Finding Coupons and Deals Online

I’ve always been a coupon cutter – my daughters call me “coupon mama” – but I am even more of a coupon fan now that I’ve been writing the weekly column for Patch. For the column, I search both locally and online for national deals for information on ways to save that I can pass along to Patch.com readers.

I am not the only one clipping coupons these days. The website for the Wall Street Journal has reported that the usage of coupons is up, with many people finding their coupons online (instead of clipping them out of the newspaper). These are some tips I’ve discovered along the way. If you have any tips to add, please feel free to add them to the comments below.

Don’t pay for shipping: Shopping online can be economical and a timesaver, but it’s less likely to save you as much money if you pay for shipping. I hardly ever pay for shipping, thanks in part because Amazon.com almost always offers a Free Super Saver Shipping deal on what I am ordering. If the item I want isn’t on Amazon, or Amazon isn’t offering free shipping for that purchase, I look for other online retailers who are by doing a Google search on my item with the terms, “free shipping.” When I searched for “free shipping, pillows,” for instance, I found out that pillow-superstore.com offers free shipping this month on orders.

Another way to get free shipping is to search for coupon codes online, or by visiting freeshipping.org to get free shipping codes and coupons. There, I found out that Macys.com offers free shipping on orders of $99 or more, which might work for buying my pillows.

Check coupon websites: Look at coupon sites like Smartsource.com and Coupons.com for coupons on your favorite brands. These two are among the biggest sites for grocery-store coupons, according to Bankrate.com. Some people also swear by CouponMom.com, which offers grocery and restaurant coupons, tutorials on couponing and a CouponMom blog on daily coupon deals.

Go to stores’ own websites: Many supermarkets offer their own websites where you can get coupons, so be sure to check those. For example, you can get coupons and save them directly to your ShopRite Price Plus Club Card at www.shoprite.com. You can also print paper coupons from your computer at shoprite.com.

Visit manufacturer websites: If there are certain brand names and products you like, try visiting that brand’s website. You can often find coupons on those sites, as well as register to receive future discounts and news on deals via email. For example, at www.pgeverydaysolutions.com, a website for Procter & Gamble products, you can register to receive emails and coupons about coupons and discounts, as well as provide your mailing address to receive free product samples. After registering with the site, I registered to receive coupons for $1 off Always Infinity maxi pads, $1 off one Charmin Megaroll and $1 off one Crest toothpaste.

Look for deals on Facebook and Twitter: You can also follow your favorite brand names and coupon sites, like @couponmom on Twitter to be alerted about upcoming deals, or “like” your favorite brands or coupon site like Coupon Mom and Coupon Divas on Facebook to find about bargains.