Simple lessons to make couponing easy.
Lesson # 1 – You can’t save if you don’t have the coupons.
Here’s the scoop. You can’t really save if you don’t have the coupons to do it. So I’m often asked where do you get all these coupons. Well, they’re everywhere, including Sunday newspapers, your junk mail, they get mailed to your home by manufacturers, they’re located in the stores in cardboard displays, on the shelves in front of the product, on the product itself, and also on your computer where you can print them off at home.
It’s true, coupons are everywhere. Now here’s a breakdown of each type of coupon out there and some coupon terminology.
Insert Coupon- these coupons usually come in the weekend paper. It’s the Sunday paper here. The major inserts that can be found are put out by Smart Source (SS), Red Plum (RP) , Proctor and Gamble (PG) and General Mills (GM). The Smart Source and Red Plum are usually found in the paper weekly. The others are found periodically throughout the year. Always get your Sunday papers in pairs to maximize your savings!! More details to follow in a different post.
Blinkie coupon – These coupons are usually found in front of the item. It’s a small machine that has a red flashing light on it, hence the name Blinkie. They coupons are usually dispense one at a time. Always take you Blinkies in pairs!!!
Peelie coupon – This coupon is attached to the actual product itself and has to be “peeled” of the product to be used.
Tearpad coupon – This coupon is usually attached to the shelf in front of the product. You simply “tear” off the coupon from the pad so that it can be used at the cash register.
Store coupon – This coupon is put out by the store itself. They are usually found in the weekly ad or in specialty fliers or booklets published by the store. The good thing about store coupons is that they can be combined with the coupons issued by the manufacturers for maximizing savings! Sometimes store coupons can be found in the Sunday papers as well.
Competitor coupon – This coupon is identical to a store coupon but is used at a store other than the store that has issued it. For example – Winn Dixie may issue a store coupon for $1.00 off cheese, but if you take it to Publix it would be considered a “Competitor” coupon but they would still take it as a “Store” coupon at their store.
On-product coupon – This coupon means that the coupon is actually part of the product packaging and is meant to be used on your next purchase of the product.
Internet coupon – These coupons are becoming more and more popular because they can be targeted to the consumers who will actually use them. Then can be found on sites like RedPlum.com and Coupons.com. They can also be found on the manufacturer’s websites as well. Facebook is also becoming an increasing good source of high value coupons. These coupons can be printed at home on your printer usually after installing a small coupon printing app. The purpose of the app is to limit the number of coupons that you print and also prevent the coupon from being fraudulently manipulated.
So the next time you see a coupon, pick it up. In fact, pick up two!
Why pick up your coupons in multiples of two? This will allow you to maximize your savings. My store, Publix , allows you to use a coupon on each item of a Buy One Get One sale (BOGO).
Example:
Progresso Soup is B1G1 (reg price per can $2.29)
With B1G1 sale, price for 2 cans is $2.29 (you save $2.29!)
Using two $1.00 off coupons, price for 2 cans is now $0.29 (you save $4.29!)
So for now, start collecting those coupons. Remember you can’t save if you don’t have those coupons!!!!!!
