The Holiday season is the BEST time to find great coupons at all sorts of places. Why? Manufacturers know that food is a big part of Holiday Traditions - and they'd like to become YOUR tradition. If you decide to use Libby's canned pumpkin for your Thanksgiving dessert, then you'll probably decide to use the same brand next year ("tradition!"), and the year after that, and your daughter will remember and carry on that tradition with her family!
Their motive is clear: if Libby's can lure you in with a high-value coupon this Holiday, they stand to get generations of repeat business. So how do you take advantage of their logic to get all the good ones out there?
1. Variety is the Spice of Life!
If you ALWAYS go to Bi-Lo, and you've got everything they have to offer, shake up your routine a bit. Stop in a Dollar Store for toilet-paper or milk, swing by K-Mart for... some made-up reason. No matter what store you find yourself running into, take the time to speed-walk down every aisle looking for tearpads and blinkies. I have even gone out of my way (to SuperSaver) just on a hunch that they might have good tearpads that haven't been stripped bare. They did!
2. Ask and You Shall Receive
Occasionally, coupons are kept behind counters. For instance, sometimes the cosmetics counter at Walgreens has coupons that they haven't put out yet. I can't guarantee you they will give you one, but it never hurts to ask! Also, sometimes gas stations keep coupons behind the counter. Give it an extra glance next time you're paying for something!
3. You're Getting Warmer....
Don't just scan the shelves for coupons- get creative. Think, "If I were a tearpad, where would I hide?"
A-HA! That cardboard display! or
A-HA! That Christmas-y Arrangement of Baking Supplies!
4. Share the Love!
I know, I know, all this may sound a little bit crazy... but how will you feel next time we match up a BOGO item to some obscure Holiday Savings Booklet... and YOU have it! There's only one rule in this Scavenger Hunt, and that is the Golden Rule of Couponers:
Take a COUPLE, leave the rest! There are so many of us, and so few tearpads.... please don't be a "Scrooge" this Holiday Season!