Coupon 101 — Moms Need To Know ™

When Should You Give The Cashier Your Loyalty Card?

By Mindi Cherry on April 24, 2012
in Coupon 101

Reader Quanna asked:

when should you give the cashier your store loyality card? Before, during or after ringing up?

The answer is….in most cases, any time!

If you want the big dramatic price drop (that you see in a “certain show”), then wait until after your items have been rung up and before you hand your cashier your coupons. If it makes you happy to see the price of chicken breasts drop from $4.29/lb (an “insanity price”) to about $2/lb (my normal stockup price), then by all means, wait until the last possible moment to hand your cashier your store card. But bottom line? You are going to save the same amount no matter when you hand your card to the cashier. I am usually so busy loading my groceries on to the belt that I don’t give over my card until AT LEAST halfway through the transaction!

With most stores, as long as you give over your loyalty card before you actually pay, you will get all the sale prices, the (where applicable) double coupons, etc.

So the answer is…whenever you want! (but check with your store…there may be exceptions!)

Have a question about how to use coupons? Submit them here and I will answer them in a future post!

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Questions from Readers | How do You Change Zip Codes?

By Mindi Cherry on March 25, 2012
in Coupon 101, Readers Want To Know

Reader Stacie asked:

How do you change zip codes to be able to print coupons from other areas? Thanks.

Changing the zip code when you are trying to print coupons at Coupons.com, SmartSource or Redplum is super easy, and often a way to find some great coupons!

:: on Coupons.com

Look in the upper-left hand corner of your screen and you will see a box (pictured above). Simply enter the zip code you want and click on the orange arrow. You will see all the coupons that are available in that zip code!

:: on SmartSource

You will usually be prompted to enter a zip code when you get to the SmartSource site. If not, you will see a box in the upper-right-hand side of the screen where you can enter or change your zip code. SmartSource even makes it easy for you by giving you a drop-down menu that takes you to the specific coupons for each brand!

:: on Redplum

Once again, look in the upper-left-hand side of the screen. If you have previously entered a zip code, there will be a city listed, not a zip code. Next to the city is a green button with the word “Change” on it. Click on that and enter a new zip code. Make sure that you use the drop-down menu next to that to increase your radius to 50 miles in order to get the maximum available coupons!

Do you have questions about using coupons? Submit them here and I will answer them in a future post!

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Counterfeit Huggies Coupon (and more about counterfeit coupons)

By Mindi Cherry on February 28, 2012
in Coupon 101, Coupon Ethics

Every so often, there is a surge in counterfeit coupon creation, and it seems that we are deep in the middle of one.

In the last 2 hours, I have heard about the above Huggies coupon (which is making the rounds of the Internets in .pdf form) AND had one of my Facebook friends post the following on my personal FB page:

I have a quick question for you. Do you know anything about Pedigree giving away coupons for a free 40 lb bag of dog food? Can’t find anything on the ‘net and someone is at my husband’s store trying to get ten free bags. Seems fraudulent to me

So let’s go over this again:

In most cases, any coupon emailed to you in .pdf form (where you need Acrobat Reader or a similar program in order to read it) is either counterfeit or a scanned copy of a “real coupon”. Both are illegal to use in your store and if caught, can get you arrested. Don’t believe me? I can point you to plenty of news stories of people being arrested and charged (and convicted) of fraud for doing exactly that.

There are some legitimate .pdf coupons out there. They are few and far between and tend to be a nightmare. They are often created by companies that want to issue coupons, but don’t want to pay the fee to a site like Coupons.com to control the number of times the coupon can be printed. Then people print off 100 of them, they start to be redeemed WAY more than the company ever intended and then the company declares the coupon that THEY created to be fraudulent (when the reality is that the company was stupid in the way that they issued the coupon in the first place)

Coupons that are “too good to be true” generally are. In the case of my friend, her husband had a customer trying to redeem a coupon (actually 10 coupons) for an approximately $40 item. While companies do release legitimate free-item coupons (I get a ton of them), a dog food company is not going to start giving free $40 bags when they have smaller bags. She said that the coupon LOOKED legit….it was color and glossy on one side, the weight of the paper was correct, etc, but coupon counterfeiters are now able to find and use the same paper and technology to create these coupons. Once again, we need to use some common sense here and know that they just AREN’T going to give out this high-value coupon.

For more information, check out the various posts I have written about Coupon Ethics, especially my Why Stores Don’t Trust Coupon Users post.

And check out this list of all the current counterfeit coupons circulating. Your head will explode just from the sheer volume of them!

Looking for more Extreme Couponing tips? Make sure that you check out all the posts in my Coupon 101 and Coupon Ethics sections!

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Questions from Readers: Crest Whitestrips Coupons?

By Mindi Cherry on February 6, 2012
in Coupon 101

The following question came from a reader:

what will the $7 and $10 dollars crest whitening coupons work on??

I have to say, I was sad to see this question.

The answer is, Crest Whitestrips coupons are only to be used to Crest Whitestrips products. If you are looking for a website that will teach you Coupon Barcode Decoding (AKA – Coupon Fraud), you are on the wrong website.

For more information,check out my Ethical Couponing posts

Do you have a question about using coupons? Make sure that you submit your questions on my Coupon Questions & Answers page and it will be featured in an upcoming post!

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Know Your Store Coupon Policy!

By Mindi Cherry on January 15, 2012
in Coupon 101

Knowing the coupon policy at your local stores is an important part of saving money! Not only will it save you confusion and embarrassment at the checkout lanes, but since every store has a different policy (how many coupons they will accept, how many like-coupons they will accept, how many and up to what value they will double coupons, what types of coupons they accept, etc)

Most stores have made it easy for you by posting their coupon policy online. You can usually find it through the “customer service” section of your stores website. If you can’t find it on their website, email their customer service department and ask them to mail you a copy.

Some key questions to ask or to look for in the store policy:

Aside from the traditional coupons from the newspaper and magazines, what kind of other coupons do they accept? Printable coupons? Digital Coupons (i.e. Upromise, Cellfire, SavingStar, etc)? Competitors coupons?
Do they accept printable coupons for a free product? What about coupons for free product that also require an additional purchase (Buy One Get One Free, etc)?
Is there a maximum value of coupon that they will accept? Many stores now only accept printable coupons with a value of $5 or less, but still accept traditional coupons for any value (although high-value coupons may require manager approval).
Do they double or triple coupons? If so, is it every day or just on certain days? What is the maximum value of coupon that you will double and to how much?
Is there are maximum number of coupons that they will accept or that will double per transaction? A maximum number of like-coupons that they will accept or double?
Do they allow overage on coupons or will the value of the coupon be adjusted down (for instance, if an item is for $0.79 and you have a $1 coupon, will they allow you to use that extra $0.21 towards the rest of your order?)?
Will they price-match with other local stores if you bring in their ad?

This is the type of information that you need to have about each store if you are going to be successful at saving money honestly. For example, if your store policy is to only double 2 of the same coupon per transaction, then you are going to need to plan your transactions in a way that lets you maximize your savings!

:: Walmart Coupon Policy

:: Target Coupon Policy

:: CVS Coupon Policy

:: Rite Aid Coupon Policy

:: Walgreens Coupon Policy

Looking for more Extreme Couponing tips? Make sure that you check out all the posts in my Coupon 101 and Coupon Ethics sections!

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Share The Coupons With Other Shoppers!

By Mindi Cherry on January 13, 2012
in Coupon 101

I always joke that y0u can tell when it is the last few days of the month and I have been at the grocery store….because you can follow the trail of soon-to-be-expired coupons behind me!

By clipping my coupons each week and filing them in my binder, I often have coupons each week that will expire that I may not use.

And so, I become “The Coupon Fairy”…and you can be one too!

Are you in the cereal aisle and there are no good sales and you don’t really NEED cereal that week, but have coupons that will expire before you go shopping again? Simply drop the coupons on the shelf! The next person looking to buy cereal may be able to use them!

I no longer have children in diapers, but I always clip the diaper coupons. Why? Because I drop them on the shelves whenever I am in the store. I remember the 8 years that I spent buying diapers every.single.week and every bit of savings helps! It’s a way to do your good deed for the day!

My friends have cats and I don’t (partly because Brad is allergic and partly because I think cats are evil creatures who suck out the breath of children), but each time I see them in the inserts, I clip the cat food and litter coupons and give them to them. I also make it a point to let them know when those coupons can be maximized with a really good deal.

How do you share your savings with others?

Looking for more tips on how to Save Money With Coupons? Make sure that you check out all the posts in my Coupon 101 and Coupon Ethics sections!

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How Many Copies Of The Sunday Paper Should I Buy?

By Mindi Cherry on January 12, 2012
in Coupon 101

I get this question all the time and the answer is simple: It Depends!

There have been weeks where I have bought just 1 copy of the newspaper, and there was 1 week where I bought 22 copies of the newspaper! (and plenty of weeks in between where I bought anywhere from 3-10 issues). So how do you know how many copies to buy each week?

As a general rule, I like to think that 1 copy per family member should be your minimum. If you have 5 members in your family, you should be getting 5 copies of the paper each week.

HOWEVER, this rule is not set in stone. There are some weeks where the coupons are pretty yucky, and according to the Coupon Insert Schedule, some weeks where there will be no coupons. How do you find a healthy balance, not buy more newspapers than you need, but not miss the good coupons?

Consider a Subscription: I have 3 subscriptions to the Philadelphia Inquirer…so every week they throw 3 papers on my driveway. This gives me a good starting point and most major newspapers will have a deal every few months where you can get the Sunday paper at a deeply discounted rate. Keep looking for those deals and renew your subscription at the discounted rate whenever possible.

Check out the Sunday Coupon listings: updated by Thursday morning each week, this is a complete listing of the coupons that will be in the Sunday newspapers. Check out the coupons, see which ones you like and make your decision based on that!

Never miss my Coupon Insert Preview posts: every Saturday morning, I post my Coupon Insert preview post, where I detail what I think are the best coupons this week. I let you know how many newspapers that I will be buying that week. I’ve been told and emailed that many of my readers find this an invaluable tool and that I am rarely wrong!

How many copies of the newspaper do you buy each week? How do you decide how many to buy?

Looking for more Extreme Couponing tips? Make sure that you check out all the posts in my Coupon 101 and Coupon Ethics sections!

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How Do I Save Money at Walgreens?

By Mindi Cherry on January 11, 2012
in Coupon 101, Drug Stores, Walgreens

If you are looking to get many of your everyday toiletries for free, then Walgreens is a good place to do it! By following the weekly Walgreens Deals, you can pay nothing (or next to nothing) for most of your basic toiletries. Wouldn’t it be great to never again pay for toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, stylers, razors, pain relievers and more?

:: The Basics of Walgreens

Register Rewards: these are the coupons that spit out of the coupon machine next to the cashier. They are triggered by purchasing specific items at Walgreens. Those items are listed in the ad as well as in my weekly Walgreens deals posts. Register Rewards can only be redeemed at Walgreens.

Register Rewards Limits: In most cases, Register Rewards are limited to 1 per like-product per transaction. What that means is that if, for example, Crest is producing a Register Reward this week and you want to buy 2 Crests, you will need to split your transaction in to 2 transactions. If you buy both in a single transaction, only 1 Register Reward will print.

Rolling Register Rewards: you can use a Register Reward to pay for an item that is also generating a Register Reward with 1 very big exception – you will not get a Register Reward when you have used a Register Reward from the same manufacturer to pay for it. Using the toothpaste example, if you were to buy the Crest in the first transaction and then use the Register Reward to pay for the Crest (or any other Proctor & Gamble product) in your next transaction, you will not receive another Register Reward. This does mean that you need to do a little more planning for your trip, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes less of an issue.

Monthly Coupon Book: Each month Walgreens puts out their Instant Value Coupon (IVC) book. These can usually be found in the front of the store in the same rack as where they keep extra copies of the ad for the week. These are store coupons that can be stacked with manufacturers coupons for even greater savings. IVC coupons usually have a limit to the number of items that you can purchase with them.

In-ad coupons: these are almost always store coupons that can be stacked with manufacturers coupons. In-ad coupons can NOT be stacked with coupons from the monthly coupon book.

Random Coupon Books: several times a year, Walgreens will release additional booklets/magazines focused around a specific topic (Diabetes, Heart Health, Baby Care, etc). These magazines typically have additional Walgreen coupons in them and occasionally some manufacturers coupons. The manufacturers coupons in the magazines can usually be used at any other store. The Walgreens coupons can only be redeemed at Walgreens.

Coupon to Product Ratio: When shopping at Walgreens, you can not have more coupons than items in your transaction. What that means is that if you are purchasing, for example, a bottle of shampoo and you have an IVC coupon as well as a manufacturers coupon and are paying with a Register Reward from a previous transaction, you will need to purchase 3 items. The reason for this is that each coupon barcode must be “attached” to a product barcode. There is no getting around this rule at Walgreens, so just remember “Number of ALL coupons (including Register Rewards) must be equal to or less than the number of products”. To solve this problem, you may often read me or hear people refer to “filler items”. This is anything in the store that you can grab to get your Coupon-to-Product ratio to the right amount…..a $0.25 eraser, a $0.50 candy bar, etc. “Filler items” can be anything in the store, so always be on the lookout for these cheap items for when you need them!

Coupon acceptance: you can check out the most recent Walgreens Coupon policy

[Read more...]

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How Do I Save Money at Rite Aid?

By Mindi Cherry on January 10, 2012
in Coupon 101, Rite Aid

If you are looking to get many of your everyday toiletries for free, then Rite Aid is a good place to do it! By following the weekly Rite Aid Deals, you can pay nothing (or next to nothing) for most of your basic toiletries. Wouldn’t it be great to never again pay for toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, stylers, razors, pain relievers and more?

:: The Basics of Rite Aid

The Wellness card: you will need to get this in order for any of the deals at Rite Aid to work. You can sign up at RiteAid.com or in the store. If you sign up in-store, you will be able to start working the deals immediately.

Single Check Rebates: The most important thing to remember about the SCR program is that you may only request a SINGLE CHECK per month. If you buy items eligible for a SCR at the beginning of the month and immediately request your refund check, you will be unable to participate in the program for the remainder of the month. To submit your refund, simply visit the Single Check Rebate area of RiteAid.com. Once you have logged in you will be prompted to enter the store number, register number and transaction number from your Rite Aid receipt. In many cases, you may receive a message telling you that they are waiting for information from the store before they can process your refund. Don’t worry if you get this message….it can take up to 5 days for Rite Aid to receive the transaction information from the store!

At the end of the month, simply log back on to your account and request your check for all eligible rebates for the month!

+UP Rewards: These are very similar to the Extra Care Bucks at CVS in that they are coupons that print at the bottom of your receipt when you purchase qualifying items. They can be used as cash on almost anything in the store.

Video Values: store coupons that you can earn by watching videos on the Rite Aid Video values site. These can be stacked with manufacturers coupons for even greater savings. Video Values Coupons have a barcode that start with a “RC49″

In-ad coupons: these are almost always store coupons that can be stacked with manufacturers coupons. In-ad coupons usually have a barcode that starts with “RC49″

Coupon acceptance: you can check out the most recent Rite Aid Coupon policy

[Read more...]

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How Do I Save Money At CVS?

By Mindi Cherry on January 9, 2012
in Coupon 101, CVS

If you are looking to get many of your everyday toiletries for free, then CVS is a good place to do it! By following the weekly CVS Deals, you can pay nothing (or next to nothing) for most of your basic toiletries. Wouldn’t it be great to never again pay for toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, stylers, razors, pain relievers and more?

:: The Basics of CVS

The Extra Care card: you will need to get this in order for any of the deals at CVS to work. You can sign up at CVS.com or in the store. If you sign up in-store, you will be able to start working the deals immediately. You will want to register your Extra Care card at CVS.com and you’ll instantly get a $4/$20 coupon.

Extra Care Bucks: these are the coupons that print at the bottom of your receipt when you buy specific items each week. The products that will generate the Extra Care Bucks are listed in the weekly CVS ad and I also do the work for you and detail them in my weekly CVS coupon matchups. Extra Care Bucks can be used as cash for almost everything in the store (there are a few exceptions such as gift cards, lottery, precriptions, etc). Extra Care Bucks are usually referred to as “ECBs”

The Coupon Machine: most stores now have a price checker in the store. This is a red free-standing machine that is usually in the middle of the store. In addition to checking prices, you can often get extra coupons just for scanning your Extra Care Card!

Coupons:

You can use one manufacturer and one CVS coupon per item. You may also use Extra Care Bucks towards your total purchase.

For Buy One Get One Free sales, you may use 2 manufacturers coupons towards the purchase or 1 manufacturer’s Buy One Get One Free coupon.

If the coupon value is greater than the purchase price of an item, the value of the coupon will be adjusted down to the purchase price. You will not receive cash back.