Miscelaneous Tips

1. If a coupon doesn't say something like, "Use only for item pictured," or "Excludes trial size," then you should be able to use the coupon on a trial sized item--often to get it for free. Especially if the coupon says 'any' item.

Some coupons say, "use only for items indicated," but the coupon also often says, for ANY item. Sometimes when I try to use a coupon like that on a trial sized item the store won't let me because when they read that phrase they think the coupon can only be used on the items in the picture. It seems to me that what is being indicated is that the coupon can be used on ANY item!!! I talked to Target Corporate about this, and the person I talked to said that I should be able to use the coupon on a trial size unless the coupon specifically says to not use it on a trial size.

Manufacturers have been putting out coupons for years. It seems to me that they don't just forget to not put 'no trial size' on the coupon. Sometimes they'd rather we tried the larger size of the product, so they exclude trial sizes, but sometimes maybe they don't mind us trying the smaller size either, hoping that we'll like it and go for the bigger size. That's just what I think...

2. If you have a buy one get one free coupon, and there is a buy one get one sale for the same item, then the store will hopefully let you get two for free (because they cancel each other out). Some stores allow for this, but other stores won't allow it. This is one case of YMMV (See coupon lingo post).

If the BOGO item for sale is $3, then how much money does the store receive if I give him cash? Yep! $3! If I give the store a BOGO coupon, then how much money does the store receive? The store will be reimbursed for the amount of the item, so they will receive $3. 

3. If stores offer their own store coupons, then you should be able to 'stack' the store coupon with a manufacturer's coupon to get an even greater deal. For example, Target has in-store coupons that you can print out online, and can sometimes find elsewhere. So, if I had a Target coupon for $1 off Band-aids and I also had a Manufacturer's coupon for $1 off Band-aids, then I could use them both on one item. Pretty fun, huh??

4. When printing coupons, print in black ink only to save ink. (You can set your printer to print only black ink in your printer's settings.)

Sometimes ads will print out before or after your coupon, thus wasting ink. If the ad prints before the coupon, then I don't think that there is anything you can do about it. If it prints after, and you have an inkjet printer, then you can cancel the printing job as soon as the coupon has printed and the ad after the coupon won't print. I learned how to recognize the sounds the printer made. The sound was usually constant while printing the coupon, and then there'd be a very short break before the printer moved on to print the ad. I'd hit 'cancel' as soon as I heard that break. (Now I have a laser printer, and it prints too fast for me to be able to cancel. With an inkjet I was paying about $60 a month for ink. With this laser printer I pay about $75 [less if I can get it at a discount--which usually I can] every 3-4 months.)

5. Sometimes the cashier will miss scanning a coupon (or two) when you hand a stack of coupons over to the cashier. Sometimes coupons get stuck together. I like the crisscross idea. (Stack each coupon at a different angle than the coupon underneath.) It seems less likely that the cashier will miss coupons this way, but they still do, so do your best to keep an eye one them. Also, always check your receipt (before you leave the store if you can since you're already there and can take care of a mistake instead of having to remember to come back and do it). Some people actually hand over the coupons one by one to the cashier.

Also, be careful where you set your coupons, and if the cashier has a fan on, then politely ask if he/she can turn the fan off (if they refuse, then I'd definitely hand over the coupons one by one). I set some coupons on the belt thing once, and almost lost a few when it started to move. I did lose a coupon that fell in a crack by the register (because a fan blew it), and there was no way to retreive it. Luckily I had another of the same coupon...

6. Your Top 20 Meals

A very helpful thing to do is to write down all the ingredients you would need for the top 20 meals most often consumed in your home. Stock up on these items when you can score a great deal and you will be able to make a meal without having to buy all the ingredients when they aren't on sale.

7. Clearance

When you're shopping try to look for clearanced items that you can pair with a coupon. Also, after a holiday is a great time to stock up for the following year. Post-holiday clearance items are sometimes marked down to 90% off!! Way cheaper than waiting to buy holiday items the following year.

8. In many cases pairing a coupon with the smallest size of the product that is allowed will save you the most money. For example, I had a tobasco coupon for $0.75 off any size tobasco sauce. The larger size of tobasco sauce was close to $2, if I remember correctly. The smallest size was $1. So, I got the smaller size and paid a quarter (plus tax) for it. (I actually bought several...) It takes two or three of the little bottles combined to equal the amount of the larger sized bottle. So, I saved at least $0.50 by buying the smaller size. ($0.50 doesn't seem like much, but spend $0.50 ten times and you've spent $5. The small amounts do add up!!)