LESSON #1 - GET COUPONS!
The first thing you need to do is get coupons! There are many sources of coupons, I'll share where to get them below
Inserts from the Sunday Paper.
You need to pick up your local paper. A subscription is best, because it will lower your cost. My subscription is $1.00 a week. However, a KEY to couponing is having multiple coupons. I go to the Dollar Tree and pick up additional papers for $1.00 each.
My Story: I once read that you need to have 4-6 per week and I thought, no way! There's no way I'll need that many. My first week, I bought the paper @ cost, which is $2.00. I figured, I don't really want to subscribe to a paper, because I don't know If I am going to stick with couponing, so I'll just buy one this week and see.... My second week I bought a "Double" paper, which is 2-in-1 for $2.89. I figured that It was very intriguing to coupon and I figured that I'd invest a little more to see what happens.... My third week I ordered a subscription, and in addition I picked up a "double" paper... Fast forward to six weeks later and I'm kicking myself in the butt for not having enough coupons from those old papers! I found that when you first start out, you really don't have enough coupons. It takes time to gather them up, week after week, so here's what I suggest:
Subscribe to your local paper, then go to Coupon Dede and you can buy the old inserts. I would buy the previous 2 months worth because generally coupons don't expire for 2-3 months. You can also buy specific clipped coupons from here (which I do when a deal is really good), but to get started, I would just buy the whole insert.
Printable Coupons
There are a number of printable coupon websites, here are the main ones:
http://www.coupons.com/ - there's a banner at the top of this site that you can click on
http://www.target.com/ - you'll have to go all the way to the bottom of the website
Manufacturer Sites:
Also, if you like a specific product, you might want to go to their website, usually they have coupons right on there. For example, I use Pull-Ups, so I go to http://www.pull-ups.com/ and get $2.00 off coupons. They allow me 1 per month.
Facebook:
Alot of times, if you like a product on facebook, they will give out coupons right on Facebook.
Peelies, Blinkies, Tearpads & Hangtags:
Another Great source for coupons are finding them right on a product. (or near a product)
A peelie - located on the product. It will say something like "Save $0.25 Now, peel here"
Blinkies - these are machines in the aisles that have red blinking lights and you pull them out of a dispenser
Hangtags - These hang on the products. Like a bottle of an all-purpose cleaner or a drink bottle
Booklets, Magazines, Mailers
Booklets: Sometimes stores have booklets that are free and have many coupons in them. During Superbowl, I found a booklet in Kroger that had coupons in them for Ritz crackers, Philadelphia cream cheese, Velveeta cheese, & Rotel Diced Tomatoes, just to name a few. I found the one pictured below near the pharmacy at Kroger.
Magazines: Some Magazines have great coupons. The favorite among couponers is All You Magazine, found in Walmart stores and you can buy a subscription online at Amazon.
Mailers: When you register at a Manufacturer's website for emails & special offers, a lot of times they will mail you savings coupons.
Friends, Family, & Trading forum websites
If you know someone who subscribes to the paper and doesn't use their inserts, ask them if they will give them to you.
Trading forum websites - I personally belong to http://www.hotcouponworld.com/. It is a great site to talk with a community of other couponers. Unlike Blogs which only give you information, on this site, you can ask questions to people, and they help answer your questions. They also allow you to trade coupons. I post a "have" list and a "wish" list. If someone wants what I have, and I have what they want, then we agree to trade and we mail coupons to eachother. This is great because some coupons are not offered in certain regions, so it's a great way to get coupons that you would not have otherwise received.
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