Find Those Coupons!

I told you I’d do it and since then I’ve been anxiously putting it off. I KNOW I’m going to forget 5 things I want to say so I’m looking to my readers to pick up the slack in the comments field!

Anyway, here it goes. My top ways to find coupons:

1 – The obvious spot: newspapers. Sunday newspapers are loaded with coupons but sometimes there are no inserts and sometimes there are no good coupons so if you’re like me and don’t want the paper or to waste your money/time…listen to the blogs. There are some coupon bloggers who will post what coupon inserts will be in that week’s paper. Then on Sunday morning go to the dollar store and pick up a discounted paper! Yes really, the dollar store sells them for a dollar! But be careful, make sure there are coupons inside the paper you pick up.

2 – Magazines. A lot of health food stores and grocery stores have free magazines that have coupons in them. They’re either by the door or in the produce area usually. Look around and grab 1 or 2!

3 – Coupon Sites. I’m sure there are more than I use but I print coupons from: coupons.com, smartsource.com, mambosprouts.com, redplum.com and couponnetwork.com. It’s also great to join RecycleBank and earn points to “purchase” coupons.

4 – Coupon Blogs. I could spend hours trying to find coupons or I could be smart and let other people do the work for me. It’s so easy to follow blogs and there are many ways to do it.

• You can visit a blog and subscribe to get their posts by email. Don’t want to clutter up your inbox? There are 2 options: 1-create a new email address that you use purely for coupons and sweepstakes. I highly recommend this so if your email address DOES get sent to the wrong person and you do start getting spammed, it’s an email address you don’t care about. 2 -create a filter in your inbox that coupon emails get put directly in a special folder and you just click on that folder to see what came in. It won’t be sitting in your inbox.
• You can visit a blog and suscribe to get their posts by RSS Feed. There are sooo many services out there that help you keep track of your blogs. Personally I use Google Reader which links right over from my Gmail account. It’s super easy to use and I keep all of my blogs in a special coupon folder.
• Follow on Facebook. If you frequent your news feed you’ll catch deals as they’re posted and have better chances at getting freebies with limits.
• Follow on Twitter. An easy way to see what deals are popping up.

5 – Manufacturer websites. Sometimes the best coupons are sitting right on the website of your favorite brand. I visited each website of the brands I use most and bookmarked them in my web browser. When it comes time to go food shopping I quickly visit each site and see what coupons are available. Since we eat mostly organic and gluten-free this really saves us a lot of money. The ones that I often get coupons for are: Newmans Own, Stonyfield Farm, Pepperidge Farm, Rudi’s Organic Bakery, Morningstar Farms, Green & Black, Earths Best, Celestial Seasonings, Salada Tea, Horizon Dairy, Organic Valley and Santa Cruz Organics. Don’t forget to check their facebook pages too – a lot of coupons and deals are found there! Not finding coupons? Email and ask them! I’ve done this with a few coupons and surprise surprise, they mailed me coupons!

6 – Coupon Swapping. I have some friends that are into coupons and I make sure to send them coupons I think they’d like. In return, most of them do the same. It’s an awesome way to “beat” the print limit and get lots of coupons for things you buy often or can stock up on.

I’m sure there are many more tips on how to find coupons so please share below! I’m not an expert and try not to obsess over saving money. It’s really about doing the best you can and helping others do the same. Also, if you have a CREDIBLE coupon blog or site and would like to post it below, I’m okay with that. Please know that if you send my readers to a spam site or contact them without permission you will be reported, blocked and frowned upon.