Week One: How to obtain a nice collection of coupons!

Collecting coupons has now become my favorite hobby! I feel happy when I have a pair of scissors in my hand and I am cutting away coupons! I started out with a very small envelope of coupons, and I am now up to three full binders!
How did I get this many coupons?? Very easy! One coupon at a time......
COLLECTING A WIDE RANGE OF COUPONS!!!
The best place to start your collection of coupons is your local newspaper. Just make sure you have it delivered to your house, as this will save you quite a bit of money over time. I subscribe to the Sunday edition only to keep the cost down.
Most Newspapers have done away with the Red Plum coupon inserts, also known as Valassis. If your newspaper doesn't have the Red Plum inserts, I suggest you go to www.RedPlum.com and sign up for their mailings. This coupon insert has a lot of very high value coupons in them each week. You don't want to miss out on these inserts!

The second place I want to suggest is the Internet! There are so many sites that have "free" coupons for you to print. Most printable coupons can be printed two times each/per computer. Take a minute to look at the right hand side of my blog listed, "Printable Coupons". I add sites all the time, so visit this area often. At the beginning of each month, the coupon sites reset their coupons and add new ones. I suggest you don't wait too long into the month, as they do allocate only a certain amount of coupons to be printed. I also have a coupon widget that changes their coupons frequently, so be sure to check back during the month. I will usually update my blog and alert my readers to any new coupons that come out during the month.
Other great places to get coupons would be your friends!! This is a wonderful resource you don't want to overlook. Ask relatives, neighbors, and friends if they use their Sunday coupon inserts. If they don't, ask them if you could be the recipient of them. I get a wonderful amount of coupons from my friends and family, who would otherwise, throw them out!!!
Exchange coupons with other avid couponers! "One man's junk is another man's treasure!"!!! I am thrilled when I get other couponers to swap coupons with me! I have hit the "gold mine" on several swaps!!

Start a coupon train. This is when two-four people get together and agree to put coupons they don't want in an envelope, and pass it to the next person in line. Each person collects coupons they don't want and adds them to the coupon envelope when it is their turn. They also can take out of the envelope as well. A good rule is to take out equivalent to the amount you put in, though you could always put more in. A coupon train is a very inexpensive way to get a very wide variety of coupons!
Another great way to obtain very high value coupons is to call the companies that make the products you love. Most companies are thrilled to hear positive feedback and are happy to send you a few of their manufacturer's coupons. I have scored a great deal of free items this way from companies like, Kashi, Arnold Bread, Glade, etc.
Keep your eyes open for the little blinkies you see in the grocery stores! These can be a wonderful addition to any one's coupon collection. These are the little black boxes that have a little light that blinks on and off. The coupons are usually a very nice value off of an item. Most are $1.00 off a product.
If you are one that likes to stock pile, and you would like a larger quantity of certain coupons, you could also order from coupon clipping services. These services, such as, "The Coupon Clippers" and "The Coupon Master" do a wonderful job at getting coupons out fairly quick. I have links to both of these companies on my right hand side of my blog. The cost of the coupons are for shipping and handling only as they cannot charge for coupons. I suggest you use these services for things you go through on a more regular basis, or if you see a really great sale on an item. I have used these services and totally love them. They come all clipped and ready to file among the rest of your coupon collection!
Watch for coupons on packaging!! My children are trained to look for coupons on boxes and bags prior to throwing them out. I have gained quite a few nice coupons from packages!
Subscribe to, All You Magazine. This magazine is full of great coupons. See the top of this post for ordering instructions.
Last but not least I want to suggest you be patient and have fun collecting these little pieces of paper!!! By cutting these little pieces of papers, that most throw out, you are becoming a more frugal shopper.
WARNING!!!! Coupon collecting is addicting and habit forming, and could cause lack of sleep!