Collecting Coupons

First step on the road to getting started couponing is collecting coupons. There are a lot of coupon sources, see them all below!

Sunday Paper

To collect Sunday paper coupons you can buy the paper (Discounted Newspaper Subscriptions is one option). If you don’t won’t to buy a subscription be sure to ask your neighbors, friends, and co-workers who might not use theirs to put them into your hands. You can also visit the newspaper recycle bin or an apartment complex next to the mailboxes on Sunday or Tuesday. In the Sunday paper you will find inserts from Smart Source, and Proctor and Gamble, Kelloggs, and General Mills. Some areas will have the Red Plum delivered by the mail carries on Tuesdays instead of in the Sunday paper (most of the Memphis area receives Red Plum on Tuesday). Keep in mind there are a few weeks during the year that have no coupon inserts on Sundays. Check out the weekly Sunday Insert Schedule here.

The coupon match-ups will refer to the date you received the insert and name, for example, 8/7/11 RP. For the Memphis area, if you are using the Print and Clip method (see Organizing Coupons) when you receive the RP insert on Tuesday write the upcoming Sunday’s date on the front. All match-ups and coupon databases refer to the Sunday date.

GM – General Mills
SS-Smart Source
RP-Red Plum
PG-Proctor and Gamble
K-Kellogg’s

While there are people who buy multiple Sunday Papers I personally have found that the majority of my coupons are printable coupons and I do just fine with one Sunday paper.

Printable Coupons

There are a lot of new printable coupon offers every day. The following is a list of the biggest coupons sites.

A few of these site will require you to set up an account before you print their coupons. To keep your personal e-mail clutter free, I recommend that you open an e-mail account that will be used for junk mail-mine receives thousands of e-mails every month! keeping up with them can be from baby to groceries to restaurant offers.

*It is important to note that the General Mills sites are all linked together so once you print two prints per coupon from one site they will be out of prints on the rest of the General Mills sites. It does have to be the exact coupons, so if they are different amounts on each site print away!

Usually, you can print two copies per coupon per computer. Just hit the “back” or “refresh” button after the first one has printed. I have found that the Smartsource coupons have to be printed through the source twice. You will not be able to hit the “back” button. The first time you print from any site, you will be asked do download their software. This necessary steps aids in proper coupon printing. If you have a Swagbucks account you can earn points by printing and redeeming Coupons.com coupons.

You may also notice that some of the coupons you print will read “do not double or triple”. I have found that if the coupon’s bar code starts with a 5 on the far left it will double anyway; however, if the bar code begins with a 9 it will not double.

Manufacturers will often have coupons you can print directly from their website. A good place to help you find these special offers is through a coupon database. I like to use the database at Afullcup or moneysavingmom. Type in a product name and the database will pull up any current coupons on this item including any printable coupons if offered at that time.

A word of caution, there are fraudulent coupons out there. If you stick with the reputable sites you should be fine. If you have questions run a goggle search or check CIC to know if a certain coupon is fraud.

View the current list of printable coupons here.

Samples, eClubs, Contact Manufacturer

1. Be sure you register with retailers & restaurants you visit the most, you never know what kind of discounts, coupons, and offers that may be delivered to your inbox. Check the retailers website or talk to customer service.

Kroger stores nation wide does send out coupons via mail. When you sign up for the Kroger card there will be a special box that states I do not wish to receive communications from Kroger. DO NOT check this box if you want them to send you coupons. You can also call customer service 1-866-221-4141 to find out if you are on the mailing list.

2. Sign up for samples because often times a coupon will come with the sample. Be sure to “Like” Savingabundle on Facebook as I send notifications when FREE samples are available.

3. Manufacturer websites and companies often have promotions that you sign up to receive a coupon booklet or a FREE trial of their product. I will blog about any offers that come available.

4. Submit a review of your favorite products. This can be done by visiting a manufacturer site and clicking on the “contact us” link. Many companies will reward you with coupons and sometimes even a coupon for a free product. See a LONG list of manufacturers to contact for coupons.

Peelies, Tearpads, Blinkies, Hangtags

Tearpads, pads that you tear the coupon off, are typically found in stores near the product. Blinkies are the little black coupon machines found throughout stores. Peelies and hangtags are found on the product itself. Always be on the lookout for these!

Catalinas

These are printed from the Catalina machine when you checkout at Kroger, Target, and Walgreens. A Catalina can be a rebate, a coupon, an advertisement, or an On Your Next Order Catalina coupon. It’s hard to know when you are going to receive a Catalina offer, except for the OYNO Catalinas. The catalina’s are national Catalina offers, not store deals. Quite often the Catalina offers are not in the ad. I use forums such as A Full Cup and Slick Deals to keep up with them.

OYNO Catalinas are earned by purchasing specific products during a promotion.View a list of OYNO Catlina offers on Coupon Network. Usually a Catalina deal works like this buy 2 of a product get $1.50 OYNO, buy 3 get $2.50 OYNO, buy 4 get $3.00, buy 5 or more get $3.50 OYNO. Sometimes it can be a purchase so much of a product get a dollar amount Catalina back.

The OYNO coupons can be used on your next order just like you would use cash meaning you can use it to purchase anything.

Entertainment Book

The Memphis edition of the Entertainment Book includes twelve $5.00/$75.00 coupons (one for each month starting with November), and one $5.00/$50.00 coupon (to use anytime). These coupons are used before all paper coupons, after all e-coupons and Kroger instant credit deals. I especially like to use these coupons when Kroger has their Mega Event Sale.

There are hundreds of other coupons included in the book as well. If you order online through Ebates, you can get cash back when you buy the book. If you are a new Ebates customer you’ll also get a $5.00 sign-up bonus.

Brochures

Quite often there will be brochures at pharmacies, doctor’s offices, gas stations, etc. These will sometimes include coupons so always be on the lookout for these.

Magazines

The All You Magazine is a great couponing resource but can only be purchased at Walmart for about $2.42 or online. Purchase 2-year subscription on Amazon for $1 .42 an issue OR buy it from Magazines.com through Ebates for up to 26% cashback to pay $1.05 an issue! Check out the coupons that were in the most recent issue here.

Store Coupons

Most stores will allow you to stack a manufacturer and a store coupon on one item. This technique can be a great money saver! All stores have different policies so be sure and check before you shop. Generally all Targets and Walgreens will let you do this.
1. In-ad coupons. Walgreens has in-ad coupons in their weekly ad that you can stack with manufacturer coupons. Walgreens typically has many coupon booklets available at one time, view the current ones here.

2. Target has their own store coupons available for print on the Target website.

eCoupons

Cellfire. They ask for your cell phone number to sign up, but you can also use your home phone if you don’t plan on using the mobile phone coupons. Cellfire is different than the other e-coupon providers because you can use your mobile phone to redeem your coupons. All you do is load the coupons on your account, when you are at the store pull up your saved offers and show the special code to the cashier. If you want to learn more watch the How to use Cellfire video.

If there is a problem redeeming a Cellfire e-coupn click the “Contact Us” link on the top right of the page. Next you need to click the “Report a Grocery Redemption Problem” and then “Report Problem” if you answer no to all the questions.

Shortcuts If a coupon doesn’t come off, click “contact us” at the very bottom of the page. Select “Coupon Redemption” under the pick a topic box. They will ask you to pick a sub-topic select “My coupon didn’t redeem when I shopped.” They will then ask you to fill out the dispute form. Have your receipt and card number ready to fill in the necessary information.

SavingStar is a new e-coupon site, but it works a little differently than most of the eCoupon sites. Here’s how it works:

Select the e-coupons you like on the website or mobile app, to load them to your store card.
Once the card is scanned at checkout, and the products purchased, the coupon savings will be added to your SavingStar account. The savings will not lower the purchase total nor show up on the receipt, but the savings will get deposited into your account within 7-30 days depending upon where you shop.
Once your SavingStar account reaches $5.00 choose to be paid via bank deposit, PayPal, Amazon gift card, or donation to charity.

Kroger’s eCoupon site combines the Cellfire and Shortcut eCoupons into one site. I show you how to tell the difference between the three here. If there is a coupon redemption problem call 1-888-553-3003, or e-mail krogercouponsupport@you.net.