Coupon Types

The most common type of coupon is a Manufacturer Coupon. This will say Manufacturer Coupon right on the coupon, next to the expiration date. You can find these almost anywhere! I find mine in the Sunday paper, online at different websites, and even on the Manufacturer’s websites themselves sometimes. You can also type in what you are looking for plus the word coupon on search engines and it will pull up different options.

The coupon websites that I search for coupons on are: www.coupons.com ,www.replum.com, and www.smartsource.com . Just be careful. Not all internet coupons can be used everywhere. Some stores will not accept them!

Another type of coupon is the store coupon. These can be found in the stores themselves and will say “Store ABC coupon” in place of Manufacturer Coupon on them. These are meant to be used in the store themselves and in most cases can be used with a Manufacturer Coupon as well, for extra savings. Walmart has recently decided they will start taking coupons from competing stores. However, it must have an actual price on the coupon, not just an amount off. Example: you can use a coupon from Walgreens for Puffs Tissue for $2.99/ 3 pack, but not a Walgreens coupon that says .50 off 3. Target is another store that uses store coupons. Theirs are found mostly online, but they occasionally have them in the Sunday paper, or in coupon mailers. No one, not even Target HQ seems to know how to get on the mailing list. It has been rumored to be on the list if you have a Target credit card, or have created a registry with them of any kind, but no guarantees. You can use one Target coupon and one Manufacturer Coupon together on the same item.

Some other coupons that are found in stores are peelies and tear pads. These are also Manufacturer Coupons just with a different name. Peelies are attached to the products in the stores, and you have to peel them off to use them. Tear pads are located in different places throughout the stores, and can be torn off to use on the products they are for.

I hope this helps explain coupons a little bit. As you may know all of this already, keep in mind: this blog is for beginners as well.

Who am I?

You may be asking yourself: Who is this Shannon who thinks she can help me save money? Well, I am a first time Mommy, who start doing the "coupon thing" to get my shopping budget under control. I will admit, I still struggle, but am doing much better. Before I first started doing coupons, I would go $400 over my shopping budget, spending money we didn't have. The first month, that dropped by half, to $200 over budget. Now, I might go over by about $50, but am still learning. Some of the things that have caused me to go over are cleaning supplies, clothing, and impulse purchases.

As a couponer, a lot of time is spent searching the web for the best deals and steals. I use several different sites to help find the best deals, and spend about an hour a day looking at the different forums and blog posts on which deal is the best. My plan for this blog is to consolidate all these finds into one central location. I will post match ups for different stores, and tell you how to find the best deals on the products you use! I confess right now: I will be letting most of the sites I go to find the deals for me. However, there are some deals that will be strictly my finds. As a part time worker, and full time Mommy, I understand the need for one-stop shopping for how to find the best deals. I also understand and am fully aware of the lack of time to go searching on making the match-ups.

I know quite a few of the matchups will have printed coupons from online websites. I will not post these, due to lack of a printer myself. I will post the deals that can be found using the Sunday paper coupons. All coupons are regional, so coupon availability and values may vary.

Welcome to the world of couponing! I hope this will help you save money, and time by showing you the best deals and steals available!