Thursday, November 6, 2008

Do I have to buy a million newspapers just to get coupons?

Where oh where can I find coupons? Do I have to buy 10 newspapers every Sunday? There are never any coupons that I would use! My family doesn't eat convience food. Isn't it a waste of money to buy more than one paper?

Have you ever said any of these things? Since I started couponing I have found that there are a lot of preconceived ideas about what there are coupons for so today I wanted to clear the waters for ya'll. Okay, ready to dive in?

Where can I find the coupons? The most obvious place is in your Sunday newspaper, however make sure you are buying the biggest city paper you have available. I buy the Columbus Dispatch and one Sunday I picked up a Mansfield Sunday paper and there were only a handful of coupons in it! Some weeks I might buy two or three papers depending on the sales that are going on and the coupons in the paper. I usually know by Thursday how many papers I want based on the coupons that will be there. How do I know that? There is a handy website www.thecouponclippers.com or www.taylortownpreview.com that post a preview of the upcoming Sunday coupons. We don't always get all of the same coupons that the preview is for but it gives you a pretty good idea of what's coming. So by Thursday I know what's going to be in the paper, I usually get my ads for the upcoming week on Saturday afternoon, so I'll check out the "loss leaders" for my stores and start matching up any coupons that might be out there. If I see a lot of matches for items at rock bottom prices I'll pick up 3 papers on Sunday. When I do this I always make sure I'll save at least double the price of the papers!! Another place to find coupons in the paper is the Saturday Mount Vernon News, they usually have the Smart Source section in them and the Smart Source usually has the best coupons in it. A bonus? The Mount Vernon News is only $.50 think of the savings!!!

Another way to find coupons is online. I have to say that I have found some of the best coupons on various sites. Usually online coupons are for a higher value for example $.75 off 1 or $.55 off 1 instead of $.75 off 2 like the paper has sometimes. Yes it will cost you ink, but I always print mine off in black ink and use cheap printer paper. Again though compare the cost of your printing to what you would pay full price...are you saving more?If so print away!!!

For those who cry My family doesn't eat that stuff!!! Let me tell you, we don't either unless it's a tight month in which case we'll eat the less than healthy food. However I am still saving money with coupons. Lately there have been $1 off any Cascadian farm products in the paper, salad coupons, pasta coupons, whole wheat flour, sugar, yeast, spices, etc. Why pay full price for a bag of frozen peas when with a coupon I'll pay $.27, it might not be organic but there is nothing else added. If you do an online search you will find tons of healthy food coupons. Seventh Generation has coupons, Horizen, Stoneyfield, and others have coupons. You might need to do some leg work but if it saves $15 or more off your bill isn't it worth it?

1 comment:

Four4Him said...

Hey there! 3:23 A.M.???! You go girl! Thanks for the great tips-and I love the pink website! You are truly amazing! Can't wait til your Mom's night out! Talk to you later!