your area?), neighbors that throw away their SS THIS IS SO IMPORTANT ..........many people just "don't have time" to do coupons........or "just don't have the skills" so get them instead of the coupons winding up in the trash can........... HINT: post a "wanted" on your local FREECYCLE for SUNDAY PAPER FLIERS & COUPONS!

#4 SUBSCRIBE to free magazines or DISCOUNT MAGAZINES
THIS IS AN INVALUABLE RESOURCE for great coupons........go thru your
magazines and clip clip clip go thru magazines at your library or dr. office if they let you take them they would more than likely otherwise end up in the trash..........my personal favorite magazine for coupons is ALL YOU MAGAZINE you can find this at Walmart but you can subscribe for tons cheaper HERE 2 full years for only $20 ***this also gives you the option to choose a school or charity to get a portion for you buying it

FREE BABY magazines are GREAT resources for FREE Coupons for many items including J&J products, and many others including FORMULA.........if you don't know anyone with a baby, donate to WOMENS' SHELTERS OR WILDLIFE ORGANIZATIONS to make someone smile and get a TAX deduction FREE! NOW here is a DISCOUNT magazine site.........that can't be beat over 100 magazines to chose at $4.69 a subscription for 1 year!................the coupons will far outweigh that cost not to mention
the magazine! I often put FREE or DISCOUNTED offers in our NEWSLETTER but for now you can find MORE DISCOUNT MAGAZINES CAN BE FOUND HERE

#5 Grocery / Retail Shopping "valued customer cards" and more Most grocery stores are offering "valued customer" type cards that you get for no cost by filling out a profile form in the store or take home and mail in a "response card." these cards when used at check out take off additional savings from your shopping totals. These are no longer limited to Grocery Stores and Drugstores but I have them on my key ring for electronics, pet stores, sports stores, office, gas stations and more. I have a BUNCH of these! Using these will do one or all of several things.......... savings at register, generate offers to be mailed to you, give you points for purchasing, enter you into contests and more. (OLD ARTICLE SPECIFICALLY ON THIS HERE)

Recently KROGER (& related stores) has started a program (maybe other stores too) in which COUPONS can be selected online to add to your card. You can use these coupons in conjunction WITH clipped coupons (double dip) for now, but if this "catches on" many companies may offer these instead of clipped coupons (cheaper for them) but would BUM ME OUT (these are limited to 1 or 2 per account, stockpiling not possible if only choice) but for now its a great deal!

KROGER & KROGER FAMILY COUPON CARD LOADING SITES:

#6 While Grocery OR retail store Shopping check the following places for coupons:

  • blinkies: machines that "spit" out coupons hanging by products
  • Catalina Machines machines that "spit" out coupons at check out
  • SMP: specially marked packages and HT (hangtags)
  • Bulletin Boards: these are pretty scarce these days but worth checking out
  • Deserted Grocery Carts: sometimes I get really lucky with this tip!
  • Pull Outs: Store Ads
  • special Displays: cardboard stands promoting products
    bins that people discard the coupons they don't want
  • sharing bins some stores and other places (commissary) have sharing bins to deposit your unwanted coupons, this isn't only a place to give but also a place to LOOK to see if there is something you need!

#7 The Recycle Bin: if you take a look you will see many discarded coupons here, I personally don't do this but many do and successfully too! CHECK OUT THIS dumpster diving success story HERE omg - maybe I should rethink this! hmmmmmmmmmm

#8 JUNK MAIL? THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS JUNK MAIL IN MY HOUSE! sign up for all the advertisements you can you will get on lists that send you free products and coupons regularly.........just throw the rest away/shred/recycle etc .........in addition to coupons you could get address labels, greeting cards all free.

#9 Fill out Rebates, Coupons, Free Products Offers etc......
 THESE ARE THE BEST............fill out your name on coupons that allow you too.......you may win a contest or qualify for free products.........don't bank on it.........but be surprised when you do............
send in for REBATES after using a coupon on product to maximize your savings look for the FREE AFTER REBATE deals.............use coupons to purchase and you have covered the cost of your stamp usually! :)
walgreens.com is just one example of a store that offers many
FREE AFTER REBATE products Also, try for riteaid.com Coupons and their Single Check REBATE program. Many companies will send to you their BEST HIGH VALUE COUPONS along with a rebate submission! "GIMMEES" are also good sources for coupons! RECENTLY I have been entering a contest Sponsored by Green BUCK (details here) each entrant rec'ves $10 in free coupons. One of these coupons is $2 on ANY PRODUCT at "YOUR FAVORITE STORE" how cool is that? USE THIS COUPON on a FULLY REBATED product and you just made cold hard cash buying a product! WATCH FOR MANY OF THESE OFFERS HI-LIGHTED IN OUR NEWSLETTER and BLOG

#10 Entertainment Books *********on sale right now FOR ONLY $9.99 each this is GREAT! I usually buy 2 a year, 1 for home town, 1 for vacation spot, using only 1 coupon usually pays for entire book************* they always have some type of "grocery" shopping coupons and discounts in them as well as b1g1f dinners out, convenience store coupons, outings, entertainment etc we keep ours by the front door so we never forget to "look."

#11 Print what is available on line........here are some reliable sites that have printables ALL of the time you will also find printable coupons on your favorite product sites (NOT ALWAYS but lots)

*****ANJIE ARTICLE ON HOW TO REDEEM PRINTED OUT COUPONS FROM THE NET IN YOUR LOCAL STORES, that give you ISSUES about it! HERE

#12 CHECK THE ANJIE NOTES (all sections) for COUPON, FREEBIES, SAVVY SHOPPING & even contests that you can win groceries and or coupons! read EVERY ISSUE and take advantage of ALL that you can...........this will give you more $$$ to get the DEALS!

#13 Buying Coupons buying or paying for coupons is illegal, but paying someone for their service of clipping/sorting/mailing you coupons is NOT!

Here is a disclaimer that is found on most Coupon Clipping Service Listings: "I am not selling the coupons, they are free, I am charging for my time and effort in finding, gathering, cutting , listing here and shipping. Thanks!"

BEFORE YOU START BUYING OR TRADING COUPONS YOU MUST "LEARN THE LINGO"

ANJIE-ISMS OR FREELANCEBYU slang or lingo YOU CAN FIND HERE

THIS ARTICLE ABOUT COUPON LINGO WAS PUBLISHED IN THE OBSERVER by SUE STOCK read in its entirety here:

"You’ll find that couponers use a lot of slang when they talk about coupons. You may need some of it to navigate my posts, even though I try very hard not to digress into coupon lingo. Here are some common phrases you may see.

Q: slang for “coupon.”

BOGO: short for buy one get one. A lot of stores offer BOGO sales each week, so this one comes up a lot. You may also see it B1G1. Also sometimes written BOGOF for buy one get one free.

WYB: Short for “when you buy.” Coupons or sales sometimes set terms that are like “Get a free roll of paper towels when you buy two.”

DND: short for "do not double"

EXP: short for "expires"

GC: short for gift certificate or gift card

CC: short for credit card

SASE: Self-addressed, stamped envelope (common for rebates)

NAZ: name, address and ZIP code

POP: short for proof of purchase (again common for rebates)

One more note: You’ll also sometimes see coupon values written like this: .50/1 or $1/2. Those designations give the amount you’ll save follow by a slash and then the quantity you have to buy. So, those two examples are save 50 cents on one and save $1 on two. "

NOW that you know the lingo its time to Shop for coupons you want or need!

I have bought coupons from many sources. ***My favorite source is EBAY! ****

Ebay consistently has "free item" coupons listed that were acquired through rebates, Sunday paper , magazines etc that I am in need of. You can also find "bulk" great coupons such as the Meow Mix Free cup coupon that was in last Sunday's coupon section. You do not have to bid, postage is usually reasonable (at least from the sellers I use) and I get them very timely. I love that I can read feedback from other buyers, have several areas of the country to ship from (shortens wait time) and usually the sellers are eager to please adding extras etc for repeat customers. I get Paypal from doing surveys, Mystery Shops etc , so usually it is FREE MONEY I am spending. Usually I am not spending Paypal money for larger purchases, so coupons are "cheap, easy & help me ROLL MY MONEY into cash and freebies" Now that I am ALSO using a cash back system with ebay it makes this EVEN BETTER! I don't find many of the "local, limited area" rebate forms and wine tags that I need, and you also cannot buy cigarette coupons on the internet. (funny note: you can buy EXPIRED VINTAGE cigarette coupons tho, so if you have any you are not using save them they may be worth money one day!)

Here is how I do it........

  • register with this site BIG CRUMBS it has a money back program for shopping EBAY! I don't use it for anything else but this , but you may find other ways to earn money back thru this program.
  • BOOKMARK your very own Ebay shopping link to use each time you shop Ebay for coupons its that easy!
  • GO TO EBAY and search for coupons you want to use Example: "hunts ketchup coupon"
  • I don't like to bother with BIDDING so I then click the BUY IT NOW option if I find an item with a price & shipping that is acceptable to me. Then I "SORT BY PRICE WITH S&H INCLUDED" I will usually pay for the coupons with PAYPAL right away and usually these are shipped promptly.

SOME OTHER COUPON SERVICES everyone knows that URSALA "Dabs Forms" used to be my favorite source of coupons on the net ! She had to sell her business and now its called something else and run by someone else. Everyone that has been a freelancer since the beginning knows that I just loved Ursala and her service. Here are my choices for Coupon Clipping Services now......... this is my all means not all of them that are out there, but they are all GOOD for one reason or another and can meet your needs without being "risky."

Rebecca's Forms & Coupons service HERE

Lynn's Coupons & Refunding service HERE

I have received coupons and forms from the listed sites above. I have been happy with my envies!

Rebecca's is probably the best known of all of the sites I have listed above. She has a "shopping cart" and charges postage (+ 10 cents supply cost) in addition to the cost of your items. Most items have a "limit" or a "minimum" purchase required. She even has a sneak preview section where you can order NEXT SUNDAYS coupons in advance so they get to you sooner. I rarely see the best forms posted here or very many. "Totally free" coupons on this site either go like lightening or are not posted here at all in most cases. She has the "most" of each coupon so chances are you will get to choose a particular coupon that you may want to use for a sale item. Paypal is accepted for payment.

Lynn's coupon service is a spin-off from the original site which was run by two sisters. I never felt a "homey" atmosphere with this site but I have been very successful in finding particular forms that I may be looking for. Lynn's service has a quick turnaround. I have never bought any of the "bundles" on this site but her rebate form choices are great. Lynn charges postage (which is a higher cost than actual) on top of the posted amount of each coupon & form. Selection is great and she sends out emails if you sign up for it to let you know what the latest items in stock are.

There are several other services that I could list that would even pay me to do so (through affiliate programs) but I am not going to endorse them because of some reason or another. You can find them through search engines if you really want to look around.

Finally there is DEDE'S coupons which unfortunately was down when I first wrote this article due to the owners laptop being stolen........... NOW it is BACK - up and running! I have been referred to this site by freelancers that have been happy with her service but I personally have not used it. I will be checking this site along with the other ones I mentioned regularly.

#14 COUPON TRAINS: many couponers get involved with trading coupons thru the mail with other couponers, this is called a "coupon train." what you do is take what you want or need from the "envie" and replace with other coupons and send to the NEXT PERSON in the train. There are rules that differ with each "train" and differing amounts of people that participate on each train. I personally do not belong to a train at this time due to so many of them "getting lost in the mail" and someone losing out somewhere along the line. I choose to give my coupons to others that I know that can use them and am lucky enough to have people give them to me. When there are specific coupons I need, I turn to Ebay or coupon buying services. If you are interested in joining a "train"

Here are a couple to consider (I actually was going to go into more detail on this but due to some unforeseen events, I had to cut this short)............ I do know that BOTH of the groups that I am referring you to, have LOADS of emails that they send out, so you may want a separate account if you do not want your reg. box to fill up, or join with DIGEST version so you get condensed (many emails in one)...... just a suggestion.......

If you join either of these groups please let them know when "applying" (there is an application process) that you read the freelancebyu article in reference to them so they know where you are coming from. These both seem to be
"tightly run" groups that do check for bad traders before alloying membership.

Group Moderator, RENITA provided me with VERY detailed information about her group, OURCOUPONCAFE. Our group is all about coupons, coupon trains, sharing great deals and freebies! We love using coupons to save as much as we can on our grocery bill! Let's save money and have fun doing it! Join a coupon train, or conduct your own! We have Bingo, Swaps and other fun stuff going on. There are minimal requirements, so you don't have to feel like you need to participate in everything. ...... I routinely save about $500 or more per month since I began with the groups and have learned where to find the best deals, getting more coupons for the items I need, etc. I don't know what we would have done without it these last couple of years! http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/OurCouponCafe

Group Moderator, SUSAN provided me with this information about this coupon TRAIN: CS COUPONPLANCE: Our group is a place for "couponers" to trade coupons, refund forms and upcs. We have trains running for coupons, forms, stickers, etc. Crafts, Recipes, Freebies, Contests, Good Deals and Recalls can be found and shared here as well. We play games and have contests. This is a very friendly group, we like to have fun and save money! To join click this link http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cscouponplace/ , scroll to the middle of the page and click on the purple "Join Now" button.

Both moderators/owners were very friendly and helpful and I am sure if you would like to join their groups they will be equally as friendly and helpful to you!

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST............... duh why didn't I think of that?

#15 ASK -Compliment THE MANUFACTURERS! ok this sounds too easy! "JUST ASK" believe it or not I have been VERY successful at calling or emailing the manufacturers to give them compliments, or just say I would like to try your product and they 9/10 times will mail you GREAT COUPONS! YEP it is true there have been many people to try this and be successful! I used to do this EVERY MONTH and have let this slip recently! I have written several COMPLIMENTARY LETTERS to companies about the products I like this week, I always include WHAT PRODUCT I LIKE , WHY I LIKE IT, info from the container (upc and any other code #'s I can find) and any other creative thing I can think of. I do write the occasional "complaint" but only when I have to and not often because I know that companies always hear the BAD but rarely the GOOD , and I want to thank them for offering coupons, rebates, premiums etc and encourage them to continue! THERE was even one guy who did this "EXPERIMENT" check out the website HERE. IT IS FUNNY but it is SO VERY TRUE! My company letter writing techniques are VERY DIFFERENT than his but the results are similar! My freelancer friend, TONYA suggested this guy is FUNNY like the book "LETTERS FROM A NUT" so this may be some GREAT READING for some of us! this is what Tonya had to say, "It reminds of me of the book "Letters from a Nut" - these letters were discovered by Jerry Seinfeld and published in a book. This guy wrote to all of these companies with crazy requests. Anyway, that's what his letters kind of remind me of - they are very funny! And I also like the whole idea of what he's doing...." Freelancer, ISPRI contributed this great site which connects you to many Company websites! WOW, talk about making things EASY FOR YA! Anyway, most of the companies that you write and request coupons will send them for good PR as long as you are not one to do this ALL OF THE TIME, I am sure if you do this on "occasion" you will get GREAT RESULTS!

HERE is an EXAMPLE of a GREAT COMPANY taking the time to answer one of my company letters

Dear Ms. Henley,

Thank you very much for your interest.

Sun-Maid Growers of California has been providing premium products to people all over the world for over 90 years. We believe that our dried fruit, bakery products, confections, and dried specialty fruit is the very best.

Although we do not have a mailing list or internet coupons, coupon offers can be found from time to time on all of our products and through newspaper and magazine publications. Additionally in an attempt to offer reduced prices to
our consumers, we occasionally offer promotions to our retailers, who in turn pass their savings on to our consumers through reduced shelf prices.

We appreciate your continuing interest in our products and hope you will enjoy the complimentary coupons that will be sent to the address you have provided.


Sincerely,
Sun-Maid Growers of California
Consumer Affairs

RECIEVED SEVERAL 35c coupons for this product (*remember you can double up to 50cents at some stores / more on this later)

I HOPE THIS ARTICLE HELPS YOU BE A SUCCESSFUL COUPONER!

Remember Neva Neva Neva Pay full price for anything

Anjie @-->>--

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