Getting more for your money is always a good thing. And while coupons are my #1 way to stretch my shopping dollars, there are a lot of simple little things you can do to get more bang for your buck.
Always look for products that offer you a bonus. It can be a something like getting 25% more free in a bottle of shampoo or a bonus product, like a trial size lotion attached to a full size lotion. When you're shopping, scan the shelves for these little pluses. With shampoo, body wash and similarly packaged products, just looking to see if there are bottles that are taller than the rest can lead you to the bonus packages. It doesn't make sense to go to the effort of clipping your coupons, shopping the ad and waiting for the deal if you're going to let free bonuses sit on the shelf while you take the same product without the bonus.
Always be on the look out for products with coupons attached to them. These are called peelies, and sometimes they can give you an unexpected score in the shopping aisle. Even if you have a higher value coupon you'd like to use now, choosing a product with an attached peelie will give you a coupon to use later when you may not have a higher valued one available. Often peelies will be for cents off another product when you buy the product with the peelie on it. For instance, during the recent Marsh triple coupon event, I bought two bottles of cranberry juice using a coupon to save $1 off 2 that I already had. But on each bottle was a coupon to save $1 on Crystal Light singles when I bought the juice. With the triple event (which is an incredible but rare time to really score big with coupons), I was able to save $1.50 off each bottle of juice and I got two boxes of Crystal Light totally free with the coupons off the juice bottles. As a footnote, never take the peelie from a product you aren't buying. It's bad couponer etiquette and more importantly, it's stealing.
Never let a buy one get one free (B1G1F) or buy one get one half off slip through your fingers if it's on a product you use. When you're buying one item and getting the second one free, most stores will allow you to use one manufacturers coupon on each item. So let's say Hostess Twinkies are $3.99 per box but are on sale B1G1F, and you have two manufacturers coupons to save 25¢ on one Hostess product. You can use one coupon on the item you're paying full price for and the second coupon for the item you're getting free. This is generally true because the coupon is a deal with the manufacturer for which the store will be reimbursed but the B1G1F deal is between the store and it's customer. Now if you're at a store that doubles coupons, you would save $1 when those two coupons double so between the B1G1F deal and the two doubled coupons, you would get $7.98 worth of Twinkies for just $2.99!! Do check, however, to make sure your store will allow you to use two coupons with a B1G1F offer before you plan on it.
Catalinas are the coupons you get at the register when you check out. These are generated when you buy specific products in specific quantities. For example, you might get a catalina for $1.50 off your next purchase compliments of Heinz because you purchased three bottles of ketchup. These don't just happen by accident. Your store should have a list of all the available catalinas that you can 'earn'. You can also go to http://www.couponnetwork.com/ to see some of the available catalinas out there. If you're going to use these products anyway, why not buy them in quantities that give you a little something extra when you do?
Sometimes you will be lucky enough to find a product that the store will pay you to buy. These are big scores!! Anytime you walk out of the store will a totally free item or one you actually have made money on, it's a reason to be happy. This is why I personally take my entire coupon binder with me on every shopping trip and it's why I clip any and all coupons for anything I would buy if that price were right...because FREE is always the right price!! For instance, this past week I found Bengay in the massaging roll-on tube on the clearance rack at Target for $4.78. I had a coupon for $5 off that product. Since Target allows overage (we will discuss overages later), they paid me 22¢ to take it out of their store!! I only wished I had had more of those coupons.
If you stumble across something that's going to be free, or even better, that they are going to pay you to buy, I say get it. If you won't personally use it, you can always find someone who will or you can donate items to shelters or other agencies.
While we're talking about free coupons, a lot of companies will send you free or very high value coupons for giving them feedback on their products. If a company has a website or email address on the packaging, feel free to shoot off a few comments to them. Both positive and negative feedback helps them tweak their products and marketing, and if they elect to send you coupons (some do some don't), well, it's just a bonus for you.
While free coupons are great, keep in mind that most stores will not accept free internet printable coupons. There's just too much room for fraud with that type of coupon so most places just refuse to take them. But there free coupons out there, and if you have them, they're awesome!! Some companies will send you totally free item coupons for feedback, but others offer free coupons via other kinds of promotions. Sometimes you have to send in so many UPC codes to get something free, but often, companies offer free coupons through their websites just for the asking. Companies like Stouffers have 'clubs' online where you enter the codes off packages to earn points that you can then redeem for free product coupons or other merchandise. I recently was able to get two free Stouffers product coupons...one for an item up to $3.99 and the other for a free item up to $8.99!! Join a few FB pages like Tami's Saving Sense for links to these kinds of deals.
Another great sources for coupons, and very frequently a free coupon, is the ALL YOU magazine. It's only available at Walmart or by subscription. I have a subscription and I find it always pays for itself and then some.
When you're buying items, look for ones that you not only have coupons for but that have coupons in them. Proctor & Gamble does this a lot. For example, when I recently bought Charmin, there were high value coupons for other P&G products inside the package. These coupons typically have a higher face value then the coupons you find in the Sunday supplements.
In my opinion, the single most important savings tool you have besides coupons is your store loyalty card. We will talk more in depth about loyalty cards in the next message, but if you don't a key ring full of little plastic cards, you probably aren't saving as much as you could. They are something I never leave home without.
I hope you're catching the savings bug...if you weren't already completely infected. :-)
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