Finding Coupons, Part Two

When I re-read my posting on places to find coupons the other day, I rolled my eyes. There are TONS of places to find coupons, and I covered only a few of them. So, without exhausting you (or belaboring the point), here are some more ideas for coupon-hunters:

1. Be a concerned consumer. By emailing, snail mailing, or calling the toll-free number of a company, they are very likely to respond to you in a positive manner, whether or not you have anything positive to say. To give you a couple of examples, I have bragged on Calmoseptine ointment (for diaper rash), Breyers yogurt, and Land O'Lakes butter and found INCREDIBLE samples and coupons in my mailbox not long after.....but Kraft did right by me when I complained about the recent re-formulation of some of their salad dressings and sent me high-value coupons. Simply find a place on the website that says, "Contact Us", and do so.If t he task seems daunting, pick one or two companies whose products you are faithful to and email them; it will take five minutes .You might be pleasantly surprised about who will offer you something in return.

2. Surf. As stated in the previous post, most printable coupons can be found on one of three major sites, but there are many companies who provide one or a few coupons to be printed from their own website. For instance (don't judge me!), Little Debbie's website provided one or two coupons for chocolate cupcakes and the like on their web page.

3. Keep your eyes peeled. Other than blinkies, peelies, hangtags, and tearpads, also discussed in the previous post, one of my favorite Rite Aid stores in Bowdon, Georgia has displays set up with small manufacturer booklets that explain more about the product with coupons as well. They were on a lower shelf with only one specific product in the display; in the past, I have also seen some awesome allergy coupons in this format as well. Some small informational booklets are just that, but it always pays to check.

4. With free samples. Not that getting a little tiny sample in your mailbox (score!) is not enough, but....many times, there may be a coupon included with the sample. I have gotten Nivea, Pampers, All-Bran, and Garnier coupons this way.

5. In or on boxes. This is a tricky one, but again, it pays to pay attention. There may be a small graphic on the item to indicate that there are coupons inside the item, which is of course enticing you to purchase it--but if the item is on sale, who cares? Printed on the actual item boxes....Cheerios, Pampers, Betty Crocker Warm Delights, and Banquet Family Meals. Found inside the item (in a booklet, etc.).....Biore, Schick, and many, many packages of Pampers, where I have found coupons for Cheerios, Kandoo products, and Easy Ups.

6. Magazines. Hopefully, "all you" guys know about the All You magazine, which can be found in Wal-Mart only (or through a home subscription). This magazine is your average folksy women's rag with fashion, home, and beauty stories, but includes coupons that range from a total of $55 to $85 in savings!! But, there are many others in magazines for the taking. I have found them in Redbook, Glamour, Parents, Family Fun, Ladies' Home Journal, to name a few.

**Related savings news...Thanks to a great friend, Knowly, who pointed out that the photo websites, particularly Shutterfly and Walgreens, have super-duper deals on a regular basis! Walgreens even has a feature where you can ship photo items to ANY Walgreens....which means you can send new pics to your great-aunt and -uncle who don't get on "the email" (thanks, Haley!).

Also, one more observation.....I noticed that in this week's Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, a newspaper that I buy religiously every week, there was a line at the top proclaiming "Over $150 in savings". Pretty impressive, unless you also got the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which stated that it contained wayyyyyy more than that (perhaps twice or three times)....... Just goes to show you--if you can, be sure to purchase Sunday papers from the largest possible newspaper.