Finding High Value Coupons

If you are new to Couponing, or maybe just New to the world of Online Coupons then it can be tough to figure out where to find the best coupons. Some people are hard core Newspaper Insert people while others tend to skip insert coupons and stick with Printable Coupons. In reality there is probably a fine balance somewhere between the two extremes so I wanted to give you a crash course in where to find the best High Value Coupons. I’m going to start with Newspaper Inserts today and I’ll cover Online Coupons and Additional Resources in future posts.

NEWSPAPER INSERTS

Within your local Sunday Newspaper you will find several different inserts containing coupons. There are 3 main types of Coupon Inserts that I wanted to cover since these are the ones I reference the most in my store matchups.

The SmartSource Insert is abbreviated SS and is typically a weekly insert. In a Matchup you will see the abbreviation (SS 10/17/10) This means that the coupon was located in the SmartSource Insert from the October 17th, 2010 Newspaper. I always save my inserts by the date they were in the newspaper to make it easier to go back and find the ones I need.

The RedPlum Insert is abbreviated RP and may also be referred to as the Valassis insert depending on what part of the Nation you live in. This is the other main company that does Newspaper inserts and typically you can find some of the same coupons available on RedPlum.com – This newspaper insert is not available in all areas to find out which Newspaper carries the Red Plum Insert in your area you can Check out this Locator Tool at RedPlum.com.

The Proctor & Gamble Insert is abbreviated PG and typically is included in the newspaper around the first of each month. This insert offers high value coupons for products such as Tide, Pampers, Gillette, Charmin, Herbal Essence, Swiffer, Febreze and More.

Typically when it comes to Newspaper Inserts the First Sunday of the Month or the First Sunday of the Quarter tend to be the best days for coupons. I always purchase additional papers on those days.  I go between Krogers and Walgreens, one of the two will usually run a sale on the Sunday paper for $.99.  If you want to Subscribe to the Local Newspaper in your area then check out Discounted Newspapers.com or Call your local Newspaper and see if they offer a Quantity Discount or have any Special Promotions Going On Right Now.

FINDING COUPONS IN YOUR INSERTS

One of the most common questions I get is in regards to the abbreviations used in weekly store matchups on Southern Savers and occasionally here. I will try to cover this in depth in the near future but here’s a crash course in understanding Matchups.

Here is what my typical Matchup looks like:

Lipton Soup Secrets, $1.18$0.75/2 Lipton Soup Secrets, exp. 2-27 (RP 01/30/11) <— NEWSPAPER COUPON
$0.80 ea. wyb 2 after coupon!

The Coupon listed is from the newspaper and the most important part is listed at the end. This is what tells you how to quickly find the coupon.
The First 2 letters of the section in parenthesis tells you which insert the coupon was located in.

SS = SmartSource Insert
RP = RedPlum Insert
PG = Proctor & Gamble Insert
GM = General Mills Insert

Following the Abbreviation for the Insert is the Date the coupon was in the newspaper. So if the date is 01/30/11 that means that this specific coupon for Lipton Soup was in the newspaper on January 30, 2011.

ORGANIZING YOUR NEWSPAPER COUPONS:

I always store my insert coupons in a folder with the date they were in the newspaper written on the front. That way when I see a matchup for an item I want to purchase.  I can go directly to the folder from that Date, choose the SmartSource or RedPlum Insert I am looking for and quickly flip through to find my coupon. It saves me a lot of time because I don’t have to clip every coupon each week and I can easily find coupons that I want or need.
That’s the basics on how to find and organize Newspaper Insert Coupons.

Another tip for organizing multiple inserts is to staple them.  I normally buy 2 newspapers.  So, if I have to Procter and Gamble Inserts I will staple the pages together to make one insert...