Pros and Cons to the Ways You Can Acquire Coupons

The following is a guest post from Kelly at Adventures in Momville.

In the world of a couponer, $4/week for 2 Sunday papers is an investment, even if we don’t read the paper!  Even so, we are always on the look out to get them cheaper.  Purchasing coupons is ILLEGAL!  However, we all technically do it!  Whether we buy a Sunday paper or pay a coupon clipping service, what is the most cost efficient way of acquiring the coupons we want/need?

• Get the Sunday paper!  Did you know if you miss the paper on Sunday, you can usually get it on Monday!  It isn’t any cheaper, but you can!  Check the bottom of the stack if you don’t see them.  I would say the earlier in the morning you go, the better your chances of finding them will be. I found it to be more expensive to have the paper delivered but you can go to Discounted Newspapers to get a quote on your local paper.

Cost for 1 month of 2 papers per week:  $16.  More if you have it delivered.

Pros:  Get your coupons immediately.  Get to browse all the sales ads.

Cons:  Be sure to check and make sure all of your inserts are there if you buy it in the store!  If you have it delivered, chances of getting the additional papers isn’t good in my experience. 

• Order whole inserts.  The service I use is Capri’s Coupons.  You have to order your inserts in lots of 5, but it ends up averaging to about the same price as purchasing 2 papers, but you get 5!  She is prompt, too – mails them by Tuesday and I have them by Friday.  I tried this method for about 3 months. I have ordered them this way, once/month to save on shipping. 

Cost for 1 month of 5 of each of the inserts:  I averaged $4.90/week for 5 of each insert.  ($29.51 for 7 weeks/12 inserts, 5 weeks/8 inserts for $29.30)  Here is what she lists as pricing on her blog: 

One Lot of 5 = $5.22
Two Lots of 5 = $9.55
Three Lots of 5 = $11.85
Four Lots of 5 = $14.15

Pros:  To me, 5 copies of any coupon is PLENTY!!!  If there is a really good deal, you don’t have to order any additional coupons.  Especially nice if you don’t get all of the coupons available in your local papers. 

Cons:  You don’t get your coupons until the latter part of the week and have lots of clipping to do!  Shipping costs can add up!

• Order individual coupons. This is surprisingly my favorite way of acquiring coupons! Ebay is nice if you want at least 10 of the same coupon.  But I have had great experiences recently with The Coupon Clippers.  You can order just how many you want with a very small administration fee ($0.50).  I ordered them on Monday and received them on Thursday.   You can also try Rebecca’s Coupons and Forms which is a Knoxville, TN local.

Cost for 1 month worth of ONLY the coupons you need:  In one month, I placed 2 orders and paid $8.83.  (They were a $37 value for $4.04 (13 coupons) and a $27 value for $4.79 (31 coupons).) 

Pros:  NO ORGANIZING!!!  Get the envelope out of the mailbox, print a few Internet printables, and hit the stores! 

Cons:  You HAVE to order on or before Monday in order to get the coupons you need for that week!  Another downside is that the really hot coupons go fast!  (i.e.  $2/1 Pampers Wipes).  And you do have to wait to do your shopping at the end of the week. 

• Get them FREE!!!  Here are a few ways to possibly get them free.
  • Visit a recycling center on Monday afternoons.
  • Ask the sweet little lady at church for hers. (or any other newspaper subscribers you know)
  • Visit coffee shops and pick up any leftovers people have left behind. 
  • Make friends with the “paperboy”.  I once ran into the man that delivered the papers to the gas stations in Knoxville to area stores.  He offered to drop off all the extras for me on Monday!  For no reason…I did go back, but he hadn’t been by yet, and so I just didn’t go back. WHY, WHY, WHY didn’t I exchange phone numbers with him!  (surely my husband would have understood!  haha.  )

Cost:  $0

Pros: See cost.

Cons:  Lots of organizing!!!  And you have to rely on someone else, which can prove to be disappointing.  You never know what you’re going to get!!!  You may have to do alot of chasing these down, which is especially difficult with children in tow!

As with most aspects of couponing, you have to find what works for you! 

How do you acquire your coupons?

 

Kelly is a wife and mother of a precious 1 year old boy with baby #2 on the way.  Kelly is a Special Education teacher by trade turned stay at home mom.  She blogs at Adventures in Momville and enjoys sharing information about household management from couponing, cooking and more!

Shopping with Coupons is the rage

The following is a guest post from Julie at Sharing Savings With You. Enjoy!

Have you noticed that shopping with coupons is all the rage? Actually, coupons have been around quite a while. According to Time Magazine, “Coca-Cola was the first product to get customers hooked via coupons, starting in 1887.” Guess there must be something to them since they are still around!

MSNBC reported a few recent trends in couponing, “The expanding availability of printable coupons online, of paperless digital coupons that can be accessed from cell phones and store loyalty cards, and an explosion of Web sites and bloggers focused on sharing coupon information are also feeding a comeback of what had been a fading Sunday tradition in American households. But it's mainly the economy that has people of more diverse ages and income clipping and clicking.” They also found “a younger demographic getting involved in an activity traditionally dominated by 50-plus women.”

It seems like all types of shoppers are now looking for more ways than ever to save.

I have vivid memories of my mom using coupons at the grocery and drug stores. She always had her coupon organizer and was very proud of her savings. I fondly remember my grandmother being complimented on an outfit or piece of jewelry. She would brag about getting it at a thrift store or on sale. She wouldn’t let the conversation end without letting the person know exactly how little she paid for it! Now I find myself doing the very same thing!

So, it seems that I come to this naturally-this desire to save every little penny I can using coupons and combining them with sales. Yes, I too have all of the common monthly expenses like most people I know such as car payments, mortgage payments and the like. It really helps when I can save a lot of money on my groceries and everyday household items. I don’t think believe a week goes by that I don’t get something for free. Saving money on these things makes paying those bills a bit easier!

Here are some places you can find coupons:

• The Sunday newspaper is a great place to start. Almost every Sunday, you can find several coupon inserts in the newspaper. You can visit the website, Sunday Coupon Preview, to see a list of the coupons that you will find in the upcoming Sunday paper. Keep in mind that the list is regional and can vary, so you may not find that all the coupons are listed. Another suggestion is to buy more than one copy a week. During a buy-one-get-one-free sale, most stores allow you to use a coupon for each item, which equals double the savings! The cost of the extra newspaper will be quickly offset.
• The internet has many sites that offer printable coupons. A few are: Coupons.com, Redplum.com, Coolsavings.com, and SmartSource.com . Internet printable coupons usually have a slightly higher value than the coupons in the newspaper. You are often allowed to print each internet coupon twice.
• Another great source for coupons is right in your grocery store. Keep your eyes peeled for these little gems. Here is the scoop on where you can find these. Look near products for a tearpad, a ‘blinkie’ machine, or a ‘peelie’. The term ‘blinkie’ is the nickname given to the machines on the shelves that hold coupons and have a blinking light to get your attention. Peelies are attached to a product and are only to be used immediately upon check-out. So, whether you choose a tearpad, a blinkie or a peelie keep an eye out for them. Most of these coupons are manufacturer coupons and can be used at any store, not just the store where you found them. Also, don’t feel guilty about taking a few of the coupons. The manufacturer just wants you to buy their product, so they will be happy no matter where they are redeemed. Don’t wait to pick them up! If there is a sale they will be quickly gone. They usually expire in about a month. There are also ‘catalina’ coupons which are named after the machine that prints them out at the register. These are automatically generated and are usually based on your previous shopping trips. They are often on products that you previously purchased so it’s a win-win situation for you! I love it when the coupons keep coming out of the ‘catalina’ machine! I just do my everyday shopping and am rewarded with more coupons. You can’t beat that!
• Also, you can email or write a company directly for coupons. Most companies really like hearing from customers and will send you coupons. Sometimes you will hit the jackpot and get a coupon for a free item. You can also sign up for email newsletters that often include coupons. Don’t forget to look through any magazines that you have as most of them contain coupons as well.
• You know those cute little loyalty cards that you carry on your keyring? Be sure to use them each time you checkout for additional store and promotional savings. Also, be sure to take just a few minutes and register your loyalty card at the store’s website you will often get coupons in the mail. Additionally, there are digital coupons available on Cellfire.com and Shortcuts.com. These will be loaded directly to your store’s loyalty card. These coupons will automatically be deducted at checkout and you don’t even have to clip anything.
• Think about trading coupons with friends or family. We all don’t use the same products, so check around and see if someone’s willing to trade with you.

So, sounds pretty simple right? Couponing really is just that, simple! Taking a little time each week will result in great savings that will make you want to learn more and the good news is that you can do just that!

Hannah is a full time children’s librarian in Knoxville, TN and she blogs at Sharing Savings With You.  She has a feisty little two year old son that keeps her on her toes at home and she loves sharing Smart Shopper tips about saving money.  So, stop by her blog if you have any questions!

Homeschooling for Free (or Really Cheap!)

The following is a guest post from Hannah at Frugally Farming Family.  Enjoy!

Homeschooling for Free (or Really Cheap!)

Technically, we are a second generation homeschool family as my husband was one of the first to be homeschooled in the Knoxville, Tennessee area.  However, I was raised in public school in a town just outside of Knoxville. I also received my teacher certification in May of 2001! As a teacher and a co-developer of one of the Tennessee State Curriculums for High School Horticulture, I decided I would also develop my own curriculum as I journeyed through teaching my children at home.

Currently, my oldest is 8 years old and my youngest is 14 months old. We have a total of six children with our seventh child due in August, 2010! We do not have the money to pay thousands or even hundreds of dollars each year on a curriculum which may not even suit the learning styles of the children after all! Therefore, I decided to find frugal ways to homeschool and still give my children a quality education!

One of the most important resources in the library! If you live in Knox County, membership to their entire Knox County library system is FREE! They have a vast supply of educational materials for ALL grades! I am out of county, so I pay $25 per year, but it is worth it! Knox County also has many curriculum books which you can try for yourself for FREE before you go out and purchase them! One of the many I tried was Alpha Phonics by Samuel L. Blumenfeld. It worked with my oldest and with my second born. I later found the book in NEW condition for only $1 at a local used curriculum sale in Knoxville! It has not worked with my third born, but at only $1, I feel I have overly received my money's worth because two children did have success! Another benefit of Knox County is they will transfer from any of their branch libraries for FREE! you can get books from any other library in the system! They have an online search engine and you can even reserve them online! I love my local library as well. However, they are much smaller than Knoxville, but do still have a great selection of materials and books to use for homeschooling. Our local library as well as the Knoxville library also have story time for children of per-school ages. However, at our local library children of all ages are more than welcome to attend! In addition, our library has a Friends of the Library Club who will often have book sales where I have purchased many useful books for really cheap and even gotten some for free! Our library also has a discarded book section where they give away books as well as videos! I have found many treasures among the free book pile and so have my children! I love my library and cannot do without it!

Another great resources in the internet! There are many great resources for homeschool ideas and curriculum which are FREE on the internet! Each Tuesday, I have a post called Homeschool Freebies! There are several resources which have DAILY freebies! These include:

• Homeschool Freebie of the Day- a new freebie each day.
• Blue Behemoth- a new freebie each day.
• Sign up here for Freebie Fridays,  Teacher's Toolbox, and  for Special Offers from The Old Schoolhouse. Freebie Friday now arrives in your email inbox on the first and third Friday of the month only. On the second Friday of each month, you can receive a FREE E-Book and unit study from our Teacher's Toolbox newsletter. The fourth Friday will remain open for a possible special mailing.
• Sign up here for free samples each Friday from Dover.

Garage sales, thrift stores, children's consignment stores or sales are also wonderful sources for free and/or really cheap materials for school! I am shocked at how cheap people have books at their yard sales. In fact, I went to one a couple of summers ago and asked him how much he would take for a complete set of children's books. He said, "You can HAVE all the books here! No one ever buys books!"  I was thrilled to get the books for free, but sad to learn no one ever buys books! Books are usually where I spend most of my time whether it be at a yard sale or in a thrift store! You can NEVER have too many books!

Used book stores are another source to find cheap items for your homeschool. We are fortunately in the Knoxville area to have McKay's Used Book Store! It is always crowded, so it must be the place to purchase books and not yard sales! I have found many workbooks for $1 or less! The books were brand new with NO markings! Also, Cedar Springs Christian Store in Knoxville will buy and sell your used homeschool curriculum. I have found a few items here, but the prices are usually more than I want to pay for a used item!

I have mentioned many places to get books, but books are NOT the only things you need to homeschool. School supplies such as crayons, pencils, scissors, glue, etc. are also needed. Until I started regularly shopping at CVS and Walgreens last year, I always stocked up on school supplies when Wal-mart had their Back-to-School sales. a 24 pack of Crayola crayons are only $0.20! One subject notebooks are only $0.10 and there are many other deals there. However, I was able to get MANY things for FREE at Walgreens and CVS this past year! I used my register rewards and extra bucks in addition to their sales and clearances. I was also able to get paper and ink and other items for FREE at Staples and Office Max too using their Rewards Programs! Office Max even has one for Teachers (homeschool teachers are included!). I have many different school supplies which will probably last me for a couple of more years! This fall, pay attention to all the Free after Register Rewards and Free after ECBs items!

Many blogs will often list FREE items which will qualify for school use! I have received free videos, note pads, pencils, and a host of other items by just taking the time to fill out a form and hit the submit button! Again, I list Homeschool Freebies every Tuesday!

We use a lot of paper! I recently went to a local print shop and asked them how much they would charge for all of their scrap paper. I told him I homeschool, and we use a lot of paper. He is GIVING me paper! Some of the paper is even in original condition! They just throw it away! They send it to recycle, but get NO compensation! There was even some paper which they discontinued and some which had a slight defect and they could no longer use! This paper was in excellent condition to me! It NEVER hurts to ask!

I have spent very little for the education of my children thus far! Last year, I spent less than $125! $70 was for registering my children with a school, $25 was for my library dues, and with all the freebies I found on the internet, at the library, and the store specials, I spent less than $25 on all other supplies for school! My goal this year is to only spend what it costs to register my children and the library fee which will be $125 because my third born will be officially registered this year. Fortunately, the school where I register only charges a maximum of $100 per family! Obviously, there are many resources out there for FREE items and for homeschooling for free! I am sure I have left out something! If you have any questions about homeschooling, please let me know, and I will be more than happy to answer your questions or point you to someone who can!

Hannah is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and has been homeschooling for eight years.  She blogs at Frugally Farming Family and is co-owner of Barringer Beef.  Her family raise their own beef on their small farm as well as an organic vegetable garden.  Hannah really enjoys helping and teaching others so stop by her blog if you have any questions!

 

Free & Inexpensive Sources for Newspaper Coupon Inserts

The following is a guest post from Shelly at Coupon Teacher.  Enjoy!

Buying newspapers just for coupons each week is not cheap. The largest paper in my area is up to $2 per paper now! I try to buy two papers per week at Walgreens with RR.  But I have a somewhat unique situation.  I have no family nearby, the largest paper in my area doesn’t do home delivery in my county, and there aren’t any stores I know of that do a discounted bundle.  Below are some ideas I have run across for getting your newspaper coupons cheap or free!

1. Get your family to save you inserts. This is an easy one, and many family members are willing to help out!  Just be careful, when they see all your free deals, they might keep the coupons for themselves!
2. Get your co-workers involved.  I have a sweet woman at work that sends her coupons to me almost every Monday.  She only cuts a few and gives me the rest.  I don’t count on it, but I take it as a nice surprise.  Some businesses have a subscription to the paper, and you might be able to pick up some inserts there.
3. Check out restaurants and coffee shops. Many people leave their whole Sunday paper for others to enjoy.  Make sure it is not property of the restaurant before taking the coupons out!
4. Dumpster diving or recycling centers. You heard me right.  There are people out there who do this on a weekly basis.  I am truly not brave enough for this.  (I would also ask permission here, because you don’t want in trouble for stealing!) I have never figured this one out, but I figure, if you ask and it is being thrown out, it is fair game. 
5. Visit the library. Many libraries have newspaper subscriptions.  You could ask the librarian to save the inserts for you.  Some libraries have take a coupon, leave a coupon boxes too. 
6. Call and ask for a home delivery deal.  Many newspapers aren’t doing very well, and they are anxious to sell more papers.  They might be willing to delivery multiple papers at a slightly reduced rate.
7. Check the dollar store. I have heard many areas have the Sunday paper at the bargain price of….$1! There are also stores that sell papers 2 for 1. 
8. Check your mail!  Some areas around the country get Red Plum inserts in the weekly mail.  Look closely at that junk mail before throwing it out.

Where do you get your coupons each week?

Shelly is a full-time fourth grade teacher and blogs at Coupon Teacher.  She wants you to share and celebrate your successes with her, and she may give you a few tips along the way!