I’ve heard extreme couponers refer to coupons as free money, and in these trying economic times, who can say no to free money? I’ve started to collect coupons for use in my shopping trips, and scouring the web for online coupons has become a weekly habit. As I’ve grown more savvy in my coupon usage, I’ve found myself returning to the same four, convenient websites to score deals on the things I buy.
MyPoints.com. I’ve been a user of this site for years, building up points by clicking on daily emails and doing my online shopping through their web portal. I then exchange the points for gift cards, and I think it’s fair to say I receive about $40 in gift cards per year. MyPoints also offers online coupons from the three major online coupon providers: Coupons.com, Smartsource.com, and Coupons Network. Not only are all three coupon providers on the same, convenient website, but you can boost your MyPoints point totals by printing and using the coupons. You are basically saving and earning money at the same time!
Target.com. If you’re already a loyal Target shopper, you need to start printing out the free coupons on their website. The best thing about their coupon site is that their coupons can be combined with manufacturer coupons for extra savings! The second best thing is that Target often offers coupons on their house brands- Up & Up, Market Pantry, and Archer Farms- so you can save even more on their already low “generic” prices. I often find great coupons for their Up & Up diapers and cleaning products, Market Pantry juices and frozen chicken items, and Archer Farms salsas and snack items. I don’t make the drive to Target without first checking their site to see what extra money I can save on the things I’m planning to already buy.
Krazy Coupon Lady. The Krazy Coupon Lady’s website, thekrazycouponlady.com , is a great source for discovering coupons you would otherwise not find, such as manufacturer’s coupons that you can only print directly on the manufacturer’s website or the manufacturer’s Facebook page. If you subscribe to her Facebook feed (and are on Facebook every day like I am), you can be assured that you’ll be alerted of new coupons as she posts about them. She also gives tips about using coupons at the major grocery stores and is generally a pretty good fountain of knowledge when it comes to the overall art and science of couponing.
Safeway.com. Here in Chicago, Safeway owns and operates Dominicks, so I log on to the Dominicks.com website for grocery deals using their Just For U program. In other parts of the country, you’re likely to head straight to Safeway.com. By creating an account, you can load coupons directly onto your store loyalty card. Furthermore, there are often special deals strictly for Just For U users, oftentimes including extra low prices on staples like milk or bread. I would feel foolish shopping at my Dominicks without first logging on to the site to load my weekly deals onto my card. Also, Safeway/Dominicks has started matching prices from two other major stores, and you can load those price matches onto your card as well. I’ve purchased a week’s worth of food for only $30 by smartly using the website, combining personalized deals, available coupons, and deal match prices.
It’s possible that I may not become a superstar extreme couponer by using these four sites, but I have managed to save a decent amount of money. Utilizing these online sites is a quick and easy task once you build it into your weekly routine. Visit these sites and start enjoying the savings!