Couponing without the Sunday paper - How?

[Mulvah]

First of all, I love getting things for almost free or free, even if we can't use them. It's almost like a hobby for me. And, I am always able to pass items on to my parents or siblings and they appreciate it.

I just got my renewal notice and the price of the Sunday paper has increased yet again and I'm not sure if I should get it. We can afford it, but I hate to spend $$$ on a subscription because it cuts down on how much I actually save.

I haven't been CVSing lately (too much stuff already) and I don't use most of the coupons unless our grocery store runs a great deal, which happens a few times a year. In fact, I've gotten really lazy with it over the last few months for various reasons. The more I write this out, the more it really sounds like I just need to ditch the subscription.

So, should I just try to buy the paper locally if I know our grocery store or CVS/Wags is going to have a deal I want? Do people buy coupons online? Anyone specific? Is there anything I'm not thinking about with regards to this?

Thanks!

[4Blessings]

Our grocery store accepts coupons up to 3 months expired. If you are able to do the same it is nice to have the coupon when the sale comes up down the road.
However, if you aren't that into couponing or if you cannot take advantage of expired coupons than let the sub. end. Lots of times you get a better deal by being a "new" customer in a few months (if you chose to go back to the paper) than you would by renewing your existing subscription.

[4Blessings]

And many, many coupons can be found on-line with a little searching.

[youngspiritmom]

My mom gets coupons out of some of the free papers around town. Do you have a recycling bin that you could snatch a paper out of?? lol

Also ---- When my Sunday rate goes up (they send me a letter) I simply call them and say "I have been a customer for a long time and I enjoy getting this paper but I can't afford this new rate and I wasn't notified it was going to go up. Please put the price back to the old rate." DONT phrase it like a question - state it like a demand. Usually the person on the phone will first say something about how all the rates are going up and yadda yadda......but don't give in. State firmly again that you don't agree with the increase and would like your subscription price to stay down. If again they resist, ask to talk to a manager/supervisor. Tell him/her the same thing....and if he says no then ask "Well what other sorts of discounts do I qualify for?" and if you don't get anywhere then they really don't have the authority to keep it low, so thank them for their time.....

But in my experience (I've done this several times!) they will usually keep your rate low the first time you tell them to.

Good luck!

[sunsetdancer]

You can get the ads from someone who doesn't use them (family, friends, neighbors), buy just the coupons you use from a clippin service like The Coupon Clippers or Kuntry Kippers, or buy them from eBay. The clipping service and eBay usually require you buy multiples of the coupon but sometimes you don't have to (like The Coupon Clippers).

[provocativa]

here also, the newspaper gives away old copies of the paper at their front door. you would have to go a few times to learn when they put in the sunday's, and dig a little, but you would find most of them.
also, set up an email just for couponing. mambosprouts.com has coupons for organics. there's also afullcup.com and hotcouponworld.com meijer's website will load coupons onto your cell phone, kroger will load them to your shopper's card. also, sites for individual products will often send you coupons (like go to organicvalley.com and look) and some places will send you stuff if you like them on facebook- can you set up a dummy facebook acct. just for that?

i know all this stuff, but i just can't coupon. my kids are too crazy in the store and by the checkout line i feel like i've been through combat.

[happysmileylady]

I coupon and do not have a subscription to my Sunday paper.

I buy one Sunday paper at Dollar Tree, where it's only $1 instead of $1.75. I also buy one from another side of town, it's a different paper, and my Sunday paper doesn't have the Red Plum inserts.

Anyway, those are the two that I pay for. I also print coupons from the insert websites-Red Plum and Smart Source. Also there are lots of other coupon printing sites, like coupon.com. Another place to check are the different company websites-if you want coupons for cherrios, check the general mills website, that sort of thing.

In addition to that, when I buy my one paper at Dollar Tree, I go on Monday instead of Sunday. And I have talked with the manager and she lets me take whatever inserts are left before the paper takes the remaining papers back to recycle them. I also dig through the recycle bin that is at the entrance to my neighborhood and grab some that way (I do not did far or often, as sometimes there's grossness in there. But since it's only for paper and most of the time people are good about just tossing paper)

[sunsetdancer]

I forgot about electronic coupons that someone else mentioned. Theres Shortcuts, Cellfire, and P&G has some you can load onto your Kroger card if you have one in your market. I think Kroger has some other coupons on their site that you can load into your card. There are probably more but those are the big ones I know about and use.

[Mulvah]

Thanks, all! I definitely got some great suggestions I'll look into.

Originally Posted by 4Blessings

And many, many coupons can be found on-line with a little searching.

Yeah, I have several sites bookmarked and already print some out. I think this, along with the ones I get delivered (for free) may just have to fit the bill.

Originally Posted by youngspiritmom

My mom gets coupons out of some of the free papers around town. Do you have a recycling bin that you could snatch a paper out of??....

I wish. We used to dig through trash for coupons around our old neighborhood. Those were the days.

I may end up calling just to see what, if anything, they will do.

Originally Posted by sunsetdancer

You can get the ads from someone who doesn't use them (family, friends, neighbors), buy just the coupons you use from a clippin service like The Coupon Clippers or Kuntry Kippers, or buy them from eBay. The clipping service and eBay usually require you buy multiples of the coupon but sometimes you don't have to (like The Coupon Clippers).

I will look into the services you mentioned.

Originally Posted by happysmileylady

...I buy one Sunday paper at Dollar Tree, where it's only $1 instead of $1.75....

I don't have a dollar store terribly close, but it's definitely something to think about. Thanks!

[Norasmomma]

I use Coupons and things by Dede, I used to use Coupon clippers but I started having some "issues" with my payments.

It's cheaper for me this way, but if I lived closer to Dollar tree, I'd buy my stack of papers instead.