Saturday, June 20, 2009

Coupon Basics, Part 1

So I told you to check out the other blogs for couponing, but I thought I'd start a little series and touch on it periodically so as to not be overwhelming. It can be a lot of information, but don't let the amount of information scare you. It really is easy once you get started.

1) Know what you are working with.  Because different stores do different things and each region is different, its worth stopping by customer service when you are shopping to ask about their coupon policy.   Here are a couple questions to ask:
a)  Do you accept competitors coupons? Publix accepts competitors coupons, but you need to know what they consider a "competitor".  Our Publix accepts Target coupons, some do not) 
b)  Will you charge me half for a BOGO item or do I have to buy both?
c)  Can I use two coupons on a BOGO deal?  Most stores allow this.  Harris Teeter does not.
d)  If an item is out of stock can I get a rain check?  Rain checks are great!  I have heard of some stores will even write on them to accept your coupons (in the case that they expire before the item is back in stock)
e)  Do you double coupons?  Up to how much?  Kroger and Publix double coupons up to $0.50 (making it $1 off an item).  Harris Teeter doubles up to $0.99 (making it $1.98 off), and stores like Wal-mart and Target don't double at all.

If you have any questions, let me know.  I will continue this series here and there to give you some great tools to bring that grocery bill down!

Click HERE to find Coupon Basics, Part 2!

2 comments:

  1. jazz - love this blog!
    question, in this couponing thing, do you actually get things you need and use? it seems whenever i look through the coupons, it's for stuff we don't even use or rarely use. we also use A LOT of store brand stuff, does it compare. i mean obviously $100 in groceries for $.25 is a serious deal, but i read where someone had like crazy amounts of mustard!!

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  2. Great question Suzy! Its the most common question I get. The answer for me is a resounding yes!! I'd say 99% of the time I'm getting things I need and use. But if our church is asking for cereal in the pantry and I can get Fruit Loops for .25 a box, then I'm all for saving that coupon to do that even though we don't eat those :)

    As just a small example, last week I got organic yogurt for about .15 each, cheerios for $1 a box and I used a produce coupon for $2 off $5 at Publix (that is currently a printable at the Food Lion website). The key is finding the things you DO eat and start checking out the weekly grocery deals on southernsavers.com or the others I mentioned to see what coupons you can combine with the deals to really make a dent in the price of your groceries.

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