Thursday’s Thrifty Tip – Where to Get Coupons

If you’re new to couponing then you’re probably wondering where to get coupons! I’m going to let you know all the best places for coupons!

Where To Get Coupons

Newspaper

The most common way to get coupons is from the Sunday paper. Almost every Sunday, there will be 1 to 4 coupon inserts. The most common insert is the Smart Source Insert, followed by Red Plum and Procter & Gamble. Some months you will even get a General Mills Insert, filled with coupons for General Mills products.

Larger cities will often have more inserts or the inserts will have more coupons in them. Not every city gets the exact same coupons, but most will be similar. Sometimes it is worth it to subscribe to the newspaper from the bigger cities. I am not as extreme as some, but I have 1 subscription to my local paper, and 2 subscriptions to The Sacramento Bee (45 minutes away). My Grandma hooks me up with her coupons too. 🙂

Typically starting Thursday of every week, you can preview the coming Sunday’s coupons HERE. This way, if you see coupons for products you really like, you know whether or not you’ll want to pick up an extra paper.

Online

The next most common place to find coupons is online. This has become HUGE! Companies are now finding the value in even placing coupons on their facebook fan pages. I know there used to be some concern as to whether or not a store would accept a printable coupon, but I haven’t found this to be a problem for quite some time. Just be sure not to make copies, and that they’ve actually come from the manufacturer. Now I’ll tell you the best sites for getting manufacturer, and the occasional store coupons.

Coupons.com, Redplum.com, Coupon Network, Smartsource, All You and Mambo Sprouts (mostly organic and health food coupons).

The coupons change on a daily basis, but many will stick around for a month at a time.

Magazines

This method of gaining coupons is not quite as common, but you’d be surprised at how many great coupons you can find in a magazine. Any type of magazine can have a coupon in it. I have found that the coupons in magazines are often higher in value, than ones you can find elsewhere.

The most popular magazine for getting coupons is All You. It will typically have over $50 in coupons inside. April’s issue has over $75 in coupons, in it. This magazine can only be found at Walmart, or by purchasing online. You can get a subscription on Amazon.

In Store

There are several types of coupons inside the grocery store. They each have a special name too, which you may not be aware of.

First there are Blinkies. I don’t see these quite as often as some of the other coupons out there. Blinkies are coupons that are usually in a little box, right next to the product that the coupon is for. It gets it’s name from the little red blinking light it usually possesses. Once you take a coupon from it, another coupon will spit out.

Next are Catalinas. These are coupons that come out at the register, usually after you pay for your items. Catalinas are usually store specific coupons – Manufacturer Coupons to be used at the store where you got the coupon. They will often have the store’s logo on them.

Hangtag Coupons – These coupons are only found on bottled products. They are hung around the neck of a bottle like salad dressing, oil or juice. They can be taken off and used right on that purchase.

Peelie Coupons are coupons that are directly on any given product. You can peel the coupon off when you purchase it, and use it right then and there.

The last type of coupon you will find in the store is a Tearpad Coupon. This is like a pad of paper, where you peel one coupon off at a time. These are hung on the shelf near the product the coupon is for.

The Mail

Companies LOVE consumers to get on their mailing lists, or signing up for eClubs. You can do this by visiting (almost) any manufacturer’s website. They will periodically send out free samples and/or coupons. You can also email or mail a company, simply telling them how much you like their coupon. Without even asking for a coupon, they will often send them to you just for being a loyal consumer.

Now that you know where to get coupons and how easy they are to come by, I hope you’ll get started! I know it can be overwhelming to get started, but hopefully as these Thursday’s Thrifty Tips keep coming, you’ll grab enough information to go for it! Always feel free to leave a comment or email me with any questions you may have!