Basics of Couponing

I will probably forget something here, but just bear with me! I'll add to it as it comes to memory :)

There are several different TYPES of coupons. The ones that everyone knows about and thinks of instantly when thinking of coupons are called inserts. They are the ones that are in the coupon inserts you get on Sundays (in some towns this days differs). For local people, it always pays to wait until Sunday and get the Columbus paper and not the LaGrange weekend paper because LaGrange only carries one type of insert....Columbus carries 4!
There are 4 different "brands" of inserts. You have Smart Source (SS), Red Plum (RP), Proctor and Gamble (PG), and General Mills (GM). Some weeks you get only 1 insert, some weeks up to 5! It just varies and there are previews out there to help you know which weeks you really need to be interested in!
I personally buy between 2-4 copies a week, but I also use Hot Coupon World (HCW) www.hotcouponworld(dot)com to get trades for the coupons I know my family can really use and stockpile on.

Another type of coupon is internet printable ones (IP). You have to have a printer to do this of course. There are several sites to get coupons from.
www.coupons(dot)com
www.redplum(dot)com
www.smartsource(dot)com
Then of course you get the special offers through companies on their Facebook site or company sites when they are offered.

Another type is called Blinkies. I remember these from when I was a kid :-) When you are walking through the store and you see the little machine on an isle with a little red light blinking with little cute coupons in them, that is a blinkie :-) It will typically be beside the product that it is for.

Another type is called Home Mailers. You get these either when a company sends something out to your community or when you request coupons or samples from various companies.

Another type is called catalinas. Kroger and Walgreens are the only ones in my area that I know of that have the catalina machines. They are a little machine that print out various coupons based on what you buy when your receipt prints. A lot of times Kroger will run a "Buy X amount of items, get $X.XX for on your next shopping trip". Wonderful coupons and that comes out of the catalina machines.

There are also Store Coupons which are specific for a certain store. Publix is big on this as they even have flyers in the front of their store LOADED with store coupons. Walgreens usually has coupons in their weekly sales paper, and of course the various rewards programs for each store (CVS -Extra Bucks, Walgreens - Register Rewards, Rite Aid - +Up Rewards).

I need to get my camera up and running soon so I can take pictures of all of the different types and post them :-)

Those are the main ones that I can think of right now. I know it is probably kinda confusing but it will all come together the more you read and learn :-).