How to Earn MyPoints by Redeeming Coupons for Your Favorite Groceries

Recently, like a lot of people, I've found that money is a little tight and I have begun to search for bargains on things that I need to buy. My boyfriend and I have begun to clip coupons from the newspapers, and it is exciting to see the savings from the coupons add up at the end of each shopping trip. I also try to do my online shopping through the MyPoints website, since a lot of the purchases I am already making can qualify me for points which I can redeem for gift cards, essentially increasing the amount of stuff I am getting for the same price.

I was on the MyPoints website recently just browsing around and I saw a link at the bottom of the screen for "Printable Coupons." I clicked it, and I was taken to a page where I could pick real coupons that I wanted to print...and unlike some other coupon websites I've used, it was for things I actually wanted instead of for things I've never heard of. There were lots of big brands represented like Pillsbury, Kraft, General Mills and lots more. And it gave me 7 pages of coupons to choose from! Plus, the MyPoints website says they will give me 10 points for every coupon redeemed and 25 bonus points for every month I redeem at least 5 coupons. From the 7 pages of coupons on the screen, I found about 12 that I thought I would definitely use, so I selected those and printed them.

The first time I printed coupons, it had to install a printer plug-in with special security features, but it didn't take long. Then, viola! The 12 coupons I selected printed on 3 sheets of plain inkjet paper. They looked just like normal coupons with the barcodes and everything, plus there was a special "dot scan" barcode which I guess lets them link the coupon back to me when it is sent in for redemption. I took my printed coupons with me on my next grocery trip, and sure enough they scanned and were accepted just like coupons I had clipped from the newspaper. A few weeks after I redeemed my first coupon, a 10 point coupon redemption was shown in my MyPoints account reflecting the purchase. It's exciting because this is one of the only ways you can earn MyPoints on purchases you make in a real store, plus you're saving money in the process by redeeming coupons.

The printable coupons on the MyPoints website change every week, so be sure to check back frequently to see if there are more coupons worth printing. And after a few weeks, you'll notice your printed MyPoints coupons coming up frequently in your coupon stack, and it won't be long before you're regularly redeeming 5 coupons per month and earning 25 bonus points. And if you're not a MyPoints member, you should be...you can earn points on purchases you already make, and then trade those points in for gift cards that spend just like money at the stores you want to shop at. To print coupons or sign up for the MyPoints program, head over to http:///www.mypoints.com