Being Extreme ~ Finding Those Elusive Coupons

"Extreme Couponing".  This is all the rage lately.  With gas prices continually rising, the cost of foods, clothing, household items, and everything else rising higher and higher, except your paychecks, everyone is looking for bigger and better ways to save money. 

People are quickly finding out that coupons can mean big savings for you and your family, which plagues the question, "Where are all those coupons"? 

There are coupons all around us.  Coupons can be found everywhere.  Here's a list of places you may or may not thoguht about looking for them. 

♦ Online.  This has become the number 1 place that people are turning to, to find their coupons.  Sign up with your favorite companies, you'll receive newsletters right from the source.  Sign up with your favorite blogs for deals and steals.  If you don't already have a Facebook account, you'll want to do so as soon as possible.  Many companies are turning to Facebook and releasing coupons only through Facebook.

♦ Sunday Papers.  I know that different parts of the country have different days when coupons are released in their local papers.  Some parts of the country have a Saturday edition that is about half the price of the Sunday Paper, and contain the same coupons.  There are some weeks that I will purchase multiple papers, because I know that the coupons that will be in the paper will be huge!  I also know that here in RI, we do not receive the Red Plum inserts in the newspaper, they come in our mail.  If your not receiving the Red Plum insert, head on over to Valassis and request that one be mailed to you, if your not receiving one in your newspaper.

♦ Doctor Offices.  Often times, doctors have an area in their waiting room that is just filled with coupon tearpads.  These tearpads are there for you take utilize.  Doctors offices are also loaded with magazines.  You'll be able to find tons of great coupons inside of these magazines.  Go ahead and rip them out, don't be shy! 

♦ Magazines.  The number one magazine to find coupons in is the All You Magazine, and can only be purchased through a yearly subscription or at your local Walmart.  However, there are other magazines that have monthly coupons, like Ladies Home Journal, Woman's Day, Better Homes & Gardens.  I will usually post these magazines when a subscription is only a few dollars per year, or when you can obtain a free subscription. 

♦ Blinkies.  What's a blinkie? A blinkie is an automated coupon dispenser that is usually located next or near a product in a drug or grovery store.  They get their name because of a small red blinking light that continually blinks, drawing your eye to the coupon.  Here's a helpful hint, grab a couple of them, and save them.  A product will usually go on sale several weeks after the blinkie has been released. 

♦ Tear Pads.  Tear pads are similar to Blinkies, and usually located next to or near a product on the shelf.  Again, grab a couple of these and hold onto them, as they will usually go on sale a few weeks after a coupon tearpad has been released.

♦ Friends, Family & Neighbors.  Ask your friends and family members for their coupons that they aren't using.  This is a great way to get multiples of the same coupons, helping you to build your stock pile!

♦ Purchasing Coupons through a Coupon Cutting Service.  Yes you can purchase coupons, although if your read the fine print, you aren't actually purchasing the coupon, you are purchasing the cutting services.  Okay so there is a fine line there, but hey, if your looking to build a stockpile, this may be the way to go.  I purchase from a cutting service on a regular basis.  You have to do a little math here though.  Look at the expiration date, before you purchase, you'll want to make sure that you will have enough time to use them without making yourself run all over town trying to beat the clock so to speak before they expire.  Also make sure that your fee that you are paying, and they savings you will obtain, don't cross each other out. 

♦ Contact the Company Directly.  Whether it's through an email or snail mail, contact the company, and be direct.  Ask if they could send you coupons.  They worst they can say is no.  Often times though, the company wants your business, and will send multiple coupons.

♦  Free Samples.  Sign up for the free samples that bloggers write about, many times free samples come with great coupons.  Signing up with companies like Vocalpoint, will score you some full size freebies, as well as some pretty great high value coupons!