As we have new people joining the blog every week, I thought I'd post a few quick notes on how to make the most out of using this site.

• Welcome! My blog has a primarily Chicagoland focus, though now that my newspaper column, "The Coupon Queen" is syndicated nationwide, it also attracts readers from all over the country. If you're reading from out-of-state, some of the weekly deals may not apply to your local stores... but then again, some might. I know one reader in Hawaii does our Dominick's deals at her local Safeway!
• SAVE your newspaper inserts. When you get coupon inserts in your Sunday newspaper, save them all. Don't cut anything out, and don't remove the pages. You're going to need the inserts intact in order to be able to find the coupons easily later! Just write the date on the front (I use a Sharpie so it's really easy to read) -- stick the insert in a folder or expandable file and keep it.

  

  Coupons in inserts typically don't expire for 3-6 months, but some can have expiration dates as far out as 9-12 months! So you never want to throw an insert away until every coupon in it is outdated -- and don't just pay attention to the things you think you'll buy, either. You might be throwing coupons away for things that will be free later (really! Just ask any of the readers of the blog!) So keep them ALL.

  See this method illustrated on my Super-Couponing site!

  (Note that if you shop at Dominick's, their current policy is to accept expired coupons up to one year back. You may want to hang onto those inserts even longer...)

• My weekly deals page will reference each insert by an abbreviation, like "9/7 SS". This refers to the SmartSource insert from September 7th. Here's a primer on insert abbreviations:
  
  SS = SmartSource
  RP = RedPlum
  PG = Procter & Gamble
  KL = Kelloggs
  GM = General Mills
  U = Unilever
  AY = All You Magazine

  (All You is not a requirement for using the site, but if you like coupons, you will probably really enjoy it. It's a cheap ($2.49 an issue) magazine that is absolutely filled with coupons each month -- typically 20-30 of them. Many websites are now tracking the All You coupons and matching them to deals, just as they do with the newspaper coupon inserts. You can subscribe to All You online and save about $10/year off the cover price. And depending on the values, if you use 2 or 3 coupons alone from each issue, you've recouped the cost of the magazine, and you're on your way to even bigger savings!)

• I post deals every Tuesday morning. The deals reference coupons that appeared in the Chicago Tribune. Other newspapers do not have nearly as many coupons, so if you subscribe to another paper, you may not have the same coupons these deals are calling for. The largest newspaper in any market has the most coupons, and in our area, that's the Tribune.

  It's also a good idea to hang onto your weekly store flyers (grocery, drugstore, and general merchandise.) I typically cover Chicagoland deals from Jewel, Dominick's, Meijer, Hilander, Walgreens, CVS, Target, and Kmart.

  Any GROCERY store deals run through Wednesdays of the week they're posted. Any DRUGSTORE or general merchandise store deals run through Saturdays on the week they're posted.

  Hope this helps! Enjoy the weekly deals and the rest of the site! If you like these deals, please consider coming to one of my Super-Couponing classes! Most are FREE in the Chicagoland area, and you will learn how to find deals like these on just about everything that you buy!

  Note: If you're having trouble logging in, try using this alternate address for access: www.magnetic-media.com/jill/ - some people have trouble logging in at the main address for reasons unknown.