WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.
Stretching Your Pennies, Saving Your Dollars
by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Beginners, Coupons 12 Comments
WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.
by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Beginners 2 Comments
What is a Catalina?
Named after the company who creates them, a Catalina is a coupon that prints out with a receipt. The Catalina can be used as a coupon or as store cash (a well known example is Walgreens’ Register Rewards.) Many people throw out these precious coupons because they see them as a receipt – garbage or advertisements that come with their receipt. This is NOT the case.
Is a Catalina a Store Coupon or a Manufacturer Coupon?
This depends. If a Catalina is a manufacturer (MFR) coupon, it will state so on the top – most often this is the case. If it is a store coupon, it will say.
Can I use a Catalina at another store?
If the Catalina is a MFR coupon, the answer is yes but YMMV. This is a manufacturer coupon – like something you would print offline or get from your Sunday inserts, but some stores (who don’t print Catalinas) look at this like another stores coupon. So give it a try.
What if my Catalina Doesn’t Print?
Sometimes this problem happens – it can be a broken machine, an error on what you picked up, or missing paper in the machine. If you have a Catalina that was supposed to print you can talk to the manager or call the Catalina company. If you call, have your receipt in hand. Don’t worry they won’t know what you are talking about. I have called before and they were very clear and understood what I was trying to explain to them. Remember, they create the machine so they know how it works and when it is supposed to print. Call 1-888-322-3814 or 1-888-8COUPON (1-888-826-8766).
WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.
by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Beginners, Coupons 37 Comments
One of the most important things to do when couponing is organizing your coupons. If you don’t know where to find a coupon you have (due to a stash full of unorganized coupons) then you are not able to reach your full saving potential. Below I am going to show you different organizations methods that work.
Method One: Organize Inserts by Date
This method has been the method I have used for years. The funny thing, however, is when searching the internet for other’s organizational methods, I was the only one that I found using this method.
How to Start:
1.) Pull your inserts from the Sunday Paper and write the date on the front.
2.) Hole-punch the left margin of the coupon (In all my years, have not had problem with this messing up barcodes to scan.)
3.) Place your inserts in a large binder with oldest in the back and newest in the front (arranged by date.)
Pros:
1.) This makes finding a certain date’s coupon VERY easy to locate.
2.) All your inserts are in one place.
3.) Doesn’t require much time to organize each week.
4.) Easy to get rid of expired coupons. Clean your binder starting in the back.
5.) You have every coupon that came out in the Sunday paper – no coupons went to waste. So even if there is a coupon for a product you don’t buy, you might find the product cheap/free and you can donate the item.
Cons:
1.) Bulky
2.) When searching for a particular coupon (toothpaste), it is not easy to locate. I could be anywhere in your binder.
3.) There is a lot of “extra” advertisement paper (coupons only take up so much room on each insert.)
4.) Doesn’t leave room for loose coupons – another method is necessary to attach to this style of organizing.
Examples:
• See My Example HERE.
Method Two: Organize Coupons by Type
This method is the most common for couponers. Most coupon “pros” (if we can call them that) arrange their coupons this way.
How to Start:
1.) Pull your inserts from the Sunday paper and cut. (Note: If you have multiple copies of the same type, lay individual, like pages on top of each other and cut coupons from multiple inserts at the same time.
2.) Once your coupons are cut, organize them by type. You can arrange by type using photo sheets or baseball card inserts.
3.) Place photo/baseball card inserts into a large binder. You can add as well a zipper pouch for scissors, pens, paperclips, etc.
Pros:
1.) Organization at its best. If done right, this system is very orderly and neat.
2.) Easy to navigate for type of coupon. When you are in the store you can easily go to your health section for a toothpaste coupon.
3.) Easier to see when a coupon is about to expired.
4.) All your coupons are in one place.
5.) All the “extra” paper in the Sunday inserts are recycled or throw away. You do not have an abundance of extra weight due to unneeded paper.
Cons:
1.) Time – you do need to find time to cut and organize coupons each week.
2.) Bulky.
3.) Hard to find a coupon by date. If you need to go to the 1/3 SS insert, you don’t know which coupon came from where.
4.) You must search page by page for expired coupons when cleaning out your binder.
5.) When cutting coupons, you are most likely throwing away coupons you don’t use/need. If there is a sale where that coupon makes something free or cheap, you don’t have that coupon to donate that product to others.
Examples:
• See Kerri ‘s binder example HERE – She actually sells them as well so you don’t have to make your own.
• See Sarah’s binder example HERE.
Method Three: The File System
I have seen this method before, but I was unable to locate a picture or example during my research. It is pretty self explanatory, however.
How to Start:
1.) Acquire a file cabinet or cube crate that can hold handing file folders
2.) Take your inserts and arrange by date. Each handing folder will house a different date’s coupons.
Pros:
1.) Clean and Neat.
2.) Requries the least amount of time.
3.) This makes finding a certain date’s coupon VERY easy to locate.
4.) All your inserts are in one place.
5.) Easy to get rid of expired coupons. Clean your files starting with the oldest date
6.) You have every coupon that came out in the Sunday paper – no coupons went to waste. So even if there is a coupon for a product you don’t buy, you might find the product cheap/free and you can donate the item.
Cons:
1.) Bulky – the most bulky method.
2.) Not really portable. You will not walk into the store with this method in your hand/cart.
3.) When searching for a particular coupon (toothpaste), it is not easy to locate. I could be anywhere in your file system.
4.) There is a lot of “extra” advertisement paper (coupons only take up so much room on each insert.)
5.) Doesn’t leave room for loose coupons – another method is necessary to attach to this style of organizing.
Examples:
• Please share if you have/see an example to where I can link.
Additional Methods
When couponing, you will most likely want to mix in other organizational methods. Of the above methods, method 1 and 3 don’t allow you to do it all in one place. You might be able to do it all with method 2.
Accordion File
For loose coupons, it is nice to have an accordion file. You can arrange this by type of coupon. You organization can be as specific ad dairy or as broad as grocery. Other tabs include health and beauty, baby, cleaning, household goods, etc. The accordion file is VERY easy to carry in the store. It can be as small as an envelope size or as large as a piece of paper (in width and height comparison- not depth.) This is a great place to organize peelies, catalinas, blinkies (store dispenser coupons), etc.
Envelopes
When shopping in a store, I plan my lists ahead of time. Like I have shared before, I do not walk in with my large coupon binder. Instead I carry in envelopes (and usually my accordion file mentioned above.) My envelopes are arranged by store name. For example, when I organize my CVS list I carry instead my envelopes coupons I need for THIS trip, Extra Care Bucks, My CVS Card, and rain checks. At the end of my CVS shopping, the envelope will be 95% empty from what I came in the store with.
Smaller Binder
My particular grocery store, Publix, often has a lot of additional coupon flyers/booklets. When I have extra booklets, I hole-punch the booklets and arrange them in a smaller binder. This I call my store coupon binder. If you desired, you could add some photo/baseball card inserts and place additional store coupons inside this binder as well. These would be coupons earned through rewards cards, food/baby clubs, etc. They usually are mailed, printed, or acquired in the store.
Photos above used with permission from: Save at Home Mommy and The Bargain Jargon.
[ad#googlead2]
WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.
by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Beginners 60 Comments
All of the acronyms I use for couponing are found on the center/right column of Frugal Coupon Living. Below, I have provided a more detailed explanation.
SS – Smart Source. SS is a coupon resource both online and in the Sunday paper. The larger the city, the larger the SS Sunday insert (and the smaller the town, the smaller the insert size.) Thus, Smart Source coupons can vary by regions. Almost every Sunday, there is a SS insert in the newspaper. Visit Smart Source for printable coupons that change/vary each month.
RP – Red Plum. Much like SS, RP is a coupon resource both online and in the Sunday paper. The larger the city, the larger the RP Sunday insert (and the smaller the town, the smaller the insert size.) Thus, RP coupons can vary by regions. Almost every Sunday, there is a RP insert in the newspaper. Visit Red Plum for printable coupons that change/vary each month.
P&G – Procter and Gamble. Much likes the other inserts, P&G coupon resource is found in the Sunday paper. P&G inserts tend to be consistent across the board. In other words the same coupons tend to be in every city/town. Unlike the others, they come out once to twice a month. Usually around the front end of the month. P&G e-coupons HERE.
MFR – Manufacturer Coupon. A manufacturer coupon is put out by the company of the item represented. It can be combined with a store coupon in most locations (grocery stores/pharmacies.) Most MFR coupons have the most expensive item displayed as a picture on the coupon so it is important to read the fine print. Sometimes you can use a MFR coupon on a trial size item. When this is possible, it is best to do this because the savings is a much larger percent then if you were to buy they full size item. Ten bottle of trial size shampoo work just as well as one large bottle (and can end up being FREE!)
SC – Store Coupon. This is a coupon that can exclusively be used in the store in presents. For example if CVS puts out a coupon for Colgate, this can only be used in a CVS location. This SC can be combined with an MFR to produce a greater savings.
CC – Competitor Coupon. A CC is a store coupon that can be used in another store. For example, I could take a Winn-Dixie coupon and use it at Publix. You can also create a combination of mixing and matching MFRs, SCs, and CCs for an even larger savings! Two places that regularly take competitor coupons are Publix and Home Depot.
B1G1/BOGO – Buy One, Get One. The name basically supplies the definition. When you buy one product, you get the next product for free. In some locations, B1G1 sales reduced items to 50% off so you can only buy one item in the B1G1 sale. I will make a note of this when this is the case. In most locations, for B1G1 sales, two products need to be in the purchase. I personally appreciate B1G1 sales because you can use two coupons. You are getting two products!
WYB – When You Buy. An example of when this phrase is used is get $1 off product x when you buy product y.
YMMV – Your Mileage May Vary. Your mileage may vary is a phrased to describe the situation where you have success at one store and not at another store. This is usually the case because clearance items, sales, or managers discretion may change per store. YMMV can be the case for two stores in the same city or for two stores on different sides of the country.
MIR – Mail in Rebate. A mail in rebate is a situation where you get back a percentage of the amount you spent on a product. A MIR usually requires a UPC (universal product code – CHECK ON ACTUAL ACRONYM – bar code on the side of a box) , original cash register receipt, a form all mailed in a self stamped envelope. During a MIR, you do need to pay for the product upfront but are refunded your money either in the form of a check or gift card. Sometimes, MIRs provide you with a product instead of the refund of a check/gift card. In this case, you would know this before sending in the MIR. On average, MIRs take around 8 weeks for a full refund.
FAR – FREE After Rebate. This case is usually accompanied with a MIR. The item would be FREE after you submit a rebate for a refund of a check/gift card.
$1 SS 1/4 – $1 coupon in the Smart Source Inserts on January 4th. I use this phrase when matching coupons to sales. If we were talking about Dove Deodorant, I would be directing you to cut the $1 Dove Coupon in the Smart Source Insert that came out January 4th. If you keep your inserts intact, with the date on the front, this is easy to locate. You can keep them in a binder, in a file system, or cut them up and arrange the coupons by month or by type (health and beauty in this case.)
OOP – Out of Pocket. This is the money you are required to pay out of pocket. This money is usually amount you will pay before a rebate or “reward money” found in the form of Extra Care Bucks or Register Rewards (See CVS 101 and Walgreens 101 below.)
WFC – Weekly Flyer Coupon. This is a coupon found in a store weekly sales flyer. This coupon is required for the discount on the item. It is not a “clip free” coupon.
$1.50/2 – $1.50 off two items. In this example you get $1.50 of the price of two items. If I do not provide a back slash and number, then the discount is off one item. I provide the discount price followed by a slash and number to share with you when you have to buy more than one item for the coupon reduction.
ECBs – Extra Care Bucks. This is a money system found at CVS stores. It is like paper money that can be used on products in their store only. ECB sales are found weekly in their store flyer. Sometimes, CVS has items that are FREE after ECBS (much like the FAR system.) See more on shopping at CVS with ECBs below.
Wags – Walgreens. Acronym used for Walgreens.
RRs – Register Rewards. This is a money system found at Walgreens (Wags) stores. It is like paper money that can be used on products in their store only. RRs sales are found weekly in their store flyer. Sometimes, Wags has items that are FREE after RRs (much like the FAR system.) See more on shopping at Walgreens with RRs below.
Related Posts:
Eight Tips to Couponing HERE
CVS 101 HERE
Walgreens 101 HERE
WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.
by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Beginners 79 Comments
If you are new to Frugal Coupon Living, take a look at Frugal Coupon Living’s Features as well as the printable store feature.
1) Stay Organized
Overall organization is critical to maintaining sanity and realizing long term value. There is nothing worse in couponing than going into a store unorganized. Have your list, your coupons, and know your sale. Leave the rest in the car. A little prep work in needed before you hit the stores.
2) Know the Code
There is a secret formula. A sale + a MFR (manufacturer) coupon + a SC (store coupon) + a CC (competitor coupon) = freebies, moneymakers, and cheap items. When possible combine these things. In addition to the secret formula, you need to know the acronyms (see my side bar for examples.)
3) Be Flexible
Break from brand loyalties, there are a lot of great coupons out there if you are willing to try new things. You will find when combining coupons you end up buying most of the brands that are most expensive for the least amount of money. Don’t worry about having to only buy the generic items.
4) Learn to Stockpile
When there is an amazing sale combined with a large coupon you must stockpile. Know your store sales, how frequently things go on sale and then save enough until the next sale. This might mean you need several copies of a coupon…getting multiple copies of newspapers is a good idea. A general rule of thumb is one copy of the paper for as many people in the house – four people in the house would mean four Sunday papers. If you find you are in a time when you can not coupon as much, cut back to two papers. You at least one two papers, so during B1G1 sales you have a coupon for each item.
5) Reward Cards Are Your Friend
Many stores offer great incentives only for those who are reward card holders. Sometimes it is best to get reward cards of stores not even in your area because some stores will take those competitors’ coupons that might come to your address for being a club/reward card member.
6) Understand the Fine Print
Make sure you read the details so you truly understand what is on sale and what items for the coupon will work. Most manufacturers display the most expensive item on face of the coupon. Consumers look at the picture and select that item. If you read the fine print there might be a cheaper item for which you could get the discount (one example is a trial size item.)
7) Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
Frugal Coupon Living has done the work for you. Don’t get stressed trying to plan your shopping list. Use this website to see what is on sale each week and what is matched to a coupon. If you do not have the coupon, don’t buy the item unless your family is in need (sales are good, but they are even better with coupons.) Look at my shopping lists then create your own list.
8) Manage Your Time
I realize that gathering your coupons, list of sale items, etc can take some time and can make going to the grocery store difficult. If you are strapped for time, I encourage you to shop the B1G1 sales, items that are significantly reduced, and at least take along printable coupons attached to the lists provided on Frugal Coupon Living. Sometimes, I personally find, hunting for the coupon in my coupon binder can be more difficult than just selecting print on my computer. Do the best you can and don’t be hard on yourself for what you didn’t’ do, rather rejoice in how much you did save!
Related Posts:
Couponing Acronyms and Explanations
WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.
by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Beginners Leave a Comment
Some basic budget saving principles to follow are using coupons when items are on sale, stocking up on items that you frequently use and going to more than one store for your purchases. Often I buy the smallest rice, diaper package possible because I am more likely to get that item free. Most stores allow you to stack coupons. That means that you can use a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon on an item that is on sale and often get that item for pennies or even better for free. When I first began couponing, I learned how to coupon at one store at a time. Some stores can be confusing at first, but I have posted the basics for each of the stores that I have learned to coupon at. Coupons really can help you save much money and live within your budget.
To help those of you who are new with this, I’ve come up with a Weekly Plan to ease you into couponing and explain some things along the way. I hope you enjoy and start saving money.
Week 1 – Getting Organized
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons. This may seem overwhelming, and you may think – why do I need all of these? Start by clipping all of them because you’ll be surprised at the coupons you can use and then get paid for buying an item that you had already gotten for free. Since you don’t know which ones of these there are yet, clip all of them.
* Print all coupons from bar in the left column. (You can click “See all Coupons,” then select to print all.) (You can also print coupons from SmartSource.com and Redplum.com)
* Buy a 3 ring binder, baseball card holders, and dividers. Click here and here to see how to organize this notebook.
* Unless you’re Superman or Wonder Woman – don’t try and shop this week.
Week 2 – Get Started (Rite Aid and 1 Grocery Store)
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons. For reasons why see week 1.
* Print all coupons from bar in the left column. (You can click “See all Coupons,” then select to print all.) Check back at Smartsource.com and redplum.com to see if there are any new coupons to print.
* Using Budget Saving Mom’s deal finders (the drugstores should be published Sunday/Monday, and the grocery store deals will come out Monday/Wednesday/Thursday), pick a drug store and one grocery store to go to. I would suggest starting with Rite Aid because they are the easiest to follow. To see Rite Aid’s policy click here. For a list of all store policies and budget saving tips, click here. REMEMBER YOU HAVEN’T STOCKPILED VERY MANY COUPONS YET, SO YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GET ALL THE DEALS THAT ARE LISTED. BE PATIENT, WITHIN 3-4 MONTHS, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET THE ENTIRE LIST OF DEALS.
* BEFORE going to the stores, get two envelopes and label them with the names of the stores. Print the deals from Budget Saving Mom’s site that you plan on buying. Pull the coupons that correspond to the deals that you will be getting and put them in the envelope. You can still bring in your notebook and search for additional deals after you have gotten the items from your list in your cart (or stroller if you are like me.)
* Since you’re new at this and until you have a good idea of how much you should pay, limit yourself to buying only items that are free, less than a dollar after coupons, and things that you are pretty sure you will use. Remember, when you’re buying an item that you can get multiple sizes of, get the smallest size you can to maximize the amount of money you will save. (For example if you have a $1 off coupon for a body wash, buy the 4 oz. one that costs $1.25 as opposed to the $3.50 8 oz. one).
Week 3 – Rite Aid and another grocery store
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons.
* Print all the printable coupons on the sidebars.
* Go to your drug store from last week. And using Budget Saving Mom’s deals that are listed, pick the best money saving grocery store for this week to go to.
* Do the same as last week. Print your list, highlight which items you’re getting, and put your coupons in an envelope and bring your list. Also, bring along your notebook for any extra time you may have to find other deals.
Week 4 – CVS and a grocery store
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons.
* Print all the printable coupons on the sidebars.
* Try out CVS. When you get into the store, don’t forget to get a CVS card BEFORE you make your purchases. To see how CVS works, click here. Limit yourself to only purchasing those things that you can get Extra Care Bucks back and that will then turn out to be free or moneymakers.
* Also, pick the grocery store with the best deals for this week, print your list, pull your coupons and envelopes and hit the road. Print your list, highlight which items you’re getting, and put your coupons in an envelope. Also, bring along your notebook for any extra time you may have to find other deals.
Week 5 – CVS again with extra care bucks and a grocery store
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons.
* Print all the printable coupons on the sidebars.
* Do CVS again, this time you can spend some of those Extra Care Bucks, but make sure that you are also purchasing something that will replenish your Extra Care Bucks stash.
* Pick your grocery store to shop at. Print your list, highlight which items you’re getting, and put your coupons in an envelope and bring these items with you. Also, bring along your notebook for any extra time you may have to find other deals.
Week 6 – Walgreens
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons.
* Print all the printable coupons on the sidebars.
* If you’re feeling bold, you can try out Walgreens. Click here for instructions on how to save at Walgreens.
* Pick your grocery store. Print your list, highlight which items you’re getting, and put your coupons in an envelope and bring these items with you. Also, bring along your notebook for any extra time you may have to find other deals.
So, there you go – you’re 6 weeks into this, your stash of coupons should be building, and you should be saving money!
For additional information:
1. Stocking Up (buying more than you need right now to save later)- a new way of shopping.
2. Balancing Coupons with Life: part 1, part 2, part 3
3. A Newbie Success Story
4. Store Policies
5. Additional ways to get coupons
6. Budget Saving Tips when shopping
7. Budget Saving Freebie Tips
For even more tips including how to organize coupons, click on basics for beginners on the right side of the site.
Rene and Karen
Budget Saving Mom
http://www.budgetsavingmom.com/
WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.
by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Beginners 1 Comment
The first bit of advice I have is DON’T GET OVERWHELMED! When all this stuff is new to you, it can seem like too much information. Just go slowly through and give yourself time to absorb it all. It is most helpful to open up a second screen and follow along on the actual HCW site.
All beginners are required to start by joining the HCW Trader In Training program. Read the rules and follow the program carefully. If you have any questions the moderators are very helpful. You will need to stay in the program for 30 days, and until you have received 5 positive feedbacks. After that, you can send a request to your moderator to move you up to Trader status. This allows you to host an auction, bid on auctions, ride a coupon train or join a secret pal exchange.
Now on to the details of trading:
The first steps to trading are a bit tedious (but well worth the hassle). You need to establish your HAVE LIST & WISH LIST. You’ll find these tabs on the coupon database page shown above. Before we begin, let’s locate the following items on this screen:
1) The Have List, Keep List, Wish List and Trades (Actual and Potential) tabs.
2) Find the box entitled Description. This is where you’ll type in the coupon you’re looking for.
3) Find the column entitled Action. To the far left of every coupon description, you’ll find a drop down menu in the Action column.
The Actions column will be very important in establishing your list. The pic above shows what the drop down menu looks like.
Your options are:
• Report – choose this if you need to report a problem with a coupon listed
• Have List – choose this to add this coupon to your Have List.
• Keep List – I don’t use this feature much, but if you find a coupon that you have, but don’t want to trade, you can start a Keep List by clicking this option.
• Wish List – these are coupons you’d like to trade for. Personally, since I have so many insert coupons, I have a lot of peelies, winetags, tearpads and hangtag coupons on my wishlist. Sometimes folks who have these are willing to trade for printable coupons (no photocopies), PS (postage stamps) or CC (concealed cash). Because of the risk associated with sending cash through the mail, I have always opted to trade for stamps. More on that later.
For now, you can use the search feature to go through and find all the coupons you have, and all those you want and use the Action menu to add them to your lists.
Next, we’ll be using a cool feature found under the tab Trades (Actual and Potential). Here’s what my screen looks like:
You’ll see there are three new tabs within this tab:
~Incoming – tells you who has the coupons YOU WANT. The above screenshot is taken from the Incoming tab.
~Outgoing – tells you who wants the coupons YOU HAVE.
~History – Shows your trading history.
Let’s use the first item on my incoming list as an example (remember, this is a list of coupons I want to find). The first coupon is for a FREE Dove Body Mist when you buy a Dove Deodorant. Next to the coupon description, you’ll find a column that lists who has this coupon. Clicking on the drop down menu will give you a list of more traders who have it.
Trader Details Button – this will show you the history and feedback rating of this trader.
Trader Lists Button – this will show you the Have and Wish list for this trader. You can use this to determine a potential trade.
Initiate Trade Button – brings up a pop-up screen (shown below). You can specify your trade proposal here and it will be sent to the trader.
It’s always a good idea to send a private message to this trader as well, just in case they don’t regularly check their trades lists.
TRADING TIPS:
~Keep your coupons well organized and your lists updated for better trading success.
~Keep in mind the price of a postage stamp when determining if a trade is worth your while.
~If you are a Trader In Training, some traders may be hesitant to trade with you. It will help if you let them know that since you’re in training, they can wait to send their part of the trade until they receive yours!
~Find the best coupons to put on your Wish list by searching for only Winetags, Peelies, Tearpads or Hangtags. These tend to be high value coupons for items like meat, produce, snack foods, cheese, etc.
ADDING A LINK TO YOUR HAVE/WISH LIST IN YOUR SIGNATURE:
Once you have your Have List/Wish List finished, you can place a link to these lists as part of your HCW signature. This makes it easier for your friends to find your list. Here’s how:
To the far right of the screen (you may need to scroll right to see it), is a box with your HCW user info. Just above your avatar, you’ll see a link that says User CP. Click on it. You’ll come to a page with a list of menu items for changing your user info (shown below). Click on Edit Signature.
You’ll get a screen containing your current signature. This signature appears each time you post in the HCW Forums. To add your Have List/Wish List, type the words: Have List/Wish List in the box.
Next, highlight the words with your mouse and click on the “world” icon
as shown below:
You’ll see a pop up appear asking for the URL. Type in:
http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/userlist.php?membername=yourmembernamehere
replacing “yourmembernamehere” with, well, your member name! Now you’ve created a link to your list! Save the signature, and voila! You’re officially ready to dive into the coupon trading world! If you have any questions, you can email me at momsbyheart at gmail dot com (spaces removed).
Thanks, Lori at Moms by Heart
WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.
by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Beginners Leave a Comment
Forums exist to give couponers a place to discuss current deals, ask questions, learn the ropes and share experiences with each other. They are grouped into categories:
~Greetings & Getting Started
~Swingin’ Deals
~Free Deals
~Show Me The Deals
~Happy Holidays
~Forums For Trading: Share The Wealth
Within each of these categories, you’ll find relevant discussion threads. Here is what the GREETINGS & GETTING STARTED forum looks like:
This forum is where you’ll find the Hot Coupon Rules, Couponing Basics tutorials and the Trader In Training Program. Trading coupons is the best and most affordable way to grow your stash, and this program is intended to help “get your feet wet” in the trading world so you learn how it works. Your first trades will be under the supervision of a moderator who will be there to help you every step of the way. Very often you’ll be able trade for peelies, tearpads, hangtags, rebate forms and other hard-to-find stuff. Here’s a pic from one of my favorite HCW trades:
I’ll cover the basics of trading in a later post. For now, the best way to learn is to take some time and look around this section of the forum.
Next, we’ll look at the forum category called Swingin’ Deals:
My favorite.
Here you’ll find the latest and greatest deals, clearance items and unadvertised bargains for just about every store under the sun brought to you by fellow HCWers! Wanna know what’s been spotted on clearance at CVS? Looking for a JoAnn’s Fabric printable coupon? You’ll find it here! Take a few minutes and look around this section so you know what’s available.
Next, scroll down until you find Forums For Trading: Share The Wealth.
Once you’ve completed the trader in training program, this will be one of your favorite spots. You’ll find:
~Coupon auctions
~Items up for trade
~Coupon Trains
~Classified ads
~Trading rules
And lots more.
Even if you’re still a Trader In Training, it will help you learn the ropes to see what is available and how folks are trading here.
Now, on to the Coupon Database. This is by far the most comprehensive database of coupons around. If a coupon exists for a particular item, chances are it’s listed here. To view the page below, click on the Coupon Database link shown with the black arrow:
You’ll see several tabs:
• Search (in orange)
• Have List
• Keep List
• Wish List
• Trades (Actual and Potential)
For now, we’ll discuss the Search feature, since the other four pertain to trading. You’ll see a Description box shown by the red arrow. Type in the name of the product you are seeking a coupon for and the results will be shown below it. As an example, in the screenshot below I’ve typed in a search for Kingsford Charcoal. I’ve also indicated that I’d like to see only insert coupons for this product. You can see the results show expiration date, insert date/type along with a description of the coupon. If I wanted to find a printable coupon for this product, I’d change the Source option to Printables. Easy as that, you can find out how and where to get the coupons you need!
Thanks goes to HCW for allowing me to use these screenshots and of course, for helping me save so much moolah! Be on the lookout for the next tutorial, which will explain the HCW trading system!
WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.