Newspaper Coupon Inserts

View a preview of this week’s coupon inserts here.

If you get a Sunday newspaper, you know that each week you can find coupon insert booklets like the ones in the picture above. We usually see anywhere between 1 and 3 most weeks, with some weeks bringing 4 or more.

The inserts that I regularly find in my Sunday newspaper are:

* Smart Source

* Red Plum

* Proctor and Gamble

Occasionally companies such as General Mills or Kellogg’s will release special inserts as well.

You can find the name of your coupon inserts on the front page of the insert. For example, the three inserts in the picture above are Proctor and Gamble (P&G), Red Plum, and Smart Source.

No one method of coupon organizing works for everyone, but what I like to do is to clip only the coupons I am fairly certain I will use. I then file the rest of the (unclipped) coupon insert(s) in my coupon binder, just in case I decide to pull a coupon that I didn’t expect to use.

When I write my deals posts, I always reference a date along with the insert name when listing paper coupons (see examples here). I was recently trying to come up with a method of labeling my inserts so that I knew which date they were released when I discovered something….the coupon insert has the date printed on the binding! Take a look if you haven’t already…it is there along with the newspaper name that the insert was placed in. Now I have an easy way to keep my inserts in order when filing them in my binder.

Speaking of newspapers, it is important to note that not all coupon inserts are created equal. It seems that the larger the newspaper, the better the coupon inserts. While you can view a coupon insert preview online (here, for example), there is no way of knowing exactly which coupons will be in your paper until you have it in your hands.

You always have the option of buying coupons online or subscribing to a larger newspaper if you would like to take advantage of the more robust coupon inserts. I also like to hit up my local Drug Mart to purchase extra copies of the newspaper for $0.99 when the inserts are especially good. Check around your local area for stores that sell the Sunday paper at a great price.

Thankfully there is a growing number of printable coupon resources available online which help supplement the coupons that come in the Sunday newspaper, which is great for those who don’t subscribe, or who are looking for more coupons.