Couponing 101: Q&A

Couponing 101: Q&A

Welcome, coupon newbies. Here is my own, personal couponing guide for those of you who are new to couponing and are unsure of where to start. In this guide, I break down all of the common questions that new couponers tend to ask and provide answers to them. I hope this guide teaches you what you need to know and helps you feel confident when you go out coupon shopping. If you are a visual learner, below is a video in which I discuss and explain everything that is listed in this guide. 

Q: Why should I coupon? Is it worth the work?
A: Couponing is rewarding in so many ways. You should coupon for obvious reasons, like saving you and your family a ton of money. However, couponing can open up many more fulfilling opportunities such as being able to give back by donating. And of course, let us not forget that couponing is by far the funnest hobby you'll have that actually saves you money. 

Q: Where can I find manufacturer coupons?
A: There are so many ways to get manufacturer coupons:

• Sunday Newspaper Inserts- Every Sunday (expect during holidays), you can find inserts inside your local newspapers filled with manufacturer coupons. Depending on the week, you may find a Smart Source insert, a Red Plum insert, a Proctor & Gamble insert or a combination of the three. 
• Printable Coupons- You can find printable coupons at a number of different websites. The most common sites to find printable manufacturer coupons are at Coupons.com, SmartSource.com, RedPlum.com and Pickupthevalues.com. You can also find printable manufacturer coupons by visiting the manufacturer's website and/or Facebook page.
• Magazines- Several magazines offer coupons. One magazine that you should consider buying or getting a subscription for is All You magazine. Every issue of All You magazine is filled with at least $50 worth of coupons. You can find this magazine at Walmart, Target and other stores as well. If you want to look into a subscription, go here. 
• Peelie Coupons- These are the type of coupons that you can find stuck directly on a product. These are called peelie coupons because you can peel them off the product and use it. 
• Tear Pads- These are the type of coupons that can be located next to certain products. You basically just tear off a coupon or two. These coupons are typically only found in grocery stores. 
• Coupon Booklets- Every now and then, a company or brand may offer a coupon booklet for your to request online to get shipped to your home. 
• Contact the Manufacturer- If there are products that you really enjoy but there are no coupons for, you can always contact the manufacturer by phone or email and ask them if they are willing to send you some coupons. It doesn't hurt to try. 

Q: Where can I find store coupons?
A: You can find store coupons in a variety of different places. To keep the list short and sweet, below is a list of the places that you can find store coupons for the top stores found nationwide:

• CVS- You can find CVS store coupons by scanning your CVS card at the coupon machine found inside CVS. You can also receive store coupons by signing up for CVS emails. CVS will then occasionally send you threshold coupons, like $5 off a purchase of $25 or more. You can also get CVS store coupons found here. For more information about CVS, check out my CVS Store Guide.
• Rite Aid- You can find Rite Aid store coupons in their weekly ads, their Facebook page  and their monthly video values page. In order to print coupons from the monthly video values page, you must first sign in (or sign up if you haven't already) and then watch an advertised video that relates to the coupon. For more information on Rite Aid, check out my Rite Aid Store Guide.
• Walgreens- You can find Walgreens store coupons in their weekly ads. You can also find store coupons in their monthly savings booklets that are found in front of the store near the weekly ad. Another way to score Walgreens store coupons is by picking up the coupon booklet located all over the store. These booklets are typically found in the aisle where there are similar products. For example, you can find the Walgreens Answers Allergy booklet found in the allergy medicine aisle. For information about Walgreens, check out my Walgreens Store Guide.
• Target- You can find Target store printable coupons on their coupon site. Another way to score Target coupons is by signing up for the Target mobile coupons. To sign up, text the word COUPONS to 827438. You will be sent a link in a text message to sign up. Once you sign up you will be automatically sent Target mobile coupons every week or so. You can also sign up for the Target Cartwheel Savings Offers by going here or by downloading the Cartwheel App to your phone. By doing so, you'll be able to score a ton of savings on all different kinds of products at Target. For more information about Target, check out my Target Store Guide.

Q: What coupons should I print/clip?
A: When you are about to start printing or clipping coupons, there are a few questions you should ask yourself; "Do I use this product?", "Am I willing to try this product?" and "Can I donate this product. If you answered yes, to any of these questions, then you should should print/clip the coupon. If you answered no to all of these questions, then you should not print/clip the coupon. 

Q: When should I use a coupon?
A: You should use a coupon whenever you are about to purchase a qualifying item. However, the real technique to couponing and saving the most amount of money is to wait for a product or multiple products to go on sale and then use a coupon. 

Q: How do I read and understand what a manufacturer coupon states?
A: When reading a coupon, there are a few things you need to understand:

• Limit 1 coupon per purchase- Basically every coupon will state, "limit 1 coupon per purchase". Many people misinterpret this statement and believe it means that you can only use 1 coupon during your shopping trip. This is not true.To put it simply, this statement means that you can only use 1 coupon per item purchased. 
• Limit 4 alike coupons per transaction- Most coupons will have some sort of limit on how many alike coupons that you can use during your transaction. If you want to use more alike coupons than are allowed in 1 transaction, you can always split up your transactions so that you can use more. 
• Limit 1 coupon per customer/person/guest- In contrast to coupons that state, "limit 4 alike coupons per transaction", when a coupon has a limit of 1 use per customer/guest/person. You can only use the coupon once. You cannot split up your transactions to use more coupons. If you really want to use more than 1 of these coupons, you can bring someone with you shopping so that they can use one of the coupons. 
• Size exclusions- Most coupons exclude the purchase of travel/trial sized products. It is important that you pay attention to this detail so that you buy the right item. If a coupon does not have any size specifications, you can use it on small and travel/trial sized items to save the most amount of money. Sometimes you can even earn money when you shop at places that accept coupon overage, like Walmart. 
• Money off coupons- The most common coupons that you will use will be money off coupons. Money off coupons work by automatically deducting a certain amount of money off the price of a product or multiple products. An example of a money off coupon would be a coupon that states," $2 off the purchase of any Pantene shampoo". If the Pantene shampoo you purchased was $4, you would spend $2 with the coupon. 
• BOGO coupons- BOGO or Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupons work a little different than money off coupons. With a BOGO coupon, the cashier has to scan it and then manually input the amount of the free item both in the register and the coupon. Each BOGO coupon will have a max value listed. If the price of the product exceeds the max value listed on the coupon,  the cashier can only deduct the amount of the max value off your bill. For example, let's say you are about the purchase two Tide detergents priced $10 each. If the BOGO Tide coupon you want to use has a max value of $9, the cashier will only deduct the $9 instead of the $10 that the product is priced at. In other words, you will not get the item free and will have to pay the $1 left over. Keep in mind that in most cases, you will be able to find the qualifying product at a lower price than the max value listed on a coupon. 
• Try Me Free coupons- Try me free coupons work basically the same as BOGO coupons except that you don't have to buy 2 products to get 1 of them free. When you are redeeming a try me free coupon, the cashier will have to manually input the price of the product in the register and the coupon. These coupons have a max value as well. If the price of the product exceeds the max value listed on the coupon, you will only get the max value amount deducted from your bill and you will have to pay the excess amount. For example, if you were to buy a Hershey bar priced at $1.20 and wanted to use a try me free coupon with a max value of $1, you would only get the $1 deduction and still have to pay the $0.20. Keep in mind that in most cases, you will be able to find the qualifying product at lower price than the max value listed on the coupon.