Couponing Basics

I honestly can't even remember when, where or what it was like the first time I used a coupon. All I know is that I had to teach myself how the world of couponing operates. Lucky for you, all you have to do is read.

As new as this blog is to me, I am not new to couponing but I know that a lot of you are brand new couponers. I am by NO means a professional couponer, you will NOT find me on Extreme Couponing and I don't know everything about couponing but what I do know is that I LOVE to save money and I LOVE helping others so I figured why not put two and two together. This blog started completely unexpectedly but with a lot of need and support behind it.

So now that you know a little bit about why I do what I do, here are some couponing basics to get you started and to hopefully ease your mind and anxiety about using coupons.

First things first.
A manufacturer's coupon is a piece of paper with a discount for a specified product printed on it. The coupon can be used at most stores that carry the product. To receive the discount, you must purchase the specified product and give the cashier the coupon at the end of your transaction. The cashier is to scan the coupon and the coupon amount will be deducted from your purchase. Most stores double manufacturer coupons, however, it is based upon your region and store coupon policy. As a buyer, you are responsible for paying for the remainder of your purchase. If your coupon is for a FREE product, you are still responsible for paying the tax on the product.

A store coupon is essentially the same thing as a manufacturers coupon however, it is issued by a specific store. The store coupon may not be doubled depending on the store coupon policy (Kroger does not double their store coupons).

A Catalina coupon is a coupon that is printed out after you have checked out. Sometimes these coupons are just advertisements, but sometimes they are coupons or even money off your next in-store purchase. The Catalina will tell you how to use the coupon. For example, a Catalina printed the other day when I purchased 4 boxes of Milk-Bone biscuits for dogs. The Catalina is for $3.00 off my next shopping order. I also received a Catalina for 100 Labels for Education bonus points for buying a certain amount of Campbell's products.

I see ALL coupons as dollar bills and change and I treat them as that. You would never want to throw dollar bills away would you??

Now that's out of the way, let's talk about how to use the coupons and to understand the fine print.

Coupons may only be used ONCE. Meaning, you cannot use ONE coupon for 5 items. In that case, you would have to have 5 coupons UNLESS you had a coupon that stated "save $1.00 on FIVE" (see below).

Limit 1 coupon per transaction. It's simply just that. Say you want to buy TWO Similac containers using the coupon below, you will need to purchase ONE, use ONE coupon, pay the cashier and then do a separate transaction (a completed sale). I do separate transactions all the time, I've never had a cashier ask me not too.

$1.00 off TWO. Once again, it's simply just that. You MUST buy TWO products to save the value on the coupon. Let's use the coupon below for example. Let's say that Meijer is having a sale on Pantene products 2/$5. You MUST buy TWO for $5.00 and you will get $1.00 off leaving you a total of $4.00 for 2 or $2.00 each.

No more than 4 coupons (of any kind) for the same product in the same transaction. You can only use a total of four of the same coupon for the same product in ONE transaction. If you have less than four you are okay. If you have more than four, you will need to buy and pay for the four same items and then do another transaction. For example, if I were using the below coupon, and I had 6 of the Desitin coupons, I could only use four coupons on one transaction and then do another one to purchase the remaining two that I wanted.

BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE. These kinds of coupons can be your best friend if you match it with a BOGO (buy one, get one sale), but can make any cashier uneasy to have a ZERO balance. Not all products that have BOGO coupons have a BOGO sale. You see more of the drugstores (Walgreens, CVS, etc.) doing more of those BOGO sales. If we use the below coupon for example on a BOGO sale,

here is how the transaction would look like:

Store X offers Stayfree pads - Buy One, Get One Free ($4.99/2)

Buy 2 Stayfree pads at $4.99/2 - Buy One, Get One Free

Use Buy One, Get One Free coupon (takes off $4.99)

Final price after coupon - $0 + a few cents for tax

If Store X was NOT offering a Buy One, Get One Free sale, your transaction would look like this:

Store X offers Stayfree pads - $4.99

Buy 2 Stayfree pads at $4.99

Use Buy One, Get One Free coupon (takes off $4.99)

Final price after coupon - $4.99 or $2.49 each

Limit one coupon per item purchased. This is the best and most common coupon fine print you will see. This is the most lenient coupon you will find. This means that you cannot use a bunch of identical coupons when you are buying only one product. What this does mean is that you can use one coupon, per product. The kicker on this one is that some stores only allow you to use a certain amount of identical coupons in one transaction anyway. For instance, Kroger allows you to use 4 of the same identical coupons in a transaction. Meijer allows you to use two identical coupons in one transaction. The only time I do multiple transactions is if the identical coupon I am using is lower than a dollar because it will not double. Meijer states in their coupon policy that if you have more than two identical coupons, the other coupons will not double.

Other things to be aware of...

Coupons may not be copied. Copying coupons is illegal. You can obtain multiples of coupons in legal ways like buying multiple newspapers or printing off the allotted coupons online (usually you are allowed to print TWO coupons per IP address).

Read the wording of the coupon and ignore the picture! Manufacturer’s usually put a picture of their most expensive product on the coupon to make you think that is what you have to buy. If you actually read the terms of the coupon, most will usually say “save $X.XX on ANY brand XYZ product.” That means you can buy even the least expensive product and still save with the coupon! For example, there is a coupon from the January 2012 P&G Saver for $1.00 off any Oral B Floss product. They have an Oral B Floss product at Wal-Mart for .97 which makes it a 3 cents moneymaker but the picture on the coupon is for Oral B Glide Floss which is priced around $4.

You can use a coupon on an item that is on sale or on clearance! This is another way you can maximize your savings. Occasionally I will have a store clerk tell me otherwise, but it is usually cleared up by producing a copy of Store X's coupon policy (I have printed the coupon policies for the stores I frequent and carry them with me in my coupon binder), or by talking to a store manager.

If a product rings up higher than advertised or they miss one of your coupons, let them know! I have actually had this happen to me several times. On one occasion at Kroger, I purchased some bags of Halloween candy and the price that they rang up as was significantly higher than the advertised price on the display. A manager was called to price check and locate the display to confirm that the sign was in fact for a lower price. They actually gave me the products ($15 worth of candy) for FREE. Another situation that happened yesterday was that TWO of my coupons that I used were missed by the cashier. As I was reading over my receipt before I left the store, I noticed the problem, went back to the cashier. He called over a manager, they opened the coupon drawer, fixed the situation and reimbursed me the $3.50 they missed. You may not think that the hassle is worth it but if even ONE dollar is missed that adds up. Let me put it into perspective. If you visit 3 stores per week and each store overcharges you $1 because they missed your coupon, you are being overcharged $156 per year (that’s a month's worth of groceries in my house). It is usually more than a buck (just like in my case and rarely takes more than a minute at customer service).

Stand up for yourself! If you are using coupons correctly then shop with confidence. Hopefully all you beginners are starting to understand and can start shopping and using coupons with confidence. It's all about having coupon knowledge which is why I hope you all read this in its entirety even though it's pretty lengthy. More times than not, many cashiers are just misinformed and uneducated about coupons. Here are a few more things that you (and your cashier) may not know about coupons:
- For each coupon you use, the store actually gets PAID .08 on top of the face value of the coupon. For example, if the coupon is for $1.00 off, the store makes $1.08. If you use a .50 off coupon, the store makes .58.
- When a store doubles your coupon, the store is paying out of their pocket for it.
- Emphasize that one coupon per purchase does NOT mean one coupon per transaction if a cashier tries to pull the "one coupon per purchase" line. Remember: a transaction is a paid order and a purchase is an item. If they still don't get it then ask them nicely if they can do separate transactions.
- If you forget to give a coupon to your cashier, take your receipt and your coupon to the customer service desk and they will give you the price difference.

When all else fails, be calm and confident when you explain why you CAN use the coupon (hopefully this post helped). If the cashier still doesn’t accept it, ask nicely to speak to a manager. It is your money and you should not feel bad about being a smart shopper!

Now that your brain is fried and on coupon overload, and you still don't understand it. ASK. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me! I am happy to answer any and all questions. And remember, there are NO stupid questions. Couponing can be confusing, especially as a beginner.

Stay tuned for a post on WHERE to get coupons from and other basic couponing questions and answers.

Happy Shopping,
J