Being a considerate shopper

When you have great coupons to use, it can be exciting! It is always so cool to great deals, and sometimes you can be tempted to clear the shelves if you have tons of coupons!

Remember to think about your fellow couponers, especially if the coupons are for something you don't necessarily use often enough to stockpile. There is no point to stockpiling anything you don't use. My least favorite thing is reading about a great deal only to arrive at the store to see empty shelves. Usually I even have my coupons all ready to go and everything, and it is a big let down. Then I get back and read the comments on all my sites and see people saying they picked up "ten of these" or "fifteen of those". I know it seems odd and impossible when most coupon print limits are only two or three at the most, but many people print from multiple computers, and have family or friends print them extra coupons. The only time it makes sense to me for someone to end up with fifteen packages of something is diapers. If you're buying diapers, then feel free to stock up. If you need anything feel free to stock up, but please be considerate.

For instance, when I find a great deal that I want to take advantage of, I always try to go to multiple stores if I'm buying more than three. I live in a place where there are multiple locations for most stores, so this is more convenient for me than for a lot of people, but if you don't have multiple locations of a store please try to make separate trips on separate days. That way you will see how people are buying and how much of something people are buying, and you will know whether or not other people are desperate for the same products you are buying. That way you don't end up buying all of something someone needs and uses a lot of, especially if you don't use or need a lot of it.

Also, just remember that if you have a ton of stuff in your cart to let someone go ahead of you who isn't using coupons or has five items or so. It makes people's day a lot of the time, and you will be surprised to find how many conversations are started just by letting someone go ahead.

Deal of the Day-BORDERS!

I love Borders. I think I could spend a whole day in there just looking at books and reading in corners. :)

There's currently a coupon for 40% off any one item! What an awesome coupon! You do have to be a Borders Rewards member, but it's free and quick and easy to sign up. You can do it online or in any store. :)

Here's the link to the coupon: http://www.bordersmedia.com/coup/marwk4fri.html?cmpid=

Happy Book Shopping!

This coupon is only good today and tomorrow so hurry and print the coupon out and hurry in!

First Deal of the Day!

I'm going to try to do a "deal of the day" every day. We'll see how I do, because sometimes there aren't deals for every day, but here goes.

This one is thanks to Hip2save.com for her notice about this deal!

Right now at Target, the Finish Quantumatic Dishwasher system is rumored to be on sale for 5.99 (normally around ten dollars). You can use the coupon from here: http://www.finishdishwashing.com/index.php to get three bucks off! Just click on the coupons and offers link down on the right hand side to get this coupon and print it out! Then you can head to Target before the week is over and pick up some laundry soap. Apparently this is an automatic dishwashing soap dispenser that has a little dial on it that tells you how much detergent is left. Pretty convenient. I hear it clips on somewhere in the dishwasher, like on the silverware drawer. :)

Note: From what I understand, this has twelve washes in it. So, it's not the best deal in the world, but it's a pretty good one, especially for only 2.99! Also this is the starter system, so you can purchase refills after it is empty. By then maybe some more coupons will be available for the refills!

Coupon Etiquette

I know you probably are already aware of regular store etiquette. (If you have a hundred items in your cart, usually let someone with five items go ahead of you, etc.) When it comes to couponing, there is a whole other set of etiquette rules that you should always try to follow.

1. If you are planning on doing more than one transaction, try to go during a time of day when the store will not be as busy. If there are huge lines, go through the line with your first purchase, then go back through the line again with the second one. Usually cashiers are not picky about this, but speaking as a cashier at a busy retail store it is kind of inconvenient to all the other customers when some of my customers want to do two transactions right in a row. It's always better to be safe than sorry. :)

2. I always let people go before me at smaller stores (like Rite Aid or Walgreens) because at these stores, I usually take awhile for the transaction because of all my coupons. This makes it so people are patient with the cashiers and patient with me. I often find it makes for conversations in line, and it can be a lot of fun to make someone's day just by letting them go ahead of you in line.

3. Don't argue loudly about coupons. Try to understand that cashiers are just trying to be as accurate as they can be to what they understand as their coupon policy. It helps if you carry the coupon policy with you so you can show them point blank if they are wrong. Either way, be gentle and patient with them and never try to show them up or anything. There are cashiers out there who treat you like you are stealing from the store, but you have to be gracious to them too. They are just trying to do their job, and maybe they are not having the best day in the world. Just try to be gracious about coupons and coupon policy.

4. Smile. A lot. I always try to seem as friendly as possible at the register. If the cashier is dealing with my coupons, I need to be friendly to them too. :)

5. Be ready when you get to the register. Pull out your coupons as you go through the store and pick up the items you will be purchasing. I like to reserve the front area of my coupon organizer for this purpose. I pull out each coupon and place it in the front of my organizer so that when I get up to the register I can just pull out the stack of coupons I will be using. This makes the transactions more quick and lessens wait time for people behind you. As you get up to the register, have any rewards cards ready, and your wallet out ready to go. This way the cashier will be able to help all customers in a quick manner, and make everyone feel comfortable and important. :)

If you stick to these, your coupon experiences should only get better and better. :)
Remember-If a cashier blatantly goes against coupon policy, feel free to ask for a manager. If that doesn't solve it, call the corporate numbers provided on their website and let corporate know that stores are not adhering to coupon policy. It will help them make things better for others.

Stockpiling

People who don't coupon have likened it to hoarding. There are very obvious differences between hoarding and stockpiling. First of all, hoarding is a disorder characterized by a need to hold onto everything in your life. Hoarders cover their homes and floors with trash, knick knacks, and old food, not just lots of things they use. Hoarders often have control issues over things in their past, and that is why they feel the need to hold onto things.

Stockpiling is very different. First of all, stockpiles are usually very organized. I have a few different areas in the apartment that I stockpile items. First, I have my trial size/travel drawer. The largest drawer in the bathroom is my stockpile drawer. In that drawer I put all the travel size items I get (usually for free or a few cents). This way, they are all in the same place when I need to pack for a trip. So right now, in the drawer are travel size body washes, deodorants, single load laundry detergent packages, and travel size contact solution. Travel size items also make great stocking stuffers, easter basket fillers, etc. What is great is that I filled that drawer for a total of under $5! This is one way to get cheap body wash and toothpaste, and deodorant. Who cares that it's travel size! It's free!

Another place in my bathroom I have a stockpile is at the bottom of our towel closet. This is where I stockpile full size items for use in the bathroom. Here I keep body wash, shampoo and conditioner, and air fresheners, etc. It's so nice to know that I have a full supply (a few months' supply) of body wash and deodorant and I won't have to spend the full price amount on it because I bought it a few months ago for about 10% of the full price. :) Sometimes you even get it for free! (I got ten deodorants for free last month at Safeway, and three bodywashes for free at Target!) Even if you end up not using it, you can always donate it to a shelter or give it away in stockings or Easter baskets. :)

The last place I have a stockpile is in a bag in our second bedroom. I'm afraid this one is not very organized, but that's ok because I don't get into it very often. This is where I stockpile all the baby stuff I get for free. I call it my baby shower stock. I buy diapers when they are near free (because then I can make diaper cakes, or I have diapers if a friend needs them) and I get free trial size Johnson and Johnson products all the time. I have about ten free Bath Buddies sitting in there because I was able to use full size coupons on .97 cent products, so I got them all for free! It's just wonderful to discover what you can get for very cheap when you are using coupons!

Like I said above, if you don't end up using something, you can always donate it. There are some couponers who do have brand preferences. I don't, because I was raised to use products I could get a good deal on. If you have a certain preference for deodorant or body wash and you just can't give that up, don't pass up those free items, because a shelter or food bank can certainly use those donations too! I'll post pictures of my stockpiles. :)

Couponing for Beginners-Volume Seven (Organizing your coupons)

People have different ways to organize their coupons. Some prefer coupon binders, some prefer to use envelopes, and some prefer to use accordion style organizers.

I began with an accordion organizer. I labeled the tabs with different food categories, and personal care categories (Refrigerated, Toilet Paper, Pets, Etc.) and sorted my coupons into the appropriate folders. After awhile though, I found that I had too many coupons for it to be efficient to sort through them in the grocery store. So then I tried the binder idea. I decided to try a small binder (if you want your binder to be efficient, be sure to invest in a big one). I found this didn't help as much as I thought it would. So I decided that I would put all my coupons in the binder and plan my shopping trips. Then, when I have a trip planned, I pull out all the coupons I will need and I put them in my little organizer based on the store I am going to.

Now, this is most efficient when I am going somewhere like Target, where I can look at the ad and see pretty much everything that is on sale. When I go grocery shopping, I have to take my binder and my smaller organizer along, because I can't see everything that is on sale in the ad. Then when we get there, if I see something that I could pair with a coupon for a great deal that I didn't plan on buying, I can filter through my coupons in the binder and pull out the coupon I have for that product. It's just what I have found works for me. Some people keep their coupons in a box and pull out the ones they need and separate them into envelopes and take them to the store with them.

You will find as you go, that you will create your own organization for your coupons. Eventually you will probably be able to keep a bit of a mental inventory of your coupons. Again, it's all about what works for you, and what you can do to help yourself figure everything out. :)

Couponing for Beginners-Volume Six (The different inserts and what's in them!)

As I mentioned in a previous post, there are three common types of inserts in the Sunday paper. Smart Source has been around for as long as I can remember, and is in pretty much every Sunday paper every week. In the Smartsource insert, you will find a variety of coupons, usually on more food items than personal care items, and usually smaller amounts off. The most common coupons in the last few Smartsource inserts were for 50 cents off yogurt, 1.00 off two boxes of Cheerios, etc. I probably use more internet printable coupons than I use coupons out of the Smartsource inserts, but I still save every coupon at this point (unless it's for something I know we don't use, like meat) because you never know when you will have a Target coupon or Rite Aid coupon to go along with it that might make the product free!

Redplum is the next common insert. This insert is usually in the local version of the paper, not the statewide paper. This insert has coupons similar to Smartsource, but also includes some coupons of greater value, and often a lot of personal care coupons. Usually the coupons for personal care items in the Redplum insert are for a dollar or more off, and if the coupon doesn't exclude trial sizes, this makes for a lot of free stuff!

P&G is the only other insert I have seen more than once. This insert comes out every once in awhile (there were two of them over the last two months, but one of them was because of the Olympics, so I doubt it will happen again soon.) and contains VERY high value coupons for products manufactured by Proctor and Gamble. You can usually find their coupons online where you can load them onto savings cards like Safeway and Albertsons. I'll talk more about that in another post. This is how I get a ton of free product, usually combining them with various store coupons to get the most bang for my buck. :) If a paper is coming out with a P&G insert in it, I will always suggest that you buy more than once copy because chances are there is at least one coupon in there that does not exclude trial sizes, and that usually means the paper has already almost paid for itself just from one coupon! These are my favorite inserts. :)

The other inserts in the Sunday paper are usually just the ads from various stores (around here Grocery inserts come in the mail on Tuesdays but sometimes they are in the Sunday paper as well.) If your grocery inserts come on Sundays be sure to keep your eye out for Albertsons ads and look through them thoroughly for doublers. I keep my ads for a few days so I can easily plan my shopping trips.
The only other insert that usually contains coupons is the USA weekend or the PARADE magazines. Usually they will have one or two coupons hidden in the middle or back of them. They can be for anything from diabetic glucose monitors to a package of crackers, so always look through them just in case. :)

Couponing for Beginners-Volume Five (Catalinas, and $$ off purchase coupons)

One term you will see/hear a lot when couponing is "catalina". Catalinas are coupons that are printed at the register when you buy certain things. It differs per store, and some stores do not have catalina printers. The stores that do in the area right now are Albertsons, Safeway, and Target. Target is a recent addition to the list. Target coupons are usually on things like lotions, Target cafe items, or other personal care items. They are triggered by different things, and usually we don't know what triggers them until someone goes through a line and gets one, because there usually is not a list of catalinas for Target. Albertsons and Safeway have a variety of Catalina coupons from dollar amounts off your next purchase, to discounts on certain brands and products. Sometimes you have to buy a certain product to trigger it, and sometimes they print just because. Hip2Save and krazycouponlady usually have lists for these and are really good at alerting everyone to what the latest ones are. Recently for Safeway and Albertsons they had a promotion where if you bought $25 worth of frozen food items, you got a $10 catalina to use on your next frozen food purchase. The $25 was before coupons, so I only spent $20 on frozen food items (thanks to coupons) and I got a $10 coupon back. It was awesome. :) These are easy ways to stock up on things as well, especially if they can be frozen or already are frozen.

Sometimes Catalinas do something called "rolling". This means that you get the Catalina and use it on the same type of items to get another Catalina. Sometimes Catalinas do not roll. Often, however, they do, so you would spend the dollar amount to get the first catalina and then be able to spend smaller amounts as you go. This is another one of my favorite ways to get cheap or free food. :)

Walgreens has what are called "Register Rewards". These are talked about in their ads every Sunday and print at the end of your transaction. They are for dollar amounts off your next purchase. Usually, Register Rewards do not roll, but they often do. You can use them to purchase just about anything at Walgreens (I like to use them to buy multiple copies of the Sunday paper) you just have to make sure you have one item for every coupon you're using. In other words, if you have three RR to use, you have to be buying three items. The same thing goes for other coupons, unless you are using a Walgreens coupon and a manufacturer's coupon on the same item (which you can do, as is stated in their policy). You cannot use a manufacturer's coupon and a RR on the same item (technically). Making sure you have more than one item for two coupons is called finding a "filler item". The filler item can be a .05 cent piece of candy, or something else you need. It doesn't matter, you just have to have enough items. :) It's a cheap way to get other things you need too. :)

Rite Aid, as I mentioned earlier, has coupons for dollar amounts off your purchase. Most commonly these are $5 off $20 or more purchase, or $3 off $15 or more purchase. What I do with these is I take them with me when I am going to coupon at Rite Aid. I make sure my purchases before coupons add up to $20 or $15 depending on what coupon I am trying to use, (before taxes, because they do have to add up to the purchase total before taxes). When I am at the total, I hand over my Rite Aid purchase coupon. After that has been deducted I hand over all my manufacturer's and other Rite Aid coupons. That way I save even more money. This is not against any Rite Aid coupon policy. :) You can get these coupons by going to the Rite Aid video values site or sometimes they are offered online at various places. :)
Usually you can use store amounts off purchases before coupons, but sometimes they are meant to be used after all other discounts. Hip2save and krazycouponlady are very good at explaining all that though, so you will know from the time you print the coupon whether or not you can use it before coupons. Rite Aid's $ off purchase coupons are always able to be used before coupons though. :D

Couponing for Beginners-Volume Four (Picking a Cashier)

Depending on the store, different cashiers often handle coupons differently. Coming from someone who works in retail, I can understand why it is that way, but at the same time, as someone trying to use coupons, it can be frustrating.
You will find, based on experience, that some cashiers are less informed than others. Some cashiers do not even know their own coupon policy. This is why printing out and carrying coupon policies is so important. If you are well informed about their coupon policy, you can help make it easier for other couponers by helping the cashier to understand the policy. :)

I will tell you how I usually pick my cashiers, and hopefully it will help you.
Generally, younger male cashiers do not pick and choose as far as coupons go. They don't blindly accept them, but they also don't pore over them for ten minutes and try to find a reason that you cannot use it. You will find, as you experience things for yourself, that often you will have a favorite cashier and you will find yourself going to the store at a specific time a specific day just so you can go through their line. There are times that cashiers look at you like you are stealing from them, and other cashiers will congratulate you on your savings. It all depends on how comfortable they are with their policy. :) Usually when a cashier is super picky about coupons it is because they are afraid they are going to get in trouble for accepting a coupon for the wrong item or accepting a coupon for over the amount of an item. Cashiers are picky because they don't want to get in trouble and don't want to be fired. It's understandable, and I don't think anyone would disagree about that. I wouldn't want to lose my job because of a customer either. Try to be understanding when it comes to cashiers and coupons. Think of it as you helping introduce the cashier to using coupons.
I usually try to go through a younger, male cashier's line, because like I said, they usually don't pore over coupons and try to find a reason for you not to use them. If someone like that is not available, I usually pick a younger female or an older male. Younger females are usually the ones to comment on how much I saved. :) You will find as you go that you will be able to judge the cashiers pretty much based on how they ring people up as to how picky they will be about coupons.
You do have to be perceptive and choose your checkout line carefully to be able to successfully use coupons. It will become easier as you go, I promise. :)

Couponing for Beginners-Volume Three (Rebates and Rewards Programs)

There are a lot of rewards programs out there. The ones that I am a part of currently are:
Kmart rewards-Coming up starting April 4th, Kmart will be having a doublers event where you can double coupons (similar to Albertsons doublers) and you have to be a member of their rewards program to be able to double the coupons. There are other benefits, but I don't shop at Kmart enough for them to really apply to me.

Safeway-obviously, a Safeway card is free and saves you a TON of money just by using the card, so I am a member of Safeway's savings program.

Albertsons- Albertson's card works just like Safeway's card, so I am definitely a member of this one, especially when it comes to doublers. This is how I get a lot of free product. Just last week Dreyer's Ice cream was on sale for buy one get two free with your Albertson's card. Normally it is $6.49 for one, but I had a coupon and a doubler, so I got $2.00 off. So I paid $4.49 for three of them. :)

Staples-Staples rewards program offers 10% back on paper purchases. This can be helpful if you buy your coupon paper there. There's nothing special about coupon paper, I just print mine on basic computer paper, I just call it that because that's pretty much all I use my computer paper for. They also recycle your ink cartridges for $3 credit per cartridge at their store. You can recycle up to 5 per month, so you can actually get your ink for free if you have friends who don't recycle their ink cartridges and want to give them to you. :)

Toys R Us/Babies R Us-Their loyalty program usually has to do with specific purchases, but sometimes if you spend a certain amount within an allotted amount of time you can get coupons in the mail or over e-mail. You also get special coupons that are not in their normal ad or online on their site.

Hot Topic-If you have a kid who shops here, you should definitely have a rewards card. Their rewards add up really fast toward a 30% off coupon, and you get rewards just for walking in the store and scanning your rewards card at their kiosk.

There are other loyalty based programs out there such as Rite Aid Single Check Rebates. Rite Aid has a program where on certain items every month, you will get money back if you purchase them. Every month they put out a circular that has all the available rebates in it. There are usually over Fifty Dollars of available rebates every month. Sometimes you can do more than one rebate on items. For instance, this month they had a rebate available on KAO products. This included Biore and John Freida products, as well as Jergens and a few other brands. I did the Biore and John Freida rebates, but you can do up to three rebates on these products. So, if I wanted to, I could do one more rebate on one of the products in the group of KAO products. :)

Hip2Save and Krazycouponlady often have rebates featured on their websites. Recently there was a Glade rebate where if you bought two Glade products, you could send in a form and get $5 back. I filled it out and will be getting $5 back in the mail. There are also products that have hang tags around their neck (shampoos, lotions, etc.) that say Try me Free ( or something similar) where you can send in the form and your receipt and get the purchase price of the item back in the form of a check. This is a cheap and easy way to save money and get items for free. Always keep your receipts, because sometimes you might find out about a rebate after you already purchased an item and you might have purchased it within the required purchase dates and not even know it. :) Rebates are the usual way to get free products by paying a little bit out of pocket and making money on it by submitting it for a big rebate.

Couponing for Beginners-Volume Two (Different Types of Coupons)

Over half the coupons in my binder and organizer are internet printable coupons. The first time you print an internet printable coupon you will be asked to download a coupon printer onto your computer. What this program does is enables your computer to print the barcodes that validate the coupons at the register. Once you download it, you shouldn't have to download it again unless you have more than one computer or delete the program from your computer. Usually internet printable coupons have a print limit per computer. Usually the limit is 2 coupons per computer. This is why sometimes it's nice if you have a desktop and a laptop to enable them both to print coupons, because then you can have four coupons if you need them. However, most of the time you will only need 2 coupons to do most of the deals that get you such good prices. :) Stores have become pretty used to accepting internet printable coupons, but some stores are still wary because unfortunately there is still quite a bit of fraud that happens with internet printable coupons that people make up and take into stores. The coupons that Hip2Save and Krazycouponlady list on their sites are, I would say, 99.9% guarantee to be valid. If you ever want to check to make sure a coupon is valid, you can go to the website that prints out on the side and enter in the UPC number and it will tell you if it isn't valid. Generally though, I have yet to come across an invalid coupon. Some stores will tell you they cannot accept them because they have no way to verify if they are real or not, but as long as you have that coupon policy with you, they can't turn them away if they say they accept them in their coupon policy. If they continue to turn them away after you've pointed to their coupon policy, you can call corporate and usually you will be compensated somehow (Target will often send you giftcards worth a few dollars, etc.)

Some stores have store specific coupons. Target has a whole area of their site that you can print coupons from. There are two different types of Target coupons. A lot of the Target coupons (most of them) are listed as Target Web coupons at the top. Some of them are manufacturer coupons with a Target logo. The Target Web coupons are my favorite, because Target's coupon policy states that you can use one Target Web coupon and one manufacturer's coupon on the same item. For instance, right now they have a Target web coupon that is for $1.00 off two Temptations cat treats. I also have a manufacturer's coupon in my binder that is for $1.00 off two Temptations cat treats. Their policy would allow me to use both coupons on the same two cat treats, so I would get $2 off cat treats instead of just $1. I love Target web coupons because you can often get products for free from Target thanks to them!
Rite Aid often has coupons in their ads that are store specific as well. Their coupon policy also states that you can use a Rite Aid coupon and a manufacturer's coupon on the same item. It works the same as the Target coupons where you can often get products for free or nearly free. Rite Aid also has Rite Aid video values coupons online. If you go to the Rite Aid website you can navigate to the Video Values section and sign up for the program. If you watch a certain number of videos (to get you 20 credits) you will get a coupon for $5 off a $20 purchase. This renews every month. I will write another note all about coupons like this, but you will come to love these coupons. :)
The other coupons you will come to love are Albertson's doublers. They come around every few weeks to every few months in the Northwest, and they let you double manufacturer's coupons that are worth up to $1.00. So, if you have a manufacturer's coupon for $1.00 off a product and you combine it with a doubler coupon, you will save $2.00 on that product instead of just $1.00. This is an amazing way to get free or nearly free groceries. :) I always use these on treats like ice cream or special snacks I wouldn't normally buy, because I often get them for free! :) You can only use three per shopping trip, but they are usually good for anywhere from a few days to up to a week, so if you get more than one copy of their ad you can save a lot of money over a few days.

Last, but not least, there are the coupons that come in the Sunday paper every week. There are three different inserts to keep your eyes peeled for, and they differ depending on what paper you buy. They are called Redplum, Smart Source, and P&G. The Redplum insert usually only comes in local papers (So around here, it comes in the Everett Herald, not in the Seattle times.) Usually if I know a Redplum insert is coming out, I will skim through an Everett Herald paper at the grocery store just to make sure it's in there and then buy it. Sometimes there is no Redplum insert, so sometimes I just buy the Seattle Times. The Seattle Times (Equivalent of the Oregonian in Oregon) usually has the Smart source inserts and the P&G inserts (P&G inserts don't come as often as smart source or Redplum). This is the paper I most commonly buy. If I know there are good inserts, I will buy more than one copy. Hip2Save usually lists the coupons that are coming out, and the inserts that will be included, so this helps me kind of foresee what I need to buy as far as the Sunday paper. Usually your internet printables will be much higher values than the coupons that come in the Sunday paper, but there are a lot of high value coupons and buy one get one coupons that come out in the Sunday paper all the time. :)

Couponing for Beginners-Volume One (What you'll need to start couponing)

I don't want to overwhelm everyone with one note containing all the different information, so I'm going to split it up over a few notes. :)

When I started couponing I was very discouraged because I didn't educate myself about different stores and their different coupon policies. My first round of couponing started at Safeway, and when I was told incorrect information (that they didn't accept internet printable coupons) I gave up. You will find coupon policies that you can print out and carry with you at krazy coupon lady's website I have listed below. It can be really discouraging and confusing if you are just starting out, but thanks to the tons of websites that are now out there, I decided to give it another go. This time has been much more fun and much more successful.

First of all, let me list websites that will help you a TON. If you want to save serious money, you should definitely have access to the internet. :) www.hip2save.com and www.thekrazycouponlady.com

are sites I visit everyday. You can usually also find sites that are specific to your area too to help you save on museum trips and local store shopping trips, but those are the sites that cover mostly nationwide deals and list printable coupons that come out all the time.

Printable coupons make up half or more of the coupons in my binder and organizer. I spend pretty much at least an hour at the beginning of every week looking over the coupon directory at krazycouponlady.com to see what printable coupons are new or I don't have yet. A printer is also necessary if you want to save money. I got mine for $50 at WalMart. Mine is a Canon. If I could go back and buy a different one I would buy one that takes cartridges you can refill. I don't buy colored ink for my printer. I print coupons and word documents, so all I need for my printer is black ink. I always print in black and white. Walgreens has a program where you can refill your printer cartridges for $12.99 regularly, which is four dollars off what I pay for my black ink cartridges. There are also often coupons for ink refills for $9.99. They do not refill Canon cartridges. Usually I try to do some sort of Target deal where I buy something I need and get gift cards back (I'll talk about this in another note) and then I use the gift card to help with the purchase price of ink cartridges. To be honest, I save so much that the cartridge pays for itself five times over or more before I have to buy another one. It's definitely worth it. Even if you cannot refill the cartridges for your printer, there are rewards programs through Staples and Office Depot where you can go recycle the ink cartridges and get $3 back per cartridge. That can also help offset ink costs. I use the rewards programs at Staples. :)