Couponing 101

These days, it seems that the price of everything is on the rise. If you walk through your grocery store or drive down the street and look at the fuel prices, you will probably agree. So, how can you keep more of what you have earned, while still giving your family the things it needs? The answer is simple – Coupons.

Yes, those little inserts in the newspaper and in magazines really can make a difference – if you understand how to use them. So, let’s discuss coupon lingo first.

ONE COUPON PER PURCHASE. When a coupon contains this verbiage, it means that you can use one coupon for each item you purchase. So, if you have a 3 coupons for cereal, you can purchase 3 boxes and use all 3 coupons in one transaction.

ONE COUPON PER TRANSACTION. This means that you can only use on coupon each time you make a purchase. So, if you have 3 cereal coupons, you would need to make 3 separate transactions in order to use all of them.

ONE COUPON PER VISIT. If your coupon states this, then you can only use one coupon each time you walk into the establishment. Going back to our 3 cereal coupons as our example – you can only use one coupon every time you go to the store and would need to leave and re-enter the store to use more than one on the same day.

BUY ONE GET ONE (free or discounted). This is as simple as it sounds. When you buy the specified item as listed on the coupon, you can get something for absolutely NOTHING, or discounted if that is how it reads.

The catch with these coupons is that the manufacturer normally puts a limit on your free item. For example, it may say “not to exceed $3.49”. If the shelf price of the item that should be free is $3.59, you will be responsible for the difference of $0.10.

Now that you know how to read your coupons, let’s discuss the best way to use them.

CHECK BAR CODES: When you are going to use your coupon, match up the bar code on the coupon and not just the picture. So, the coupon may show one picture, but the coupon says “Good on any ABC Company product.” So that means that you can use the coupon for that are just not on the picture and you can save even more money.

STORE COUPONS + MANUFACTURER COUPONS: Combine your manufacturer coupon with your store coupons. For example: If you have a $1.00/2 pop tarts manufacturer coupon and then go to Target's website and print off a web coupon for $1.00/2, you can use BOTH and purchase two boxes for only .67 each!! Not too shabby, eh?

BUY ONE GET ONE STORE SALE + COUPONS: When a store offers B1G1 Free, purchase two items and use two manufacturer’s coupons. After all, you are still purchasing two items, so you should get the discount on both. So, if your item you are purchasing as B1G1 Free retails for $4.00 and you have a coupon for $0.50/1, you will actually get two items for only $3.00 (One is free and then $0.50*2=$1.00).

The only caution I have to cashing in on store B1G1 is if you have a coupon for B1G1. When this occurs, you will need to check with the store’s coupon policy to see how this works. This would be handled one of two ways:

Option 1 – Both items will be free. The one you are paying for is being given to you free by the store, so you don’t actually have to pay for it.

Option 2 - The store would require you to purchase 4 items (as they will give you 2 for free, and you will get 1 more for free, paying for only 1 item).

PRESENT YOUR COUPONS IN THE RIGHT ORDER. If you have a coupon that reads (for example) $5.00 off of a $25.00 purchase -- always give that one first and then give any store and manufacturer coupons. That way, you can really tack on the savings. Otherwise, if you use the coupons, you could fall below the required purchase amount and then not be able to use this coupon.

So, if your purchase total is $28.00 and you have $4.00 in coupons and a $5.00 off of a $25.00 purchase, you would want the $5.00 to come off first. Then, they would reduce your purchase by an additional $4.00, making your final amount due $19.00.

However, if you give the $4.00 in coupons first, then your total is now $24.00 and the $5.00 off of a $25.00 purchase is no longer applicable.

The only caution with this is to read the lingo on the $5.00 off of a $25.00 coupon – it may state that this coupon is after any coupons. So read the fine print.

MATCH UP COUPONS WITH SALES: It can seem like a poker game sometime in knowing when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em. In the coupon “game”, playing your coupon at the right time can really save you money. If you match up an item on sale with a coupon, you can really increase your savings.

This can take some time, so that is where I come in. I do the hard work for you each week. I match-up Price Chopper, Hy-Vee, Target, Walmart, CVS and Walgreens each week so you know which coupons to use.

So, now that you know how to read and use your coupons, you probably want to know how to find them. Stay tuned and we’ll cover that next week!