Cheaper Insert Coupons AND Reclaiming Your Missing Red Plum / Valassis Inserts - Find Your Local Papers!

Last night on a whim, I stopped by a Wawa on my way somewhere else to see if there were any good coupons in the drink fridge section. There was a $0.50 off Minute Maid when you buy a newspaper...hmmm...I was having a hard time thinking of a good way to use that one.

Then I made a delightful discovery. In fact, so delightful that my heels are chapped, I've been clicking them so much.

My local paper had the inserts...including the Red Plum insert. I took a copy up to the guy at the checkout. I said, "Can you tell me how much this paper costs?"

He scanned the bar code, then: "Twenty-five before tax."

I'm pretty sure at this point my face did that old "Ahh-ooooga!!!" thing where my eyes popped out of my skull and my tongue went all spastic, just like the old Loony Tunes. "Twenty-five cents?"

He was like, "Um...yea."

"I'll be right back."

Moral of the story? Check out your local papers to see if any carry the inserts (especially the missing Red Plum insert, which the Washington Post no longer carries). Anything that costs less than $1.50 is better than buying extra Sunday Washington Posts! And: the more you depend on them for your inserts, the less the risk that they'll go out of circulation like many newspapers have recently.

Note: The Red Plum distribution list PDF has a list of buyable small regional newspapers that still carry the RP insert.

Major NOVA ones include:

• Manassas PW Pulse,
• Fredericksburg Gazettes,
• Gaithersburg Montgomery Village,
• Centerville/Chantilly Times,
• Stafford County Sun,
• Warrenton Fauquier Times-Democrat WSP,
• Gainesville Times,
• Culpepper Star-Exponent, and the
• Rappahannock News.

If you're not currently getting a Red Plum in your mail, see Frugal Coupon Mom's post on how to register to receive it at your home address. Thanks, Frugal Coupon Mom!

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