Blogging...the first six months, part 3

One of the things that I have really discovered in the months that I have been blogging is the number of sources for coupons.

The first thing that I learned is that not all coupon inserts are created equal. I quickly learned, as people posted coupon previews for the coming weekends paper and deals with coupons from their papers, that I didn't get many of the coupons that were included in a number of the posts and on some others, I got a coupon for the product, but not the same value. Recently, I started to subscribe to a second local paper from a larger city. Wow! The coupons are great. I get a number of duplicates, which is nice for deals, since I still get the local paper from the nearest city, but I get so many coupons that I wouldn't have gotten without the second city's paper. I'm still not sure how I feel about this. Why is it that the local paper that I had received wasn't "good enough" to receive those coupons? Why do the people 30 minutes away get better/more coupons? I recently saw this occur in reverse though...my local paper had the bonus P&G Brand Saver, but the "new" paper that I was getting didn't have one.

I also became a lot more aware of the number of coupons that are available at the grocery store. Sure, I noticed the "Blinkies" and the Catalinas, but I never noticed all of the peelies, tear pads and more that are available right at the store. I do have to say though, that a lot of shoppers seem to take advantage of the tear pad coupons, taking a lot more than they themselves will use. I find this an unfair practice. Taking 2 or 3 is fine, pulling the whole pad, not so cool. I have even come across posts (not on any of the regular blogs I read, but on HCW and some sites I have linked to through one of my regular blogs) bragging about having gotten the full pad and offering them for trades, etc.

In addition to the different inserts in the local papers and in store displays, I was amazed to realize how many on-line coupons were available. I get asked by so many cashiers, "where do you find them?" I have found them at Coupons.com (see my sidebar), RedPlum.com, Smartsource.com and manufacturers' websites. In addition, many bloggers are kind enough to share direct links to where they found the coupon. I also learned that coupons do have print limits, which I think is a fine thing, as this allows everyone the opportunity to print some. I discovered that MyPoints, offers points for printing and redeeming the coupons available through their site...so I get points for saving money and can redeem points for gift cards to save money - a win-win from my point of view.

I also have learned though that not all retailers will accept Internet coupons. One of my local stores does not accept them, and I have to say, they have lost some business as a result. I have taken their ad to price match at Walmart, when I have IPs for the deals that I want to take advantage of. This makes me feel bad...I would rather give the local store the business.

In addition to grocery coupons, I have found RetailMeNot and CouponCabin that post coupon codes for on-line shopping as well as some printable coupons for non-grocery items. I have used these resources to find coupon codes for things that I wanted to purchase. Bloggers also tend to share good deals and coupon codes that they have - which I appreciate greatly.