Couponing Tips
Introduction | Where to get coupons | Couponing tips | CVS | Rite Aid | Walgreens
Target | Safeway | How to stockpile | Organizing your coupons | Closing
Tip #1 – Use Your Coupons Opportunistically.
As you saw in the video, a coupon is just a piece of paper which at times can be worth so much more than the $0.50 value on it. It’s all about timing – when to use the coupon and when to hold onto it. At the very minimum my tip is to never use a coupon if they item is not also on sale, unless of course you absolutely need that item right then. If you can wait, it’s very likely that you’ll be able to get that item for much less on sale with a coupon. Paying retail is so yesterday’s style.
Tip #2 – BOGO + BOGO = 2 FREE!
Aaah, this tip makes me smile. I can remember so many items I’ve gotten for free with this simple tip. Here are a couple of examples…
If Pantene Shampoo is on sale BOGO (Buy One Get One Free) for $3.99 you would pay $3.99 for 2 bottles. If you had a $2.00 off 1 Pantene Shampoo coupon, you could use 2, since you are buying 2 products. The store has 1 on sale for free – but you are STILL buying that product, you aren’t stealing it 
Your final price would be $0.00 or FREE for 2 bottles!
Pantene Shampoo – BOGO $3.99/2
Use (2) $2.00/1 Pantene Shampoo Coupons
Final Price: 2 FREE
If Pantene Shampoo is on sale BOGO (Buy One Get One Free) for $3.99 you would pay $3.99 for 2 bottles. If you had a BOGO Shampoo coupon you would automatically get them both free! The store has 1 on sale for free and the manufacturer is giving you the other for free with the coupon. The sale and coupon cross each other out.
Pantene Shampoo – BOGO $3.99/2
Use (1) BOGO Pantene Shampoo Coupon
Final Price: 2 FREE
Tip #3 – Stacking Coupons
This is another way we often see free or close to free sales – by stacking (using 2 coupons on 1 item) a manufacturer’s coupon and a store coupon either from their ad, website, or booklet. The most important thing to note here is to make sure that nowhere on the store coupon does it say “manufacturer’s coupon” if it says store coupon – you’re good to go!
Tip #4 – Read Your Coupons
So many times, it’s in the text and not the picture. A manufacturer simply can’t add the picture of all the variations of a single product on one coupon. So if it says ANY Tide product, that would mean all “flavors” of Tide. More importantly if it doesn’t limit you to a size – you’re able to use this coupon on a trial size getting that item possibly for free!
Tip #5 – Look for Try Me Free Rebates
Try Me Free Rebates are just that FREE products! That is if you make sure to send in your receipt. Often times too if you use a coupon when you buy that item you can turn it into a money maker. In the example I used in the video, I like to hunt for Try Me Free Rebates throughout the store if I have a $5/$25 coupon – it helps me get to the $25 total while also ensuring I’ll get that money back. You’ll have to wait awhile to get your money back, so this isn’t necessarily a good option if every dollar in your budget is needed right then, but it can help you to get more items free – not just that particular item.
Tip #6 – Buy at least 2 Sunday Papers
So this might seem a bit crazy, but our family buys 6 papers. We buy 1 for each member of our family, it seems to be a good formula for us and has helped me greatly when a stock up price hits the stores. We have 3 delivered from different local papers and purchase 3 more. With the deals we’re getting we are paying just over $4 per week for our papers. There are many ways to get FREE Sunday papers as well…
- Ask a Friend, Relative, or Neighbor for their coupon inserts, it’s likely they just toss them aside as it is.
- Visit your local coffee shop Sunday afternoon and do one of 2 things. Look through the recycling bin and gather the coupons that have been left behind or ask the manager if they’d be willing to let you take and recycle the left over Sunday papers at closing. I know my Starbucks just tosses them out!
- You could dumpster dive like this post written by our resident Dumpster Diva, but I can’t say I’ve ever done it.
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the free class! I have been into couponing for 3 weeks now and have figured out most of the deals and steals scenarios, but this is helping fill in the gaps! Thanks!
You ROCK! I’ve watched a few of the training videos, love the simplicity, yet thoroughness, of your experience — thank you.
If it wasn’t 2am, and a baby grandgift (aka, grandson) down the hall that will be waking in 5 hours…I’d tune into all of them w/my notepad at hand.
Keep it up! I’ll return tomorrow -
Blessings,
Felicia
Thank you for offering your coupon class on-line. We don’t have classes like this offer at all here in Mississippi.
Are the Try Me Free Rebates only for Rite Aid? I’ve never seen them in my Walgreens or CVS. Then again I wasn’t looking for them either.
Heather, Try Me Free rebates are issued by the products manufacturer and can be found at ANY store! It’s like a treasure hunt, you just have to look around
Thank you for the free class, very informative!!!
I had no idea about some of these things! So good to know. I really want to get better at couponing and have found myself seeing a lot of savings lately but I have trouble keeping up at the register, making sure I get all that I’m entitled to with my coupons. I guess I’ll get better with practice:)
These are really great tips! I only knew how to stack coupons (which I learned from you, too!) Thanks for all that you do! Your blog has made my decision of taking a year off from work to care for my new baby A LOT more affordable and enjoyable! Thanks again!
You are amazing! Thank you for everything you do
I tried using a Special K cereal BOGO free coupon during a BOGO free sale at Publix and I wasn’t able to get them both free. I wasn’t sure what I did wrong.
I have a question and its similar to the BOGO scenario that you have above but this is BOGO 50% on sale and then BOGO free coupons. I’m a little confused, how would this work and can you actually do this? Thanks
something to note: groupon & livingsocial both occasionally offer sunday newspaper deals- we got our 1 year of sundays for $10! hopefully we’ll be able to keep getting deals like that, but that makes the couponing worth it
I don’t get the stacking. So if I got to the store and they have shampoo for a 1.00 and I have a coupon for .075 and I want to buy 10 bottles. I would have to have ten store coupons and 1o manufacture coupon right? But I really don’t understand is this Use (2) $2.00/1 Pantene Shampoo Coupons I thought you can only use one manufactures coupon and one store coupon please help.
Julia – I love your site. Thank you so much for all the wonderful tips. I have a question regarding your newspaper subscriptions. I also live in Antioch and currently receive Sunday’s Contra Costa Times; and too often I don’t receive all the coupons you list in some of your deals. What others do you suggest subscribing?
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