Couponing 101

I recently taught a couponing class at church and neglected to teach the basics of couponing which confused some of the ladies present, so here is a little couponing 101 for anyone new to the bargain world.

Many supermarkets will double internet (IP) and manufacter's coupons up to $.99 in value. If the face value of the coupon is over $1 most will not double the coupon. Supermarkets that will double all manufacturer's coupons up to $.99 are: BiLo, Lowe's and Harris Teeter. Bloom and Food Lion do not double coupons. Each store has restrictions on their doubling policies and you can go to their websites to find their particuliar coupon policies.

Triples is when the supermarket will triple any manufacturer's or IP coupon. Most recently Bloom and Harris Teeter have been having triple wars competing for customers. During triples the same rules apply to the store's couponing policy as they do for doubles, but they will triple any manufacturer's coupon or IP. Some stores have become more strict about accepting IPs or certain IPs. Bloom for example will only accept IPs with the scissors on the coupon. Harris Teeter will only accept 2 IPs on the same or like item.

How I find my deals...
I check the flyers for the different grocery, drug and big box stores and look on different forums. I will try to have some match-ups on this site weekly, so you can find the deals that I think are GREAT. But, remember that what I think is a good deal may not work for your family, so get the flyers and give it a go for yourself. Each Sunday CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens begin their deals for the week. CVS and Walgreens always have a circular in the Sunday paper. Rite Aid's circular will be in the paper if it is delivered to your home, but if you get it from a store or out of a box there will not be a Rite Aid circular. You can also find all the weekly circulars and monthly rebate books at the store itself. I will explain the CVS extracare card and rebates from Rite Aid and Walgreens in another post.

Target and Walmart also start their sales on Sunday. They each have circulars in the Sunday paper, but not in the store (or that I have found). Someone correct me if I am wrong.

The grocery stores (Harris Teeter, Lowes, BiLo, Bloom and Food Lion) do their sales from Wednesday to Tuesday. They have circulars in the Wednesday morning paper. Bloom and Food Lion send out their circulars via the mail on Tuesdays and BiLo and Lowes send theirs out on Wednesdays. All of the grocery stores above will send you updates to their circulars via email and you can find the circulars themselves in their respective stores.

Where I get my coupons...
The Sunday paper is the biggest place I get my coupons. Remember this week there will NOT be any coupons in the paper because it is a holiday. Last week there were 5 coupon inserts in the paper, so I bought 5 papers. You can also buy coupons from the Sunday paper from different sites like ebay or taylortownpreview.com. There are also IP (Internet Printable) coupons that you can find on different sites like couponsuzy.com, coupons.com, coolsavings.com, coupon surfer.com or couponclippers.com. These are just some of the websites that offer coupons and I will list some more over the next few days.

Lastly is where I hear about upcoming deals or deals that I miss in the papers...
I have joined Charlottemommies.com and there is a Domestic Goddess section where many women share what they find and their money saving tips. It is an awesome site for everything mom and I recommend joining if you are in the Charlotte area. They also have sites set up in other cities, so check out if there is a site in your town. Hotcouponworld.com is also a great site for finding where the deals are and what is coming up. There are also other sites, but I will try to list those sites as I go along.

I am happy to have you here for the ride and recommend my site to all your friends!!