The Extreme Couponer’s Guide to Finding Coupons


The largest variety of manufacturer coupons are found in coupon inserts in Sunday newspapers. Websites such as Sunday Coupon Preview have schedules of upcoming coupons, giving you an idea of which weekly inserts (SmartSource, Redplum, P&G) to expect.   After Sunday, you may be able to find leftover Sunday newspapers for purchase at Wal-Mart, grocery stores, at the newspaper office, or for free from friends, neighbors, co-workers. Keep in mind that some holiday weekend issues have no inserts (Easter, Christmas). 

Another source of coupons are coupon clipping or handling services (from single coupons to entire inserts) and eBay. This is one of the ways many couponers on the TV Show, Extreme Couponing, acquired the volume of coupons used for their massive shopping trips. Be aware of coupon language (void if reproduced, altered, transferred, auctioned, exchanged or sold).  Many services sell their time/effort for handling, and not the coupon itself. 

In addition to coupon inserts from the Sunday newspaper, other sources for manufacturer coupons include:

Magazines. All You is a popular monthly coupon-oriented magazine (by subscription or available for purchase at Wal-Mart). Other magazines (Redbook, Woman’s Day, Good Housekeeping, and others) occasionally include coupons. Also check store-specific magazines (Walgreen's Diabetes & You), and USA Weekend or Parade (included in many Sunday newspapers). Reno News & Review occasionally prints coupons for local businesses.  (Also see their online site with local business coupon offers.) 

Coupon Booklets.  These are occasionally found in stores (manufacturers such as Nabisco) or mailed by request (P&G Try It).  The Frozen Foods industry often publishes a coupon booklet in March.  Look for oral care coupon booklets in drug store oral care aisles. Walgreen's has a number of booklets labeled 'Answers at Walgreens' located throughout their store - these include store and some manufacturer coupons. 

In and on product packages. Coupons may be printed inside packaging.  Also look for hangtags (around bottle necks) and peelies. In past purchases I've found $25 in P&G coupons inside Charmin and Duracell packaging.  Also look for mail-in rebates with product packages, many times these will refund your purchase price.

Tear-pads. These are usually found near corresponding products on grocery and drug stores shelves. I’ve seen these on shelves, product displays, at customer service, and on refrigerator doors. 

Blinkies. These are the type of coupons that are dispensed from a box with a blinking light.

In-store demonstrations. Product demonstration booths are occasionally set up in some stores. I often see them at Wal-Mart (also, Costco). Check these booths for coupons.

Direct from Manufacturer: Write to them or send them an email letting them know what you like, what you don’t like, and/or where you like to purchase their product. Some companies will respond with coupon offers or product samples. If you receive a sample, look for a bundled coupon. ‘Like’ their Facebook page, and ‘follow’ them on Twitter for more offers.

Direct from Retailer: Some store shopper programs occasionally send out store coupons (CVS, Kohl's, Target).

Coupon Groups.  A community coupon-oriented group may be in your area.  Some of these groups have developed ways to share coupons, including coupon swaps, coupon trains, and coupon wishlists.

Internet Sources

Internet Printables. One of the largest printable coupon websites is coupons.com. Links to many sites can be found here. Some of these websites require a piece of software called a coupon printer add-on to be installed on your PC. Once you’ve installed the software, you will be able to print 1-2 internet printable coupon(s) per coupon offer, per computer. Some sites require you to register for a site account to access their offers. 
Caution: be wary of coupon sites that appear to have coupons with higher-than-normal dollar values. Some coupon sites are set up by scammers or are carrying counterfeit coupons (see http://www.couponinformationcenter.com/ for information about counterfeits).

Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram). It seems like almost every large manufacturer and large retailer have Facebook pages.  Some also have presence in other social media sites such as Twitter and Pinterest. Sometimes a new product will be introduced in social media, with a corresponding coupon offer.  Check these sources for offers and coupons. 

Manufacturers. Several manufacturers offer printable coupons on their own websites. Some manufacturers (Kellogg's, Weight Watchers, MyCokeRewards, NatureMade) have loyalty programs where you can enter points from packages, and use those points to earn products or additional coupons.

Retailers.  Some retailers (Target, CVS, Safeway, Smiths, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Scolaris, and many others) have websites which include 'coupon carriers', and many are a mirror of coupons available on coupons.com. Some of these sites (Target and others) also offer store-specific printable coupons in their lists. These are great to watch for because store coupons can often be combined with manufacturer coupons for greater savings. Some sites (Raleys, Safeway, Smiths) load manufacturer coupons directly to your store shopper card, and the coupon amount is deducted at checkout. 

Coupon Databases: hotcouponworld.com, slickdeals.com, retailmenot.com, fabulesslyfrugal.com, thefrugalfind.com and many other sites maintain coupon databases which include links to printable coupons. 

Some services assign eCoupons to your store loyalty cards or accounts:
SavingStar, Cellfire

Coupon matchup blogs and websites often post coupon links:

Coupon matchup subscription services include SavingsAngel and TheGroceryGame. 

Newsfeeds from coupon bloggers, coupon websites or discussion forums often include links to printable coupons.  Some of the larger Blogger sites include: 


Store Coupons:
Sunday Store Circulars occasionally include store coupons (Target, Kmart, Walgreens, Michaels, Safeway, CVS, and many others).

Wednesday Store Circulars (mostly grocery stores, including Raley’s, Safeway, SaveMart, Scolaris, Smiths, Winco, Marketon, and others) occasionally include store coupons.

Walgreens publishes a free monthly savings book, usually located at the front of the store.  Monthly issues regularly include hundreds of dollars in Walgreen’s coupons that can be combined with manufacturer coupons.

Whole Foods publishes a free bi-monthly magazine with store coupons that can be combined with manufacturer coupons. Their coupons are also available on their website.

Catalina coupons are printed with your register receipt at certain stores (Walgreen’s, Target, Raley’s, Kmart, Safeway, SaveMart). These coupons are manufacturer coupons that typically have a store logo on them.  Some people have had luck using these catalina coupons at other stores, including Walmart. 

Savers is a thrift store where people can shop and donate second-hand goods. Donations are rewarded with a discount coupon or stamp card, good towards a future purchase. 

Many CVS stores have a price scanner/coupon printer. When you scan your CVS Extracare card barcode under the scanner, you may receive one or more CVS store coupons which can be combined with manufacturer coupons.

Groupon, SocialLiving, DealChicken are deal-of-the-day websites, offering discounted deals at local businesses.


Other Coupon Sources:

Mobile coupons. Some companies send coupon codes via text message (Redbox, 7-11).  Some (Target mobile and Cartwheel) send coupon offers to Smartphones, these can be scanned at store registers. 

Services sending additional coupon-oriented offers for users with smartphones include Shopkick, Yowza!, ibotta. 

Check-ins.  Deals are offered to Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare users by ‘checking in’ at various locations via a mobile browser.

Entertainment Book and other fundraiser books are available through some stores, the internet, and through organization fundraisers. These books typically contain coupons for discounts or dollars off of services and products at local businesses.

In the mail: Some addresses receive a weekly ‘Neighborhood Deals’, 'Buyer's Edge', Redplum newspaper, or a monthly Valpak envelope with multiple pages of coupons for local businesses.(Valpak also has an online site with coupons.) 

Other sources you may not have thought of looking for coupons:
The backs of cash register tapes / receipts

Calendars

Phone books

Event tickets

Door tags placed on home doorknobs.

Doctor/dentist offices (coupons for medicines, toothbrushes, toothpastes, floss)

Work/office. Some vendors and suppliers leave coupons for employees. Some companies offer employees coupons and discounts at places such as Six Flags Theme Park.

Coffee shops / airports / hospitals / hotels, libraries and other public places may have leftover newspapers or other collateral from travelers and visitors.

Your Birthday!  Some restaurants and other businesses offer a freebie or discount for your special day.

Special Holiday!  Some restaurants offer a freebie for special occasions; TCBY offered mothers a free scoop of ice cream for Mother’s Day; Panda Express offered a free appetizer on Chinese New Year's Day.

Business Grand Openings. Often with free food, samples, discounts, coupons.

Finally, sources for the more open-minded couponer includes dumpster diving, recycling bins, and newspapers from foreclosed properties.  And for the Extremist: linings of bird cages.  Kidding!

Thanks to Dean, Rachel, Gia, Rebecca, Lynne, Liz, for sources.
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