Once you change your shopping habits and get into a routine with using coupons there really isn't a lot of time involved with planning your shopping trips if you stay organized and on track.
I usually use Sunday evening, after my son is in bed, as time to go through the coupons, scan the ads and plan my trips. The first thing I do is look through the sale ads at the stores that I shop at. I take note of sales on things that I need for the week and I watch for items that look like a really great deal, especially with coupons. I also take a few minutes to sit down at my computer and check CouponTom for coupon match-ups. I look up coupons for all my items that I need and check for coupons on those sale items that are really great. If I find that there's coupons for these items I write on the ad which insert those coupons are in. I also search manufacturer websites (for coupons) and for printable coupons. Then I start a list for that store and clip my coupons from the inserts and use a paper clip to attach the coupons to my list. I do this for each store that I plan to shop at for the week and I keep the sale ad with my list for reference at the store. I make notes on my list if I have coupons for the items (manufacturer and store) and if I am expecting a catalina coupon on those items. Keeping these notes helps you cut down on time in the store and lets you easily know that your deals went smoothly.
Next, I scan through the coupon inserts and clip coupons for items that I KNOW we will use and file them in my coupon binder. I don't clip every coupon to file in my binder, that would just take way too much time. The inserts get filed in my hanging file folders by date.
Lastly, I read money saving blogs to make sure that I haven't missed any great deals for the week. The blogs are a great resource for a lot of deals that might otherwise go unnoticed. If I find something posted that I missed, I add it to my list (with notes) and find the coupons. I tend to check these blogs daily because new deals are added several times a day. They usually have coupon match ups and link you to printable coupons. A lot of the time bloggers post about clearance deals at stores that are not advertised in the sale flyers. They also post about unadvertised catalina promotions and freebies with coupons. It doesn't take much time to keep up with my regular blogs since I know where I left off on the blog - I just check to see if anything new has been added since my last visit.
I keep my coupon binder in a canvas bag where I also have all the week's ads. I don't leave the house without my coupon bag - you never know when the opportunity will arise to stop in a store and take a look around. Some stores will price match competitors so I always keep the ads with me, even if it's for a store I don't normally shop at. They may come in handy for a price match at a store with a better deal.
If I am not able to get everything on my list in one trip, I cross off the items that I purchased and then keep the list for my next visit or store. Sometimes in a week I will visit several different Walgreens (or Wal-mart, Jewel, etc) locations to get everything on my list. Having the original list makes this a little easier, plus I can add to the list through the week if I find deals on the blogs.
You can find a list of the blogs that I check regularly on the sidebar.
Showing posts with label Getting Started. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Getting Started. Show all posts
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Getting Started: Electronic Coupons
There are several websites that you can access to load electronic coupons to your store shopping cards. You can do this by signing up at the website and registering your cards. Then you can browse the coupons available to load to your card. Once you make your selections, these coupons link to your shopping card and when you make your purchase of these items using your shopping card, the coupon automatically comes off at the register - no clipping necessary. The great thing about using electronic coupons is that you can also use clipped or printed manufacturer or store coupons on those same items really reducing your out of pocket. It's about the only time I can think of that you can actually use TWO manufacturer coupons on one item.
Here's the links to some electronic coupons:
PGeSaver.com
Shortcuts.com
Softcoin.com
Cellfire.com
Upromise.com
The electronic coupons at Upromise work a little differently than the rest. At Upromise, you load the electronic coupons to your cards and when you buy those items, instead of the coupon coming off at the register, the coupon amount is deposited into your Upromise account.
You are also going to want to check with your store or shopping card's website to see if they also offer electronic coupons or offers. One of the cards that I have for Jewel grocery stores offers regular coupons each week and then there is a section of coupons tailored specifically for me and things that I shop for based on my past shopping habits. I do, however, have to login and update these offers every week because they expire. They usually run the same schedule as the sale flyer does.
I have added links to these electronic coupons on the sidebar so that they can be easily accessed.
Here's the links to some electronic coupons:
PGeSaver.com
Shortcuts.com
Softcoin.com
Cellfire.com
Upromise.com
The electronic coupons at Upromise work a little differently than the rest. At Upromise, you load the electronic coupons to your cards and when you buy those items, instead of the coupon coming off at the register, the coupon amount is deposited into your Upromise account.
You are also going to want to check with your store or shopping card's website to see if they also offer electronic coupons or offers. One of the cards that I have for Jewel grocery stores offers regular coupons each week and then there is a section of coupons tailored specifically for me and things that I shop for based on my past shopping habits. I do, however, have to login and update these offers every week because they expire. They usually run the same schedule as the sale flyer does.
I have added links to these electronic coupons on the sidebar so that they can be easily accessed.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Getting Started: Rebate Receipts
I am not a big rebater but when there's a really great, high value rebate I am on board. Sometimes two great rebates coinside with an awesome sale and that makes it really worth taking advantage of the deal. I learned something from Mercedes over at the money saving blog Common Sense With Money. She has an awesome money maker deal scenario listed out on her blog right here and it involves submitting to two seperate rebates.
She posted this information about getting a second receipt for a rebate at Walgreens and I wanted to share it with you.
How to get Rebate Receipt @ Walgreens:
- Tell the cashier in advance that you need the rebate receipt BEFORE he/she starts scanning items.
- Cashier will need to press “Special receipt” button on the LEFT key pad; it’s the middle key on the bottom row. Not every register has this button so ask for the register that has this.
- Cashier will scan the items that need Rebate Receipt.
- Cashier needs to select option “3″ when prompted. This is for rebate receipt.
- When transaction completed, 2 receipts will print.
I am sure that you can get a duplicate receipt at other retailers as well, it can't hurt to ask when you need the "original receipt" for the rules of the rebates on two different rebates.
She posted this information about getting a second receipt for a rebate at Walgreens and I wanted to share it with you.
How to get Rebate Receipt @ Walgreens:
- Tell the cashier in advance that you need the rebate receipt BEFORE he/she starts scanning items.
- Cashier will need to press “Special receipt” button on the LEFT key pad; it’s the middle key on the bottom row. Not every register has this button so ask for the register that has this.
- Cashier will scan the items that need Rebate Receipt.
- Cashier needs to select option “3″ when prompted. This is for rebate receipt.
- When transaction completed, 2 receipts will print.
I am sure that you can get a duplicate receipt at other retailers as well, it can't hurt to ask when you need the "original receipt" for the rules of the rebates on two different rebates.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Getting Started: Jewel Stores
Shopping at Jewel stores is a truly amazing saving experience. I always thought that Jewel was way too expensive for me to shop at...boy was I wrong! Now, I regularly drive a little out of the way to shop at Jewel when the sales are great. To find your closest Jewel store go here and click on "Find a Store". Below you will find some of the basics for Jewel store shopping.
Fav-4 Meat Sale:
Jewel regularly runs a sale called the Fav-4. It's a meat sale and it ends up being great for stocking up on almost all meats. The advertisement for this sale indicates that you will get 4 packages of certain meats for $19.99.
How this works at the register is a little different than what you would expect and it works in the consumers favor if you know how to take advantage of the deal. Instead of reducing the prices of the meats down to $19.99, the register takes off $4.10 after each set of 4 packages of meat that are scanned, irregardless of the size of the package of meat.
What you want to do to get the best deal here is choose the smallest packages of meats that are included in the sale. Jewel will have the sale tags on the largest packages of meats that are included in the sale. Look around in the cases nearby for small packages of those same (exact) meats and those are the ones you want to purchase. They won't have the Fav-4 stickers on them but they do almost always work for the sale.
Another idea here is to have these same meats individually packaged at the butcher counter. One Pub-burger per package, individually wrapped at the meat counter usually counts toward the Fav-4 sale and gets you some very cheap, or FREE burgers, which are VERY tasty - they are a favorite in our house.
Checking out at the Uscan registers lets you have some control over this too because if you do not see the $4.10 come off your total after the 4 packages are scanned you can have the head cashier come over and void them off your order before you pay.
Instant Savings Promotions:
Jewel runs sales sometimes with an instant savings of a certain $ amount if you purchase a certain $ amount of product. For example, the sale could be buy $10.00 of items in a certain category and get an instant $2.00 off. This $2.00 comes off at the register for every set of $10.00 that you spend on those items. This does "stack" meaning you can do it more than once per transaction. When using coupons on these items with these instant savings promotions, the deals are great!
Catalina Promotions:
The Catalina sales at Jewel are what keep me coming back for more. (Before diving into the Catalina deals at Jewel, I highly recommend that you read my post here on the basics of Catalina coupons.)
Catalina sales at Jewel are usually advertised as spend a certain $ amount on participating products and get a Catalina coupon for a certain $ amount back for use on your next transaction. There are ALWAYS more products that are part of the promotion than what is listed in the sale flyer. I read the blog Couponers Wanted to get the complete list of participating products and their matching UPC codes so there is never any question if I am purchasing the right items. I print out the list, make all sorts of notes on it and take it with me shopping so I can check UPC codes. Having the list also gives me plenty of time to gather up the coupons that I am going to use for the Catalina sale.
Catalina promotions at Jewel work differently than one would assume after seeing the flyer. The pricing structure at Jewel is a "sale" price, a "preferred card" price and then sometimes a "shelf" price on each item. By looking at the flyer one would assume that you have to buy the required amount of product at "preferred" card price in order to get the Catalina to print out, but the sale actually works off the "sale" price, which is always higher than the preferred card price. So, for example, if there is currently a Catalina promotion running where you spend $35 and get a Catalina for $15 ONYO, then you would identify the participating items you would like to purchase and take them over to the price scanner (I scan as a precautionary measure because the shelf signs are sometimes not updated with the most current sale price). Scan each item and start adding up the "sale" price until you get to $35. I also keep track of the "preferred" card price so that I know what my total is going to be when I get up to the register (because sometimes with your coupons you will have to throw in "fillers" to use up some overage). Keep in mind that the products with the largest price difference or spread between the "sale" price and the "preferred" price are going to be your best deals because you will be able to hit that $35 mark with less product to purchase. There is always an exception to the rules, so here's the exception with the Catalina pricing at Jewel - some of the products on the Osco side of the store only work off the preferred price, so there's no price spread to identify. Sure, these are still good deals, just not what we see on the Jewel side of the store.
Catalina promotions usually do not stack, so you want to break out your transactions in this example into increments of $35 because we are going to be "rolling" those Catalinas to get the best bang for our buck. When we roll Catalinas is also when we alternate our preferred cards because when we do back to back transactions, sometimes our preferred card accounts need time to reset and if we do a transaction too soon after the first one sometimes the Catalinas won't print. So, you have $35 worth of participating product in your cart (or several $35 transactions) and you go up to the Uscan to start your check-out. If you are doing multiple transactions, you always want to start with the transaction that is going to be the lowest out of pocket to get your Catalina coupon. Start by ringing up those items and make sure you are at $35 (pre-tax) before you scan your preferred card. This is a way to double check your figures and make sure your Catalina will print. Once you are sure you are at $35, scan your preferred card to reduce your out of pocket (don't forget this important step), next is any manufacturer coupons you have for the items in the sale and lastly pay for your transaction. Once you pay for your purchases, your Catalina coupon will print (sometimes it doesn't print out immediately - just give it a couple seconds and it will).
Your next transaction is going to be similar to the one above with two significant differences, you are going to use your alternate preferred card when you scan and you are going to use the Catalina coupon that you received in your prior transaction to pay for this next transaction - this is called "rolling". With rolling this Catalina into the next deal, you are cutting your out of pocket by $15.00. The idea behind this is to just keep rolling these Catalina coupons until the sale is over - you DO NOT need to spend the Catalinas before you leave the store. Save them and come back for more rolling, they usually don't expire for TWO weeks.
It doesn't happen that often if you follow the instructions outlinted above, but if your Catalina coupons do not print, go directly to the Customer Service desk and return everything explaining to them that you were expecting a Catalina coupon and it didn't print out. If they are a friendly store, they will work with you and make it right so that you do not have to return the items. If they are not a friendly store, return the items and try to figure out where you went wrong (wrong product, didn't meet the required $ amount, maybe the machine was not functioning properly, etc.). The store will tell you that you didn't meet the $35 requirement almost every time this happens because their policy is that the Catalina deals work on the preferred price and not the sale price. Working the Catalina deals in this manner is not something that is advertised or promoted, it's just one of those things that happens and we know enough to take advantage of it.
As a side note, there is one thing you will want to watch for to insure your Catalina coupon will print. When the cashier is scanning all your coupons, make sure that they all scan. If a coupon doesn't scan and the cashier enters it as a generic "GROCERY" coupon, your catalina will not print out. If the cashier is having a problem with one of your coupons scanning, politely ask them to key in the whole bar code of the coupon rather than entering it generically. This sometimes happens with IP's because the ink can sometimes cause problems.
As you can see, when the good Catalina promotions come around, shopping the sale this way is a huge money saver. Once you get the hang of shopping the Catalina promotions at Jewel and you get really good at it, you will have transactions where you pay only the sales tax on the items in your cart, simply by rolling your Catalina coupons from one transaction to the next. It doesn't get much better than that!
- Preferred cards: Apply for the "preferred" card at Jewel. You can do so online here or in person at any store. If you sign up online you will get to print a temporary card. I recommend applying for two cards - one in your name and one in your spouse's name (or child's name, pet's name, etc) - carry both cards with you when you shop. Multiple cards are alternated when doing back to back Catalina deals.
- Preferred card updates: Jewel stores have preferred card updates on a set schedule throughout the year. This is where a team of individuals travel from store to store, set up a tent inside the store and have you fill out a form to update your information on your preferred card. Make sure you update all of your cards when they do this. When you fill out the form and update your information they give you a coupon booklet with MANY coupons inside. A lot of these coupons are for FREE items (example: 1 free bag of apples, 1 free pkg of Jewel brand toilet paper, 1 free Jewel brand frozen pizza). You can go to as many of these card update events that you want to, they do not keep record of who has updated their cards or how long it has been since the card has been updated. These coupons come in handy throughout the year as these items go on sale for B1G1F - then you actually get TWO FREE - hold onto these booklets, don't think that you have to rush and get all the FREE items at once, be patient and wait for a great sale to pair them with.
- Electronic Jewel Coupons: At the Jewel website here, you can load electronic coupons to your Jewel preferred cards. These are coupons that automatically come off your total at the register when you use your cards. They change every week so you have to do this every week before you shop. Make sure you do this for all you cards. There will be a section of coupons chosen just for you based on your past shopping habits.
- Ads: If you do not get the Jewel advertisement in your local newspaper, you can go online here and view the most current ad. I like to have the print ad in front of me because they are very busy ads and I tend to miss things when I look online.
- Competitor Coupons: Jewel stores take manufacturer coupons with competitor's names on them. You can redeem Register Rewards from Walgreen's at Jewel. There is no limit of how many you can use.
- Self Check-out: Jewel has the self check-out lanes, also called Uscan. These work out great for couponers and the catalina deals - I always go through the Uscan lanes when I shop. You have control over being able to watch your totals and prices.
- In Store Scanners/Price Checkers: Located somewhere around the store is a stand alone price scanner and you are going to want to get familiar with where it's located. These are very helpful with the Catalina promotions that Jewel runs. If you find that your store doesn't have a price scanner on the sale floor, you can use the Uscan registers to price check if you need to.
- Scan Price: If an item rings up at the wrong price at Jewel, you get that item for FREE - it's their policy. If you have more than one of that item in your cart, you will only get the first one free, all others will be price adjusted to the correct price.
- Redeeming Coupons: You can redeem coupons up to 60 days after your sale. Bring your receipt back to the store along with your coupons and they will refund you the amount of the coupon face value. This is great for if you forget your coupons at home and see a great deal, purchase coupons online and when new coupons come out in the inserts. Always save your receipts for this reason. If you know you are going to go back with coupons at a later date, don't use any coupons on that shopping trip, save them to redeem them all at once. Sometimes stores won't let you bring coupons in later if you have already redeemed some because they don't know which items the original coupons were for and they can't accept two coupons for the same item.
- Pricing: If an item is priced at 10 for $10.00, at Jewel you don't have to buy 10 of those to get the $1.00 per item price. That's just a clever pricing ploy to get you to buy more. Only buy as many as you need or have coupons for at that great price. They will all ring up $1.00 whether you buy 1 or 10.
- Rainchecks: Jewel issues rainchecks so if they are ever out of anything that you want or have good coupons for, get one. They honor them for 30 days after the issue date. This gives you plenty of time to find more coupons also.
- Jewel Store Coupons: Jewel issues some really good store coupons. Watch the sale flyers for these as well as the pages of the newspapers. A lot of times they are for a certain $ amount off any purchase, like a recent one which is $5.00 off a $50.00 purchase. ALWAYS hand these over before all your other coupons. The other coupons will reduce the total if they are scanned first and you may not be at the required $ to use the coupon.
- Jewel Receipt Survey: Watch the bottom of your receipts. The register sometimes generates a survey at the bottom of the receipt. If you call and take the short survey they will give you a code at the end to validate the coupon. The coupon is usually good for $2.00 off your next shopping trip.
Fav-4 Meat Sale:
Jewel regularly runs a sale called the Fav-4. It's a meat sale and it ends up being great for stocking up on almost all meats. The advertisement for this sale indicates that you will get 4 packages of certain meats for $19.99.
How this works at the register is a little different than what you would expect and it works in the consumers favor if you know how to take advantage of the deal. Instead of reducing the prices of the meats down to $19.99, the register takes off $4.10 after each set of 4 packages of meat that are scanned, irregardless of the size of the package of meat.
What you want to do to get the best deal here is choose the smallest packages of meats that are included in the sale. Jewel will have the sale tags on the largest packages of meats that are included in the sale. Look around in the cases nearby for small packages of those same (exact) meats and those are the ones you want to purchase. They won't have the Fav-4 stickers on them but they do almost always work for the sale.
Another idea here is to have these same meats individually packaged at the butcher counter. One Pub-burger per package, individually wrapped at the meat counter usually counts toward the Fav-4 sale and gets you some very cheap, or FREE burgers, which are VERY tasty - they are a favorite in our house.
Checking out at the Uscan registers lets you have some control over this too because if you do not see the $4.10 come off your total after the 4 packages are scanned you can have the head cashier come over and void them off your order before you pay.
Instant Savings Promotions:
Jewel runs sales sometimes with an instant savings of a certain $ amount if you purchase a certain $ amount of product. For example, the sale could be buy $10.00 of items in a certain category and get an instant $2.00 off. This $2.00 comes off at the register for every set of $10.00 that you spend on those items. This does "stack" meaning you can do it more than once per transaction. When using coupons on these items with these instant savings promotions, the deals are great!
Catalina Promotions:
The Catalina sales at Jewel are what keep me coming back for more. (Before diving into the Catalina deals at Jewel, I highly recommend that you read my post here on the basics of Catalina coupons.)
Catalina sales at Jewel are usually advertised as spend a certain $ amount on participating products and get a Catalina coupon for a certain $ amount back for use on your next transaction. There are ALWAYS more products that are part of the promotion than what is listed in the sale flyer. I read the blog Couponers Wanted to get the complete list of participating products and their matching UPC codes so there is never any question if I am purchasing the right items. I print out the list, make all sorts of notes on it and take it with me shopping so I can check UPC codes. Having the list also gives me plenty of time to gather up the coupons that I am going to use for the Catalina sale.
Catalina promotions at Jewel work differently than one would assume after seeing the flyer. The pricing structure at Jewel is a "sale" price, a "preferred card" price and then sometimes a "shelf" price on each item. By looking at the flyer one would assume that you have to buy the required amount of product at "preferred" card price in order to get the Catalina to print out, but the sale actually works off the "sale" price, which is always higher than the preferred card price. So, for example, if there is currently a Catalina promotion running where you spend $35 and get a Catalina for $15 ONYO, then you would identify the participating items you would like to purchase and take them over to the price scanner (I scan as a precautionary measure because the shelf signs are sometimes not updated with the most current sale price). Scan each item and start adding up the "sale" price until you get to $35. I also keep track of the "preferred" card price so that I know what my total is going to be when I get up to the register (because sometimes with your coupons you will have to throw in "fillers" to use up some overage). Keep in mind that the products with the largest price difference or spread between the "sale" price and the "preferred" price are going to be your best deals because you will be able to hit that $35 mark with less product to purchase. There is always an exception to the rules, so here's the exception with the Catalina pricing at Jewel - some of the products on the Osco side of the store only work off the preferred price, so there's no price spread to identify. Sure, these are still good deals, just not what we see on the Jewel side of the store.
Catalina promotions usually do not stack, so you want to break out your transactions in this example into increments of $35 because we are going to be "rolling" those Catalinas to get the best bang for our buck. When we roll Catalinas is also when we alternate our preferred cards because when we do back to back transactions, sometimes our preferred card accounts need time to reset and if we do a transaction too soon after the first one sometimes the Catalinas won't print. So, you have $35 worth of participating product in your cart (or several $35 transactions) and you go up to the Uscan to start your check-out. If you are doing multiple transactions, you always want to start with the transaction that is going to be the lowest out of pocket to get your Catalina coupon. Start by ringing up those items and make sure you are at $35 (pre-tax) before you scan your preferred card. This is a way to double check your figures and make sure your Catalina will print. Once you are sure you are at $35, scan your preferred card to reduce your out of pocket (don't forget this important step), next is any manufacturer coupons you have for the items in the sale and lastly pay for your transaction. Once you pay for your purchases, your Catalina coupon will print (sometimes it doesn't print out immediately - just give it a couple seconds and it will).
Your next transaction is going to be similar to the one above with two significant differences, you are going to use your alternate preferred card when you scan and you are going to use the Catalina coupon that you received in your prior transaction to pay for this next transaction - this is called "rolling". With rolling this Catalina into the next deal, you are cutting your out of pocket by $15.00. The idea behind this is to just keep rolling these Catalina coupons until the sale is over - you DO NOT need to spend the Catalinas before you leave the store. Save them and come back for more rolling, they usually don't expire for TWO weeks.
It doesn't happen that often if you follow the instructions outlinted above, but if your Catalina coupons do not print, go directly to the Customer Service desk and return everything explaining to them that you were expecting a Catalina coupon and it didn't print out. If they are a friendly store, they will work with you and make it right so that you do not have to return the items. If they are not a friendly store, return the items and try to figure out where you went wrong (wrong product, didn't meet the required $ amount, maybe the machine was not functioning properly, etc.). The store will tell you that you didn't meet the $35 requirement almost every time this happens because their policy is that the Catalina deals work on the preferred price and not the sale price. Working the Catalina deals in this manner is not something that is advertised or promoted, it's just one of those things that happens and we know enough to take advantage of it.
As a side note, there is one thing you will want to watch for to insure your Catalina coupon will print. When the cashier is scanning all your coupons, make sure that they all scan. If a coupon doesn't scan and the cashier enters it as a generic "GROCERY" coupon, your catalina will not print out. If the cashier is having a problem with one of your coupons scanning, politely ask them to key in the whole bar code of the coupon rather than entering it generically. This sometimes happens with IP's because the ink can sometimes cause problems.
As you can see, when the good Catalina promotions come around, shopping the sale this way is a huge money saver. Once you get the hang of shopping the Catalina promotions at Jewel and you get really good at it, you will have transactions where you pay only the sales tax on the items in your cart, simply by rolling your Catalina coupons from one transaction to the next. It doesn't get much better than that!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Getting Started: Printer Ink
If you are going to take advantage of all the great online internet printable coupons you are going to use a lot of ink. Printer ink gets pretty expensive, so in order to help with those costs there are a couple things you can do. You can get your cartridges refilled and Walgreens usually has a decent price on ink refills, sometimes with a store coupon you can get a discount. You also can use Register Rewards to pay for your ink refill. If you do not want to go the refill route, there's one other way you can save big on ink. Do a search on
E-bay for your brand and model and see what comes up. There will be a lot to choose from because there are a lot of ink sellers on E-bay. You will find that a lot of sellers offer expired ink at a great discount - expired ink works perfectly fine, even years past it's expiry date. Just make sure you are buying original cartridges, not re-manufactured ink cartridges. Also be sure that they are sealed in their original packaging. The discounts on expired ink are fantastic! This will help you print coupons and not break the bank doing so.
E-bay for your brand and model and see what comes up. There will be a lot to choose from because there are a lot of ink sellers on E-bay. You will find that a lot of sellers offer expired ink at a great discount - expired ink works perfectly fine, even years past it's expiry date. Just make sure you are buying original cartridges, not re-manufactured ink cartridges. Also be sure that they are sealed in their original packaging. The discounts on expired ink are fantastic! This will help you print coupons and not break the bank doing so.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Getting Started: Rainchecks
One way to extend a sale beyond the date that it ends is to get a raincheck for the items that you want to purchase. A lot of stores offer rainchecks if they are out of stock on items that are on sale. I know for sure that Walgreens and Jewel issue rainchecks. When asking for a raincheck, you usually have to specify a certain number of that particular item that you want and I recommend always bumping up that number by a few more. You don't have to buy as many as are on the raincheck, it's just nice to have the extras to work with. If you have really great coupons, you may be able to get more of that coupon by the time the store has the item back in stock, then you can get more at the sale price with the coupons. You don't have to purchase the items at the same store that issued the raincheck, so if you happen to go to a different Walgreens store and find the item on the shelf, you can use it there. Keep in mind though, if the sale involves some sort of Register Reward or Catalina deal, if you purchase them after the end date of the RR or Catalina they won't print. You only get to take advantage of the RR's or Catalinas during the sale, stores can't make the machines print certain coupons or issue them manually.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Getting Started: Walgreens
Shopping at Walgreens is very rewarding, once you get the hang of all the little quirks that go along with coupon shopping there. I started out with Walgreens, and did get frustrated at times when things wouldn't work out like I had planned, but I am glad I stuck with it and learned the ropes. Trial and error is sometimes the best learning tool. I find that once I make a mistake, I usually don't make that same mistake again there.
You can find a wealth of information at the Walgreens blog http://www.iheartwags.com/ (also linked on my sidebar under money saving blogs). This blog usually has upcoming ads posted so you can look ahead at future sales to purchase or trade for coupons. It also lists some great coupon match-ups and links to printables for the sale as well.
Register Rewards:
* Walgreens prints out catalina coupons called "Register Rewards"(RR's). Usually these catalinas are tied to purchasing a particular product.
* RR's are usually manufacturer coupons and do not state that you can only redeem them at Walgreens.
* You can use coupons on the items you are purchasing to get the Register Rewards.
* You will only get one Register Reward per item per transaction. You can get multiple RR's in the same transaction as long as they are all on different items. If you want to get more than one of the same RR, split it out into seperate transactions.
* If you purchased the right items and didn't get the RR, you can return the items before you leave the store, or call the catalina company at 888-322-3814. Have your receipt handy because they need some information from it. They will be able to see if the machine was working properly and if you bought the correct items to generate the RR. If everything looks like you should have gotten the RR, then they will mail one to you.
* If you use a RR to pay for a transaction that you are expecting to get a RR from, then you will want to be sure not to use one that is from the same parent comapny as the product you are expecting the RR on. If you pay with a RR from a company that is issuing a RR, it won't print. (RR's usually don't "roll" at Wags.)
* In the fine print on the RR's there is a list of things that they can't be used on such as tobacco, liquor, lottery tickets, gift cards, etc.
* RR's are just like cash - only with an expiration date. Don't let them expire! Use it or loose it!
Store Coupons:
* Walgreens puts out some great store coupons, there are always several coupon books with Walgreens specific coupons at any given time.
* Walgreens weekly sale flyer usually has store coupons in it.
* You can also find printable store coupons on their website.
* The pharmacy area is a great place to find a lot of their coupon books.
* There is also a monthly coupon book that is usually located up in the front of the store by the sale flyers.
* Walgreens also puts out a children's coloring/activity book that has great coupons in it.
* Remember, store coupons can be "stacked" with manufacturer coupons on the same item. You can even use TWO different Walgreens store coupons and a manufacturer coupon on one item as long as both Walgreens store coupons have different numbers (on the bar code).
* ALWAYS hand over the manufacturer coupons first and then the store coupons. (This is the only way that you will get overage, if the store coupons are scanned first, you will never get the overage.)
* You only need one store coupon per transaction, not per item. If you have a store coupon on a particular item and you are purchasing two of that item, you only have the cashier scan the coupon once and the register will deduct the amount of the coupon times two (the number of that particular item you are buying).
* You DO NOT need to give the cashier the store coupon, you can just have them scan it and then you keep it. You always want to hang onto those store coupons, they could be very valuable in the future too. You don't even need to cut the coupon from the flyer or coupon book, just have them scan it right out of the book and then put the book in your bag or purse.
Some other things to remember when shopping at Wags:
* You must have the same number of items as manufacturer coupons. If you are paying with a RR, these count as a manufacturer coupon. If you need to you may have to find some cheap "filler" items to boost your item number so you can use all your coupons. Some great fillers are cheap candy, gum, etc. or other things that are generating a RR that you don't already have manufacturer coupons for. Sometimes they have holiday pencils that make great fillers, or grab a can of pop or bottle of water. Anything works! Walgreens store coupons do not count toward your number of items when figuring in how many coupons you can use.
* Many Walgreens stores keep manufacturer coupons behind the counter, all clipped out and ready to go. If there's a coupon that you are looking for, ask - they just may have it there for you to use.
I LOVE shopping at Wags, but I am not really fond of playing their game when it comes to rolling the RR's into other transactions. I usually get all the deals with RR's and then go do my grocery shopping at Jewel and "spend" the RR's there....it's just so much easier and less hassle.
You can find a wealth of information at the Walgreens blog http://www.iheartwags.com/ (also linked on my sidebar under money saving blogs). This blog usually has upcoming ads posted so you can look ahead at future sales to purchase or trade for coupons. It also lists some great coupon match-ups and links to printables for the sale as well.
Register Rewards:
* Walgreens prints out catalina coupons called "Register Rewards"(RR's). Usually these catalinas are tied to purchasing a particular product.
* RR's are usually manufacturer coupons and do not state that you can only redeem them at Walgreens.
* You can use coupons on the items you are purchasing to get the Register Rewards.
* You will only get one Register Reward per item per transaction. You can get multiple RR's in the same transaction as long as they are all on different items. If you want to get more than one of the same RR, split it out into seperate transactions.
* If you purchased the right items and didn't get the RR, you can return the items before you leave the store, or call the catalina company at 888-322-3814. Have your receipt handy because they need some information from it. They will be able to see if the machine was working properly and if you bought the correct items to generate the RR. If everything looks like you should have gotten the RR, then they will mail one to you.
* If you use a RR to pay for a transaction that you are expecting to get a RR from, then you will want to be sure not to use one that is from the same parent comapny as the product you are expecting the RR on. If you pay with a RR from a company that is issuing a RR, it won't print. (RR's usually don't "roll" at Wags.)
* In the fine print on the RR's there is a list of things that they can't be used on such as tobacco, liquor, lottery tickets, gift cards, etc.
* RR's are just like cash - only with an expiration date. Don't let them expire! Use it or loose it!
Store Coupons:
* Walgreens puts out some great store coupons, there are always several coupon books with Walgreens specific coupons at any given time.
* Walgreens weekly sale flyer usually has store coupons in it.
* You can also find printable store coupons on their website.
* The pharmacy area is a great place to find a lot of their coupon books.
* There is also a monthly coupon book that is usually located up in the front of the store by the sale flyers.
* Walgreens also puts out a children's coloring/activity book that has great coupons in it.
* Remember, store coupons can be "stacked" with manufacturer coupons on the same item. You can even use TWO different Walgreens store coupons and a manufacturer coupon on one item as long as both Walgreens store coupons have different numbers (on the bar code).
* ALWAYS hand over the manufacturer coupons first and then the store coupons. (This is the only way that you will get overage, if the store coupons are scanned first, you will never get the overage.)
* You only need one store coupon per transaction, not per item. If you have a store coupon on a particular item and you are purchasing two of that item, you only have the cashier scan the coupon once and the register will deduct the amount of the coupon times two (the number of that particular item you are buying).
* You DO NOT need to give the cashier the store coupon, you can just have them scan it and then you keep it. You always want to hang onto those store coupons, they could be very valuable in the future too. You don't even need to cut the coupon from the flyer or coupon book, just have them scan it right out of the book and then put the book in your bag or purse.
Some other things to remember when shopping at Wags:
* You must have the same number of items as manufacturer coupons. If you are paying with a RR, these count as a manufacturer coupon. If you need to you may have to find some cheap "filler" items to boost your item number so you can use all your coupons. Some great fillers are cheap candy, gum, etc. or other things that are generating a RR that you don't already have manufacturer coupons for. Sometimes they have holiday pencils that make great fillers, or grab a can of pop or bottle of water. Anything works! Walgreens store coupons do not count toward your number of items when figuring in how many coupons you can use.
* Many Walgreens stores keep manufacturer coupons behind the counter, all clipped out and ready to go. If there's a coupon that you are looking for, ask - they just may have it there for you to use.
I LOVE shopping at Wags, but I am not really fond of playing their game when it comes to rolling the RR's into other transactions. I usually get all the deals with RR's and then go do my grocery shopping at Jewel and "spend" the RR's there....it's just so much easier and less hassle.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Getting Started: More ways to get great coupons
There's a few more ways you can get great coupons for products that you need or use.
If there's a product that I use but don't generally see a lot of coupons for I contact the manufacturer directly. I go to their website and find the "contact us" section. I send a nice e-mail telling them that I have been a long-time customer of their products and that I try to save money and help meet my family budget by using coupons. I include my name, address and contact information. Usually they will respond by mailing you some great value coupons. They wouldn't want you buying a different manufacturer's products if you find coupons for the others and not theirs. Sometimes they will tell you that they don't keep mailing lists for customers for coupons and that they put coupons on their website or in the inserts, but "nothing ventured, nothing gained" is the way I see it and it didn't cost me anything to ask, so if they can't or don't send me any coupons I am not out anything but the few minutes of my time it took me to send that e-mail. It really doesn't hurt to ask!
Another great way to get high value coupons is by signing up for free samples. You can find these offers at manufacturer websites and store websites. Walmart and Sam's Club usually offer samples at their websites, and so does Costco. You will receive the samples, which are usually the small trial size items but along with those trial sizes are some great coupons. I have never received a trial or sample that was not accompanied by great coupons.
You will want to watch packaging for additional coupons as well. A lot of the time, manufacturers will print coupons on the inside of boxes and other packaging. We do see a lot of those "peelie" coupons on the outside of packages but we often forget to watch the inside of the package for coupons. Sometimes if there's an insert in the package there will be coupons printed on that. Make sure you check all the packaging before tossing it into the recycle bin!
Magazines other than All You have manufacturer coupons printed in them along with advertisements. Some of the more popular ones that I have noted recently with great coupons are Parents Magazine, Country Living and Prevention. Keep your eyes open in your magazine subscriptions or when you are sitting the doctors or hair-dressers waiting rooms!
If there's a product that I use but don't generally see a lot of coupons for I contact the manufacturer directly. I go to their website and find the "contact us" section. I send a nice e-mail telling them that I have been a long-time customer of their products and that I try to save money and help meet my family budget by using coupons. I include my name, address and contact information. Usually they will respond by mailing you some great value coupons. They wouldn't want you buying a different manufacturer's products if you find coupons for the others and not theirs. Sometimes they will tell you that they don't keep mailing lists for customers for coupons and that they put coupons on their website or in the inserts, but "nothing ventured, nothing gained" is the way I see it and it didn't cost me anything to ask, so if they can't or don't send me any coupons I am not out anything but the few minutes of my time it took me to send that e-mail. It really doesn't hurt to ask!
Another great way to get high value coupons is by signing up for free samples. You can find these offers at manufacturer websites and store websites. Walmart and Sam's Club usually offer samples at their websites, and so does Costco. You will receive the samples, which are usually the small trial size items but along with those trial sizes are some great coupons. I have never received a trial or sample that was not accompanied by great coupons.
You will want to watch packaging for additional coupons as well. A lot of the time, manufacturers will print coupons on the inside of boxes and other packaging. We do see a lot of those "peelie" coupons on the outside of packages but we often forget to watch the inside of the package for coupons. Sometimes if there's an insert in the package there will be coupons printed on that. Make sure you check all the packaging before tossing it into the recycle bin!
Magazines other than All You have manufacturer coupons printed in them along with advertisements. Some of the more popular ones that I have noted recently with great coupons are Parents Magazine, Country Living and Prevention. Keep your eyes open in your magazine subscriptions or when you are sitting the doctors or hair-dressers waiting rooms!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Getting Started: Catalina Coupons
Catalina coupons are a couponers best friend - seriously. You really save a ton of money when you "work" the catalina deals.
Catalina coupons are called "Catalinas" or "cats" because it's the name of the company that issues them. Catalina coupons come out of the machines located right by the registers when you check out and the company that owns those machines is the Catalina company, the stores do not own the machines. Not all stores have Catalina machines. The Catalinas at Walgreens are referred to as "Register Rewards" and other stores may call them different names, but they are all Catalina coupons.
Most Catalina coupons that print are manufacturer coupons, but sometimes store coupons print on these machines as well. Sometimes the coupons that print are for specific items, like $1.00 off any Crest toothpaste, but a lot of the time the coupon is a certain $ amount off your next shopping transaction (OYNO=on your next order). Sometimes the print out may not contain any coupon but it will be an alert of an upcoming sale or Catalina offer. You want to pay close attention to your Catalina coupons that print out and make sure your cashier hands over all the Catalinas that print from your transaction. You will even want to look for Catalinas left behind by other shoppers. You would be amazed at the number of Catalinas that you can find in carts, in the parking lot, left behind at the self check-out registers or in the trash...keep your eyes open for these!
There are a lot of unadvertised Catalina sales running all the time. Some stores will advertise the Catalina sales, like Walgreens or Jewel-Osco in their weekly flyers, but there are many more Catalina deals that aren't advertised. This is why it's important to watch the alerts that print out as well as checking money saving blogs where bloggers post about unadvertised Catalina sales. The sale will usually be something like, buy a certain $ amount of ceratin products and get a Catalina coupon for a certain $ amount off your next shopping transaction. Sometimes its as simple as buy one item and get a Catalina back for that same value that you paid for the item - Walgreens usually works their Register Rewards like that. Walgreens is really great about advertising most of their Register Rewards each week so Walgreens is a great place to get started with Catalinas. I will be posting about Walgreens and how the rules are different there soon, so make sure you watch for that before diving into Walgreens shopping.
If you know a Catalina is going to print and it doesn't, make sure you take care of this right away at the store. If they won't give you the Catalina coupons or make it right, you can return everything on the spot for a refund. Sometimes it's because you purchased the wrong size, or wrong product, or not enough of the listed items. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the purchase and the machine is down, turned off or out of paper or ink. If you plan ahead of time, you shouldn't have any problems with Catalinas not printing, unless its a hardware/technical issue. The only time I have had problems is when I get careless and rush my shopping trip. Catalina machines uplink to the satellite between 11PM and 2AM so Catalinas don't print during those times. If you shop a 24 hour store or late at night you are taking a big risk that the Catalinas won't print.
If you realize after you are home that you didn't get all the Catalinas you were expecting, you can contact Catalina directly at 1-888-322-3814 with your receipt information and they will mail you your missing Catalina coupons. I have never had to do this, so I am not sure how long it takes to receive the Catalinas in the mail.
A lot of the money saving blogs will also post UPC code lists of items that are included in the Catalina deals. Most of the time there are more participating products than what are listed in the sale flyer. These are a great tool in helping assure that your Catalinas will print. If I am going to shop a BIG Catalina sale I always print out the list of UPC codes so I can double check my purchase to the list before I check out. This eliminates the guesswork of wondering if the Catalina will print - you KNOW it will print if you have all the right items.
A lot of the time Catalinas will "roll" meaning you can use them to pay for the next round of Catalina deals. This works a little differently at Walgreens though. You can "roll" Catalinas from one deal to the next, but if you use the a same Catalina that is supposed to print out to pay, then you won't get it. You can use a different Catalina (from a different offer) to pay for your transaction as long as it's not the same parent company. Occassionally at Walgreens you will find that they do roll, but that's not the norm. Again, reading the money saving blogs will help determine which at Walgreens are truly rolling and which aren't.
The most effective way to get the maximum benefit of the Catalina sales (not including Register Rewards) is to only buy what the deal requires in order to receive the Catalina and "roll" it into the same deal again (in another transaction). For instance, the Catalina sale may be "spend $30 (on certain products) and get a $15 Catalina OYNO. So in order to work this so that you get the best deal for your money in your first transaction, purchase only $30 in participating products. You will get your Catalina coupon for $15. Your next transaction would be another $30 in participating products, but you would use the prior $15 Catalina to pay for this transaction, greatly reducing your out of pocket.
One of the BEST aspects about using Catalinas is that you can combine them with other manufacturer coupons. You can use the individual item coupons on everything that you are purchasing and then use your Catalina coupons to pay down the balance due on your transaction. It's about the only time that you can "stack" manufacturer coupons.
Register Rewards will print out with the statement "Redeemable at Walgreens" but they don't say ONLY at Walgreens, so other stores who take competitor coupons will take Register Rewards (and other stores Catalinas). I regularly use my Register Rewards from Walgreens to pay for my groceries and other Catalina deals at Jewe-Osco stores. Many other stores take them as well...I know that Meijer and Dominick's stores take Catalinas printed at other stores also. Check your store's coupon policy.
Catalina coupons always have an expiration date and you will want to pay close attention to that. The expiry date is usually 2 weeks from the print date, but since Catalinas are such a great value you don't want to let them expire! If you find that they have expired, you can always try to redeem them at a store that takes expired coupons. Dominick's stores will take coupons expired within 6 months of the expiry date.
Catalina deals work a little differently at Jewel-Osco stores and I will also post a seperate entry about Jewel-Osco as well as Walgreens.
Catalina coupons are called "Catalinas" or "cats" because it's the name of the company that issues them. Catalina coupons come out of the machines located right by the registers when you check out and the company that owns those machines is the Catalina company, the stores do not own the machines. Not all stores have Catalina machines. The Catalinas at Walgreens are referred to as "Register Rewards" and other stores may call them different names, but they are all Catalina coupons.
Most Catalina coupons that print are manufacturer coupons, but sometimes store coupons print on these machines as well. Sometimes the coupons that print are for specific items, like $1.00 off any Crest toothpaste, but a lot of the time the coupon is a certain $ amount off your next shopping transaction (OYNO=on your next order). Sometimes the print out may not contain any coupon but it will be an alert of an upcoming sale or Catalina offer. You want to pay close attention to your Catalina coupons that print out and make sure your cashier hands over all the Catalinas that print from your transaction. You will even want to look for Catalinas left behind by other shoppers. You would be amazed at the number of Catalinas that you can find in carts, in the parking lot, left behind at the self check-out registers or in the trash...keep your eyes open for these!
There are a lot of unadvertised Catalina sales running all the time. Some stores will advertise the Catalina sales, like Walgreens or Jewel-Osco in their weekly flyers, but there are many more Catalina deals that aren't advertised. This is why it's important to watch the alerts that print out as well as checking money saving blogs where bloggers post about unadvertised Catalina sales. The sale will usually be something like, buy a certain $ amount of ceratin products and get a Catalina coupon for a certain $ amount off your next shopping transaction. Sometimes its as simple as buy one item and get a Catalina back for that same value that you paid for the item - Walgreens usually works their Register Rewards like that. Walgreens is really great about advertising most of their Register Rewards each week so Walgreens is a great place to get started with Catalinas. I will be posting about Walgreens and how the rules are different there soon, so make sure you watch for that before diving into Walgreens shopping.
If you know a Catalina is going to print and it doesn't, make sure you take care of this right away at the store. If they won't give you the Catalina coupons or make it right, you can return everything on the spot for a refund. Sometimes it's because you purchased the wrong size, or wrong product, or not enough of the listed items. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the purchase and the machine is down, turned off or out of paper or ink. If you plan ahead of time, you shouldn't have any problems with Catalinas not printing, unless its a hardware/technical issue. The only time I have had problems is when I get careless and rush my shopping trip. Catalina machines uplink to the satellite between 11PM and 2AM so Catalinas don't print during those times. If you shop a 24 hour store or late at night you are taking a big risk that the Catalinas won't print.
If you realize after you are home that you didn't get all the Catalinas you were expecting, you can contact Catalina directly at 1-888-322-3814 with your receipt information and they will mail you your missing Catalina coupons. I have never had to do this, so I am not sure how long it takes to receive the Catalinas in the mail.
A lot of the money saving blogs will also post UPC code lists of items that are included in the Catalina deals. Most of the time there are more participating products than what are listed in the sale flyer. These are a great tool in helping assure that your Catalinas will print. If I am going to shop a BIG Catalina sale I always print out the list of UPC codes so I can double check my purchase to the list before I check out. This eliminates the guesswork of wondering if the Catalina will print - you KNOW it will print if you have all the right items.
A lot of the time Catalinas will "roll" meaning you can use them to pay for the next round of Catalina deals. This works a little differently at Walgreens though. You can "roll" Catalinas from one deal to the next, but if you use the a same Catalina that is supposed to print out to pay, then you won't get it. You can use a different Catalina (from a different offer) to pay for your transaction as long as it's not the same parent company. Occassionally at Walgreens you will find that they do roll, but that's not the norm. Again, reading the money saving blogs will help determine which at Walgreens are truly rolling and which aren't.
The most effective way to get the maximum benefit of the Catalina sales (not including Register Rewards) is to only buy what the deal requires in order to receive the Catalina and "roll" it into the same deal again (in another transaction). For instance, the Catalina sale may be "spend $30 (on certain products) and get a $15 Catalina OYNO. So in order to work this so that you get the best deal for your money in your first transaction, purchase only $30 in participating products. You will get your Catalina coupon for $15. Your next transaction would be another $30 in participating products, but you would use the prior $15 Catalina to pay for this transaction, greatly reducing your out of pocket.
One of the BEST aspects about using Catalinas is that you can combine them with other manufacturer coupons. You can use the individual item coupons on everything that you are purchasing and then use your Catalina coupons to pay down the balance due on your transaction. It's about the only time that you can "stack" manufacturer coupons.
Register Rewards will print out with the statement "Redeemable at Walgreens" but they don't say ONLY at Walgreens, so other stores who take competitor coupons will take Register Rewards (and other stores Catalinas). I regularly use my Register Rewards from Walgreens to pay for my groceries and other Catalina deals at Jewe-Osco stores. Many other stores take them as well...I know that Meijer and Dominick's stores take Catalinas printed at other stores also. Check your store's coupon policy.
Catalina coupons always have an expiration date and you will want to pay close attention to that. The expiry date is usually 2 weeks from the print date, but since Catalinas are such a great value you don't want to let them expire! If you find that they have expired, you can always try to redeem them at a store that takes expired coupons. Dominick's stores will take coupons expired within 6 months of the expiry date.
Catalina deals work a little differently at Jewel-Osco stores and I will also post a seperate entry about Jewel-Osco as well as Walgreens.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Getting Started: Stockpiling
One of the main ideas behind couponing seriously and seeing a reduction in your family household budget for groceries and other consumble items is stockpiling. The sales "lows" on items usually run at approximately 12 week cycles. When you see an item that your family uses at it's lowest price (with a sale AND coupons), you want to stock up on enough at that price to last your family 12 weeks. This is why I stress to accumulate as many coupons as possible by getting more than one insert per week - you will need multiple coupons when these items go low. This way, you can shop out of your pantry/linen closet when you need more, rather than purchasing items at higher prices when the need arrises.
You will want to keep your stockpile very organized so that you can see what you have easily to take an inventory for the next sale, and so that you use them in order of expiration date. Some people get very creative in finding ways to store their stockpiles, and it makes sense to do so when you are saving so much money.
You will quickly learn what the best prices are on items that you use regularly so that you know what the lowest price is when it comes around. When you just start out, you will be elated to get certain things cheap, but then you may realize later, that even that "cheap" price is too high and if you have a good stockpile to draw from, you will be able to wait to get it at even greater savings or FREE!
It will take you a good 6-9 months to build up a stockpile of items that you use regularly because you are using your stockpile as you are building it. Don't get discouraged if you use items faster than you anticipated, there's always the next time around to stock up with more.
I have always been a "stock-up" shopper and I loved shopping at Sam's Club. When I first got started couponing like this I had my doubts that Sam's Club would be more expensive than shopping with coupons. I thought for sure there would be no better way to shop than at Sam's Club - boy was I wrong!! I went through the store and compiled a list of the most common things I was buying at Sam's Club and broke it down by price per ounce, pound, package, etc. I put it all on a list and started to compare it when I was out couponing. Couponing is much cheaper than Sam's Club shopping. If you would like to see my list of items and the price break down, send me an e-mail and I would be happy to share it with you!
If you find that your estimates are too high and you purchased more than your family can use before it's expiration, please consider helping out family and friends, or donating to a needy family. There are so many ways to donate, and there are so many people in need right now.
You will want to keep your stockpile very organized so that you can see what you have easily to take an inventory for the next sale, and so that you use them in order of expiration date. Some people get very creative in finding ways to store their stockpiles, and it makes sense to do so when you are saving so much money.
You will quickly learn what the best prices are on items that you use regularly so that you know what the lowest price is when it comes around. When you just start out, you will be elated to get certain things cheap, but then you may realize later, that even that "cheap" price is too high and if you have a good stockpile to draw from, you will be able to wait to get it at even greater savings or FREE!
It will take you a good 6-9 months to build up a stockpile of items that you use regularly because you are using your stockpile as you are building it. Don't get discouraged if you use items faster than you anticipated, there's always the next time around to stock up with more.
I have always been a "stock-up" shopper and I loved shopping at Sam's Club. When I first got started couponing like this I had my doubts that Sam's Club would be more expensive than shopping with coupons. I thought for sure there would be no better way to shop than at Sam's Club - boy was I wrong!! I went through the store and compiled a list of the most common things I was buying at Sam's Club and broke it down by price per ounce, pound, package, etc. I put it all on a list and started to compare it when I was out couponing. Couponing is much cheaper than Sam's Club shopping. If you would like to see my list of items and the price break down, send me an e-mail and I would be happy to share it with you!
If you find that your estimates are too high and you purchased more than your family can use before it's expiration, please consider helping out family and friends, or donating to a needy family. There are so many ways to donate, and there are so many people in need right now.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Getting Started: Coupon Wording
You will need to be familiar with some of the common wording seen on coupons. Most of the fine print on coupons is easy to understand, but a few issues can be misinterpreted.
Sometimes coupons are issued at a store (for example, Walgreen's Register Rewards), or on a store's website and those coupons will have that particular store's logo or name on them. Sometimes they will say things like "Redeemable at Walgreen's". The one thing you want to remember about these coupons is that if they don't have the phrase "Redeemable ONLY at Walgreen's" they can be used at any store with a coupon policy in place that allows other store's coupons. A lot of stores will take manufacturer coupons with other store's logos or names on them, as long as they don't say "ONLY redeemable at XXX" and they have an address to submit them to for reimbursement. Check with the store's coupon policy or ask a Customer Service Specialist (or manager) at your store about taking these coupons. Another approach you can try is to ask the cashier to scan it at the register. If the register lets it go through without beeping, they can take it.
The other important wording on coupons that can get confusing is the "one per transaction" and "one per purchase" wording. One per transaction purely means just that, you can only use one coupon for each transaction. You can do 5 transactions and use one of that particular coupon in each transaction. Most coupons have the wording "one per purchase" and each item you are buying is considered a "purchase". There can be 5 of the same item in a transaction and you could use 5 coupons with that wording because each one is considered a purchase.
Sometimes coupons are issued at a store (for example, Walgreen's Register Rewards), or on a store's website and those coupons will have that particular store's logo or name on them. Sometimes they will say things like "Redeemable at Walgreen's". The one thing you want to remember about these coupons is that if they don't have the phrase "Redeemable ONLY at Walgreen's" they can be used at any store with a coupon policy in place that allows other store's coupons. A lot of stores will take manufacturer coupons with other store's logos or names on them, as long as they don't say "ONLY redeemable at XXX" and they have an address to submit them to for reimbursement. Check with the store's coupon policy or ask a Customer Service Specialist (or manager) at your store about taking these coupons. Another approach you can try is to ask the cashier to scan it at the register. If the register lets it go through without beeping, they can take it.
The other important wording on coupons that can get confusing is the "one per transaction" and "one per purchase" wording. One per transaction purely means just that, you can only use one coupon for each transaction. You can do 5 transactions and use one of that particular coupon in each transaction. Most coupons have the wording "one per purchase" and each item you are buying is considered a "purchase". There can be 5 of the same item in a transaction and you could use 5 coupons with that wording because each one is considered a purchase.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Getting Started: Double Coupons
Some stores run double coupon promotions or regularly double coupons up to a certain value. This is another reason why it's important to know your store's coupon policy. The store that you shop at may regularly double coupons that you are not aware of. Locally, we have Kroger (Hilander) and Schnucks (Logli) affiliate stores that both double coupons up to .55 daily, it's their policy. I do know that Kroger's double coupon policy varies by region so it may be different where you live.
K-mart also runs a double coupon promotion about every 6-8 weeks or so. K-mart's double coupon promotions are like a sale, they usually run Sunday through the following Saturday. They double coupons up to $2.00, which means a $2.00 off coupon instantly becomes $4.00 off at the register. They do not allow overage at the double coupon sale, so if the item price is less than the coupon doubled, they will only take off the full value of the coupon and double up to the item's price. The K-mart doubles sale was my favorite as a new coupon shopper because it was easy to do and I could build up my stockpile very quickly in a short amount of time. When doubling up to $2.00, a lot of items become free. Sometimes there are limits on how many coupons per day each shopper can double, sometimes your total has to be a certain amount before coupons ($25), and the rules change each time. You have to read the small print of the ad. I have even seen where they only double coupons on certain manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble. The double coupon sale is usually advertised in K-mart's sale flyer, but if you read any of the money saving blogs, you will know ahead of time so you can prepare. K-mart is not having another double coupon sale until 2010.
K-mart also runs a double coupon promotion about every 6-8 weeks or so. K-mart's double coupon promotions are like a sale, they usually run Sunday through the following Saturday. They double coupons up to $2.00, which means a $2.00 off coupon instantly becomes $4.00 off at the register. They do not allow overage at the double coupon sale, so if the item price is less than the coupon doubled, they will only take off the full value of the coupon and double up to the item's price. The K-mart doubles sale was my favorite as a new coupon shopper because it was easy to do and I could build up my stockpile very quickly in a short amount of time. When doubling up to $2.00, a lot of items become free. Sometimes there are limits on how many coupons per day each shopper can double, sometimes your total has to be a certain amount before coupons ($25), and the rules change each time. You have to read the small print of the ad. I have even seen where they only double coupons on certain manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble. The double coupon sale is usually advertised in K-mart's sale flyer, but if you read any of the money saving blogs, you will know ahead of time so you can prepare. K-mart is not having another double coupon sale until 2010.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Getting Started: Hang-tags/Wine-tags
Hang-tags or wine-tags are a great source for coupons. They are just as their name states - they hang on bottles, usually liquor of some kind, and more often than not, they hang on wine bottles. They are manufacturer coupons, sometimes on a specific product or sometimes as a general dollar amount off a category, such as "$1.00 off fresh produce" or "$4.00 off ground coffee". There are even rebates for certain items on hang-tags, for example "$3.00 off any whole turkey". A lot of the more serious couponers use hang-tags, I didn't learn about them until I had been couponing for quite a long time. They are a hot item to get your hands on.
With hang-tags, one would assume that you have to purchase the bottle of liquor that the coupon is hanging on in order to obtain it. In the state that I live in, Illinois, it is illegal to make a customer purchase alcohol to use these coupons and it usually states it right on the coupon. It usually says something like "No Wine Purchase Necessary" or in the fine print on the back it excludes IL as having to purchase alcohol by wording something like "No wine purchase necessary in IL". So, while at first you may feel a bit uncomfortable cruising the aisles of the liquor department collecting coupons from bottles, it's perfectly legal to take them. If a cashier tries to tell you that you have to purchase the wine/liquor in order to use the coupon, you can politely point out that in IL there's no restrictions for alcohol purchase.
Next time you are shopping at a store with a liquor department, stroll down the aisle and see what you find!
With hang-tags, one would assume that you have to purchase the bottle of liquor that the coupon is hanging on in order to obtain it. In the state that I live in, Illinois, it is illegal to make a customer purchase alcohol to use these coupons and it usually states it right on the coupon. It usually says something like "No Wine Purchase Necessary" or in the fine print on the back it excludes IL as having to purchase alcohol by wording something like "No wine purchase necessary in IL". So, while at first you may feel a bit uncomfortable cruising the aisles of the liquor department collecting coupons from bottles, it's perfectly legal to take them. If a cashier tries to tell you that you have to purchase the wine/liquor in order to use the coupon, you can politely point out that in IL there's no restrictions for alcohol purchase.
Next time you are shopping at a store with a liquor department, stroll down the aisle and see what you find!
Getting Started: Returns & Refunds
It's OK to return or exchange items that you bought with coupons. Coupons are essentially just like cash - only with an expiration date. When you return an item that you used a coupon to pay for, if the store cannot return your coupon to you, then they should refund the face value of the coupon in cash to you. If the store does not refund the value of the coupon to you in cash, they are profiting from your return. They have submitted the coupon to the manufacturer for that item, and will get reimbursed the face value plus .08-.12 for that coupon. Make sure you are credited correctly when making a return or exchange.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Getting Started: Holidays
Some weeks you will notice that there are no coupon inserts in the Sunday paper and that's because of a holiday schedule that the manufacturers follow with coupon inserts. There will be NO inserts the weeks of major holidays. To see a list of the inserts and when there will or won't be coupon inserts go to Coupon Tom and click on "Insert Schedule" up on the top navagation bar. If you purchase your newpapers at a retail outlet just for the coupon inserts, you want to be aware of this schedule so you don't purchase papers when you don't need them. If you have a subscription delivered to your house and only get it for the coupon inserts, you could call and put a vacation hold on your paper for that week so that you are not paying for papers that you don't need.
Getting Started: Store Coupon Policy & Cashiers
It's a good idea to be familiar with the store's coupon policy when you are shopping. Coupon policies can usually be found on the store's website or you can go to the "contact us" section of the store's website and send them an e-mail asking for their policy. They will usually e-mail it back to you. I keep copies of the store's coupon policies that I shop at in the front section of my coupon binder so I can refer to it while I am out shopping if I need to.
Sometimes a cashier will try to deny your use of coupons and you can refer back to the store's policy if you have it with you. Some cashiers can be really picky about coupon useage and will try to tell you that you can't use certain coupons for certain items. A lot of the time the cashiers just aren't trained properly on coupons, some don't even know their store policy on coupon useage. If you know the policy, you can (politely) give them the information they need to understand that what you are trying to do is within the store's coupon policy.
It's always a good idea to be as polite as possible with cashiers, you don't want to be labeled as a rude couponer or even worse, a fraudulent couponer. If you cannot convince them that what you are trying to do is right according to their policy, just let it go, there's no sense in extensive arguing because even though you might miss out on this deal, there's always another deal right around the corner - possibly a better one for the same item. It's OK to question their decision and even ask for a Customer Service Manager, but don't be too harsh. If it's a store that you shop frequently at, you want to have a good relationship with them. Trust me, they do remember you, cashiers and store staff talk. Just today the store manager at my Walgreens store addressed me by my name, and I was shocked because I never told him my name, but the other staff there knows me and I know that they all talk! I have a wonderful relationship with my Walgreens store staff and I would not risk that for one little coupon issue, I don't want to be embarrassed going into a store because I am rude or try to use coupons that I shouldn't. In looking at the big picture, it's better to just let it go.
Sometimes cashiers act as if the money is coming out of their own pockets. You can politely remind them that the store actually MAKES money accepting coupons. Maufacturer's pay the stores an additional .08-.12 for each coupon they submit. The store gets the full value of the coupon, plus that extra "handling" fee. I know it can be hard to be nice to someone who is being rude to you, but just "kill them with kindness"! It's the right thing to do to take the high road.
When stores submit coupons to manufacturers for reimbursement, the coupons all go into a big box, bag or envelope and get sent to a clearinghouse. They do not get sorted, matched to receipts or audited. A cashier may tell you differently, but it's a good thing to know when they are trying to tell you about fraudulent coupon use.
Sometimes a cashier will try to deny your use of coupons and you can refer back to the store's policy if you have it with you. Some cashiers can be really picky about coupon useage and will try to tell you that you can't use certain coupons for certain items. A lot of the time the cashiers just aren't trained properly on coupons, some don't even know their store policy on coupon useage. If you know the policy, you can (politely) give them the information they need to understand that what you are trying to do is within the store's coupon policy.
It's always a good idea to be as polite as possible with cashiers, you don't want to be labeled as a rude couponer or even worse, a fraudulent couponer. If you cannot convince them that what you are trying to do is right according to their policy, just let it go, there's no sense in extensive arguing because even though you might miss out on this deal, there's always another deal right around the corner - possibly a better one for the same item. It's OK to question their decision and even ask for a Customer Service Manager, but don't be too harsh. If it's a store that you shop frequently at, you want to have a good relationship with them. Trust me, they do remember you, cashiers and store staff talk. Just today the store manager at my Walgreens store addressed me by my name, and I was shocked because I never told him my name, but the other staff there knows me and I know that they all talk! I have a wonderful relationship with my Walgreens store staff and I would not risk that for one little coupon issue, I don't want to be embarrassed going into a store because I am rude or try to use coupons that I shouldn't. In looking at the big picture, it's better to just let it go.
Sometimes cashiers act as if the money is coming out of their own pockets. You can politely remind them that the store actually MAKES money accepting coupons. Maufacturer's pay the stores an additional .08-.12 for each coupon they submit. The store gets the full value of the coupon, plus that extra "handling" fee. I know it can be hard to be nice to someone who is being rude to you, but just "kill them with kindness"! It's the right thing to do to take the high road.
When stores submit coupons to manufacturers for reimbursement, the coupons all go into a big box, bag or envelope and get sent to a clearinghouse. They do not get sorted, matched to receipts or audited. A cashier may tell you differently, but it's a good thing to know when they are trying to tell you about fraudulent coupon use.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Getting Started: Buying & Trading Coupons
If you find yourself needing more coupons than what you have access to, there are a couple more options you have to expand your coupon stash.
ecoupons.com is a great place to trade coupons and it only costs the price of two stamps. How it works is really very easy. You go to the website here and sign up, then you mail them 25 coupons that you aren't going to use along with a self addressed, stamped envelope. Once they receive them, they will credit your account with one order credit. You can then sign on and choose 25 coupons from their list. I have used ecoupons.com for quite awhile and it works really well, when a great sale is coming up I can stock up on coupons of items that my family uses. I try to have several credits on file so that if I see some really good coupons I can order what I need without having to wait for more credits to arrive in my account. They are located in New Jersey so it does take a couple days for the coupons to arrive in the mail.
Trading with friends is a great way to get more coupons that you need, and there are coupon swaps forming at a lot of local libraries.
You can purchase coupons for pennies on the dollar at places like The Coupon Clippers, which is a clipping service. There are several different services like these out there, but I am not familiar with any of them because I have never used them.
Ebay is another place to buy coupons. Sellers are varied and I have never used Ebay for a source for coupons either so I am not familiar with their pricing.
ecoupons.com is a great place to trade coupons and it only costs the price of two stamps. How it works is really very easy. You go to the website here and sign up, then you mail them 25 coupons that you aren't going to use along with a self addressed, stamped envelope. Once they receive them, they will credit your account with one order credit. You can then sign on and choose 25 coupons from their list. I have used ecoupons.com for quite awhile and it works really well, when a great sale is coming up I can stock up on coupons of items that my family uses. I try to have several credits on file so that if I see some really good coupons I can order what I need without having to wait for more credits to arrive in my account. They are located in New Jersey so it does take a couple days for the coupons to arrive in the mail.
Trading with friends is a great way to get more coupons that you need, and there are coupon swaps forming at a lot of local libraries.
You can purchase coupons for pennies on the dollar at places like The Coupon Clippers, which is a clipping service. There are several different services like these out there, but I am not familiar with any of them because I have never used them.
Ebay is another place to buy coupons. Sellers are varied and I have never used Ebay for a source for coupons either so I am not familiar with their pricing.
Getting Started: Coupon Lookup
Need to find coupons to match up to your grocery list or sale flyer? Head over to Coupon Tom and search for it. You can also find a link to Coupon Tom on the sidebar to the right.
Coupon Tom tells you exactly which flyer to find your coupons in. Type in a brand name or just the item and a list will show where all the relevant coupons can be clipped. It will give a date and the abbreviation for the insert. It also lists an expiration date so you know how soon you have to use it. You can also find some internet printables on Coupon Tom.
Coupon Tom tells you exactly which flyer to find your coupons in. Type in a brand name or just the item and a list will show where all the relevant coupons can be clipped. It will give a date and the abbreviation for the insert. It also lists an expiration date so you know how soon you have to use it. You can also find some internet printables on Coupon Tom.
Getting Started: Coupon Organization
There's no right or wrong way to organize your coupons. You have to use whichever method is right for you. If you are just starting out you may find it easy to just use an envelope, but if you have been doing this awhile you many need something bigger. Here are some ideas for organization:
I started out using envelopes with paper clips, and then moved up to the coupon organizer, but these didn't seem to work for me. I had too many coupons and they were taking over my purse - my purse had become a coupon bag and nothing more.
I switched to the 3 ring binder method of organizing and I LOVE it! A friend of mine (Thanks, Dawn!) suggested trying it and I am so glad that she did. I was able to find one for .99 and it's a really nice one. It has a zipper and a zippered pouch on the outside where I store my lists. It has an accordian type area where I keep copies of store coupon policies and extra coupon books that I find at the store. It also has a zippered section where I carry a pair of scissors and pens. I found a free zippered pencil pouch that I put in there to hold some coupons if I need to set them aside for any reason. I have divided it in sections by products. I used file folders to make the dividers for the sections. My coupons are kept in plastic pages that can be purchased at any hobby store or office supply store. I use the baseball card size pages for smaller coupons and then I found some pages that hold 4X6 photos that I store larger coupons and internet printed coupons. Here's a couple photos of my organizer so you can get an idea of what I am trying to explain here:
Snacks, crackers, cookies
Cereals, granola bars
Sauces, spreads, canned items
Breads, pasta, rices, spices
Dairy, yogurt, frozen produce
Meats, frozen pizza
Toothpaste, brushes, mouthwash
Razors, shave cream
Personal hygeine items
Baby
Hair care, body wash, soap, deodorant, medicine, first aid, Q-tips, make-up
Office supplies, school supplies
Cleaning, laundry, paper products, bug control
Pets
Toys, games
- envelope - use a plain letter envelope to store your coupons. You may want to have one envelope for food and grocery items and one for personal care, toiletries, pet items, etc. Keep like coupons together with paper clips so you can easily flip through them as you make your way through the store.
- coupon organizer - these are a little larger and have divided sections for keeping like coupons together. They usually have some sort of clasp to keep them closed.
- empty check book cover - if you aren't going to carry a lot of coupons with you, ask at your bank for an extra check book cover and use that to carry your coupons in.
- 3 ring binder - method is for those who carry a lot of coupons with and like to be organized at the store. Try to find a zippered one so if it gets turned on it's side you won't loose everything tucked inside.
- box - you can use some sort of box to store, sort and carry your coupons in. I have seen shoe boxes used, large recipe boxes and plastic containers with lids.
I started out using envelopes with paper clips, and then moved up to the coupon organizer, but these didn't seem to work for me. I had too many coupons and they were taking over my purse - my purse had become a coupon bag and nothing more.
I switched to the 3 ring binder method of organizing and I LOVE it! A friend of mine (Thanks, Dawn!) suggested trying it and I am so glad that she did. I was able to find one for .99 and it's a really nice one. It has a zipper and a zippered pouch on the outside where I store my lists. It has an accordian type area where I keep copies of store coupon policies and extra coupon books that I find at the store. It also has a zippered section where I carry a pair of scissors and pens. I found a free zippered pencil pouch that I put in there to hold some coupons if I need to set them aside for any reason. I have divided it in sections by products. I used file folders to make the dividers for the sections. My coupons are kept in plastic pages that can be purchased at any hobby store or office supply store. I use the baseball card size pages for smaller coupons and then I found some pages that hold 4X6 photos that I store larger coupons and internet printed coupons. Here's a couple photos of my organizer so you can get an idea of what I am trying to explain here:
I organized it so that when it sits in the seat of the cart I can flip through the pages and see each coupon and it's information (exp date, value, size, etc).
My divided sections are as follows:
Stores - this is where I keep store specific coupons
Hang-tags/Wine-tags
BeveragesSnacks, crackers, cookies
Cereals, granola bars
Sauces, spreads, canned items
Breads, pasta, rices, spices
Dairy, yogurt, frozen produce
Meats, frozen pizza
Toothpaste, brushes, mouthwash
Razors, shave cream
Personal hygeine items
Baby
Hair care, body wash, soap, deodorant, medicine, first aid, Q-tips, make-up
Office supplies, school supplies
Cleaning, laundry, paper products, bug control
Pets
Toys, games
Making the switch over to this method was a little time consuming, but well worth it. The time that I spend setting it up has helped me save time everytime I file coupons or go shopping. If you are going to be serious about coupons (and why wouldn't you?) and use them as a regular part of your shopping trips I highly recommend the binder method for organization. Remember, you aren't clipping all the coupons that you get, you are only putting coupons in your binder that you KNOW you are going to use.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Getting Started: Overage and Making Money with coupons
When couponing, overage can happen - and it's a wonderful thing! Overage is when your coupons total more than the item's price. Overage is a gift, not a right - shoppers are not entitled to overage. Some stores allow overage, some don't. Some stores/cashiers don't even realize its happening when completing your transaction. The most important thing to remember when shopping and expecting overage is to make sure you have items in your cart to use up your overage in your transaction because a cashier will never give you money out of the register when your balance is negative! You don't want to be scrambling at the register to throw in packs of gum and candy bars to get you out of the negative. Use up the overage on things that you need or don't have coupons for.
The best way to get overage when using store and manufactuer coupons is to hand over the manufacturer coupons first. Store coupons take the amount off each individual item resulting in the value being lowered. Manufacturer coupons come off the total value of the complete sale and therefore won't effect the price of individual items.
Another way to make money with transactions is when you get Catalina coupons (also called Register Rewards @ Walgreens) at the register. These are usually coupons for a certain value off your next shopping trip. I will go into more detail on Catalinas and Register Rewards later.
The best way to get overage when using store and manufactuer coupons is to hand over the manufacturer coupons first. Store coupons take the amount off each individual item resulting in the value being lowered. Manufacturer coupons come off the total value of the complete sale and therefore won't effect the price of individual items.
Another way to make money with transactions is when you get Catalina coupons (also called Register Rewards @ Walgreens) at the register. These are usually coupons for a certain value off your next shopping trip. I will go into more detail on Catalinas and Register Rewards later.
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