Couponing 101

WHERE DO I FIND COUPONS?

Insert Coupons
Insert coupons are found inside the Sunday edition of many newspapers. They are published by SmartSource, Vlassis (Redplum) and Proctor & Gamble. There is usually at least one SmartSource and one Redplum insert each Sunday (excluding major holiday weekends).  P&G Savers (Proctor & Gamble)  are  published 1-2 times per month. Other than internet printable coupons, insert coupons will be your largest source for obtaining coupons.

Printable Internet Coupon Sites
You can print coupons on-line. Coupons.com, SmartSource.com and Redplum.com are the most popular sources to find these coupon. These sites offer coupons for a variety of products from various manufacturers on a monthly basis. Coupons are updated and/or added at the first of the month. Sometimes new coupons will be added throughout the month. Most coupons stay up all month or according to the specific manufacturers print limits. Two of each coupon can be printed per computer.

Manufacturer Websites
Many manufacturers offer coupons through their websites as a regular feature or during special promotions. Some also make monthly emailed newsletters available which may feature one or more printable coupons. Basic personal information is required for registration. You will want to set up a separate email for couponing so that your regular inbox does not become overloaded. You may set up a gmail, yahoo or hotmail account for free. These coupons usually carry a print limit of two per computer.

Retail Websites
Many retailers, like CVS, Walgreens, Target and Homeland to name a few, offer printable coupons on their website. These coupons are a mix of store specific coupons and manufacturer coupons. The print limit is usually two per computer. CVS and Homeland use Coupons.com to power their coupon page so the manufacturer coupons are the same that you will find at Coupons.com and the print limits carry over. In other words, if you print two honey nut cheerios coupons from Coupons.com, you will not be able to print the same coupons from the Homeland website.

All You Magazine
This magazine is available only at Walmart ($2.49) or by subscription (as low as $1.00). It is full of valuable coupons. Sometimes the newstand issue contains coupons not found in subscription copies. Allyou.com also features exclusive coupons.com printable coupons.

Peelies
These are coupons that manufacturers attach directly to their product and you peel off at the time of use. Sometimes it may involve buying another product as well to receive the savings.

Catalinas
Catalinas are produced by Catalina Marketing, a company who connects manufacturers with vendor to bring the customer more savings. These coupons  print from the small printers located by the register at stores like Homeland and Walgreens and are triggered by a specific product purchases or by a promotion.  Sometimes they are coupons for specific products and sometimes they are for $x off your next order. They also carry advertisements for future “catalina” deals which feature $ off your next order when you buy certain products. These coupons are manufacturer coupons but are only valid at the store where they printed. You may not stack these coupons with other manufacturer coupons.

Tear Pads
These are booklets of coupons attached to special store displays or shelving.

Product Packaging
Occasionally manufacturers offer coupons as part of their product packaging. These coupons can many times be found on the back of the box/carton or on the inside. Always check before throwing out an empty box.

Mail Offers
Sometimes manufacturers make coupons available by mail through Internet offers. Proctor & Gamble does this through their monthly Home Made Simple coupon booklet as well as on their site, P&G Everyday Solutions. Also, some stores (i.e. CVS, Homeland and Target) will occasionally send store specific coupons for various products through the mail if you are on their mailing list.

Free Samples
Many manufacturers offer free samples through on-line promotions. These samples arrive in the mail and many times are accompanied by a coupon. Again, I suggest setting up a separate email account to sign up for these and other online offers.

Email Manufacturers
A great way to get coupons on products you love but do not see coupons for is by emailing the company. Just let them know how much you love their products (no need to ask for coupons). You’ll be surprised what you receive.

USING YOUR COUPONS STRATEGICALLY

Utilize these shopping strategies and watch the savings roll in!!

Don’t be brand loyal
We all have some specific preferences as to the brands and products we use, however, being willing to use different brands and try new products can help you save big money. Determine beforehand the types of products you are willing to “be flexible” on. Then keep an eye out for deals on these items.

Acquire Multiple Inserts
One of the biggest parts of saving is to stockpile. In other words, when you find an item at a rock bottom price, you stock up as much as you can within your budget. This way, when you need the product, you won’t have to pay full price.  Many times, rock bottom prices are had due to a store sale or clearance price PLUS a coupon matchup. If you don’t have multiples of the same coupon, you won’t be able to stock up at the lowest price. This is why it’s important to find a way to acquire multiple inserts for any given week. You can do this by buying multiple papers or  asking your family and friends for their coupon inserts. Some people have even offered to recycle papers for coffee houses like Starbucks, thereby gaining access to lots of unclaimed inserts.

Save All (or most of) Your Coupons
This tip goes hand in hand with “not being brand loyal”. If you want to see the huge savings roll in, save all your coupons. Many times you may be able to use coupons on a sale/promotional item(s) that generate(s) customer rewards (extra care bucks or register rewards) which result in overage or a profit. Even if you don’t personally use some of these products, you can donate them and then “roll” the rewards into future deals on products you do use.

Know the Coupon Rules
Develope a working knowledge of how coupons work and general guidelines for coupon use. This will save you alot of time and headache in dealing with some less knowledgeable cashiers. For instance, the basic rule of thumb for coupon use is “one coupon per item purchased or according to quantities listed on the coupon”. In other words, you can use one coupon per item being purchased but if the coupon is for $1.00 off two items, then this requires a purchase of two items to be able to use that one coupon.  The wording in the fine print at the bottom of most coupons – “one coupon per purchase” – refers to this basic rule. Some cashiers think it means you can only use one “like” coupon per transaction.  If that were the case, the coupon would read “one coupon per transaction”. Knowing this allows you to calmly point out the difference to an uneducated cashier and likely save you time as well as interaction with the manager.

Also, knowing specific store coupon policy is key to saving time and money. I’ve heard many stories from readers about completing an entire shopping trip only to find out the store they are shopping at does not accept internet printable coupons. Likewise, knowing which stores allow you to stack manufacturer coupons with store coupons can really decrease your out of pocket.

Let Your BOGO Coupons Work Overtime
Using a BOGO coupon on an item that the store has on sale for “BOGO” results in 2 FREE products!
Example:
**Gillette Shampoo is $4.99 and on sale BOGO Free. You buy two and the cashier scans them in. The first bottle rings up for $4.99, the second bottle rings up FREE. You hand the cashier the BOGO coupon and she scans it. The register will prompt her to enter an amount. She enters $4.99 and it is deducted from the remaining amount which is $4.99. This results in $0.00 owed.
Note: this does not work if the store register rings up BOGO items at 50% instead of full price and then 1 free.

Anytime you are using a BOGO coupon (except in a BOGO sale free sale), you may also use other $ off coupon(s) according to quantities listed on the BOGO coupon and according to individual store policy.
Example:
**Gillette Shampoo is $4.99. You have a BOGO coupon and a $1.00 off one coupon. Buy 2:
*First Bottle $4.99 – Use $1.00 off one coupon
* Second Bottle $4.99 – Free w/ BOGO coupon

NOTE: If the coupon is “buy 2 get 1 free” then you can use a BOGO coupon plus TWO $ off coupons.

Double Coupons
To my knowledge, Homeland and GFF Foods are the only stoes that double coupons in the OKC metro area. This means that you will receive a discount equal to double the amount shown on the coupon according to store specific policy (see “store specific coupon policy” handout for details).

Pick Cherries
Picking cherries refers to shopping at a particular store according to what’s on sale that week. Use the weekly circulars to find deals you have coupons for that will make the item(s) cheap or better yet…FREE! This requires knowledge in the average price of an item at other stores and discipline in only buying what’s “on your list” and not succumbing to all the “other great deals” the store has to offer.

Stack coupons
Many stores issue their own “store” coupons as an alternative way of running a sale. Walgreens, CVS, Target and Homeland all do this and allow the use of manufacturer’s coupons in conjunction with their own coupons on the same item (see “store specific coupon policy” handout for details).

Stack coupons with a rebate
Manufacturers often offer a rebate on their products and will reimburse the full cost of the product BEFORE coupons are deducted. This is a great way to make a profit!

Use Coupons on Clearance Items
Using coupons on clearance items to further reduce the already reduced price is a great way to save big.
I never go shopping without perusing the clearance section/aisles. Know where the clearance areas are in the stores you shop the most and visit them frequently.

Look for FREE, SUPER Cheap and Profitable Deals
Be ALERT! Know the coupons you have and keep your eyes open for deals that result in getting items ridiculously cheap, FREE or imagine…being PAID to take products out of the store.

Coupons and Sales Run in Cycles
Many of the same manufacturers put out coupons religiously for the same products. Some of these are Proctor & Gamble products, Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive, General Mills, etc. There’s always another coupon to replace the one that just expired.
Stores often run sales and their loss leaders in conjunction with the life cycle of coupons. So if you get a coupon in a Sunday insert, you can almost bet on finding a great sale on that product within the next few weeks.

Let the Pros Do the Work for You
Find a couple of money saving blogs or websites that are dependable about posting good deal alerts and various printable coupons. This can save you lots of time and energy and help you get the hang of the coupon game.

Participate in Customer Rewards Programs
Many stores offer customer rewards programs as incentives for you to shop at their store. The two most most popular programs  in our area are Walgreens Register Rewards and the CVS Extra Care Program.

Target also utilizes a gift card reward system. For example, if you buy a certain amount of participating products, you might receive a Target gift card of a certain amount.

When participating in rewards offers, it is important to remember that the promotions are based on BEFORE coupon subtotals. So your goal should be to match coupons to these deals in order to reduce your out of pocket expense so the promotional deals become even better deals. See the store guides section for more detailed explanations.

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