Getting Started
Help Your Inner Couponer
Welcome!
Thanks for stopping by! If you are just beginning with your coupon journey there is a lot of information to take in, but don’t worry we are here to help.
My goal is to share online and grocery deals that are legitimate and real to help you lower the cost of your everyday life.
Here are some helpful posts to get you started on your way to a marvelous pantry. You are always welcome to contact me anytime at Couponconnectionsnw @ Gmail.com
Why do I buy so many newspapers?
How to coupon without getting overwhelmed
I am a family of two, should I really be couponing?
Rain Checks and why they are so important
Catalina Coupon: What exactly is it?
{ 65 comments… read them below or add one }
I am trying to view the “getting started” pages and it keeps taking me to an blue post error 404 page not found. Is this not available t view anymore?
Thank you, Tania
Thanks for letting me know! I am trying to fix all the dead links
They should all work now
thanks
When you do the ad list of deal for the weeks, what does the different colors mean for pricing
Valarie- The bold is the product listing and the orange is the final price
We currantly shop mostly organic and vegetarian or daiiry free items, do you gave any info or sites or tips in getting organic products discounted? Also my family is my husband, myself and our 5 month old daughter, how many newspapers should we buy? Are the best deals in the newspaper? Or online? I really want to build us a good stock pile but not sure where to start on getting the right amount of coupons. This may be a silly question but when people get 10 or 20 of an item with coupons, that means they had 10 or 20 coupons from 10 or 20 paper inserts correct?
Thank you for your help, your site has been really helpful and motivating!
Leanne- You will need to focus more on drugstore deals if you have diet restrictions to purchase your household needs. If you shop at Whole foods they have a coupon book with store coupons that you can actually stack with manufactures coupons. This is a great way to save. The newspapers have the best coupons overall, but you can still print tons of coupons online. Check out the coupon database under the coupons tab. I would say you are going to be okay with 2-3 papers to start.
Great questions!
And yes when they purchase that many they have that many coupons for sure
Hey! My household is in the same boat. We mostly shop at Whole Foods or Natural markets. Whole foods does list the weekly specials online as well as printable coupons. In store they have a “newsletter” and the back is also full of coupons. Mambo Sprouts is also a great source of coupons, printable from your computer or they have a listing of where you can pick them up in person. Also a lot of the smaller food companies have coupons on there individual websites. With a little extra work there are deals to be found in the Organic world too. Hope that helps <3
do i understand correctly… you can use more than 1, of the same coupons, at a time for an item. for example you purchase 5 papers you clip out 5 dawn dish soap coupons at .25 off, you then purchase the dawn soap and use (5) .25 off coupons towards that purchase…. correct?
Hi Marth -
The way I it works (I think), using your example is:
You buy five papers and you clip five coupons for dawn soap.
You WAIT until you find a really good deal on the dawn soap, but BEFORE the coupon expires.
For example: Dawn is usually say, $1.99 at most stores. But Walgreens decides to run a special and offers it for $.95 cents. You buy the soap at Walgreens, using your .25 cent off coupon, making your final cost $.70. Because it’s such a good price, you buy five (one for each coupon you have) and you save the other bottles under your sink. That way, when you run out of the first bottle you’re not running to the store, paying full price for a replacement. You already have it on hand AND you bought for the cheapest price.
Make sense?
Perfect!
Also look for sells that put the price under the coupon price.. or stores that double your coupons by doing this you will save even more.. So if you can find a store that has dawn on sell for 95 cents and you have a 25 cent coupon but the store will double your coupon then you are only paying 45 cents for the dawn sense the store credited you an extra 25 cents for your coupons…so 5 bottles of dawn would run you 2.25..which is a really great deal..
what is red plum ? im new and your story gave me hope. im trying to understand the grill mate saveings at safeway. do i need a coupon? where do i find one to get started? thanks for your time. roman
Roman- You will find the coupon lingo here http://couponconnectionsnw.com/faq/
For that deal you would need the coupon from the Red Plum that came out in the Sunday Paper dated 4/3. So you probably will not have it, but hang tight. Within 3 months if you purchase the paper every sunday you will have the coupons we are referring too
Be sure to check under the Coupon Tab for local paper newspaper deals
I go to target to find the shampoo coupon suave and I don’t see it anywhere under Beauty.
Also, do you shopfor deals on a daily basis or can I do this once a week?
Some items don’t list a coupon but there is an item in blue listed below; what does that mean?
just wanted to say thanks for takeing the time to help me and answer my questions. your awesome!:) from roman
Hi Amber~
I am so glad I came across your site! I was just telling my husband that I would love to find an extreme couponer that lived in the same area I do.
TOMMOROW IS THE FIRST DAY OF MY COUPON EXPERINCE, WHAT SHOULD I BE LOOKING FOR AND HOW MANY SUNDAY PAPERS WILL I NEED TO GET ME STARTED?
I started with 3 then grew from there.
It is always good to start with an even # of papers. It works out better for the Bogo sales.
I was wondering how do you get the best del when the stores here in Spokane don’t double AND don’t allow stacking. The only place that does is Target but you have to use their coupon along with manufacture. Also how do you use two coupons for a bogo item? I don’t understand how that would work.
Christina- Albertsons will double in your area, they just do it on different weekends. This weekend being one of them. Keep watching blogs for those updates.
If a store is having a BOGO sale you can use two coupons because you are simply matching a store coupon with a manufactures coupon. Your coupons are a form of payment
Do you have a rock bottom price list or is there somewhere I can find one. Im new to couponing and just saving a little is better than not at all. A list of the lowest things have been for would totally help
It is in the works
Please teach me how to do what you do. I have seen the show extreme couponing. What you do is amazing. I don’t get the local newspaper so I don’t get a lot of coupons. I do use the ones I do get. I am barely getting by feeding my family of 5 on my limited income.
What are you going to do with all those sport drinks?
Hello Amber my name is Crystal I say ur episode on TLCs extreme couponing..
I really want no NEED to learn how to do this for my family… I have 5 children ageing from 10 all the way to 4 and my husband was just recently diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer.. So now all the responsiblities finanically have falling on me.. To be honest I am SCARED of going under and in the day in age it can happen fast.. I really hope maybe you can help me out and teach me how to do this for my family… Thank you for thaking the time out of your busy day to read this.. God Bless
Crystal Taylor
If you need anything my email is ameesqt@msn.com! You are in my prayers!
you are a goddess!!!!!
Just want to say your page is great and has helped me allot with learning how to coupon. So far in just the last two weeks i have saved over 400 dollars with coupons. I have been saving up for about a month waiting for sales and hit it big. But the reason i am posting is i am having trouble finding a good coupon site that i can print coupons. I know redplum but is there any others that you or others may recommend? thank you
Well I can help you with that. So far you have redplum, next is coupns.com,smartsource.com,pch coupons,and also if there is a product that you really like you can go to the site that in on the product. Or you could call the company or even write to them and let them know how much you like their product and was just wondering if there is possible they could probley send out some coupons to you. Manly just kiss their butts they like that.
I am having trouble i guess you would say in the field of knowing how this exactly works, I have the coupons but somehow i still end up paying a large amount! so what am i doing wrong? and a lot of my stores around here dont offer double coupons, so now what do i do? I wish someone was here in elmira to teach me! I have a family of 5 and would LOVE to get off of the government and I work part time for a well known company (would rather not say the company name). If you could give me step by step instructions or a video would be awesome! Love your blog!
I agree, I’m having a hard time too. The town I live in is small, only one paper and I don’t subscribe. No doubling allowed. Luckily my husband get an employee discount on store brand stuff (he works in the jewlery dept. at Fred Meyer) so that helps, but I wanna know how to get like $600 of stuff for only a few bucks! Its confusing to me
I am a family of two but I feel like all the coupons I get/find are only for cleaning, shampoo, lotion, deodorant ect. None really for food I already have a stock pile of non food products but where can I find more food coupons to stock up on those items?
Hi Amber,
I loved your class!!!!!!
Just one question; do you stockpile shop once a week? What is the best day to shop at Albertsons?
Thanks again,
Keli
Why do people buy so many of the product? How do they know how many to buy? e.g., 12 mustards, 40 toothpastes, etc?
I went to your class yesterday and it was great! Thank you so much. When is the best day to shop at Albertsons? How do you know its a good deal? So far I have only seen cereal on sale for $1.99 and of course never with the twice the value (that I have seen) when can I get it for free? Any other suggestion would be great.
Thank you,
Kerry
I just have a question. I live in a town that is small (about 6,000 people) we have only a few placed to shop, the main place is Fred Meyer. Do you know if Kroger coupons can be used at Fred Meyer? Kroger brand stuff is all over Fred Meyer and its owed by the same company. My husband works in the jewlery dept. so he getsa discount on store brand stuff (YAY!!)
what does IVC stand for i looked on your cheat cheat and didnt see what it stands for
thanks
I just scored red cherries at KS Mart (Korean market by the Cycle Barn and Value Village in Lynnwood) for $1.99 lb. The Asian markets have really good deals on produce, meat and seafood, and the selection of Asian foods is much better and usually priced lower. H-Mart in Lynnwood is also great and has a preferred customer card, plus it has a great Asian food court. It is located in the old Mervyn’s building by the Alderwood Mall.
correction! I checked my receipt and the cherries were only $1.29 per lb.
why do you have to login to access the coupon data base when theres no login page?
I live in the Tacoma area, and I can’t seem to find a store that will double coupons. I have read online and done some research. I want to get started doing this, but don’t know how to. So far I have gotten razors for free, and tampons for .79 cents, but only 1 of each! I don’t know how to get my stockpile going. I also am having trouble finding websites that I can print coupons such as the vitamin waters on the show that everyone uses! Also the clipping services?? HELP!!
Albertsons Does
Do you know if QFC has a coupon policy besides their Digital coupon policy–I can’t find it anywhere. This week (starts July 6 there is quite a few B1G1 deals such as the Tillamook yogurt and I just got a $1/4 a few weeks ago on their facebook page. SO I wonder if you can buy 4 and use the coupon or do you have to buy 8. Thanks
Hi Amber, I have tried and tried to be able to print the Target coupons and have had zero luck. I have followed the instructions exactly and when I finally get to the part where it says coupons will print when you hit close, nothing. Just goes back to the original starting point. What am I doing wrong? Thanks for the help. Bette
W
how do i print with your new system of checking the boxes and creating a coupon list? I get the list and click the print icon then it opens another page and I click on print coupons and nothing happens. Do you have instructions somewhere?
I am really interested in starting to coupon, this site is amazing. I am wondering however if there is any where that I can find out what all the abbreviations mean. (like RR and others) I am a bit confused by the coupon language…please help!! I even tried to get the “Mitchem” coupons for walgreens and could not figure it out…Thank you!!
I would like to come to a couponing class. Your web site has an old class posted. I was hoping there would be another one coming up. Could you please let me know if there is more coming up? Blessings
i live just south of Seattle. i wanted to know if you offer classes this way or how i could set one up? thank you
jamie
Check under the Classes tab on the blog. I think she updates it when she schedules a class.
I’m just getting started, I don’t know how to print off the pages that show mw all the deals on one page,(what i need to get deals)
I’m getting an error message when I click on the Stockpile List.
Just fixed the link
I’ve been couponing since May of last year.
Well I should say I’ve been learning
I started off loving it and hitting every store I could to get the best prices.
For the past 6 months or so I’ve become very frustrated with it mostly because I can’t seem to find a routine with planning my trip.
I try and shop at Albertsons a lot because of their doublers but when I go to make a plan using my doublers and whatever catalinas that are out I can’t figure the best way to utilize my coupons ect between transactions to get the best deal.
I guess what I’ve been looking for is someone to help me find a routine that ill understand and that will work for me so I’m not getting so stressed.
I’ve gotten so stressed over it that I’ve stopped couponing for a couple months and financially we can’t afford to stop couponing.
If anyone has any ideas id be so appreciative.
I want to get good at this.
I’ve studied this web-site and its really helped me learn what I know today but I just can’t get the planning/organization right for the life of me.
Thanks so much
Christina
It’s a little embarrassing but my little sister beats me at using coupons. I want to learn and try to save money. I understand about coupons but I seem lost and confused. I hope I can learn more from you. Thank you
Hi Amber,
I am wondering when the next class will be in the Lynnwood area. I missed the one in November.
Thank You,
Lisa
Hi Amber
I have been using coupons since last summer but have not really been able to save as much as I wanted to. I too became very discouraged and just had to take a break from it. I can also see that I need to be more organized and I really need help in weekly matching up sales from store lists and my coupons!!! Please tell me that this part gets easier!! Also are there any coupon exchange groups in North Everett or Marysville area?? If not I may come to your next group in Lynnwood. Thank you for all your help, after being laid off a year and a half ago… We need all the help we can get. God bless
Theresa
Theresa it does get easier! At this point in my couponing I am more picky about my shopping trips and only run to the store about 1-2 times a week. The only time it is more that that is when Albertsons has doubles. Organizing is a key and be sure to watch my video. I will be doing a coupon exchange at the Lynnwood Library & Brier
Hellp !!! I have about 10 lbs. of coupons for the military, If I just had the address to send them. Can you get the address to me? My email is passowee@yahoo.com
Thank You,
Catherine
im trying to get the coupons for got2b but dont know wgere to go..can anyone help???
I noticed that I have not received an coupon connection e-mail since 3/27/12. I have checked that couponconnectionNW is in my contacts and safe senders list. Any idea what would cause the e-mail to stop?
So far I have been unable to print any coupons. The cursor finger, I cllik on coupon to ‘clip’ it. Just gives a pikture with no barcode. Nothing to print that is worth anything to a barc ode scanner in a store.
I dunno, maybe I’m just stooooooooooooooopid.
M>< M
where can we buy your cheery flavor