You can usually get coupons in the ABQ Sunday Journal. Papers cost $1.50 and can be found in a variety of stores including gas stations, convience stores, grocery stores, etc. A yearly subscription costs $110, 6 months $76.50 and 3 months at $30. Typically Smart Source and P&G coupons come in the ABQ Sunday Journal. There are usually no inserts over holiday weekends.
Buy more than one copy of the newspaper weekly. That way you get multiple copies of a coupon and can then stock up on those items once they go on sale. Red Plum is another company who distributes coupons and those usually come in the mail on Tuesdays or Wednesdays depending on where you live. The only way I know how to get multiple copies of the Red Plum coupons is to print them online or order them from a coupon service online. I've heard of people "dumpster diving" for coupons, but that one is up to you!
I've also purchased coupons online from wholecouponinserts.com in the past. I ordered the coupon inserts on a Sunday and got them in the mail on Wednesday. On their site, you can order whole coupon inserts by the company distributing the coupons (Smart Source, Red Plum or P&G) and by date they were distributed. I've found that they're pretty affordable and you can order multiple inserts per date for probably less than buying 4 or 5 papers. Some couponers don't approve of this method, but when you're first starting out, it's a way to get many coupons fast! Plus, I've purchased newspapers at the store and haven't received any coupon inserts in the paper. So in order to get the coupons, I needed to find another way. You can also purchase single coupons from http://www.couponsthingsbydede.com/ She has a $3 minimum. Magazines such as All You available at Walmart and Better Homes and Gardens also often have coupons in them.
Organizing Coupons:
These are my categories of coupons: Baking, Bath, Beverages, Breakfast, Canned, Cleaning, Condiments, Dairy, Fresh Foods, Frozen Food, Laundry, Meat, Medicine, Miscellaneous, Paper Products, Pasta & Sides, Restaurants, Snacks and Store Specific.
You could also include a calculator, paper clips, a pen, scratch paper (to plan your transactions) & zip lock baggies. I've begun to use the zip lock baggies to organize my lists of transactions along with the accompanying coupons to be used.
Price Matching at Walmart:
You can also price match another store’s advertised prices at Walmart. Per Walmart’s coupon policy, you do not need to have the store’s ad with you when you price match. From my (limited, yet growing) experience, you basically tell the cashier you want to price match certain items and tell them the price for each of those items.
For example, I price matched potatoes from Lowe’s grocery at Walmart last weekend. At Lowe’s they were on sale 5lb for $.99. I bought 2 5lb bags of russet potatoes and told the cashier I wanted to price match the potatoes for $.99 each. I saved $1 on each bag! Then I also price matched steaks, Miracle Whip, Windex and pudding!
You can also price match store coupons from CVS, Walgreens, Family Dollar, etc. As long as the store coupon has a specific price for the item and not cents off, then you can price match it and use a coupon also if one is available. You can also price match generic brands with Walmart brands (ie. price match Walgreen's Nice products for Walmart brand products).
You can also price match items from cart buster and mix and match events (such as WYB 4 or 8 participating items). You can price match an item and also use a coupon on top of the price match. This is how this works. I price matched Miracle Whip at Walmart that was on sale at Albertsons during their Mix and Match 8 items. I did not buy 8 items, yet I still received the sale price and I used a MFC $.75/2 coupon. You can also price match PROS Ranch Market at Walmart and you don't have to buy ALL the items for the price stated. You can buy just one head of lettuce for $.25 and just let the cashier know that the iceberg is 4/$.99 or $.25 each; the cashier will adjust the price.
So far my experience with price matching has been AWESOME!!! The cashiers have not given me any drama and there hasn’t been any ordeals! I have not taken any ads with me nor any coupon policy, although I did place Walmart’s ad policy in my coupon binder should any situation arise! This is a GREAT way to get the best prices on meat, produce and other advertised specials without running all over town!
Lessons Learned:
This is limited to what I've personally experienced, so your experience may be different. Each week I learn something new and I post what I have learned on the home page under Lesson Learned. So here are some of the things I've learned so far!
# of Products must be equal to or less than # of Coupons
Many times you can only use one coupon per one item. So if you have (4) .50 cent coupons for an item, you can buy 4 items and use your 4 coupons. But say you have a store coupon plus a manufacture coupon for one item, you need to buy a filler item so you have 2 coupons for 2 items, etc. At WAGS, Register Rewards are considered coupons, so if you want to use 2 coupons plus 2 RR, you need 4 or more items.
Size Matters
Pay VERY close attention to sizes listed in an ad, at the store, on a website and on your coupon! You have to match the product to the coupon terms nearly exactly. If the coupon says 4 to 6 oz you can't use a coupon for 12 oz, etc. It seems easy enough, but you REALLY have to pay close attention. If the coupon says Kleenex 80,100 or 120 count and the ad says Kleenex 100 count, you have to find the box that says 100 count which may even be in a different area than all the other Kleenex boxes. Paying attention to size when getting ready to go shopping will help you out a lot so you know if you can use your coupons for the exact product that is on sale.
Buy One Get One Free (BOGO sale)
At Walgreens, their online coupon policy says you can use 2 coupons for the 2 items as long as the total does not fall below zero.
Register Rewards (RR)
These are issued at Walgreens and if you are using them to pay for items, it counts as a coupon. So if you have 2 items and have 2 coupons for those items and you wish to pay with RR's, you need to add filler items to match the number of RR's you want to use.
Also, say you bought an item (say for Suave Lotion) and you received an RR for it, you cannot pay for more Suave Lotions using the RR AND get another RR for the additional products. If it's a buy 2 get a $2 RR and you want to buy 4, pay for them in separate transactions using cash and you'll get both RR's.
Extra Bucks (EB)
These are issued at CVS. They work the same way Register Rewards work. For example, this week CVS has Complete contact solution on sale for $8.99. If you purchase it, you will receive $8.99 in EB to use in a separate transaction. They also give out quarterly EB and I read you receive $3EB on your birthday!
Buy $20 worth of product, receive $10RR
From my experience this has gone both ways when using coupons. The first time I bought $20 worth of the advertised product and used coupons bringing my total to less than $20 and I still received the $10RR. The second time I tried this, I spent the right amount, but after coupons I was short $5 on the overall total and I did not receive any RR. Totally did not make my purchase worth it without the $10RR. Urgh.
CVS has a LIMIT on the number of times you can receive an Extra Buck for an item.
This I learned when purchasing the PH tampons. I bought a third box and did not receive an EB. The manager then let me know I had received my limit of the EB for that item. After that I learned that your limit amounts print on the bottom or your receipt every time! lol
Couponing Terms:
MFC = Manufacturer Coupon or MF Coupon
WYB = When You Buy
OOP = Out of Pocket expenses or the actual money it cost you
$2/1 = $2 off of one item or $2 for one item
$1/1 = $1 off of one item or $1 for one item
BOGO = Buy One Get One (50% off usually)
B1G1 FREE = Buy One Get One FREE
In Store Coupon = coupon issued by a particular store, usually for their store only (i.e Target coupons)
Catalina = coupon that prints at the end of a transaction (Smiths has these).
Online Coupon = coupon offered online that you can print from home
Peelie = a coupon attached to a product at the store; you can peel the coupon off of the package and
use it immediately
SS = Smart Source
RP = Red Plum
PG = P&G Brandsaver
EB = Extra Bucks, the monetary rewards CVS issues for certain purchases
RR = Register Rewards, the monetary rewards Walgreens issues for certain purchases
WAGS = Walgreens
T1, T2, T3 etc = Transaction 1, Transaction 2, Transaction 3, etc. Often you have to buy items in more than one transaction so that you receive the discounts, RR's or EB's you wish to receive. For example, Albertsons has a Mix and Match sale where if you buy 8 items, you will automatically receive $4 off your purchase. They will only give you the $4 off twice, so the most you can buy at once, or in one transaction, is 16 items. If you want more items, you have to pay and start another transaction.
Helpful Sites for Saving Money:
How To & Advice:
Almost like a couponer's Bible! These sites are awesome and I'm crazy about them, but not all of the deals they outline will apply to us here in NM! Our prices and weekly ads are often different from theirs.
www.krazycouponlady.com
www.couponmom.com
www.hip2save.com (they have a searchable coupon database!)
www.wildforwags.com
www.iheartcvs.com
www.savingcentswithsense.net
Helpful Sites & Local Blogs in Albuquerque & New Mexico:
Both of these sites offer daily deals to businesses in Albuquerque and New Mexico. Often savings range from 50-90%!
www.socialdealmap.com (they combine a lot of deal sites into one easy map)
Ania's Blog is all about sweepstakes, contests & other FREEBIES!
Misty is a brand new couponer and DIYer...follow her journey at
Lots of local deals on food, arts and entertainment, local attractions, shopping & leisure activities.
http://abqonthecheap.com/
Valpak also has printable coupons and coupon codes for local deals!
http://www.valpak.com/coupons/home
National Printable Coupon Sites:
www.smartsource.com
www.coupons.com
www.redplum.com
www.pgeverydaysolutions.com
www.couponnetwork.com
Store Coupon Policies
Just click on the store name to take you to the link.
Smith's
Walgreens
CVS
Walmart
Walmart's Price Matching Policy
Local Weekly Ads Sites
Our local ads are often different than ads I've found on other websites so be sure to check our local ads before you put together your shopping list for the week! Just click on the store name to be taken to their weekly ad.
CVS
Walgreens
Smiths
Albertsons
Walmart
Target
Dollar General
PROS Ranch Market
Lowe's Grocery
