Such a tease!

Wow, I am such a tease...I started this blog and then just disappeared!  Well, not really, but it seems that way.  Actually, I was busy having a baby, moving across the state, looking for a new job in our new location, moving across town, and then just trying to reclaim a little bit of my sanity.  Whew.  My hope is to start bringing hot deals and coupon info to this blog on a regular basis.  I took a break from my "major couponing", but I am back and ready to share the savings with you as well!  Hope you are doing well, and please leave a comment to let me know who is still receiving these updates!

Will this coupon double?

Most coupons will double, even the coupons that say "do not double".  Yes, really.  Most stores that double coupons have programmed thier registers to automatically double coupons up to a certain value.  At my local Kroger, they double coupons up to .60 each.  That means a .60 coupon is actually worth $1.20 when it doubles.  This is why a .60 coupon can be more valuable than a .75 or $1 coupon at times. 

If a coupon says "do not double", look at the barcode on the coupon.  Does one of them start with a five?  It will be a small five that is in the corner of the bar code.  If it starts with a five, most times the register will double the coupon anyway. 

There are certain stores that will run promotions to double coupons (when normally they would not double coupons on a daily basis) and I know that a certain chain grocery store that is more prominent on the east coast will run a promotion to triple coupons.  So, always keep your eyes open for special promotions at your local stores! 

How/Where I find the deals for my coupons

I can't begin to take credit for all the good deals I score with coupons.  Every once in a while, I find one on my own.  Most times though, I find the deal on one of these great websites:

http://www.hotcouponworld.com/  This is my favorite coupon site.  There is a overwhelming amount of informaition on this site.  You can find more informaiton about using coupons and how to get the most bang for your coupon, much like what I have shared in previous posts.  You can also trade coupons on this site.  You can find information that is store specific.  You can see previews of the upcoming Sunday coupon inserts (so you can know if you need to go grab multiple papers or not).  **One tip:  when I am on the trading portion of this site and suddenly see a bunch of traders all looking for the same coupon--I know that means there is a hot deal coming up which will probably lead to a product being super cheap or free or even a money maker with that hot coupon.  If you don't have to have to dig for the deal, you can google the coupon and the word "deal" and usually come up with several random internet posts about the deal.**

http://www.afullcup.com/  I am still exploring this site, but it seems to have lots of helpful information.  There are also opportunities to trade coupons on this site.

http://www.totallytarget.com/  This site is mostly dedicated to the deals and steals that you can find with coupons at Target.  Occassionally, you don't even need a coupon to get in on a good deal that is posted here!  The author of this site also posts other deals/steals as well.  Sometimes the non-Target posts are referrals though (meaning that the author will get credit if you sign up for whatever online deal or survey site that is posted). 

http://www.wildforwags.com/  This is a site dedicated to Walgreens steals and deals, much like the Target site listed above

Target

I love shopping at Target.  I grew up in the backyard of the world's largest discount retailer (Wal-Mart) and am not the only one in my family to have once earned a paycheck there.  However, I will shop Target over Wal-Mart often.

Target has one huge advantage over Wal-Mart in the arena of coupons.  Why?  They have store specific coupons AND you can combine those coupons with manufacturer coupons!  You may be really lucky and get on Target's coupon mailer list.  Consider yourself envied if you are on this list.  Nobody, even people at Target HQ, can figure out how people get on this mailing list.  Its one of the few mysteries that remain in the couponing world.  However, you can also sometimes find Target coupons in your Sunday insert or on products in the Target store.  There is also a section on their internet page that allows you to print coupons.

The use of a store specific coupon and a manufacturer's coupon is called "stacking".

Here is how Target + Manufacturer coupons work:

Huggies diapers are $8.99 for a small bag
I have a Target coupon for $2 off any Huggies diapers
I also have a manufacturer's coupon for $2 off any Huggies diapers.


$8.99
-$2.00 (Target)
-$2.00 (manufacturer)
________
$4.99 for my bag of diapers.

I just saved almost 50% off my diapers!

Sometimes, you will find that your manufacturer's coupon plus your Target coupon is actually more than the price of an item.  Normally, the Target registers will automatically adjust the Target coupon down to not give you "overage".

Helping Others

When most people think of couponing, they think they are only helping themselves and their bottom financial line.  That doesn't have to be true.  Here is how you can use coupons to help others:

Do you know a person who is just starting out?  Grab some stuff from that stockpile and create a "starting out box" for them.  I gave my brother one of these once.  He seemed to really appreciate it.  This can apply to recent graduates, newly married couples, or folks who are "starting over" when the life they had planned didn't turn out quite like they planned.

Do you have a coupon that makes an item free but you won't have any need for that item?  I bet a homeless shelter, Ronald McDonald House, or non-profit could find a use for the item!  Donate it!  Claim the donation on our taxes for that year (so keep your donation receipt!).  Chances are, even if you paid taxes on the "free item", overall you will gain more in tax credit than you spent! 

Use coupons to put together "help bags".  Some coupons do not restrict you from buying trial size items.  Most times, this allows you to get the trial size items for cheap or free.  These items make great items to put in "help bags" for people you might come across in need.  Think about that guy holding up the sign at the traffic light.  You know, the one that has the sign that says "homeless, please help!" that most of us just roll on by because we are too skeptical to hand the guy money.  What if you hand him a help bag full of shampoo, conditioner, a snack, etc instead?  As a side note here, I have an abundance of law enforcement people in my family.  Most of them would not be happy (from a personal security point of view) to know I was lowering my window for some stranger on a street corner.  So...pick and choose your opportunities.  Be smart about where you are and who is around as you offer these help bags out.  I personally choose to not lower my window if my child is with me.  AND, I only lower my window just enough to hold onto the bag while it is outside my window.  Again, be smart and stay safe in these situations! 

Trial sizes are often also collected by missionary groups to take overseas or for "care packages" that will be sent to random military folks...so there is always somewhere to donate those! 

Uh oh, did your coupons expire?  Don't trash them!  Military folks overseas can use coupons up to six months after expiration at most PX sites.  If you want more information on how to locate military families who will use these expired coupons, please let me know!

Getting everyone on board

As I stated in my first post, my husband was not so happy when I started bringing home bag after bag of stuff that we wouldn't immediately be using.  I kept doing it anyway.  Anyone who knows me well isn't surprised by that fact.  Eventually, I would ask him when was the last time I asked him to run by the store to pick up....toothpaste, toilet paper, juice, etc.  Silence.

After several trips to the grocery store and watching our total go down quite a large sum after coupons, he learned to give me fair warning about when we might be headed to the grocery store so I would have time to gather my coupons.  He now knows to make a grocery list so I can match that against all of my coupons. 

In 8 weeks, we will welcome our daughter into the world.  Thanks to coupons, I shouldn't have to buy too many packs of diapers along the way.  I think my husband best described my diaper stockpile as the start of my own "mini Sam's" store in our enclosed garage. 

So, give your family time to adjust.  If you can get it free or cheap now with coupons, then get it.  More than likely, that opportunity won't present itself again! 

Walgreens

I love getting deals at Walgreens.  Between their sales, store coupons, and manufacturer's coupons...whoohoo! And then there is the register rewards!!!

Walgreens allows you to stack their store coupons with manufacturer's coupons.  This includes the coupons that you see in their weekly fliers. 

One thing that most people don't realize is this:  the coupons in the weekly ad will work multiple times.  So, if the coupon is for .45 off Dial soap, it will take .45 off each Dial soap you purchase in that transaction. 

Walgreens does not allow overage.  Well, not technically.  However, overage is possible at Walgreens, but you have to know the correct order of coupon redemption for making it work correctly. 

For the following examples, we will pretend that Dial soap sells for $2.99 at Walgreens.

Example of how to not get overage:  Dial soap is on sale for .99 with the "in store" coupon that can be found in the Walgreens weekly sales ad.  You have a manufacturer's coupon for $1 off any Dial soap.  If you give the cashier the Walgreens coupon first, it reduces the price to .99 and your manufacturer's coupon will be rejected by the register (it will beep and refuse to lower the price). 

Example of how to get overage:  Dial soap is on sale for .99 with the "in store" coupon that can be found in the Walgreens weekly sales ad.  You have a manufacturer's coupon for $1 off any Dial soap.  If you give the cashier the $1 coupon, this makes the register think you are still paying $1.99 for the soap and it accepts the coupon.  Then you hand the cashier your "in store" coupon and it reduces the total price to .99 for each item...so now you have made .01 for every dial soap you purchased this way. 

I know that seems confusing and maybe a little crazy.  Yet, that is how it works. 

Register Rewards.  I have a love/hate relationship with them.  Register rewards are specific to Walgreens.  You can look in their weekly sales ad and find items that are will produce register rewards.  Often, you have to buy x amount of products or a certain value amount to qualify for a register reward.  Here are some things to keep in mind about register rewards:

• You can use coupons on the items you are purchasing to get the register reward.  It is possible to purchase x amount of items and use coupons to get more value in register rewards than you actually spent.  
• If you purchase an item and receive a register reward, you can not turn around and purchase the exact same item with the register reward and get another register reward as a result.  
• You can roll register rewards.  This means finding two deals that you like.  Use the register reward from register reward deal A to lower the cost of your purchase for register reward deal B and then keep the cycle going.  
• One caveat if you are trying to roll register rewards...if two different deals are actually sponsored by the same manufacturer, it will not roll.  Meaning this, if deal A is for Johnson's Baby Wash and deal B is for Johnson's Adult Body Wash, they are both sponsored by Johnson and Johnson and probably will not roll.  Thus, know your manufacturer's and how many different company names are held by the same "parent" company.  
• Register rewards often expire within 2 weeks of the date you receive them.  So, watch the expiration date!!!
• If you want to use a register reward to lower your cost of an item and also have a coupon for that item, you will have to buy a "cheap filler".  Example:  you want to buy Tylenol that is on sale for $7 this week and you have a $4 register reward to spend and a $2 manufacturer's coupon to spend.  You can use both, but ONLY if you buy some other cheap item as well.  The cash register will "attach" each coupon to an item and register rewards are seen as manufacturers coupons, so you have to have an item to match up with each coupon.  Please note, the value of each item in this situation does not have to equal or exceed the coupon value.  So, you buy the Tylenol ($7) and a piece of taffy ($.15) and redeem both your coupons ($4 and $2).  Your new total will be $1.15 plus tax.  

Walgreens deals can be tricky....so if you have specific questions, please let me know.