Getting Started Couponing One Step At A Time | Gathering Coupons

Now that we know to only buy what is on sale and to stock up for 6 weeks, we are ready for coupons! Shopping sales will save you a lot of money, but using coupons allows you to save even more.  Keep in mind, if you don’t have the time for coupons one week you should still stick with your sales and stocking up.  Coupons are really icing on the cake and most of our savings in the sale.

If you are ready to start clipping, here are your best sources:

Newspaper Coupons:

In your Sunday newspaper you will get coupon inserts. The 3 main inserts are the Red Plum (RP), Smart Source (SS), and Proctor & Gamble (P&G). Your Parade/USA Weekend insert will have a coupon or two every now and then.

There are regional differences between coupon inserts. To make sure you are getting the best coupons, try get the biggest paper available in your area. To help you decide which paper is best for you, you can see the regional differences in papers.

The most affordable way to get your paper is to subscribe. If you’d rather decide whether to buy it or not each week, you can see the coupons that will be in the upcoming inserts. I post the preview of upcoming weekend coupons every Wednesday around 5pm.

If all of the papers in your area are awful, do not worry, you can buy inserts online. Two sources I trust are:

Coupon Things By Dede
Wholecouponinserts.com

If you only need one or two coupons, you can look here:

Ebay
Thecouponclippers.com
Trade with someone in the Southern Savers Community

You do not need to go overboard buying papers. You will typically only need 2. You can buy multiple copies, order them online, check recycling centers, ask friends and family, etc. to get more papers.

(Personally I get two each week, and on a big huge week with 5 inserts I might get 4.  Any more than that and it’s just too much.)

Home Mailers:

Home mailers are a great source of additional coupons. The most common way to sign up is online directly with stores or manufacturers.

One that is currently available:

1.  Stocking Spree Publix Booklet

Another great thing to do is to contact the manufacturers directly. You can call, e-mail, Tweet, Facebook, etc. to let them know you love their product and would like coupons. People have not had as much success with this lately, but it is worth a try. This works especially well with less known brands and items.

You can also get home mailers that are sent directly from stores. The Target in my area recently added a huge grocery section. They sent coupons for $1 off meat, produce, laundry detergent, and more. So be sure to always check what may look like junk mail.

Some ways to sign-up for Store mailers:

– Go to Kroger.com and create a MyKroger account.  Be sure to link your address and store card number together.

– If you don’t get the weekly ad flyer, ask your local store to be put on their mailing list for the ad.  They do mail them out to folks that ask.  This may also end up getting you on the main mailing list for other promotions. (Great way to get Publix coupons by mail).

– If all else fails and another 6 months go by with no coupons from your local store (note if you live 500 miles from Kroger they aren’t going to send coupons) then it is time to head into the store and ask for a store card again like a new customer.  Register this card with a different person’s name.  Stop using your old card and become a new customer for the store (This can also help the CVS coupon center start to give you good coupons again).

Magazines

All magazines, especially the ones targeted toward women, have coupons every now and then. Some have them more often than others though.

The best magazines for coupons:

All You
Woman’s Day
Weight Watchers
Good Housekeeping
Ladies Home Journal
Better Homes & Gardens
Family Circle
Ebony

If you wait, we generally see great deals on these magazines.  Watch for posts on Southern Savers in the early mornings for what magazine is on sale that day.  Most of these we can end up getting for around $5 or less (except All You).

Printable

Printable coupons are becoming more and more popular. There are so many coupon sites that offer coupons. You can also get them off of many manufacturer’s websites and Facebook pages.

Main sites for coupons:

Coupons.com
SmartSource
Redplum

You can see the full list of printable coupon sources here.

The fun thing about printable coupons is that you can print 2 coupons per computer, not printer. This means if you have two laptops, you can print 4 of each coupon!

If you have a Facebook account, be sure to like your favorite products. They will often post high value coupons that quickly reach their print limit. If you follow them, you are more likely to be able to print it. You can also follow Southern Savers on Facebook as I will post hot coupons when they’re available.

Which Coupons To Print?

You do not need to immediately print every coupon, but coupons do have a maximum number of prints. S,  if you know you’ll use it, you should go ahead and print it.

Others  To Print Right Away:

-High Value Coupons – they usually do not last long. A really great coupon will usually only last 2-3 hours, so print it as soon as you see it.

-Meat & Produce Coupons – these are rare, so print Green Giant, Birds Eye, Libby’s, etc. coupons when you see them.

Additional Tip: I post the Ads on Southern Savers one to two days before the sale starts. This allows you to go ahead and print the best coupons. For example, sometimes a coupon is available on Monday, but is gone by Wednesday. If you looked at the ad early, you could already print the coupon and see be able to use it.

Free Samples

You should always sign-up for freebies. They almost always come with high-value coupons. So, even if you don’t want the little packet of shampoo, you are going to want the coupon for $3 off that brand of shampoo.

You can see the video below for more information:

Check back later today for tips on how to never miss a great coupon!