Your weekly Sunday paper (inserts) is a good place to start gathering coupons. Ask your neighbors/friends/family if they use the coupons from their Sunday paper and let them know you would love to have them if they are just going to be thrown away. Know that different market may receive different values of coupons in the Sunday coupon "inserts". For instance, someone in Little Rock may receive a coupon for .35 off the next purchase of Tropicana orange juice while someone in Los Angeles may receive the same type of coupon with a .75 value in their local paper.
Tearpads: these are coupons that are literally a part of a pad that allows each coupon to be torn off individually.
Peelie: this is a coupon that is affixed to a specific product. Sometimes a peelie is for that specific product but sometimes it might be for any product made by the same manufacturer. For instance, a bottle of Dove shampoo might have a $1 peelie attached. The peelie could easily say "save $1 when you buy this Dove shampoo" OR it might say "save $1 when you buy any Dove product". There is a grey area when it comes to peelies. Some people will find peelies and use them immediately for buying the product. Some people will find peelies and take only the peelies they will use (but maybe or maybe not during that shopping trip). Some people will take every peelie they can find without buying the product at all or knowing if they will ever buy the product. Each person seems to have a different opinion about "what is right" to do with peelies. I won't get into that here, but just let your own moral compass guide you and know that it can be a touchy area for some coupon fanatics.
Internet Printable Coupon (IP coupon): These are coupons that you can print from various sources on the internet. Most times, an IP coupon can only be printed twice per computer. Copying IP coupons on a copier and redeeming those copies is considered FRAUD! Each IP that is printed comes with its own unique identifying bar code. Once a coupon with that unique bar code is redeemed, the manufacturer will no longer pay out on any other coupons with that bar code. So, if you copy an IP coupon and redeem it 20 times, you have just stolen the amount of that coupon from the store for every copy you redeemed a copied coupon. Most times, IP coupons have an expiration of 2 weeks from the date they are printed.
PDF coupons: These are coupons that are found in a PDF file. I have no earthly idea why a company would publish a PDF coupon, but they have in the past and probably will continue in the future. A PDF coupon can be printed as many times as you want and can be circulated around the internet. PDF coupons are great for the consumer and I would consider them death for the manufacturer.
Email coupons: Most times, the coupons you might receive in an email are the direct result from you signing up for emails from a manufacturer and most times they are an IP coupon.
Internet Promotion Coupon: Some manufacturers will run a promotion on the internet that allows you to sign up for coupons and then they will snail mail the coupons to you (sometimes this is a one time only mailing and other times it might be several times a year mailings).
Mailed coupons from manufacturer (not part of a promotion): Is there a product that your family loves? Are you brand loyal? Let the company know. Most companies have a website and a contact us link. Sometimes a 3 minute email letting a company know how much your family enjoys their product and asking for coupons can result in the company sending you coupons for bigger savings than you would normally find on a regular coupon or sometimes they might even send you a coupon for a free item. Every once in a while, you will simply get a "thank you, but we don't distribute coupons" message. In truth, I have had better success getting these types of coupons by taking a moment to write a short "complaint" email. AHEM, for those of you with kiddos in diapers and such, the complaint option works well with the two most popular diaper brands.
Baby coupons: There are a bajillion websites that claim they will help you get free or cheap baby items. A few of them may be legitimate. I wouldn't trust most of them. What I do trust are the manufacturer's websites for baby products. Most every one I can think of has a "club" of some sort that allows you to sign up for coupons and product information. Maybe you are brand loyal in this area, but that is ok! So are other parents. Sign up for all the baby product sites (manufacturer) and be ready to trade the baby coupons that you won't use for the coupons that you will use! This applies to the formula companies as well. I have personally received coupons from:
- Huggies
- Pampers
- Luvs
- Similac
- Enfamil
- Gerber
- Nestle/Gerber Good Start
- Beechnut
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