COUPONS 101-Part 3

WHEN TO USE YOUR COUPONS----

Just because you have a coupon does not necessarily mean you should buy an item. In fact, if you buy items just because you have a coupon, you will end up spending MORE money on items you don’t really need, and are still over priced. The trick is to wait for the item to go on sale or clearance, THEN USE YOUR COUPON, which is an even better deal.

• WAIT FOR A SALE: Wait for the items that you want to go on sale, then use your coupons!    Then, buy several of that item so that you won't need to buy it, again, until it goes on sale again.  It's sometimes hard, but your item will more than likely go on sale, so WAITING is the key!


• BUY ONE GET ONE FREE (BOGO) SALE: When a store has a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE sale, this is a great time to use your coupons. You can use TWO coupons. One for the item you are buying and one for the item you are getting for free. WHY???   Remember that a coupon is like cash, a form of payment.  The store IS getting paid for that product, by the Manufacturer.  (They get back the coupon price, plus 10 cents (or so) shipping)  So, the store gives you the second item for free, but they can turn in the coupon and get paid for that item they just gave you for free.   Example-  Granola Bars are on sale, buy one get one free. You pay $3.00 for the first box of granola bars, and get the 2nd free.  But you have 2 coupons for $1 off a box of granola bars. You can use both of those coupons. One coupon is applied to each box of granola bars (although one box is considered free) Both coupons are applied to the TOTAL SALE PRICE.  It brings the total to $1.00 for 2 boxes of granola bars. You would have paid $6 for 2 boxes of bars, but by using the Buy one get one (BOGO) free sale you have saved  $5.00 on two boxes of granola bars!!!  Quite the deal!


• STACKING YOUR COUPONS: Stacking your coupons is when you are able to use 2 coupons for one item. You are able to do this when you use an IN-STORE COUPON ( a coupon that the store prints, normally in the weekly ad, or on their website.  It will have the store logo on it) along with a MFR (manufacturer coupon). When you use the in-store coupon and the MFR coupon together this is called “stacking” your coupons. So watch for those in-store coupons, and see if you have a MFR coupon to go along with it.  When I figured this one out, I was OVERJOYED!  (I know, it obviously doesn't take much to get me excited!!)  But, what a great deal you will get if you have a MFR coupon to go with the store coupon!!  Always keep an eye out for that!


• REBATES: A lot of companies offer a mail in rebate for their items as part of a promotion to get you to try or buy their product. Many times this makes the item free after rebate.  Example- Rite Aid is selling shaving cream  for $3.00, and they have a mail in rebate for $3.00, which would make the item free.  But, let's say you have a $1.50 coupon for that particular shaving cream; after you turn in your rebate they will send you a check for $3.00, and you only paid $1.50 for it!!  Rebates are very easy to do, and with most companies, you can just do it online, type in a little info from your receipt and they'll send you a check.  Completely easy and painless!


• STORE MATCH OR DOUBLE: Some stores do this every week, but seems as if the local stores I frequent only do it a few times a year. They will match your coupon amount, which gives you the chance to get twice the amount of your coupon. Example- the store is selling juice for $1.00 but I have a coupon for $.50 off, The store them matches the price of my coupon giving me another $.50 off, making my juice FREE.   I have been getting a lot of "DOUBLES" from Albertons, lately, and it's been great!  I've received a lot of free items! Normally if a store matches or doubles coupons, they only let you do a limited number of items per shopping trip. So I plan to make several trips through the checkout line, or plan another trip back to the store at a later date.