How to Begin Couponing - Tip #2

So, the question I get asked most often is "How do you get all your coupons?" This is often the easiest question to answer, but the one that takes the most work in order to accomplish, as it's an on-going process to build your supply.

One big source of coupons I have is from all the newsletters/websites and FB pages I've signed up for, that offer printable coupons. Related to this, don't forget to sign up for French websites as well. Many sites offer a French alternative so if you can speak both official languages, you can get double the number of coupons in your pile. :-) One word of warning: If you cashier doesn't speak French, you may get some push back on these coupons. Just remain calm and ask to speak to another cashier or supervisor that does speak French and who can verify what's written on the coupons.

Another great source of free coupons are the coupon inserts that come in local newspapers or the flyer "blue bags". With some stores cracking down on the use of Internet/printable coupons, insert coupons become really important to have. If you have family and friends that don't care about couponing (oh, the humanity! lol), ask them to save their inserts for you. You can always offer to let them come "shopping" at your stockpile as a thank you for their help. ;-)

There are also coupon websites that will allow you to select from the coupons they offer and they'll mail them out for free! Some require you to select a minimum number of coupons (e.g., www.save.ca); while others don't have a minimum (e.g., www.websaver.ca). These sites will also keep you posted on when you can re-order the same coupon (normally every 30-45 days).

As you stroll throughout the stores, check out the shelves for tear pads. Just pay close attention to these coupons...some are only dated for a few weeks into the future and some can only be used at the store where the coupon came from. However, sometimes you can get really lucky and the coupon will be dated for over a year in the future. ;-)

Another way to build up a great pile of coupons that you will use is to trade coupons with others, either by way of an in-person meetup or by a coupon train (someone starts the train by filling an envelope with coupons and mailing to the next person on the train, and then it continues until the envelope comes back to the 1st person - I'll go a bit more indepth on this idea in a future post.)

One nice way to get some really great coupons is to email your favourite companies and let them know how much you love their products! ;-) Sometimes, not all the time though, you will get someone to write back saying they appreciate your email and here's some high-value or free product coupons.

The last way I've come across to get coupons is to find online sources you can buy coupons from, whether it's a business that sorts/cuts/mails out coupons (for a fee), or going onto Ebay and finding sellers from whom to buy certain coupons or inserts. I haven't tried these options yet, but I have purchased extra copies of a newspaper in order to get more inserts...so it's the same idea. ;-)

Well, I hope you've found out some new ways to get coupons from this post...if not, then I'm sorry you had to read such a long post! ;-P (Even typing, I'm a big talker! lol)

Happy Couponing,

Andrea

How to Begin Couponing - Tip #1

Hey, everyone!

In honour of my presentation last evening during Boston Pizza's Ladies' Night, I thought my next few posts should be concerning what we talked about last night...how to get involved with couponing. :-)

Tip #1 - Create a separate email address for couponing & sign up for as many newsletters as possible.

If your email account is anything like mine, you can receive hundreds of emails a day from various sources, so it can become very hard to sort out your "money-saving" emails from all the others. I recommend creating a separate email account and using that one specifically for signing up for newsletters...that way, you'll know that all the emails you get in that account are there to save you money...barring any spammers getting a hold of your email address, of course. ;-P

The next step is to sign up for as many newsletters as you can, and "like" as many Facebook pages as possible. The best way to figure out where to begin is to look through your house...make a list of all the products you have currently in stock & the stores from where you bought them. Then, using that list, sign up on the company websites and/or Facebook pages...they are often a great source of Free Product Coupons (FPC) and high-value coupons.

As you make your list, don't forget about the restaurants you eat at, salons/barbers you frequent, and any other service companies you use...a lot of times they will have special offers you can only receive by being a member on their website/FB page.

Sometimes, in order to get the best deals possible, it will mean that you might have to give up your brand loyalty to previous products you've "always used"...so, consider seeking out competitor product websites/FB pages as well.

I hope all of this helps you get started with couponing. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to comment below. :-)

Happy Couponing,

Andrea (Rothesay Coupon Mom)