Friday, August 3, 2012

Printable Coupons Reloaded & Subscription Coupon Sites...

This week has really been an adventure!  Monday, I needed my license for identification and whipped it out to show the lady who requested it.  Well, to my surprise and embarrassment, I found out when she exclaimed, "This license has expired!" that I had been driving around with an expired driver's license.  Oh, it expired January 6, 2012!

In the last 7 months, I have driven to Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina, and all over Maryland.  I am not a speed demon by any means but I do drive with "purpose"

It has been a rough week being under "house arrest" while going through all the steps trying to get my license renewed.  I have not been able to go couponing and there are some awesome sales awaiting my retrieval.  My husband said that he would "gladly" go with me but he quickly looses focus after 10 or 15 minutes.  His impatience is a distraction and often causes me to overlook obvious match ups, rain check opportunities, and unadvertised sales.  So, I opted not to take him up on his offer.  Hopefully, I should be able to get my new license in the morning.  

While sitting around under "house arrest", I have been downloading printables from manufacturers' websites and from other coupon printable sites like Coupons.com; Coupon Network; Red Plum; Smart Source; and "store" coupons to stack with the manufacturers' coupons from Target; Dollar General; and Family Dollar.  It is the beginning of the month and the coupon sites have been "reloaded" with some old favorites and lots of new brands to get you to try something new for a change.

Print your coupons before they run out.  You are allowed to print two coupons each.  Manufacturers will budget a certain amount of coupons and when that limit is met, they are gone until they reload the next month.  

Over the last month, I have been testing two "subscription" coupon sites: The Grocery Game and  The Savings Club. Both of the sites are paid subscriptions. However, I was able to access them both for up to 6 weeks for FREE! During that time, I evaluated whether or not they would be worth the subscription fees.  

The Grocery Game's subscription fee starts at $10 every 8 weeks ($1.25/week) and can go as high as $60 every 8 weeks ($7.50/week).  The Savings Club (Coupon.com) subscription fee is $3 per month (75¢/wk).  Coupon.com has a free site that is accessible to anyone who visits the website.  But you can also subscribe to their Savings Club printable coupons for a subscription of $3 per month or $30 year.  

I was very skeptical that either site would be worth the extra money.  Here's my evaluation of each:
The Grocery Game
  • The Grocery Game -  I have a very complex brain dynamic that prevented me from being able to decipher the workings of The Grocery Game.  I think that if you have the time, you may very well be able to win at The Grocery Game.  Thousands apparently have subscribed to this game and are saving big bucks.  But not me.  If you currently use coupon databases, you may find it easy to use The Grocery Game.  People who have taken the time and energy to figure out the Game are saving boat loads of money.  I was not able to figure out how to make the best of the savings offered in The Grocery Game.  So, I canceled it!  My recommendation:  sign up for the 6 week free trial and see for yourself.  If you have a problem, contact them.  They have really great customer support and it was very easy to cancel when I decided to do so.
  • The Savings Club - This website is just an extension of Coupons.com that is only accessible via subscription.  However, The Savings Club has a trial subscription that will give you a full 30 days to try out The Savings Club to see if it is worth it.  For example, The Savings Club gave me access to more coupons and more high dollar coupons that those available on the free coupons.com website.  
  • For my zip code "20705", I have 305 coupons worth $472.03 available to print without the subscription.  Once I access The Savings Club site via the log in link, I had access to 346 coupons worth $663.63.  Many of the coupons on the free coupons.com site have higher denominations.  As with the free site, you are not limited to coupons only in your zip code.  
The Savings Club
I have decided, for now, to continue my subscription to The Savings Club.  The additional higher dollar coupon denominations are currently saving me more than the $3 per month or 10¢/day.  I would recommend that you try The Savings Club  and The Grocery Game for the free 30 day trial.

Happy Couponing, 
ShaRon, The Bizzy Coupon Bee!



Here are some printable coupon links from manufacturers' websites courtesy of Coupons.com:  
(Note--if you have already printed this coupon on another site, it may not print again for another month.)
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