Free Printable Coupons 2012
I stumbled across the world of free printable coupons when I was running a question and answer reference website a couple of years ago. I'm not even sure now where we got the idea to publish some content about coupons that are available for various businesses, but the articles we published about free online coupons were hugely popular. I've been meaning to launch a new site on the subject now for several months, but I've only now gotten around to it.
The purpose of this site is to act as a directory of resources for people who want to save money. That means we'll include listings of where you can find great coupons and discounts. It also means that we'll include our observations and thoughts on the various coupon offers you can find online. If we only listed links to pages where you can find coupons, then we'd be offering a great user experience, but we think that by including additional information, analysis, and comparisons, we'll be providing one of the best coupon website experiences on the Internet.
Our
site is launching on September 12, 2011, and we plan to add content and
information about printable coupons to the site throughout the end of
this year and well into the year 2012. If you see a mistake on the site, or
if you want to advise us of something to include here on the site, we'd
appreciate it if you'd contact us with that information.
Free Printable Coupons
A number of sites offer free printable coupons. Some of them are better than others, and some of them are just downright ugly. Our plan is to honestly evaluate the kinds of Internet coupons that are available and provide you with our verdict. We think this will help you in your goals to save money.
What kind of people like to use free printable coupons?
My imagination tells me that most people like to use free printable coupons, although I'd also imagine that some people are shy or might be embarrassed about using a coupon. But I'm here to tell you that there's no reason to be embarrassed about using a coupon of any kind. Manufacturers and marketing people for the various merchants WANT you to use these coupons. It drives up the volume for their sales, and it encourages you to try new products that you might not have tried had it not been for the special offer that you took advantage of.
How much money can you save using free printable coupons?
That varies dramatically depending on what you're buying and from whom. I saw some coupons available for Dannon yogurt this weekend which reduced the price to 49 cents. The regular price for that yogurt was about $1.99, so you save $1.50 by using that coupon. That doesn't sound like much, since it's only a buck and a half, but look at this way--you're saving 75% of the cost of the product.
If you saved 75% on everything you ever bought, then you've tripled or quadrupled your purchasing power. In other words, you were able to buy $100,000 worth of product for $25,000.
If you worked for me, and I offered you a $75,000 a year raise, would you take me up on it? Even if it meant printing up some coupons and using them when you went shopping?
The reality is that you can't expect to save 75% on EVERYTHING you ever buy. But you can expect to save SOMETHING on ALMOST EVERYTHING you buy. And if you do, then you're giving yourself a raise.
A penny saved really is a penny earned.
Where are the best places to find free printable coupons?
That's the entire point of this site--to help you find the best places that offer free printable coupons. I can make a few recommendations right off the bat, just in general, about where you can find good coupon websites:
Those sites barely scratch the surface of what's available on the Internet, but between the directory listings for coupon sites in Yahoo and DMOZ and the two coupon sites we've listed, you can probably save a couple hundred dollars a month immediately. We especially like Coupon Mom and Deals Plus because the user interface is so friendly and easy to use there. (It doesn't matter how much money a coupon can save you if you can't find it in order to print it out.)
How can a beginner get started couponing?
The first thing a beginner should do in order to get started couponing is to get organized. If you're the type of person that doesn't take a list to the grocery store, then you're going to have a tough time being a couponer.
The next thing a beginner should do is start paying attention to when certain items are on sale at the various grocery stores in the area. If you can combine a coupon with something that's already on sale, you can save tremendous amounts of money on groceries and other household items.
Another step you need to take is to get rid of your brand loyalty preconceptions. If you want to save the maximum amount of money by couponing, then you need to be willing to try Pepsi instead of Coke once in a while, depending on which product is on sale and which product you have a coupon for.
Finally, look for some message boards where other frugal moms and shoppers hang out. Any endeavor is more fun when it's shared with other people who have similar goals, and there are lots of people on the Internet who are trying to save money using printable Internet coupons. Get to know them and enjoy the process. You won't stick with it if you don't enjoy it. Couponing is like dieting in that respect.