Couponing Lesson 3 - Research and Shopping

Lesson 3 – Research and Shopping

OK, so now we have coupons and they are filed so that we can find them. I’m so glad there were some in today’s paper! I have heard that this is a big week for coupons, so hopefully we’ll get more in the Tuesday mailer. But I’m at a loss as to why there were no Walgreens and Rite Aid flyers in the Sunday paper today. Weird.

The next step is to do some research and match up sales and specials with coupons. There are several ways to do this:

1. look through the sale papers yourself and see what you spot that you vaguely remember having a coupon for

2. read the blogs on the internet where people post sales and coupon match-ups

3. read the AfullCup.com boards and see what people have been buying on their shopping trips

I do all three, at least to some extent.

Note: Be careful about prices! Know what is a good price and what you can still get cheaper elsewhere, and know what you absolutely don’t need or won’t use. If it is of absolutely no use to you, it’s a waste of money, no matter how little bit of money it is. Also try to do your deal shopping without driving too much out of your way and using too much gas. Stop by the stores you need when you pass them rather than making a special trip, if possible.

So here’s what you need to do—we’ll start with Walgreens. Get out your coupons and check to see if you have coupons for these Walgreens deals. They will generally post the item with the price, any matching coupons along with where they got them, and the ending price. If it is an internet coupon, they will usually provide the link so that you can print it too. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have many or any of the coupons—you will get more as you collect them! In a few weeks, you will find that you will have most of what they mention.

http://iheartwags.com/2009/08/0913-0919-weekly-deals-preview.html

This is a great place to see what is coming up at Walgreens. You can even see the ad for 2 weeks from now so that you can possibly even order coupons for the really good deals.

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/walgreens_deals/index.html

She usually has Walgreens specials up too, but this week isn’t there yet. She may get it up tomorrow. I check her blog every day to see what special cheap or free things she mentions.

http://www.afullcup.com/forums/walgreens/

This is a great board where people post the deals that they see in the ads or that they have come across in the store while shopping.

I’m just using Walgreens as an example, but check the same sites for Rite-Aid, Kroger and Target. I usually do my own research for Schnucks and Piggly Wiggly by looking at their ads on their websites. (They both double coupons.) I don’t generally find much at those stores, but every once in a while there will be something worth a trip. Sometimes what is on sale in someone else’s area won’t be on sale here, so be flexible. Also remember to check the clearance aisles—you never know what might be on sale that you have a coupon for. I got 2 free bottles of spray men’s smelly good stuff that the teen boys like—I can’t remember what it was called—at Walgreens last week. I put it away for when Adam decides he wants to smell good. Right now, I still have to remind him to put on deodorant.

I use a piece of notebook paper on which I write all the deals that I want to take advantage of, including the price, the specific size, any corresponding coupons I have, the final price after coupons (to see if it’s worthwhile), and whatever other info I may need. I stick it in my (new) coupon binder along with the corresponding coupons. I have a page written and a file page of coupons for each store. That way, they are all right there where I can see them when I’m shopping.

A few tips about each store:

Walgreens

Walgreens takes just about any kind of coupon—newspaper coupons, internet printables, and their own coupons that come in the sale paper or in certain booklets found in the store. They will take a manufacturer’s coupon AND a Walgreens coupon together on one item. The Walgreens coupon actually rings up as a sale price when they scan it.

Walgreens has Register Rewards (RR’s) which are coupons that print out of the Catalina machine (the little machine next to the receipt printer) for $x off your next Walgreens purchase. You have to buy certain items, sometimes 2 or more, to get the Register Rewards. The best way to take advantage of these is to buy these items when you can get them really cheap or free with coupons, then use those RR’s to buy something the next week that you can get really cheap with coupons, thereby lowering or eliminating your out-of-pocket (oop) expense. This is what is referred to as “rolling” the RR’s.

Here’s an example:

Last week, if you bought 2 Glade candles for $2.50 each, you got a $2 RR. I had 2 $3 off coupons for these candles which made them free. So this week, I can take that $2 RR and use it toward the True North nut clusters which are $3 this week and generate a $3 RR. That way, I only pay $1 for them, and I get a $3 RR. (Actually, I have a $1 coupon for the True North clusters, so they will be free too. Yay!) Do you follow me so far? I will use my $2 RR and my $1 coupon to buy a bag of True North and a $3 RR that I can roll next week. Good deal!

There are a few rules about RR’s, though.

1. If I got a $3 RR for the True North clusters and turned around and used that particular RR to buy another bag of the same clusters, I won’t get another RR for the second one. You have to use the RR’s on a different item.

2. You will only get 1 RR for each promotion in a transaction. If I bought 2 bags of True North at once, I will not get 2 $3 RR’s. I will only get one. If you want to buy more than 1 bag, you will need to make 2 trips, or ask the cashier to split it into 2 transactions. (Only do this if there is no one in line behind you. Otherwise, go to the end of the line for the 2^nd transaction.) If I buy 1 True North and 1 bottle of Triaminic, I will get both RR’s since they are for 2 different promotions.

3. A RR counts as a manufacturer’s coupon, and Walgreens will not allow you to have more coupons than you have items. So if I am buying only a bag of True North, and I have a $1 coupon and a $2 RR, I will have only 1 item and 2 coupons. I will need to buy some really cheap item as a filler. (The Walgreens coupons don’t count.) Good fillers include clearance school supplies, candy, gum, etc.

Rite Aid

I haven’t been able to find many good deals at Rite Aid lately, so I don’t take advantage of them much. They do have a single check rebate program where you buy the specific item, enter the receipt number on their website, and they will calculate your rebates at the end of the month and send you a check. I only do this for things that I really want or need, or things that I can get really cheap or free to begin with. I don’t like having my money tied up for a month. But you might find it worthwhile. Here’s the website: https://riteaid.rebateplus.com/default.asp?jse=yes

Target

Target has had lots of good deals lately. I haven’t really shopped there much in the past, mostly because you have to go to the superstore on Germantown Road to get the grocery items. But they have had some stuff lately that made it worth the trip, plus Lee drives right by there on his way home from work. He’s still nervous about couponing though, and doesn’t like to do it without me. ;)

Target puts out their own internet coupons that you can use on top of a manufacturer’s coupon on a single item. You can print as many as you want here: http://www.organicgrocerydeals.com/forums/view.php?pg=coupon_generator

They get confused when a coupon is for more than the price of the item, so sometimes they won’t take coupons on travel-sized things, even though the coupon doesn’t specify what size. It all depends on who the cashier is.

Sometime they have deals where you get a $5 gift card when you buy certain things. Roll this gift card onto something else that gives you a $5 gift card to minimize your OOP expense.

Kroger

Kroger also has their version of Register Rewards, but they are known in couponing circles as OYNO’s (off-your-next-order) or catalinas. They don’t do many of these, but they are usually worthwhile. Their Mega Saver deals that they have every once in a while are great too. If you buy 10 certain items, you get $5 off your order. Kroger doubles coupons up to $.60 value too.

So, are you ready to go shopping? I hope I haven't overwhelmed anyone! It does take some time, but it really pays off, especially these days when money is tight. I'll do another lesson in the next day or two about the actual shopping process. It won't be as long as this one, I promise.