McDonalds After School Snack Coupon Booklets

Right now at your local McDonalds you can purchase an After School Snack coupon booklet for $1.

• 3 Free Baked Pies
• 3 Free Apples Juice/Milk Jugs
• 3 Free Small Cones
• 3 Free Apple Dippers/Small Fries

Coupons expire 12/31/2011 so grab a couple!

Organizing Coupons

Now that you have started to collect your coupons you need to organize them in a fashion where you can find them when you need them. The following methods are a few that I have used in the past.

• Pencil Box Method: Cutting coupons out of inserts and putting them in a pencil box. Pros: Coupons are stored in same place. Cons: Difficulty finding coupons you need quickly.
• Accordion File: I used a small accordion file and organized my coupons as household, food, toiletries, etc. I then filed the coupons in each category based on expiration date. Pros: Small enough to keep in your purse and carry into the store. Cons: Although it is organized into categories it is still difficult to find the right coupon when you need it.
• Envelopes: Very similar to accordion method, but used envelopes.
• 3 Ring Binder: This method was very effective for me when I really started couponing hardcore. You take a large 3 ring binder and put a package of baseball card holders in it. Then stick tabs to the baseball card holders to create categories. Clip your coupons and stick them in a slot so you can easily view them. Pros: Very easy to find the coupon you are looking for. Cons: Time consuming to clip every coupon & file into each category.
  
• File Inserts: This is the current organization method I am using. I take each insert and date them with a sharpie on the front. Next, I go through the inserts and type each coupon into an excel document that I print each week. Then, I file the inserts in a page protector in a 3 ring binder. Before I head to the store I clip the coupons I want and place them in an envelope with my shopping list. I take my entire 3 ring binder with me but leave it in the car. If I see a sale that I wasn't expecting I will go through my excel document and see if I have a coupon in the car that I can use. Pros: Save time by only clipping coupons that are to be used. Cons: Have to run to the car when an unexpected sale is found.

I hope this post is informative. Please comment if you have found a method that works for you that I haven't mentioned. I would love to share new ideas.

Where to get Coupons?

When you start couponing it may seem overwhelming at first. I am going to post several blogs throughout the rest of the month to help you through the process. I will be the first to admit that I am not finished learning everything there is to know about couponing, but I hope the knowledge that I share can benefit you.

The first thing you need to do to get started is to collect coupons. When I first started couponing I would grab a Sunday insert and clip a few coupons here and there. I had no idea the different types of coupons that exsisted.

Here is my list of coupons I use reguarly:

• Sunday Inserts-You can find these in the Sunday paper. There are 3 major "brands" of Sunday inserts. SmartSource (SS), RedPlum (RP), and Procter & Gamble (P&G).
• Printable Coupons-Can be found at a variety of websites such as coupons.com, couponbug.com, Money Saver Marketplace, coolsavings.com, & smartsource.com. Google Printable Coupons and there are over 11,500,000 results.
  
• Manufacturer Websites-Many manufacturer websites already have coupons available on their website that you can print.
• Magazines-You can find numerous magazines that have coupons in them for example, Parents, Parade, Women's Day, and my favorite All You! All You! Magazine has at least $50 in coupons each month. You can get a free trial of All You! here.
  
• Home Mailers- Many companies offer coupons mailed to your home when you sign up on their website. When I find these I always try to share it with my readers so you can get in on it too.
• Junk Mail-Almost every week I get junk mail in my mailbox, which generally includes a current Wal-Mart Ad, and several other advertisements (almost always a satalite company) included in this junk mail have been some great coupons recently. The name of the insert is called Smart Marketplace.
• Peelies-coupons found on a product that you are purchasing that you can use now, or peel off and use later.
• Tear Pad-Manufacturer coupons that are found in grocery isles that you can tear off a pad.
• Blinkies-Also found in grocery isles, but usually a big red box that blinks and sometimes is motion sensored.
  
• Wine Tags-found on wine bottles that can be used toward wine purchase or as a mail in rebate (MIR).
• Catalinas-coupons printed with your receipt at the grocery register that you can use toward your next purchase.
• Contact Manufacturer-Many times there is a product that I use all the time that I never see a coupon for. You can e-mail, call, or snail mail the manufacturer and ask them if they have coupons for consumers that purchase their product regularly. You can also contact the manufacturer if the product is damaged, defective, or unsanitary (say you find a bandaid in your microwave meal). Most manufacturers go out of their way to make the consumer happy to promote repeat sales, this usually means coupons for free product.
• Purchasing Coupons-There are a few websites where you can purchase coupons. My favorite is Coupons & Things by Dede. Dede is located in TX so it takes about 4 days for the coupons to be delivered to my mailbox. I don't purchase coupons all the time, but I have found that coupon amounts are a lot higher on her website. Purchasing coupons is also a good idea if you are wanting multiples of a certain coupon.
  

I hope this is helpful! If you can think of other ways to find coupons feel free to comment & I will ad it to this blog.