Carver Hill

Have you ever seen a coupon? Do you know that coupons have saved a lot of money for people? Did you ever think, “maybe I should try couponing too” but then you thought, “I don’t know how.”

 

Couponing can be intimidating at times, but in reality, it’s not. You just need to know where to get these coupons and how you could make the most of it!

 

Don’t worry, starting is really hard, not only in couponing – also in life. Anyway, The Balance gives us the prefect step by step guide to couponing effectively!

Where to Look for Coupons

There are lots of coupons up for grabs, if you know where to find them. By far, the best places to look are:

• Newspapers: The Smart Source and RedPlum coupon inserts appear on a near-weekly basis. The Procter and Gamble insert appears at the start of each month. If there are a lot of good coupons in this week’s paper, consider buying extra copies. Dollar Tree sells papers at a discount, so a lot of couponers buy their extra papers there. If clipping isn’t your thing, you can also print or load coupons to your store loyalty card at the Smart Source, RedPlum and P&G Everyday websites.
• Coupons.com:  This website has hundreds of printable grocery coupons. They typically allow you to print two of each coupon, so be sure to max out your prints.

• Grocery and Drug Store Websites: Most store websites now offer coupons that you can download directly to your store card. This includes both manufacturer coupons, as well as store-specific coupons. Get in the habit of checking for new coupons before you head to the store. Sometimes there are even freebies. To redeem your coupons, just present your store card at checkout. Easy!
• Cell Phone Apps: Coupon Apps like iBotta and Checkout51 make it easy to earn cash back for things that you’d buy anyway. Save even more by pairing an app deal with coupons. This is a good way to snag a bunch of freebies and moneymakers.
• Magazines: Women’s publications such as All You, Woman’s Day, Red Book, Family Circle and Good Housekeeping frequently carry manufacturer coupons. All You even puts together an index of all the coupons that are included in each issue. Take a peek at some of these magazines the next time you’re waiting in line, and you may just decide that buying a subscription is more than worth the cost.
• In store: Look for coupons on store shelves, on products and on the back of your receipts. Also look for coupons to print out at the register. If you see a “Try Me Free” sticker on any product, check the packaging for a rebate offer. Shampoo companies frequently run these types of promotions.

Additional places to look:

• Junk mail: High-value manufacturer coupons have started to appear in junk mailers, so be sure to look before you toss them.
• Direct from the manufacturer: Check manufacturer websites for printable coupons or contact companies (by mail, e-mail or phone) to request coupons. Often just a quick note to let a company know that you love their products is all it takes to get a bunch of coupons.
• Store mailings: Get a frequent shopper card for the grocery stores that you shop, and you may be rewarded with special coupon mailings that are customized to your purchase habits. It’s a great way to get coupons for produce, meat  and other items that you rarely find coupons for.
• On products: Look in and on the packaging of the products that you buy for special loyalty coupons. There may be coupons on your favorite cereal that you can use on your next purchase.

How to Keep Coupons Organized

There are lots of ways to organize coupons; the key is to find the approach that works best for you. Three options to consider:

• Clipping out all coupons
• Clipping out just the coupons that you intend to use
• Leaving the coupon inserts intact, and clipping coupons on an “as-needed” basis

Whichever approach you choose, there are several things that you can do to ensure that your coupons remain neat and accessible:

1. Develop a filing system. Many couponers organize their coupons by grocery category—dairy, frozen foods, deli, etc.—but it’s not the only way to go. Find a filing system that works for you–by aisle, by expiration, etc.—and put it into action.
2. Find a container to hold your coupons. Use a shoebox, a storage container, a coupon binder, a coupon wallet or a recipe box—it doesn’t matter what you choose—but it is important to have a landing spot for all of those coupons.
3. File coupons the same day you get them. Okay, so you may not always have time to file your coupons right away, but try to file them as soon as you can. This will prevent them from getting lost, and save you the hassle of having to sort through a big mess of coupons all at once.
4. Purge regularly. Expired coupons won’t save you money, so don’t let them hog space in your coupon file. Set a schedule for purging expired coupons, and stick to it.

Getting equipped in couponing is always the best way to use it effectively, also be keen and explore the greatest option for the greatest deals.

 

If you have your own style or you agree to the tips mentioned about, talk to us!

 

Deals. We here you. Deals. But what is the assurance that the deal you’ll be receiving is legit? What if it’s not and you’ve been set for a bigger loss? You don’t want that to happen right? So how do you know if a deal is legit?

 

Maybe you have been interested in buying something online and the deals sometimes look too good to be true? Maybe you have compared different sites and some sites seem to be fishy. Maybe you’ve even been a victim of buying from the wrong site, you lost your money and didn’t get the product.

 

To avoid these, read on.

 

Cnbc.com tells us Eight Signs You’re on a fake site.

Too-steep discounts

If you see a deal on an item that seems a little too good to be true, do some price comparison shopping before you click “purchase.” Visit websites of other retailers and see if you can find any similar deals on the same product. Usually, other retailers will try to compete if one is offering a big discount. DeMille recommends the website shopstyle.com, which is essentially a search engine for fashion products. “They vet the companies they’re working with, so they’re all legitimate,” DeMille said. You can search for the type of item or brand you’re looking for — and look for new sales and deals on that item. Let’s say you see a handbag for $50 on a site you’re not sure is legitimate. If you don’t see any on sale for under $100 on shopstyle.com, the site you saw is likely a fake.

Poor website design and sloppy English

Fashion companies specialize in design — and most spend good money on perfecting the design of their site. “They’re always going to want to have the best imagery of their products and it’s going to be shiny and fancy,” says DeMille. Poor-quality photos and cluttered, unprofessional-looking design are huge red flags that the site can’t be trusted. Also, read the fine print carefully before buying anything. Look out for strange wording or spelling and grammar mistakes, as it’s common for these sites to be run out of countries where English isn’t the first language.

A suspect domain name

Most retail websites have simple URLs — like michaelkors.com, louisvuitton.com or calvinklein.us. If the company has a trademark on its name, its domain name typically matches that name. If you see extra words in the URL like “deals,” “sales” or “super discounts,” as well as extra characters, there’s a good chance the website is a scam. You can also type an address into Google’s Transparency Report to see the site’s safety rating from Google.

The site hasn’t been around for very long

With some exceptions, most established brand names and retailers have been on the Internet for years. If you’re not sure about a site, check the Wayback Machine, an archive of the Internet found at archive.org. Users can look up a website and see archived versions of the website across time. “You can actually see what content used to be there, what design used to be there,” DeMille said. “It could be a big red flag if within the past year the website came into being.”

You can’t pay with a credit or debit card

Beware if the seller is requiring you to pay by money order, bitcoin, cash, wire transfer or a prepaid gift card. Reputable sites will almost always allow you to pay with secure methods, such as credit cards, debit cards or PayPal. With methods such as wire transfers, you have little recourse to get your money back. Also, go elsewhere if a site ever asks you for information that seems too personal or unnecessary for the transaction, such as your Social Security number.

Shady contact information

If the contact email given is a yahoo email address, or if there’s simply a form to fill out on the page instead of an address or phone number, watch out. Trusted retailers typically use their company name or the site’s domain name in their email address. An international contact number is another major sign something is amiss. Try calling the number if you suspect something isn’t right. If you don’t get an answer during normal business hours or the number isn’t in service, the site probably isn’t legitimate. You can also look up the website on GoDaddy’s WHOIS tool. WHOIS will show you the email address and phone number associated with the account, where the site is purportedly located, and the site’s creation date. If the site is located in China and the brand is based in New York, this could be a major tipoff.

Unclear refund policy

A trustworthy retailer will tell you how and where to return a product you’re unhappy with. Fake websites, on the other hand, will often have refund policies that are difficult to understand, hard to find or nonexistent. If you can’t find the policy, try contacting the company to ask them directly. Stay away if you get a vague answer. Also, if they’re shipping the product, they should give you an idea of when it will arrive. Be aware that the Federal Trade Commission requires sellers to ship items within 30 days of the order if no specific date is promised.

Poor reviews

Of course, bad reviews from other users is one of the biggest signs that a website is fraudulent. Type the company’s name and “scam” into Google and see if there are any complaints about the site. Also, you can check the Better Business Bureau for reviews or use their Scam Tracker tool to see if others have reported the site.

If you think you’ve been scammed

If you think you’ve already made a purchase from a fraudulent website, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, your state attorney general, or the Better Business Bureau.

Trust your instincts

Above all, go with your gut. DeMille says people are sometimes willing to suspend disbelief because they want the discounts they’re seeing to be real. “I think a lot of people kind of know in the back of their head that they’re on a website that’s maybe a little less reputable,” DeMille said. “If you have some hesitation, really dive in, do a little bit of research and try to determine if the website is official or not before putting in any of your credit card information.”

 

These will serve as guides for you, but make sure you’re also vigilant! If you have any other question about these, talk to us! We’d love your feedback.