Couponing-Online Coupons

Most coupons these days come from the computer, not from the Sunday paper. There are many different sites you can use to get free coupons, and a few things to keep in mind before you hit "Print."

• Print From Reputable Sites
• Coupons.com, Smartsource, RedPlum, Target, and FatWallet are a few of my favorite online grocery and store coupon sites. If I can, I also like to get coupons straight from the manufacturer. (Think Manufacturer Websites.) Some "Coupon" sites just want your email address to fill up your inbox with spam.
• Create a Second Email Address For Couponing
• This is for the purpose I mentioned above...some sites spam you like crazy once they get a hold of your email address. It also makes things more organized, because often when signing up for coupons, you just want access to the coupons, not the newsletters or other junk mail that inevitably come after signing up. Having a second email address will keep your primary email address from having 13,473 unread messages. (In other words, learn from my mistake!!!)
• Facebook
• Facebook is becoming one of the hottest places to find exclusive high-value coupons and freebies. If you would like coupons from a particular company, "Like" them on Facebook. Chances are they will be giving out coupons at some point. In the last few months from Facebook, I've received such coupons as a free bag of Mission Tortilla Chips, $5 off Bounty Paper Towels, $1.50 off Finish Dish Tabs and $1 off Fresh Express Salad Packs (resulting in free salad.)
• Consider "Points" Sites For Coupons
• Recyclebank
• Recyclebank is a "green" company that rewards you for taking quizzes about recycling, taking pledges, and living green. You can "purchase" coupons with your points. I have received $1 off ANY Coke Product, Buy 1, Get 1 Free Any 2-Liter Coke, and $2 off ANY Aveeno Product. They also have coupons for Yoplait Yogurt ($1/6), Kashi ($2/1 product), and magazine subscriptions.
• Pampers Gifts to Grow
• This program rewards you for using Pampers diapers and wipes. They also often offer points codes without having to purchase anything. In their rewards center, they have such coupons as a FREE container of Dreft Detergent, FREE photo gifts on Shutterfly, and even gift certificates to SpaWish, Macy's, and Zappos.
• Swagbucks
• Swagbucks rewards you with Amazon gift cards (among other rewards) for using their search engine and watching their ads. See my post on Swagbucks here.
• Huggies "Enjoy the Ride" Rewards
• This site rewards you for using Huggies products. They offer such rewards as coupons for FREE diapers, FREE pull-ups, and FREE Little Swimmers, among others.

Online couponing can gain you access to many coupons you wouldn't otherwise receive in the Sunday paper. By having a purpose, and printing out coupons you know you're going to use (in other words, not spending more on printer ink than you would save in coupons), and being savvy about who you give your information out to, you can save a lot of extra money.


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