Obtaining coupons

One way to obtain coupons to cut costs is to buy the Sunday newspaper. In my town, there are 2 different papers available. I always buy the Jamestown Post Journal, because they carry all of the coupon inserts, such as Proctor & Gamble, Redplum and SmartSource, along with any extra special inserts that occasionally are distributed. The Erie Times no longer has the Redplum or P&G, so it is not even worth buying, in my opinion. Over the last several weeks, there have been times when I couldn't even get one copy of the paper because they are all being bought by a few people. I could not get a paper last week because the lady in front of me bought the last 12 they had!!! That is ridiculous and rude! I buy extra copies when I know there are going to be good coupons I will use in that weeks' inserts, but I never clear the shelves.

Another way to get coupons is the store shelves tearpads and blinkie machines, or display tearpads. I took 2 coupons for $1 off bacon when you buy salad for my coupon box. The expiration date is about a month away, and I know I will use them before then. There is no rule stating you must use the coupon when you acquire it...that is one reason for  an expiration date.

Sign up on Facebook pages for companies and at their websites for coupons and special offers for products you will use. Many times you will get coupons for free products or the actual product free in the mail.

Go to websites such as coupons.com, smartsource.com and redplum.com to print coupons. Offers change all the time. If you are a swagbucks user, you can print coupons through their link while signed in to your account, and get 10 swagbucks for each coupon you redeem! MyPoints has a similar offer, and they give  bonus  points when you use 10 in a month. There are many other sites to print coupons. Do searches.

Look for hangtag coupons on bottles of liquor and wine. Many of these coupons are for meat or other items you would not normally find coupons for. Many state that no beer/wine purchase is necessary.

There are sites online to purchase coupons, if you can't get them through any other means, or if you just want extra of certain coupons. Coupon amounts vary, depending on where they are distributed. Many people will order coupons because they are getting a better value than what they would get in their area.

Have friends and family save coupons for you if they are not using them, trade with a group, or check your library. Some libraries have coupon exchange boxes.

I have a coupon box in which I have my coupons divided into categories. I take it with me to the store, so if there is a store special that is not advertised and I have coupons for the item, I always have them with me. I plan my shopping around sales cycles and stock up when prices are at their lows. I match coupons to the sales for even further savings, and if there is a manufacturers rebate available, I send that in, too. The amount of money that can be saved by shopping this way is staggering.