Coupon Basics, Part 5- Coupon Stacking

Alright, time to get a little technical with our Coupon Basics... but you are going to love this if you aren't already doing it.

You have probably heard the term "coupon stacking" if you have been keeping up with your frugal blogs. (as you should! ;) Coupon stacking is when you use more than one coupon for one item. I want to clarify exactly which coupons you can stack and which ones you can't. When you really grasp the art of coupon stacking, you will see your savings increase even more!

Coupons you can NOT stack:

1. You can't use 2 manufacturers' paper coupons for one item. (these come directly from the manufacturer)
2. You can't use 2 store coupons for one item. (these come directly from the store, i.e. Target, Publix, CVS)

What coupons CAN be stacked:

1. 1 Manufacturers' paper coupon and 1 store paper coupon
2. 1 Manufacturers' paper coupon and 1 e-coupon
3. 1 Manufacturers' paper coupon, 1 store paper coupon, and 1 e-coupon

The interesting thing about e-coupons is that they are, in fact, manufacturers coupons. Have I totally confused you? E-coupons are sort of a strange world all of their own. They automatically come off your order when you load them onto your Kroger card (or affiliates). When you buy a product, that you have an e-coupon for, there is no way to not use it once you load it, even if you have a paper coupon. It is my understanding that Cellfire and others WANT you to use their service, and they know that there just isn't a way around using both paper and e-coupons at the same time. So we might as well enjoy it!

A few things about e-coupons:

1. They don't double.
2. Only one e-coupon will come off even if you buy more of the same item.
3. If you download the same coupon from two different companies and buy those 2 items, they will both come off.
4. If an e-coupon doesn't come off that was supposed to, just contact the service the e-coupon was with when you get home and they should take care of it.

Now for the e-coupons that are available to you:

1. Cellfire
2. Shortcuts
3. Unilever (probably a short term deal)
4. Upromise (save for college while you save!)

You WILL save when you stack! If you have any questions, just leave them in the comment section.