Take a Money Saving Train Ride

A coupon train can be a great way to save money, get extra coupons you can use, and get rid of the ones you can't use. It can also be a great way to discover new coupons you didn't know existed. For the cost of a stamp, it can be easy to get $10 worth of coupons you can use. Anyone can participate or start a coupon train. You can do so by joining a coupon message board like Mad About Saving or searching Yahoo Groups for different coupon groups.

The way a coupon train works is one person decides to start a coupon train. This person is called The Conductor. The Conductor will choose the name of the train, decide what kind of train they want to have, the rules for the train, how many passengers they want on the train, how many coupons will be required for each envelope.

If you wish to create a train, first make a post in the forum, stating the name of the train, the rules and any other details. Anyone who is interested in joining the train will PM you their name and address and the conductor will add them to the passenger list.

Once the conductor has received the desired number of passengers, they will print out the passenger list of the names and address they collected. They will mail this list in an envelope with the set number of coupons to the first person on the list. When the first person receives the envelope of coupons, the will take out any coupons they want, take out all expired coupons and replace them with coupons they don't want and mail it to the next person on the list. This continues until the last person on the list mails it back to the conductor. The conductor can then ask the passengers if they would like to do another round or retire the train.

There are several types of trains that can be created; such as, baby, pet, food only, household items, non Sunday inserts, regular train with all types of coupons or any other type you can think of.

Another type of train that is a bit more complicated but a lot of fun is called a Round Robin. It moves a lot faster than a regular train. The way a Round Robin works is The Conductor will gather a list of passengers the same way as they do in a regular train. The Conductor will create the passenger list and number the name and addresses. They will then mail or PM this passenger list to all the passengers. Each passenger will then print out the list and get an envelope of coupons ready and number the front of their envelope with the number The Conductor assigned to them. The Conductor will assign a 'mail out date' and on this date, everyone on the passenger list will mail out an envelope of coupons to the person after them. When you receive your envelope from the person before you, you will take out any coupons you want, take out all expired coupons and replace with coupons you don't want. On the front of the envelope write the number of the person you receive the train from. This way, when you get your number back, you will know the train has made a complete round for you. Then mail out to the next person on the list. This will continue and everyone will be receiving envelopes and mailing them out at the same time, unlike in the regular train it just moves from one person to one person at a time. The result of this is you will be receiving coupons every couple days, unlike a regular train where you receive the train once and that's it.