Couponing 101 - Part 4 - The Store Rules

This is something I've been talking about and wanting to put together for a long time -- the different store coupon policies.  Some stores have their policy posted online, in which cases I have posted a link directly to it.  I am also listing what I think are the most important specifics of their policies.  You may want to print out the store policies and keep a copy in your coupon binder/book/file just in case you run into a problem.  It always helps to have it ready in case someone doesn't want to accept a valid coupon from you...  unfortunately it happens from time to time.  It's much easier to shop without looking like a crazy coupon lady when you know the rules and are prepared :) Ready?  Here goes...

HARRIS TEETER (this is my interpretation, see specifics on their website HERE)
• Doubles coupons up to $0.99 every day - 20 coupon doubling limit per day per customer/household.  Additional coupons will be redeemed at face value only.
• Accepts coupons printed from the internet, however no “free” product internet coupons are accepted (BOGO)
• With the purchase of two like manufacturer’s products, they accept two internet coupons, per store, per day.
• Occasionally has specials when they double coupons up to $1.99 or triple coupons up to $0.99 - don't forget the 20 coupon doubling limit.  You can, however, go back several days in a row during these specials and use 20 coupons each day (I'm usuall there 3 or 4 days in a row!).
• They accept local competitors’ circular or direct-mail coupons for MONEY OFF THE TOTAL ORDER (ie: $5 off $25 purchase); they do not take competitor’s coupons for money off specific items.
• They also have a "scan guarantee" that states "If an item scans higher than the shelf tag or sign, you will receive one like item free, excluding alcohol and tobacco."


SAFEWAY (view specifics on printable coupon policy, see website HERE)
• Doubles coupons up to $0.99 every day
• Accepts coupons printed from the internet except for "free" items.  BOGO printable coupons ARE accepted.
• Does NOT accept printable coupons good for over 50% of the value of an item (ie: $1 coupon must be redeemed for item priced at $2 or more)


WEGMANS (coupon policy for VA & MD can be viewed HERE)
• Doubles coupons valued at $0.50 or less
• Double or face value of a coupon may not exceed the price of the item purchased
• Only 4 manufacturer coupons may be doubled for the same brand product per day
• Only 4 manufacturer coupons for free products can be redeemed per day
• The face value or double value of a coupon may not exceed the retail price
• Does not accept printable coupons for free items - this includes BOGO coupons
 
 
GIANT (you can find more specifics HERE
• Doubles coupons up to $0.99.  In cases where the doubled coupon exceeds the value of the item, the offer is limited to the retail price.
• Their website says "We happily accept Internet coupons except in situations where manufacturers have alerted us to specific fraudulent coupons."
• Many locations have signs up indicating that they accept ALL competitor coupons (I know the Gaiesville, VA location does). 


SHOPPERS FOOD WAREHOUSE
• Doubles coupons up to $0.99 every day
• Accepts coupons printed from the internet up to $1 in value (specifics posted HERE)


TARGET
Target has been very vague about their coupon policy in the past -- which I couldn't find online by the way.  However, Tara at Deal Seeking Mom emailed Target and posted the coupon policy that she received HERE.


Well, I think that covers most of the major grocery stores in the NoVA area.  If I left something out please let me know!  Hope this helps you on your couponing escapades!!  My fingers are crossed for a HT special doubles or triples soon :)

Coupon 101 - Part 3 - The Coupons!!

There are several places that I get my coupons from, so first I'm just going to list them for you...

• Sunday paper – I used to be skimpy about which coupons I’d cut out. Now I cut out just about every coupon unless it’s for something I’d never, ever buy (like Depends… but who knows, I may be cutting those out too one day!). Every time I pass on a coupon I end up with an opportunity where I could have gotten an item for free if I had cut it out – this is a lesson I learned the hard way. I have actually lost sleep over a freebe deal that I missed out on because of a stupid coupon that I didn’t cut out (told you I was OCD).
• Family members – If you have family members who don’t use coupons, have them save them and give them to you! My mom (in MD) and my mother-in-law (in NC) both save their coupons from their Sunday papers and mail them to me. This has been an amazing help as there are usually some different coupons – or BETTER coupons. I’ve noticed that some of the coupons that we get might be for “$1 off when you buy 2” whereas the coupons from MD or NC may be for “$1 off when you by 1”!
• Free samples – When you see an offer online for a free sample don’t pass it up (unless it’s for something you’d absolutely never use). This has helped me in many ways. First, I get to try something without having to buy it and find out I don’t like it. Second, if I do like the item, the free samples almost always come with great coupons.
• Printable coupons that I get online.  There are quite a few sites that offer printable coupons (you will see some on my side bar).  My favorite sites are Coupons.com (allow the ad-on to my site to run and you will see their coupons at the bottom of this webpage!), AFullCup.com (they have printable coupons for Target!), RedPlum.com and SmartSource.com.  Some printable coupons come straight from the manufacturer's websites.  Note that most of these sites have a limit for how many of each coupon you can print, so if you see a good one you better print as many as you can.  Also, some sites make you download a program in order to be able to print their coupons (fyi, I have never encountered a problem with any of these progams - I know some people are weary about what they download).

I cut out my coupons as soon as I get them so I can get them organized into my binder.  Like I said before...  I cut out everything unless it's for an item I know I absolutely wouldn't buy (even if it was free).  After cutting coupons for a while, you will remember which ones you have as soon as you see them on sale in an ad or in the store. 

Make sure your coupons are available to you for use!!  This is important - don't just cut out the coupons and leave them at home.  I keep my binder in my car...  and when I go into the grocery store, Target, Walmart, etc I take it in with me.  If I don't there's a 99.9% chance that I'll see something I need/want and I'll have a coupon for it out in the car.

I think that's about it on the coupons.  Feel free to post a note if I missed something or if you have a question.

UPDATE - One important thing I forgot to mention...  When using coupons, the standard rule is that you can only use 1 coupon per item.  However, you can combine 2 coupons for 1 item IF you have both a store coupon and a manufacturer's coupon.  ex - If you have a Target printable coupon for $1 off 1 box of Cheerio's and a manufacturer's coupon from the Sunday paper for $1.50 off 1 box of Cheerio's, you can use both coupons together and get $2.50 of 1 box of Cheerio's.  You can get some really, really good deals this way!  (Thanks Hyacinth for your question!)

Coupon 101 - Part 2 - Getting organized

Some of you have seen my amazing, handy-dandy coupon binder (which I have learned to carry in the car with me at ALL times). For those of you who haven’t been as privileged, I’m including some pictures. I keep my coupons in an ordinary 3-ring binder with one of those clear covers that you can slide pages into (or in my case, slide coupons into). Inside the binder is a zippered pencil pouch and lots of baseball card protector pages.

The pencil pouch is mainly for restaurant coupons. If we’re having trouble deciding where to go out to eat I just whip out my coupons and we let them help us decide. I do have some restaurant coupons shoved in my front cover, mostly because they’re too big for the zipper pouch. There are also some random coupons in the front cover – free coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts (so I’ll remember to use it before it expires), 40% off coupons for Michaels and AC Moore (since they’re only good for a week I try to keep current ones in there).

Now for the baseball card protectors… I have all of my coupons categorized in the slots, which are labeled by my good ‘ol label maker (Yes, I am a bit OCD. Go ahead, poke fun I don’t mind!). The first page is for coupons that are specific to one store (some could be from the Sunday flyer, mailings, or that machine that prints them out at the checkout) – so there are slots for Target, Safeway, Harris Teeter, Rite Aid, Walgreen’s & CVS (Note that CVS takes ALL competitors coupons!). The next 2 pages are for personal items like toothpaste, deodorant, make-up, hair products… you get the picture. The other pages are for grocery items. I basically tried to mentally walk myself thru the grocery store so they would be in order or at least somewhat together in the way that you’d find them at the store (cereal on the same page as granola bars, yogurt on the same page as butter). I have had to go back thru my binder and get a bit more specific with my categories, but that’s only because I had so many coupons that some of the categories were just holding way too many coupons (“dental products” got broken down into “toothpaste” and “tooth brushes & floss”).

I do use the inside pocket of the binder for some random things that are too large to put anywhere else – Costco booklet of coupons, Wegmans booklet of coupons.

The only other thing to address here is where I get my coupons…. Well, that will be in my next post on this topic – probably Thursday because tomorrow I’ll be busy shopping super doubles at Harris Teeter :)

Coupon 101 - part 1 of many

For all you coupon newbies (and those of you who want to start using coupons, but think you don't have the time) I'm going to be posting some of my favorite coupon tips to try to help get you going. I thought the best thing to do is to start simply with a list of tips, so here goes...

1. Change your perception of coupons. I know a lot of you think of coupons as being something for "cheap people", "broke people" or "people with too much time on their hands". You need to start thinking of coupons as FREE MONEY. As I've said before -- If I gave you a wad of cash, you'd take it, right??? Well, coupons are just that. They're a way to get thing things you need or want for less than what they normally sell for!
2. Couponing doesn't take as much time as you think! When you first start couponing, there is a decent amount of time that you need to invest to get yourself organized. However, once you're organized and have been using coupons for a bit (I'd say a few shopping trips) you get used to it. After a while you'll find yourself lost without your coupons!
3. Don't be embarassed!!! I used to be SO embarassed to whip out a stack of coupons at the check-out. Well, if you haven't noticed our economy stinks and just about everyone will do just about anything to save a buck these days. The first time the person behind you in line hears your total before coupons and your total after coupons and asks "How in the world did you do that?!?!" you will no longer be embarassed -- you'll be doing the happy dance the whole way to your car.

Think about it, you'd brag to your girlfriends if you find an amazing purse for $20 so why not be proud of EVERY deal you get?

Stay tuned...... tips on getting started and organizing your coupons are coming soon :)