Questions from Readers: Crest Whitestrips Coupons?

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!

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!

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?

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?


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

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How Do I Save Money at 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

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How Do I Save Money At 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.

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Saving Money With Coupons: Know Your Grocery Store Danger Zones!

Did you know that, despite your best intentions, grocery stores have made a complete science of ways of getting you to spend more than you intended? Arm yourself with these facts, and you will save yourself money!

  1. Checkout aisles: it’s no secret that these contain the most popular “impulse buys”. From candy bars to sodas to magazines, the checkout is designed to be the last chance to get the maximum amount of money out of you. Whether it is the magazine that you are casually leafing through as you wait your turn, or the chocolate bar that your child will DIE if he doesn’t get…or even the fundraiser of the month. Most of these items are not on sale (and some are even ridiculously priced…we are conditioned to think of magazines as priced at $3-$4 per issue. My local store has recently started putting those $14 “special editions” at the checkout!)
  2. Endcaps: Did you know that manufacturers pay to be placed on an endcap each week (as well as to featured in the weekly grocery circulars)? We think that if it is on the end of an aisle, with a big “SALE” sign, it must be a great price.  Want to know what was on an endcap at the store when I went the other day?  Boxes of cereal that were regularly $2.79, marked down to $2.50.
  3. The Bakery and Coffee Shop:  there is a reason that these are placed right near the entrance to your store.  They know that if you walk in and smell fresh coffee brewing or fresh bread baking, it will tantalize your tastebuds, make you suddenly hungry and entice you to spend more
  4. The Deli Area:  while I will be one of the first to attest to Boars Head Roast Beef, buying your cold cuts at the deli counter can cost you 2-3x what it should.  Look for deals on lunchmeats and cheeses in the meat and dairy sections.  In many cases, there are even coupons for them!

What are your “danger areas” in the grocery stores?

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

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Saving Money With Coupons: Know When To Shop!

If there is one thing that is true in using coupons (as in life)…it’s that “timing is everything” . So many people say to me “yeah – I see a coupon for $1/2 of X product…then I take it to the store and the product is $4.99 that week.  Big Whoop! It’s too much trouble and not enough of a return to use coupons”.

Well – YEAH…if you sit at your kitchen table on a Sunday morning clipping coupons, then head out to the store 2 hours later to use those coupons..then you will NEVER maximize your savings.

Manufacturers count on you Sunday Morning Clippers! But here is a little secret for you:  with very few exceptions, you should never use a coupon until about 2 weeks after it was in the newspaper!

Sales cycles at grocery stores are on a very predictable 8-12 week cycle.  Most of your needs will hit their rock bottom price at one point every 8-12 weeks…..and the coupon that is released will generally NOT be the same week that it is the “rock bottom price”.  You need to HOLD ON to that coupon once you clip it…and wait for the lowest price!

Coupon + lowest price = maximum savings!

Now let’s throw in Double Coupons…..

If you live in an area where Double Coupons aren’t the “norm”, but your store occasionally has those events, make sure that you hold on to those coupons for those events! (I happen to live in an area where all the stores double, so I have a little bit more flexibility with my savings.)

Add Store Coupons

Many stores will release their own coupons that can be stacked with manufacturers coupons.  Pair this savings with a double-coupon event?  You have the “Perfect Storm of Savings!”

What are your best tips for timing your savings?

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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Saving Money With Coupons: Know How To Read a Grocery Circular

Ahh – the grocery circulars….those geniuses of marketing designed to get you in to the stores! We often think of the weekly mailings that we get as notifying us of the sales…and in many cases that is true. But in many cases that is not! Here is a quick list of what you need to know:

  1. The front and back pages usually have the true sales for the week. The best prices can be found there. Shop THOSE deals before anything else!
  2. The terms “Save with Card” without telling you how much you are saving usually means no savings at all (or maybe $0.20 savings…woohoo!)
  3. Look for “On Your Next Trip” deals: these can become a huge source of savings for your meats, produce and things for which we normally don’t see coupons. Simply put, the store is advertising that you will get a coupon at checkout for a certain amount off your next trip when you buy specific items. But those items (using coupons to bring your cost down) and get “cash money” off your next trip!
  4. Buy One Get One Free sales are not always the best deals: my best example that I can give you is ice cream. I always see ice cream priced at BOGO….but the “regular price” is $4.99. Better to wait for the times that it is on sale for $2-$2.25 and stock up then!
  5. In most cases, if a deal is listed as “10 for $10″ or “2 for $5″, you can just buy 1 of that item and get the sale price. Look to see if there is wording in your circular like “must buy 10″. If there isn’t, you don’t need to!

What are some of your tips for navigating the circulars?

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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