How To Save!!

Are you ready to learn some new exciting ways to save?  Let's eliminate those days when going to the fridge was a drag because you know there's hardly anything in there.  Or looking into your cabinets only to find a half jar of peanut butter with no jelly, or a box of pasta but no pasta sauce, or just a bunch of seasoning that you can't use because there's nothing in the fridge or freezer to season.  How frustrating and depressing.  I started to shop smarter and found that making one huge shopping trip a month was not working for me.  By the time the end of the month got here it was peanut butter with no jelly time.  When I started couponing I came to the realization that there are new deals every single week at my local grocery store and new coupons also, so why not go shopping every single week that way I get to snag all the deals.  The best way to save is to only shop for what's on sale that particular week and match those sales with manufacturer coupons AND even stack that with store coupons for more savings.  It's not about what coupon you have it's when and how you use it. You can't use two manufacturer coupons on one product but you can use one manufacturer and one store coupon together. That's a store sale, a manufacturer's coupon and a store coupon for the best savings. How great is that?!  I would suggest getting a store loyalty card because that alone is mega savings. Let's look at an example of coupon stacking.

Let's say Welch's grape juice was on sale for 2/$4 and you have a manufacturer's coupon for $1 off one and you also have a store coupon for $1 off one.  That's $2 off, making this $2 for 2 juices.  That's $1 a bottle and 50% savings!!  Make sense? Sometimes you can even catch a good sale and walk away with free items. For ex:  A can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup usually cost about $1.25 but the store has it on sale for $.50 and you have a coupon for $.50 off one can that makes it FREE!!  If you can get your hands on a lot of those coupons you can walk away with tons of free soup.

Another great coupon is what we call a moneymaker a.k.a  better than free.  My Fave!  A moneymaker does just that, makes you money.  Depending on your store coupon policy you can get money back if the value of the coupon exceeds the price of the product.  Some stores don't allow cash back for coupons they will just lower the coupon to match the price of the item..  Let's take a look at an example.

A 10pk of Schick disposable razors are on sale at Walmart for $1.25 and you have a coupon for $2 off 4pk or more of Schick disposable razors.  That is a $.75 moneymaker!  They will either give you back that money in cash or you can use it towards other things in you cart/basket.  If you can get your hands on let's say 5 of these same like coupons, that's $3.75 in your pocket. Unless there is a restriction on the coupon saying how many coupons you can use in a transaction, Walmart just paid you $3.75 to walk out of their store with 5 10pks of Schick disposable razors!!  WHAT!!  If that doesn't excite you then ppshh!!

That feeling you get while walking out of the store with all these free products and possibly extra money in your pocket is indescribable.  It'll definitely increases your heart rate for sure!  

Now, some stores even double coupons (If you want to know if your local store doubles you have to get a copy of their coupon policy.  You can obtain this by either emailing, calling, or looking it up on the internet to print or download).  Doubling means if you have a coupon value of $.50 the store will double it to $1.00.  Some stores only double coupons up to $.50 meaning if the normal value of the coupon is over $.50 then they won't double it.  With that said the most a cents off coupon can be worth is $1.00.  Some stores will only double one like coupon.  Let's say you have two of the same coupon each giving $.50 off they will only double one to $1.00.  The other coupon you will only get $.50 off.  Let's take a look at an example of how you can save with doubling.

A can of Del Monte diced tomatoes are priced at $1.15 and you have a manufacturer's coupon for $.50 that coupon doubles to $1.00 and the canned tomatoes are only $.15.  Depending on your store's policy you can rack up on this deal.

Some coupons like the one below say "DO NOT DOUBLE".  What it should say is "WILL NOT DOUBLE".  Just because a coupon says do not double doesn't mean the store can't double the coupon, it just means the manufacturer is not going to reimburse the store the doubled price only the face value of the coupon.  So don't worry if you come across one of these coupons.  It doesn't affect you.

Ok, let's talk about Rain Checks.  A Raincheck is basically a piece of paper given to you by the store when a sale item is no longer in stock.  When that particular item is restocked and the sale is over you can hand them this paper and say "Uh UUH, I'm getting this for the sale price"!  Well don't say that just hand them the paper and think it in your head..lol.. On this paper it will list the item, how much it was on sale for, the quantity of the item, and the date issued just to name a few.  There may be an expiration date and a limit of how many of that item you can get so just ask. See below for ex: