There is no better time than now to start couponing! It’s never too late to learn, and if you’re willing to set aside a few hours a month you can start couponing like a pro and easily save hundreds of dollars a year.
When trying to minimize your household’s budget the amount of money that you spend on groceries and household supplies is one of the easiest places to make changes. I personally saved over $4K just from couponing in 2020!
Let’s get you started on the track to saving and even scoring freebies just by scanning a few receipts and clipping some coupons:
This article contains affiliate links; if you purchase a product through my link it may send a small portion of the purchase my way or if you download one of these couponing apps through my link you will receive a welcome bonus and I will also receive a referral bonus.
Where Can You Get Coupons?
The majority of paper coupons can be found in coupon inserts in your local Sunday newspaper. Different regions in the country will receive slightly different inserts because the manufacturers target specific coupons to specific areas. For example in 2019 my area in Oregon stopped receiving Tide/Gain coupons, and then we started getting them again after a few months. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t immediately see coupons from your favorite brands, these inserts change constantly and are different every time!
What Newspapers have Coupon Inserts?
The 4 kinds of coupon inserts you can find are P&G (Procter and Gamble), Save, SmartSource, and the Unilever Super Saver inserts. As you may guess, you will only find PG product coupons in the PG insert, and only Unilever in the USS insert. Save and SmartSource inserts have a wide range of brands included.
Not every newspaper will include coupons, so to avoid wasting money on an empty paper, call up your local publisher and ask if they include them. Unilever also has a coupon insert finder tool here! P&G Inserts are usually available on the first Sunday of each month. If Sunday falls on or right before a large holiday (Easter/Christmas) there will usually not be any inserts.
I recommend checking a Sunday Coupon Schedule tool to see what inserts are coming that week to decide whether you should buy a paper or not. If your local paper is expensive or you can’t afford one every week, I advise waiting for a week with the P&G or USS insert, these are usually very large with over 20 coupons each!
Lastly, when buying newspapers for coupons ALWAYS check that your paper actually has the inserts inside (they’re usually tucked inside the cartoons/comics). Sometimes the inserts can fall out, or a paper might get skipped, or unfortunately, some people steal the inserts without buying the paper. I’ve accidentally gotten quite a few empty newspapers and it’s quite frustrating, so always double-check to be safe!
How to Get Catalina Coupons + Blinkie Coupon Machines
You can also receive paper coupons after paying for your transaction from Catalina machines at many grocery chains like Kroger, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, and many more. These are usually triggered by the purchase of a specific item. Most Catalina coupons are manufacturer coupons (check the print on top for the word manufacturer or MFN) so you can use these at any store, they don’t have to be used in the same place they printed. If it says Store Coupon it can only be used at the store where it printed.
Keep an eye out for “blinkie” in-store coupon machines that are mounted on the shelves of the store aisle, the box that dispenses coupons usually has a small “blinkie” light on it. Also, look for coupon tear pads on promotional displays and endcaps inside your local stores!
How to Find Peelie Coupons and Hangtags
The last place you can find physical coupons is on the products themselves! Many brands will put “peelie” coupons on the front of the product on the shelf at the store. You can either use these on the product they’re stuck to, or if you see a cheaper variety of that brand you can peel it off and apply it to a product of your choice. Hangtags are very similar, they’re usually hung around the neck of products with cords. These coupons work exactly the same as the ones you clip in the Sunday newspaper, you aren’t required to use them on the product they were attached to, you are only required to follow the restrictions printed on the coupon itself.
Where to Start Couponing as a Beginner
Walmart is one of the easiest places to start couponing as a beginner and you can even coupon at the self-checkouts! I highly recommend starting here before branching out to other more intensive stores like Walgreens and Target. I also shop frequently at those two but when you throw gift cards and store credit into the mix (which is usually what goes down at Walgreens/Target) it can be a bit overwhelming when you’re first starting out.
Another reason I highly recommend starting at Walmart is since it’s such a large national chain, the prices and clearance items tend to be the same no matter where you are in the country. This makes it very easy to copy deals from other people at your own local store! Walmart is also a large participant in digital couponing apps like Ibotta, Shopkick, and MyPoints. They constantly launch new rebates every week while things can get a bit stagnant at smaller stores.
Watch my beginner’s guide to couponing at Walmart below to learn more about how to get started:
Coupon Apps and Internet Printable Coupons
There are dozens of couponing apps available on both Android and IOS, this may be surprising to hear, but nowadays the majority of extreme couponers (including myself) mainly use apps and digital deals instead of clipping paper coupons! Go here to see walkthrough guides of all the couponing apps I recommend for beginners.
If you prefer to use paper coupons there are tons of websites where you can print high-value coupons for free! My go-to sites are Coupons.com, SmartSource, and P&G. The majority of chain stores like Walmart, Target, Walgreens, and Kroger accept internet printable coupons and they are an easy way to score deep savings without buying newspapers.
If you don’t have a printer at home I highly recommend picking one up so you can take advantage of printable coupons. We literally bought the cheapest Canon printer available at Walmart and it works just fine, I can print directly from my phone using the Canon app so you don’t even have to have a laptop! The savings I get from using internet coupons in just a few months are 6x the cost of the printer so it pays for itself very quickly.
Where to Find Couponing Deals
Social media is an amazing tool for finding couponing deals, there are hundreds if not thousands of hard-working couponers who share scenarios and breakdowns so that you can go shopping without spending hours trying to match up coupons and store sales. I post weekly roundups of beginner-friendly couponing deals right here on The Thrifty Couponer or if you prefer to watch deals being done live in-store check out my Youtube channel here!
Watch the video below to learn how I create my shopping lists for couponing trips and also to hear my recommendations for the best couponers to follow on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube!