People always ask me “Where do you get your coupons?”.  The answer is everywhere!  No, seriously, I get them in the paper, online, in stores, and in magazines. 

Newspapers:  Now you may ask, “Doesn’t it cost money to get the newspaper?”. Of course it does, but we pay $1.00 a week for delivery of the Virginia Pilot on Sundays and  Wednesdays (see deal HERE).  We could pay for it everyday, but why waste the money? We are looking for deals and coupons.  Sales papers and coupons come in the Sunday edition and grocery sale papers come in the Wednesday editions.  Smartsource and Red Plum coupons come every Sunday.  Proctor and Gamble coupons come once a month, sometimes twice a month.  The savings in these inserts are generally $20.00 each so of course the newspaper fee is well worth it.

Internet:  There are many sites out there on the internet but the ones I find most user friendly are Smartsource.com HERE and coupons.com. HERE You do need to install their coupon printer program, but it is free.

Store Printables:  Many grocery stores now print coupons with your receipt.  These coupons can only be used at the store which prints them, but they are usually good deals and relevant to your usual shopping needs.

Store Aisles/”Blinkies”:  How many times have you been grocery shopping and seen the tearpads of coupons or the “blinkie” that spit out coupons?  Almost every store has them. Whether you need the item during that trip or not, TAKE IT!  These coupons are free and there for the using.  I usually take 2; Hey, you never know…..

Magazines:  I have never bought a magazine strictly for their coupons.  I have however used coupons I find in certain magazines such as Parenting and Good Housekeeping.  From another viewpoint, several frugal sites swear by the method of buying magazines that are well known for coupons.  It has even been reported that there are up to $25.00 worth of savings in some magazines.  The best one I have read reports of is All You Magazine (AY) available at Walmart. 

Bottom line:  If you recieve coupons in the mail or the newpaper, CLIP THEM.  You never know if they may lead to a “free purchase”.  Worst case scenerio is you clip it and end up throwing it away due to an expiration date (oh the horror!).  Remember, you can always clip a coupon and pass it to a friend that may want or frequently buy that item. I have passed coupons to friends many times and there is nothing better than receiving a clipped coupon unexpectedly!

Some online sites that offer coupons, rebates, and cash back on purchases are listed below

Coupons.com
Ebates.com
swagbucks.com
Redplum.com
Cellfire Coupons
Free Coupon Alerts

Organizing Your Coupons

Ahh, this is such an important topic!  The quote “To each their own” definitely fits here.  Since I have only really gotten into couponing in the last year, my organization is still a work in progress.  I like to try out the different methods I find on other blogs for a couple of months and then if the method and I aren’t a good fit, then I move on.  I will show you the methods I have tried so far,give you my personal negatives and positives, and then give you some additional resources to check out so you can pick your preferred method.

When posting certain deals at stores I will use abbreviations for coupons. See the key below to help you know what coupons to use and where to find them!

SS: Smartsource (Sunday paper)

RP: Redplum (Sunday paper)

P&G: insert usually sent out once a month by Proctor and Gamble

GM: General Mills

AY: All You Magazine (available at Walmart)

Printable: Coupons printed from the internet either from coupons.com or smartsoure.com

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