Thursday thoughts: Couponing Q & A

I have received a number of questions via e-mail from readers in the last few weeks. I thought that some of you might have similar questions so hopefully these will answer them.

Lowes Foods gives you 5 cents in Fresh Rewards for every bag you bring and when you reach $5 worth you get a $5 coupon to use in store.

CVS gives you $1 ECB when you use your Green Bag Tag to shop (which is free after ECB this week). For every 4 times you bring your own bag and swipe your Green Bag Tag card, you get $1 ECB.

"To ensure product availability for all customers, we limit redemption to 4 coupons for 4 of the same item. For example, if you have five coupons for a specific cereal and have purchased five of the item, we will honor the coupon for up to four of the boxes of cereal."

Sunday Newspaper Supplement – I buy one newspaper a week so I have a good selection of a bunch of difference coupons

Coupon Clipping Websites – When I want multiples of a coupon and didn’t get them through trading with friends during the week, I use coupon clipping sites that charge a fee to find and send them to you. The fee is usually around 5 to 10 cents per coupon. If a .75 coupon is doubled to $1.50 at HT or Lowe’s and I paid .10 to have it sent to me, that’s still a $1.40 return on my 10-cent investment. Can’t say the stock market has offered that type of return lately! I usually use www.thecouponclippers.com or www.ebay.com. If you buy from ebay, only do Buy It Now auctions for specific products. Don’t buy a “lot” of 100 assorted coupons. You don’t know what you are getting or how much each coupon is worth.

Friends, Neighbors, Co-workers, Family – Trade coupons with everyone you know. Set up a coupon basket at work in the breakroom or at church. Leave those coupons you don’t want and take those you do. Assign someone to go through the basket each month a remove expired coupons (and send them to our overseas military – click HERE for more info).

Manufacturer’s Toll Free Phone Numbers – If it seems like you can never find a coupon for a favorite product, try calling or e-mailing the company. Many will send coupons just because you asked. This is an especially good technique for high cost organic items and gluten free products.

Product Packages – I have found tons of coupons on the inside and outside of packages. Don’t throw them away until you have taken a good look in the package for any hidden coupons.

Manufacturer’s Websites – Many manufacturer’s offer coupons every day including Pillsbury.com and bettycrocker.com. I post printable coupon links from manufacturer’s every Friday in the Friday Freebies blog post.

Printable Coupon Websites – There are tons of great printable coupons on sites including smartsource.com, coupons.com, eatbetteramerica.com, redplum.com and more.

Register Coupons and Blinkies – Don’t overlook those coupons in the aisles in the red boxes (called blinkies because they used to be in boxes that had a red blinking light). Some are pretty good coupons. The register coupons can be high value as well.

Magazines – There are some good coupons in the All You Magazine offered at Walmart stores. I have a subscription because my niece was selling them as a fundraiser and I couldn’t say no to her! I recommend buying the magazine at the store after you look through it each month to see if it has enough coupons to justify the price. I don’t use every coupon each month and some months there are very few I use. There are often coupons in other magazines as well including Good Housekeeping and Better Homes and Gardens.

In Store Coupon Containers – Don’t forget to look at product displays in the stores. Some of the best rebate forms are found in big displays (especially during Superbowl and Final Four months).

I hope you found these answers helpful. If you have other couponing and money saving questions, be sure to post them here. As I always say, it's your money - spend it wisely!