Everything you ever needed to know about COUPONING and Couponing in CT!!!! Enjoy!
How to coupon at you best!
http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/packetinfo/flyer.pdf
Devanies tips. . .
COUPONING 101
Know Your Stores
1 Policies
*How many coupons they will take per item type(some limit 4)
*If you need to buy “2” like items to get the sale price. (Most places you DON’T have to buy 2 to get the sale price)
*EVER do double dollars? or triples? find out how b1g1f items ring up and if you can use two coupons on them, etc.)
2 Self Scanners
*A couponer’s best friend. They don’t question your coupon! And if it beeps someone will come help you. You can do multiple coupons leisurely.
Get Your Coupons
1 See list of websites below
2 Ask friends for clippings
3 Library
Get Organized
1 Binder –Preferred Method –zippered binder with strap or hole thru spine to attach a belt around. – Baseball Card Pages (Wal-Mart front end)
2 Day Planner with Baseball card holders (4) pockets cut to fit
3 Dividing pages to make your categories. Label Categories (8) Cleaning, HBA/Baby, Drinks, Snacks & Baking, Boxed & Canned, Cereal, Fridge, Frozen, and Misc.
4 Baseball card holders 1-4 sheets per section
Learn Couponing Terms “The Lingo”
When you are trading on the Internet you will see abbreviations:
· Potluck – A bunch of coupons from all categories- frozen, baby, dairy, canned, cereal. Could be a mix of anything sometimes you can specify no baby items or anything else you aren’t really interested in.
· H – have
· ISO–in search of
· FSOT –for sale or trade
· FS-for sale
· W-want
· Wyb-when you buy
· BTFE’s-Box Tops for Education
· LFE’s Labels for Education
. Multiples – Multiple # of coupons
· PPHF–PayPal Handling Fee – means they want money from your Paypal account. Paypal is a payment that you can immediately send to someone instead of writing a check or sending cash/stamps/other coupons. I suggest first thing to work on, on the Internet. https://www.paypal.com/refer/pal=C4JVD7X7DKUBA. You can transfer money from your Bank Account into this account you can also transfer money from a Credit Card(most people won’t take CC payments unless you offer to pay the .30+ cent fee they get charged for accepting them). I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF ANY INSECURE PROBLEMS with this site in the 4 years I have used them. I can walk anyone through the process.
§ Sign up
§ Enter Checking account info from a check
§ They will deposit 2 amounts less than 1.00 in your bank
§ 1-2 weeks later you will see those deposits
§ Go back to Paypal.com and get VERIFIED enter the Deposits in the 2 boxes they show.
§ Remember your passwords and email address for this site.
o .75/1 or .35/1 or .50/2 and so on – The coupon’s value and the number of items required to buy. (50 cents off 2 dole fruit bowls)
· Triple Coupon – Usually need to have PAPER strips from a store ad. These can be purchased from time to time from people on www.mycoupons.com. You can double or triple any coupon up to .99 cents if the barcode begins with a 5. If it begins with a 9 it cannot be doubled(Red Blinkie Machines/Catalinas-from cash register)
EASY PLACES TO GET COUPONS ONLINE
Site Description
http://www.eBay.com Fastest way to find good coupons search for “75 coupon” or “75 coupons” and the brand (e.g. Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Tombstone) or the name of the item (e.g. Pastry Swirls, Strudel) and ADD “coupon” or “coupons” to the end. E.G. “75 coupon Pillsbury”
http://www.rebeccaaddington.comhttp://www.couponsandforms.com HUGE SITE! Many people work for her. A lot of coupons. Find out what coupons are out there. RebAdding@aol.com. You can also buy some there. .05 to .15 ea. Minimum $5 order.
http://www.mycoupons.com -Click Shopping boards–Click Coupon Rebate Swap:·Email the person selling what you want ·Post what you are looking for (must be a member to post)MY FAVORITE TRADING SITE
http://www.smartsource.com PRINT at HOME
http://www.coolsavings.com PRINT at HOME. Once printed they can’t be printed again. Keep checking for new
http://www.valupage.com Print out barcode and scan like coupon (tape onto store card). Use with coupons for extra savings PRINTS coupons(red white) from the register (Catalina’s) FOR $$ off your next order!
http://www.lysol.com PRINT at HOME. Manufactures websites like Lysol, Electrosol, Suave, ActII check often.
http://pages.ivillage.com/vickiesandiferd/ sandiferd@cfweb.net
http://www.marysworld.com Loads of coupons. Updated frequently. 5-cents each and up. Min $3 + 1.75 shipping
http://www.carolinatrader.eboard.com carolinatrader@triad.rr.comEverything is 3 cents ea + postage.
http://pages.ivillage.com/martyv12/ Marty’s Trading Post. Boomer678@aol.comEasy to navigate and a lot to look at. Bunch of .01 cent coupons!!!
http://pages.ivillage.com/brendons_mom/ debwillia@hotmail.comCoupons 5-cents ea unless noted. Not trading currently (keep checking)
http://pages.ivillage.com/fp-charmayne/ schmidt@minneola.net Great Trader! I trade with her a lot. Fast responses to posts on MyCoupons.com.
scamperdo Get on her E-Mailing list Pillar send her coupon lists weekly!! And puts the last weeks on SALE 1 to 10 cents per coupon.
Couponing for Beginners
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Put your coupons in some organized manner that makes sense to you. Like a binder with the 9 card holders and use page protectors or photo pages for the bigger coupons.
Look for “unadvertised” deals in your stores.
Bring ALL of your coupons with you everywhere to take advantage of extra savings
Use Store AND Manufacturer coupons together – especially for Walgreen’s, CVS
If you can scan them yourself . . .You scan it.
Ask your local stores about their coupon and price matching policies. Some stores do take expired coupons. Some stores double or even triple all the time or certain days/ events.
Check in with the boards (mycoupons) at least daily – check each section too! I find deals not posted in TOT but are in LWIF or even MTCW
Shop after holidays at your grocery store and any stores- holiday decorated items are clearanced out (candy, paper towels, plastic wrap, freezer bags, cookies, crackers, cereals) use coupons and get them for nearly free or free….
Check the way back of your store – they may have a mark down area – boxes with cut marks, dented cans, single items that are out of multi pk pkging. Close out items due to new labels on pkging. Keep on eye out in the aisles for pkgs that look slightly different- the older style pkg may be on sale…. or it may be a better deal to get the older pkg (has more ounces, more items) 10% more free etc.
Different parts of the country get different coupons and/or coupons for varying amounts. While Texas may get a $.50/1 California may get $1/2. Often people talk about coupons they got they didn’t see in their area. This is why trading is so valuable. For instance if you live somewhere where they double to $.50 and your coupon in the Sunday paper for ketchup was $.55 then maybe you can trade with someone else who does not have doubles and got a coupon for $.40 that would be more valuable to you both. You would be able to double to make the coupon worth $.80 and the other person would be able to save $.55 instead of $.40.
Trade Locally – contacts at work, families that don’t use any/all of their coupons, friends, trade for them or offer (free) a product to them.
Bag your own groceries, because that can be done while the clerk is scanning the coupons. That way, you don’t annoy anyone behind you, or hand them a coupon for something in their cart (if you have one) Just keep an eye on the scanner – you could get an item that is regularly priced instead of sale priced.
Buy items on sale, and stock up. I don’t need to explain this.
Look for recycling bins for newspapers, where on Monday, usually there are bundles of Sunday papers, usually including inserts. “dumpster diving” Has come in handy for MANY people.
One friend would happily pay $3.99 for a box of Raisin Bran without a second thought. Now, she will stock up when it goes on sale, and stock up until the next sale. Average cost is at most $1.50 a box. Try not to pay more than $1/box if you can help it. You’d be surprised!
Look for places that double $1.00 coupons.
Another tip is to organize or index the coupons in a separate card-file box, with alphabetical dividers. The boxes last for years so do the dividers.
Each month, it is a good idea to throw out all of the expired coupons. Takes about 1 hr to add new and toss old.
Another tip is that you could subscribe to more than one Newspaper, but you need only receive it on the day the coupons are delivered. You make double the bang if you only use one of the coupons, I usually use at
least 10.
My goal is to save at least 50% on every order or never pay more than 25 cents on something I will sell at a garage sale for $1.
You can get cheap eggs and milk at the farmers fruit/vegetable markets and Gas stations are usually cheaper for milk.
mycoupons.com
shopping boards
Coupon Rebate Swap CRS
Check out your Store Fliers online. And order your coupons in advance! In time for the sale!!!
To those looking for ideas & tricks & tips: All I can suggest is just keep reading mycoupons.com shopping boards. You’ll learn the art of ‘diving,’ where & how to find ‘extra’ inserts, and how to get what you need/want at what you consider ‘reasonable’ trade values.
Hang out at the CRS board to get a ‘feel’ for what’s currently available and what people are trading for these days.
If you’re not sure of terminology, check the ‘Help Desk’ section on mycoupons.com, or ASK if it’s not there (most of them are). Everyone here is glad to help. No question is a dumb one.
Order multiples of coupons– recycling centers, family members, the local gas station, find extra inserts! (Trade on the CRS board if you don’t have an insert source)
Clip every coupon and file it somewhere you can find it. You NEVER know what will go on sale. Be ready! If you know there is a coupon you would like to have. Don’t wait for a sale before you start trying to get your coupon, you need it BEFORE the sale starts!! Your store may only run the special for 2-3 days? You won’t be able to trade for it in time.
Become unbrand loyal. so, your family only likes Heinz ketchup???? Well, buy Hunts, too if its cheap/free and use it for things like meatloaf/meatballs. Family probably won’t notice it in baked things. You can always find a use for something – even if it’s just to sell it at a garage sale later!
Know your coupons and match coupons up to the sale items from your store/stores
Buy in BULK Stockpile!(buying the smaller items with coupons at grocery stores makes your budget stretch Costco cannot do that you buy 2-3 things there and it’s already $50 and you have nothing to show for it. You get a mix w/cpns and sales!)! Buy enough of one item to get us through 6-12 months (or longer if its canned goods/frozen stuff). If something is a good deal you want to get all you will use!
Think small!! You can sometimes get smaller items for free. When the large ones would’ve been cheap, the small ones were free or very close. And since you will have LOTS of multiples you can purchase the small ones and not have to spend a penny.
Meat is usually marked down in the a.m. and will last in your extra freezer for a long time. (If you don’t have an extra freezer, invest in one, look in the newspaper ads.)(I use my FoodSaver to remove air before freezing my uncooked and pre-cooked meats.
Look for special coupon displays in your stores and try me free displays (mail in forms) you can usually make money on the TMF forms. And Look for Coupon tear Pads they may have handy coupons for you too.
Remember that RainChecks are your best friend, once you have a RainCheck, you can trade for multiples of a coupon and THEN use your RainCheck with the coupons!!
This may sound corny, but practice what you will say to the cashier when they say things, like, that product is not in the picture, or it says ANY not just the one pictured etc. so that you will be prepared to defend yourself remember to ask for a Real LIVE manager if they give you real problems. And remember everyone’s name =) lol
The best cashiers are the young teenage boys because they don’t really care as long as it’s not expired.
STORE INFORMTION – CONNECTICUT
Tip Find out what’s on sale and order coupons ASAP! Pick up fliers in store. Or check out websites listed. ALSO Remember to get their Store Cards to get the Sale price!!!
A&P in Stamford doubles $1 (High Ridge Rd). Will double up to .99 and will take competitor’s triples. Plus 3 weekly triples on card. Sales start Sunday end Saturday night.
A&P – Unlimited doubles to 99¢; plus three triples weekly with card. Sometimes sends out their own paper triples (7) to make 10 total with Card Will accept 6 competitor’s triples. Sales start Sunday end Saturday night. http://www.wauldbaums.com
Aldi’s – Doesn’t take any coupons will only take debit card food stamps and cash. GREAT PRICES!!! http://www.aldifoods.com/
Big Y – Unlimited doubles to 99¢; usually takes 6 competitor’s triples, also run their own triples and have an “unlimited triples” sale sometimes. 10AM-7PM 3-10yr Babysitting in some stores. Sales start Thursdays end Wednesday Night. http://www.bigy.com
IGA Adams – Independently owned but MOST double up to .99 unlimited takes up to 6 competitors triple coupons and occasionally have their own triples. Will also take competitor’s $3 off $30 $5 off $50 cpns and so on. Occasionally sends out their paper triples. Sales start Sunday end Saturday night.
Price Chopper – Doubles to .99¢
Shaw’s – Doubles 6 “like” coupons to 99¢ per order. Takes 6 competitor’s triples per order. Sales Start Thursdays end Wed Night. http://www.shaws.com/
ShopRite – Doubles 4 “like” coupons to 99¢ will take competitor’s triples up to 6 must be in paper form. If a coupon is doubled or tripled and exceeds price of item the rest goes to pay for your shopping order. Usually sets limits of 4 and when they have sales sometimes you MUST buy 2-3 or 4 of a product to get the sale price. Sales start Sunday end Saturday night. WEBSITE http://www.shoprite.com/home/srframeset.htm
put in zip or closest store
Stop & Shop – Unlimited doubles to 99¢, will accept 10 of their own and 6 competitor’s triples per order. Sometimes takes 2 coupons on B1G1F (Buy 1 Get 1 Free). Sales start Sunday end Saturday night.
Xpect Discounts – Doesn’t double or triple but prices are reasonable! $1 coupons are good here. http://www.marcs.com/base.cfm?page_id=1026
