Couponing 101 - revamped

Welcome to Couponing 101 - revamped!

Here you'll find some tips, and things to know about using and redeeming coupons.

When I first started just over 2 years ago I used a plastic ziplock bag for my coupons. Yup  that's right a plastic ziplock bag.

So I bought myself a small accordion holder from walmart and I think it was about $2, and stuffed my coupons in there.

When you go shopping take a few minutes and go down every isle. If you find some you wont use because you don't like the product grab a couple anyways. More often then not you can trade those unwanted coupons for coupons you really want. Wondering where you can trade those unwanted coupons of yours? Try www.smartcanucks.ca I trade here all the time and LOVE it! You can also find coupon groups on Facebook, but make sure they are Canadian. You can't use a coupon with an American redemption address in Canada.

If you have products at home that you absolutely love, and use all the time, try giving that company a phone call or an email. Companies like to hear how much you enjoy their product and might send you out some coupons :) Its worth the 5 Minutes.

Johnson and Johnson offer monthly coupons for products like J&J Baby (peneten, baby powder, shampoo, body was) Tylenol, motrin, stayfree, carefree products, Clean and clear, Aveeno ect.

Colgate will send you out a couple $1 coupons for things like fleecy, colgate, speed stick.

Sign up for free samples, not only do you get the samples but a lot of the company's send out coupons for the product with your sample. 

Swap with your friends! I know I have friends and family that often grab coupons and when I see them we find we have many that are different, so we swap :) Many forums and groups also do coupons swaps when they get enough people interested.

Magazines, and Dr.Offices often have coupons too. If you see an old copy of a magazine laying in the recycle bin take a minute and flip through the pages you could find some money savers in there ;)

Sign up for point saver programs. I myself use Pampers rewards (formerly gifts to grow) there are many many free codes offered all the time on facebook and twitter. Many people don't realize or care that those little pins inside the diapers can earn them free stuff from gift cards, to pictures and toys. , Stouffers rewards, I save my points for gift cards. Lunch mate bucks, found inside lunch mate (lunchables or snackables) again save these up for gift cards, stickers, toys ect.I also use Swagbucks. Swagbucks is a search engine that give out random prize amounts (swagbucks) and you can save these up and redeem for gift cards, or ecodes (electronic gift cards)

Join mailing programs like huggies for coupons, or subscribe to mailing lists Via email from many different places like McCains, samplesource, ect. They randomly email people with promotions and printable coupons.

Check out your food packaging. Sometimes coupons are offered on cereals, and if you buy that type regularly its an added bonus for you!

Right now Kelloggs is offering a promo with 2 forms, and 2 unique pins that you fill out and mail away to them, they send you a $5 "Gas card" This is a $5 Mastercard that you call in to activate and can be used anywhere, as long as your purchase doesn't exceed the amount on the card

General mills is also offering a promo. With 1 pin from cereal or 2 from their treats (specially marked boxes) you can enter the pins online for free items from cereal, to yogurt, to treats (cereal bars). Again if this is your usual brand then its also an added bonus!

Getting started:
You want to get yourself a good zipper binder and some of those plastic sleeves for hockey cards (binder at walmart $8 - $10, plastic sleeves from the dollar store $1 you get 5 - 10), so for less then $15 you'll pretty much be set, Or you can be like me and do the accordion holder. It worked great, and I didn't need to upgrade to a binder until I started trading coupons on a daily basis lol.

I always carry a pen, paper, and scissors in my binder, you never know when you may need these - seriously.
Organize your binder the way you like. I like to add all my (fpc's B1G1, and company call ins) in the first few pages, then I do the rest alphabetically. Some of my friends prefer to do categories, while others like to group by expiry. You'll find which way you like the best really quick.



Using coupons:
Read the fine print. You want to be able to use your coupons so you have to make sure that they have a Canadians redemption address. How do you know if it has one. There will be a spot saying "for redemption mail to" and make sure whatever address it has next to it is Canadian. Not all cashiers check this, and stores will NOT be reimburse if they accept them. Which can turn out to be disastrous for us couponers. Stores may limit or not accept coupons any more when this happens.
Sticking with the fine print - double check to make sure you can use more then one coupon per transaction. How can you tell? Most coupons will say Limit one coupon per purchase which means 1 coupon per item purchased. However there are some coupons that say Limit one coupon per customer or 1 per transaction which means you can only use 1 coupon no matter how many  of that item you may be buying.



 
Checking out:
Choose a cashier that is having a good day. There is nothing worse then someone who doesn't want to be there or is having a bad day. How can you tell is the cashier is having a good day? Look for the one who has a smile on their face ;)

Be kind to those be hind you. If you have a long list of coupons to use or may be price matching, let the people who line up behind you know. I often say something like this. Hi there, just letting you know I may take a little while as I am using coupons and price matching. I would hate for you to stand behind me if your kinda in a hurry. Many many people appreciate that your letting them know.

Put your coupons with your items on the conveyer belt. This way your cashier doesn't have to shuffle threw a bunch and they can see that the coupon and product match.

Double check your coupon details, not the pictures! This can confuse even the seasoned couponer. Some coupons list certain sized, types/varieties, and sometimes it doesn't always match the item pictured on the coupon.

Finding coupons:
You can get coupons from many different places

Many you find are tear pad coupons that are in stores by the product. You should never take more then you need., or can use. I take a few for myself, and only a couple to trade or pass on to others. Its a huge disappointment to find empty tear pads from greedy people.

Peelies - you should never take the peelie off the product. Its purpose it to reduce the price for the person buying it. I have found a peelie on my products after purchasing it. Sometimes the cashiers miss them, Or sometimes if you have a higher value coupon to use first then thats the only time its ok to take the peelie off the product.

Online coupons - There are many places you can get coupons mailed directly to your home, or print them off. Here is a list (with links *click on the site name*) to coupon sites you can order or print from:
save.ca 
websaver
brandsaver
gocoupons
smartsouce


Call-ins or Company Mail outs - Many company's such as Johnson & Johnson offer mail out coupons. Some are monthly, most are yearly, and some are a one time deal
Try praising a company of a product that you really really enjoy. Many companies like to hear you enjoy their products and offer coupons as a thank you

What is a stock pile:
A stock pile is a "pile" of products that you have an excess of. How do you start one? First off you need to make sure you have some storage for it. How about an empty closet, cupboard, or even buying a small storage stand are great ways to start. Begin small, you don't want to over whelm yourself or your family.
When you find an amazing sale for a product that you or your family use regularly, don't be afraid to stock up, if you were there to buy 3 or 4 and the sale is good enough buy 6 or 8. Before long you'll find that your stock pile is growing. While stock pile? Because the world is uncertain. Times are tough on a lot of people. What would happen if you were laid off or lost your job tomorrow. Would you have enough of anything to make it a few weeks or months between jobs? Stock piles can help ease this burden.

Coupon stacking:
Only select stores do this and from what I know its only in the western provinces. London drugs, and Save on Foods are the only 2 places I know that allow this. Now Im unfamiliar with save on foods but I do know a little bit about stacking at london drugs.
They will only accept 2 coupons per item. And each coupon must have a different UPC then the other one.
There must be no restrictive wording on your coupons. (Can not be combined with any other coupon) 
SC Johnson coupons - all of them - are NOT stackable.
The coupons you are using can not exceed the price of the item being purchased
I have never stacked coupons, but have friends and family that have. If you know of more pointers or rules, I'd love to hear them and possibly add them to our page :)

I hope this helps out many new to couponing. If you have other questions just ask!