Coupons 101 – Getting started… Types of Coupons and Where to find them.
Before you can begin saving big bucks you must first have coupons right??? I personally try NOT to pay a lot of money for my coupons. I feel like it defeats the purpose of SAVING the money! There are a select few deals etc when I will purchase extra papers or coupons because its a HUGE money saver but most often I try not to spend more than $10-20 a month buying Q’s. My general rule is I have to get back my investment (money paid for Q’s) x10 for it to be advantageous for me to buy. Take for example… Meter coupons. I do buy these. We do NOT get meter Q’s here in Kentucky (not the Bayer ones anyhow). So I will buy around 10 meter coupons for $7-10 (my limit is $1 each) and when they come up with a RR or ECB I can profit about $5-10 of EACH coupon!
I am also very privileged that I have so many great blog readers who keep me in nifty coupons from all over America!
I acquire my coupons from a variety of different places including:
1) The Sunday Paper. Lexington’s paper notoriously SUCKS for coupons… we always have the smallest inserts and the least amount of coupons but eh… water under the bridge. If you can get your hands on Louisville Papers you are in business!!!!!!! They get the bigger inserts and their Smartsource / Redplums are always DOUBLE the size of ours!
All coupons that come from the Sunday Paper are MFR Coupons (manufacturer coupons).
** I buy 5-10 papers per Sunday- depending on the inserts. If there is only one SmartSource (as is true for every 3rd or so week) then I only buy 5. If its a week when there is a P&G, Redplum AND a SmartSource then I will buy 10!!** Keep in mind that you will have to factor in the price of your papers to your weekly shopping budget. For me… I rarely pay full price (or any price for my Sunday papers) but I will talk about that LATER 
2) Internet Printable Coupons. Most companies are internet savvy. They have websites and they offer coupons through various sources on their own sites or on other internet printable websites such as:
Smartsource
Coupons.com
Redplum.com
3) E-coupons
Cellfire
Shortcuts
4) Bricks – This is the most popular form of online printers for individual companies. Usually when a company runs a promo with an online coupon on THEIR site it will be a Bricks coupon. Most of the time these coupons have a limit of 1-2 prints per computer. If you click the BACK button it will generate another coupon.
5) In store – If you are browsing through the stores you will find the following:
Blinkies – Those little black or red machines that attach to store shelves and spit out a coupon electronically. They are called Blinkies because usually they have a red blinking light on them to get your attention!
Peelies – The coupons attached to the top of an item that states – Save $1 when you buy this item. These are generally intended for if you pick up the item THAT day.
Tearpads – Pads of coupons found on store shelves that you can take multiples of. When I was shopping with Ali at Kroger the other night we found a tearpad that had a mail in rebate form for a FREE Crest Toothpaste. (SCORE!) On Sunday I found a tearpad with Kraft Parmesan Cheese $1/1 Q on it. The Parm was on sale for $2.99 which made it $1.99 after Q! This is amazing because the stuff is normally $4 a bottle!
Wine Tags – Special Coupons that are attached to the bottle necks of products particularly drinks, detergent, 2 liter bottles, dressings, makeup products, etc.
Catalina’s – Coupons that print from the Catalina machine. These are found locally at Kroger, Meijer, and Walgreens.
6) Store Specific Special Promos – Samplers will generally have coupons and the Beauty Assistants at Walgreens have a whole basket of coupons under their counters.
Also there are store specific deals and coupons. As I listed in my Coupon Abbreviations / Lingo those are:
ECB’s – Extra Care Bucks (at CVS ) – Printed on the bottom of a CVS receipt these work like gift cards but are really a coupon.
RR – Register Rewards – ( at Walgreens) – Print from the Catalina machine and work like giftcards but there are RULES for RR. I will discuss those more indepth in a future post.
Meijer Mealbox – found on the Meijer Website. These are Meijer Specific Coupons.
Target Register Tapes – Come on the bottom of your receipt and are Target Specific.
In Ad coupons – Found mostly at Walgreens, Rite Aid and CVS.
7) In Product Coupons – Many times on the inside of a box or backside of a bag there will be a coupon that can be used on a future purchase of a product. Clip and keep these. I pulled one off a Gorton’s fish box the other day that does not expire until 2012!!!!!!!
6) Coupons by Mail – Stores like Kroger, Target, CVS and most that have a “loyalty” card will send you offers in the mail. Today I got a pack of coupons from Kroger that included a FREE bag of Lays Potato Chips and FREE Nestle Toll House morsels.
7) Coupon Clippers – There are many places online that you can go to buy JUST the coupons you want for cents on the dollar. Mostly a $1 Q will go for 8-15 cents. That said… the GOOD ones.. go fast! Also.. make sure you are buying from a reputable source. Be very careful buying Q’s on Ebay as there is a rash of counterfeit (copied) coupons out there and those can get you into trouble fast! My favorite coupon clippers are:
thecouponclippers.com
centsoff.com
Buy / Trade – There are tons of places online that you can buy and trade… or even with friends locally! For me… I don’t drink coffee, don’t have a pet… so any of those things I am ALWAYS ready to trade or give away. Better for you to use the $2 off than for them to sit and rot!
So this week… I challenge you: When shopping around in the grocery store, keep your eyes peeled for new coupons! Generally ones that are found in products or in the stores have MUCH longer expiration dates which is why they are so great to find!
Tags: coupon, Coupon Lingo, how-to
