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COUPON SAVINGS STRATEGIESWith the advent of online printable coupons, coupon savings are getting more attention. Part of the resurgence in it's popularity is the reality show "Extreme Couponing" which shows the far end of the scale when it comes to saving money. My blog, Simple Times gives examples of some of the deals I have gotten, and how. There are many places to print coupons right at home, one of which is coupons.com, advertised to the right, there is no fee to sign up, simply select the coupons you want, and install the coupon printer, print your coupons and save some cash.
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You will need to be organized when using the extreme coupon methods, or any of them for that matter. Coupon organizers are available at grocery and dollar stores everywhere, or you can use regular envelopes in the beginning. Getting the coupons is step one, keeping them in order so you know what you have is step two.
Most stores will have their weekly sale ads online, and planning out your shopping trip combining your coupons with sales will help you save even more. Some stores will honor competitor's coupons and sale prices, so you can save time by going to one store instead of three or four. Bring the actual ads with you, and check the prices when you shop. You can combine store coupons with manufacturer's coupons for the same item in many cases. Check your store's coupon policy, most can be found on their web sites. In the cases of a coupon being higher in value than the cost of product, the store should give you full value for the coupon, resulting in an extra bit taken off the entire shopping order. The store is paid full value of the coupon plus a handling fee when they turn them in to the manufacturer, so they really must deduct the face value of the coupons you give them.
The many sources of gathering coupons are:
- Sunday Papers- Most bigger city papers have inserts full of coupons inside. When getting them from the metal vending boxes, only take what you have paid for, since the carrier has to pay for the papers that are gone.
- Tear Pads- Manufacturers will send cardboard pads with tear off coupons and offers to be displayed with their products in stores. When taking these, please be considerate and leave some for the other shoppers. Some stores have installed little red machines that dispense coupons and are attached to displays as well, these you can take as many as you will need, since they restock them frequently.
- Online Printable Coupons- These can be found on the manufacturer's site, through social network sites, and through the link above. For these there may be a print limit, usually three or four of each coupon.
- Buying Coupons- Through e-bay, or refunding magazines, people sell coupons and rebate forms for all types of products. They are technically not legal to sell, so what you are actually paying for is the time of the seller to collect, clip and send them.
Check with your store's website to see if they have a downloadable coupon policy, such as savings to your cell phone, or a frequent saver program with a card you can download coupons to online.Many stores are using these now, to increase their business. Smart shoppers will only buy what is on sale, combined with a coupon, and in a best case scenario, combined with a digital coupon as well. Stores put items on sale hoping you will get all your other needs while you are there. This works well for the coupon clippers, since they will be buying all their needs at a huge discount.
Always check your receipt, and the Catalina coupons printed at the register. There have been reports of some stores not giving full value for coupons. Combine as many of these methods as you can, and sign up for my blog, Simple Times, there is a link above, for more tips on saving money, extreme couponing, and online printable coupons that are being added every week.
Always check your receipt, and the Catalina coupons printed at the register. There have been reports of some stores not giving full value for coupons. Combine as many of these methods as you can, and sign up for my blog, Simple Times, there is a link above, for more tips on saving money, extreme couponing, and online printable coupons that are being added every week.