Couponing 101: Coupons in the Weekend Papers

In our area, I recommend buying the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
The Star Tribune carries many more coupons than the smaller local papers, because Minneapolis is a much larger market. Added bonus: Now Saturday's Star Tribune has the Sunday coupons in it! Get them a day early, and for only $1! If you don't find inserts in the Saturday papers or can't get out to get the paper on Saturday, the Sunday Star costs only $2, and is available at the same locations on Sunday.

Where can I buy the Star Tribune?
They are available first thing Saturday morning at most newsstands in the Fargo Moorhead area, such as Grocery stores, Gas Stations, even Drugstores like Walgreens and CVS! And, stores like Walmart and Target don't carry the newspapers.

How many papers should I buy?
When you're starting out, I'd say that 2 is enough just so that you're not overwhelmed. I quickly started buying 4 papers once I understood the benefit. The benefit is that when an item goes on it's rock bottom sale price combined with a coupon, you can buy 4 rather than just 1, since you bought 4 papers and have 4 coupons. This is part of my "buy-ahead" philosophy. We have a family of 3, and one is young child, so if you have a larger family, you might start with 4 papers. Now that I have a pretty well-stocked pantry and stockpile of necessities, I often opt for only 2 papers. Even now, though, if there is a week with several inserts or a few coupons I know I'll use, I buy 4 or more.

Check the paper for the inserts you're expecting before you buy - just to be sure all are included.
The worst feeling is getting home and finding no inserts in your paper! If you get strange looks from the cashier, just let them know you buy the paper for the coupons and are just checking to be sure all the inserts are included. :)

Sunday Coupon Preview
I like to know what to expect before I head out to get the paper. For a full preview, head on over to the Sunday Coupon Preview. If you know that there are 2 inserts scheduled for the weekend and find a paper with only 1 insert, you'll know to keep looking. If you don't find what you were expecting, it's possible the machine missed that paper, or that our area just didn't receive it. It's hard to know which. However, I often post a coupon preview on Saturdays, where others share what inserts they found. Hopefully that's a good resource!

Coupon Inserts
There are several brands of inserts in the paper. They are: SmartSource, RedPlum, P&G, and General Mills. When I refer to a coupon found in a coupon insert from the paper, I'll refer to it as the 3/14 SS if it was from the SmartSource. Or, 1/31 RP for the RedPlum insert from 1/31.

Note: I've had readers suggest the Twin Cities Pioneer Press as an alternative to the Star Tribune, if you can't find the Star on Saturdays. The Pioneer Press costs $1 on Saturday and Sunday and carries more coupons than the Fargo Forum. However, you will find that the Pioneer Press tends to have slightly fewer coupons than the Star Tribune.