Coupon newbies always ask, "Where do you find all the coupons?"  There are places to get coupons.  It's easier than what you think.  Let's start with some obvious ones.

Newspapers

• Sunday Newspaper — It is the regular channel that the major coupon companies distribute their coupon booklets, i.e. Smart Source, Red Plum, Procter & Gamble, Moments to Save, General Mill, Target and so on.  If you want to buy multiple copies, try looking for double packs — two copies of Sunday papers bundled together and sold at a discounted price.  Or use your pharmacy reward money to purchase at the drug stores.

  • Gas Stations
    You may try going to a gas station by mid-night.  They may give you all their left over Sunday papers to save their trip to the dumpster.  Some of them may be returned the left-overs to the publisher, though.

  • Coffee Shops
    Some coffee shops put out a box for customers to trash their newspapers.  You may be able to get those free papers if you offer to recycle their trash.  They may even pay you.

  • Recycle Centers
    Find a large newspaper recycling bin or dumpster in your neighborhood.  Most people toss their coupons without giving them a glance.  You can easily find coupon inserts in recycling bins.  Other people's garbage becomes your treasure ;-).

• Local free newspapers delivered to your home. In our area, we have DeKalb Neighborhood delivered on Wednesdays. We also have Evening Edge by AJC delivered on Thursday.  They normally included coupon inserts from the prior Sunday.

• Ethnic newspapers — For instance, "Mundo Hispanico" is a free Spanish paper that contains Red Plum or Smart Source Coupon Inserts.  They are published every Thursday in our area.  You can find them in the Spanish shopping centers or restaurants. 

In-Ad Coupons

• Some stores include in-ad store coupons in their weekly ad fliers, for example, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Family Dollar, Publix… Those are great coupons that you can stack with manufacturer coupons to save more.

Printable Online Coupons

• Major marketing companies that offer printable coupons are Coupons.com, Coupon Network, Red Plum and Smart Source.  They limit your prints to two copies of each coupon on each computer.  They normally expire within a month.  New coupons are replenished monthly.  Coupon Fairies links them to the on sale products on our website so you don't have to go searching for them all over the web.

• Manufacturer's websites often offer printable coupons.  Registration maybe required.  If you want exclusive coupons and offers for members only, sign up with them.  Setup a free email account exclusively for coupon hunting to avoid spam mail.

• Many stores publish store coupons you can print from their store websites.

Supermarkets

• Some stores distribute their own regular store coupon booklets or fliers.  For example, Yellow Advantage Buy and Green Advantage Buy are regular publications provided by Publix Supermarket.  Whole Foods Supermarket has a monthly newsletter "The Whole Deal!" that includes great store coupons.  They are often found at the entrance of the store.  So ask the custom service of your local grocery stores.

• Special Manufacturers coupon booklets are placed all over the stores periodically.  You just need to keep your eye open and look for them.

• You can easily find the blinkies that dispense coupons in the store.  My children have fun racing each other to collect the coupons while we shop.

• Tear-pads are popular marketing tools that are placed right by the products on the shelf.

• Pay attention to the peelies on the products.  They look like stickers but they are coupons and you can peel them off.

• Some cash registers are connected to Catalina Systems, which may print a coupon for you at check out based on what you purchase.  Walgreens and Kroger are local stores in Atlanta that print Catalinas.  Most Catalina coupons are manufacturer coupons, so you are not limited by where you can use them.

Pharmacies

• You can find tear-pads coupons at the cosmetic isles.  If you don't see any, ask the cashiers or the make-up consultants if available.  I am sure they are happy to hand them out.

• Pharmacies have their own reward programs that provide member discounts and rebates. 

  • CVS — Extra Care Bucks (membership required), printable coupons

  • Rite Aid — Wellness Program (membership required), Video Reward

  • Walgreens — Register Reward (membership not required), printable coupons, monthly coupon booklet — Walgreens Instant Value Coupon.

Mailers

• Sign up with your favorite manufacturers.  They will mail or email you promotional offers, samples, and coupons periodically.

Neighbors/Friends/Families

• Most people don't clip coupons.  If you ask your neighbors, they will be happy to save them for you.  After all, you are taking trash off their hands. 

• Consider taking a walk on the weekends in your neighborhood.  Free papers are delivered on Wednesdays or Thursday in our neighborhood; if they are not picked up by the weekend, most likely, no one but you want them.  If you wait too long, they might get sogged in rain.  Consider it picking up litter since the neighbors just throw them in the trash.

Coupon Exchange Group

• Form a group with your coupon friends.  Each person brings coupons that they don't need in exchange for something that they want.  There is a Coupon Exchange Facebook group in Atlanta Toco Hills area.

Coupon Sellers

• You can find people selling coupon clipping service at eBay or some other websites.  We have so much coupons that we've never needed this.

• Lisa the Coupon Lady, a national coupon distributor who resides in Greater Metro Atlanta, supplies whole coupon inserts like Smart Source, Red Plum and P&G.  Available ones are posted on the right column.

How about you?  What works for you?