How To Get Coupons

There are a variety of ways to get your hands on Canadian coupons. You can choose one or two that work best for you, or take advantage of every possibility!
Have a look at the options below to start building your coupon collection today! For any questions or if you have something to add, click the CONTACT button!

Online companies that will mail you coupons.
Printable Canadian Coupons.
Getting coupons with samples.
Finding coupons in store.
Newspaper Inserts
3 Tricks To Finding Coupons In Store




Online Companies That Will Mail You Coupons
There are several sites that will mail you coupons right to your front door. The ones that have the best reputations and selections are:

Save.ca
Websaver.ca
Brandsaver.ca
GoCoupons.ca

All of these allow you to select the coupons you want from their inventory, and they are typcially mailed within 2-3 business days.

To get started, simply set up a free account with each site, and check Save Big, Live Better! for updates on any new coupons that are posted for you to order!

All the sites except for Brandsaver.ca allow one account per household. Since Brandsaver.ca has coupons for some of the biggest brand names, they're usually the ones you'll want more of, so my husband has an account there too! This allows me to order multiple copies of a particular coupon I really need (ie diapers!)

I highly recommend always ordering ANY coupon you MIGHT use, this way you will always have them on hand if a great sale comes up, or to trade in the SBLB Coupon Trading Forum! Even if its a product your family doesnt typically use. (We'll go into this further in How To Use Your Coupons)


Printable Canadian Coupons
Printable coupons are definitely the most convenient form as you can print them as you need them, and sometimes can print as many copies as you need!

One myth associated with printable coupons is that you must have a color printer in order to print and redeem them. This is untrue. Black and white coupons are completely acceptable in store. Just make sure they are the highest quality your printer will allow to ensure barcodes and fine print are legible.

A collection of links to all the printable Canadian coupons available can be found on the Coupons page, as well as the Smartsource Printable Coupons page!

Occasionally you will see me write on the  Coupons  page "expiry depends on print date", which means exactly what it sounds like. It may mean 30 days from when you print, or 3 months, there's really no way of knowing until you print it. My best advice in these situations is to ONLY print when you are going to use it! You dont want to print one that turns out to have a short expiry on it from when you printed, and maybe the company/site limits you to only 1 or 2 prints per coupon!

You will need to download the coupon printer software in order to print Smartsource coupons in order to ensure the program can include all the security features the stores look for.

Not all retailers accept printable coupons, so please check your Store's Coupon Policy before heading out the door!


Getting Coupons With Samples
Getting coupons with samples is always a double win because not only do you get the typically higher value coupons, but you get to try the product before you buy!

There's a couple of sites that are great for getting free samples that typically come with coupons:

Brandsampler.ca
Samplesource.ca
ShoppersVoice.ca

Brandsampler is associated with Proctor & Gamble as Brandsaver.ca is. However, unlike Brandsaver, Brandsampler.ca is limited to one order of samples per household, per ordering period. New sample bundles are released periodically (about once every 8-12 weeks) so check Save Big, Live Better! for the up to date info on when the newest one is available for you to order!

Samplesource.ca is a newer program that was released in Canada in 2011. They are fabulous for sending sometimes FULL SIZE products for you to try, but because of this are very sought after and supplies deplete quickly, so you have to act FAST!

Lastly is Shoppersvoice.ca. This is a nationwide survey site. You will do one initial survey to detect your households shopping tendencies. Then, based on that initial info, they will send you samples, coupons, and sometimes additional surveys in the mail to continue to tailor the samples to your family.

For more on getting samples in the mail, check out the Getting Things For FREE page:)


Finding Coupons In Store
This is not difficult! What can be tricky is keeping track of all the available coupons and not missing out on any!
Coupons are all around you when you are in a store. Here's a few places to find them:
*tear pads
*sample stations
*product packaging
*flyers

Tear pads are attached to the shelving in your local grocery store and are placed next to the product they are promoting. I have found that 9 times out of 10 it is best to snag these coupons and wait until a later date to purchase as the items usually go on sale a few weeks after the coupons are long gone!

When you come accross a tear pad, dont grab them all! Please use a little coupon etiquette and only take 3-4 coupons at a time. If you are in the store again and there are still some there, grab another 3-4 if you like, but make sure you're leaving enough to go around!

Sample stations are usually good for high value coupons as they are usually promoting a new or improved product. Usually in these situations the company will release a higher value coupon than usual to encourage consumers to try the new product.

Product packaging is a huge one to keep your eyes on! The ideal situation puts you in a store purchasing a sale item, with a coupon, that also has future savings on the box! Sometimes, you will even end up getting coupons on the box worth MORE than what you've actually paid for it since you've gotten so good at saving! Those are the money makers:)

Flyers are great for telling you what's been marked down, but sometimes the store will also sneak a coupon for additional savings in the flyer to be clipped out. Even though you can find all the best sales and what coupons to use on the Weekly Matchups page, make sure you always give the flyer a quick glance as you enter the store...just in case;)


Newspaper Inserts
Newspapers will not always have coupons waiting for you to clip them, but about every 2-3 weeks you can find coupon inserts from RedPlum, Brandsaver, and SmartSource on your doorstep. Most local papers will carry these inserts, typically in the weekend editions.

If you don't recieve a newspaper subscription, have no fear! Save Big, Live Better! will let you know what coupons will be in the insert ahead of time so you can decide if its worth it to you to pick one up or not!

Another idea is to ask your neighbours or friends and family if they recieve the paper, and if they use their coupons. This is a great way to stock up multiples of certain coupons for FREE:)


3 Tricks To Finding Coupons In Store
There are several ways of collecting coupons when you go to the store. I like to group it into 3 simple actions you can take: scanning, stopping, and asking.

Scanning: Even though whenever I go to the grocery store it is with my list in hand, I will always do a “quick scan” of every aisle in case new coupons have been placed. When I do this, I am looking for tear pads. These will be pads of coupons that are attached to the shelving in front of the product they apply to. Typically they are attached to a larger advertisement of some sort to help get your attention, which makes it even easier to spot! 

These will not be on the top or bottom shelves, always in the middle, as they like to keep them at eye level, and easy for customers to grab…and not the kiddies!

All I do is walk the aisle, directing my eyes to the shelves on either side of me as I slowly walk to the end. Searching every aisle every time may seem very time consuming, but I assure you this takes me no more than 10 minutes, and I grab the items on my list as I pass them as well!

Stopping: This, unlike the “scanning”, is not something I do throughout the entire store every time! I will usually “stop” when I’m grabbing coupons from a tear pad, or picking up the items on my list. 

When I stop at these points, I am looking at the items in the immediate area to see if there are any coupons ON the products. These could be hang tags, peelies, or ones you will actually cut from the product packaging. 

Not only could you potentially spot a better deal than what you were planning since you’d be gaining additional savings for a future shop, but you can also use that knowledge to plan a purchase when that item goes on sale! 

Another stopping point for me is displays. Typically if a company has gone to the trouble of sending the store a stand to display their products off the shelving, they will post a tear pad, or some sort of special promotion (like a mail in rebate form) there as well. So always take a quick glance at these as you pass by!

Asking: The last, and easiest of the three…ASK! Don’t be afraid to ask the associates in the store if they know of/have any coupons for you! You’d be surprised what they can come up with for you sometimes! 

Now, I must add this point, DO NOT ASK YOUR CASHIER! There are two reasons for this:

1)You don’t want to hold up the line behind you and slow down service for other patrons!
2)In my experience, cashiers don’t really know too much about what goes on in the rest of the store.


The two spots I’ve found to be gold mines for “asking”…sample stands and customer service! Stop at each of these as you pass and just ask if they have any coupons, you may come up empty once in a while, but it never hurts to ask!
Follow these three actions, and you won’t ever read about a great deal that you DON’T have a coupon for!

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