Extreme Couponing 101: How to Get Organized and Save Time
Here are some of my tricks:
- Seek Out Extra Coupons: Get the word out! All of my family know that I am an avid couponer. My brother-in-law saw the paper man changing out the paper box and he got all of the papers left over from Sunday which were going to be thrown away. I trade coupons with my mother, co-worker, and daughter.
- Call Your Paper: Ask if they can give you the papers with coupons if they have any extra! I did this and my paper lady brings me the extra Sunday papers on Monday. I rewarded her with a bag of shelled pecans from our pecan harvest.
- Set Aside One Night: Use that night so you can cut coupons, comparison shop and organize! I usually choose Sunday night when I clip coupons, organize with the sales papers and make my list for the week of shopping. It’s also a great time to check the expiration dates of your current coupons.
- Check your Favorite Sites: I look for coupon deals in the morning and evening. Many times I check KCL before I leave work to see if any deals have been added. Also, read the comments section: there are a lot of deals discussed that will help you.
- Pick Your Top Three Stores: Choose based on the best sales, location, friendly staff. I have a CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aide five minutes from my job, and they are all on the same intersection. This saves time, gas, and keeps me organized. Even if I need to go every day, my drive time is decreased and I know the location of everything in the store, and my shopping is much quicker.
- Keep Coupons With You: My coupons go with me everywhere. I have missed several sales because I didn’t plan on going to a store and left my coupons at home. Then I checked the KCL website and there was a deal!
- Stick to a Script: At every store. My favorites include, “Thank you for your time helping me with my coupons.” Starting with a compliment puts the clerk in a better mood! Also, as you develop a relationship, they are more likely to help you with your questions. Or try, “I’m not sure if this is the way this deal works, could you help me with it?” The clerks should be familiar with the policies of their store. I have very little problems when I set the mood for the transaction. Also, I’m willing to let other customers check out in front of me so I’ll have extra time.
- Ask Questions: “Can you help me find this item?” “This item appears to be out, could you check the stockroom?” “Can I use this coupon?” “Will you help me figure this out?”
- Set a Time Frame: Decide how much time you can allot to couponing. Maybe 15 minutes in each store. That keeps you energetic, focused, and organized.
- Write Out Deals: Do this before you go to the store. It helps prevent forgetting an item or missing a sale. Don’t waste time if you don’t really need the item.
- Final Thought: I went into CVS the other day to get a deal on Charmin and Tide. The Tide rang up incorrectly and the clerk needed the manager. She paged him and paged him and he never responded. She looked for him all over the store and the stockroom. Finally, 20 minutes later, he showed up. He never heard the page. He, of course, apologized for the wait. As he did my correction, I told him that I was a good customer (which he verified as he sees me often) and that I thought I deserved a couple of extra ECBs for the wait. Guess what? I got 4 ECBs because I asked for them, was a good customer, and had a good attitude.
Getting Started: Save all your coupons
When you are just starting to build your coupon stash, I highly recommend that you save every single coupon that you can that is not expired. You never know what you might go on sale, what might be free with a coupon, or what might even make you money for buying it. I’m not advocating against sharing coupons or trading coupons you don’t think you will use, I am telling you not to throw any away!
Here’s an example… A couple years ago there was a coupon for up to $35 off a diabetes monitor. Some couponers tossed the coupon thinking they would never use it. Then Walgreens put it on sale… buy the monitor for $24.99 and get a $10 Register Reward. The coupon made the monitor free, so all you paid was tax and you still got the $10 Register Reward. Wow! Can you imagine being the couponers that had thrown it out? Talk about being sick to your stomach…
I am not telling you to organize all these coupons. Just designate a box in your house to put them in. If you see a hot deal that uses an insert coupon that isn’t in your binder/box, you will know where to go to look. Plus this won’t last forever. After about 6 months of couponing, you will know what never goes on sale.
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CVS Couponing 101: How to Extreme Coupon at CVS
CVS offers great Extra Bucks deals, an amazing rain check policy, and even a magic coupon machine. How could you not want to shop here all the time? Read on to learn how to coupon at CVS!
CVS Extracare Card
Extra Bucks
Extra Bucks are very similar to Rite Aid +Up Rewards. Extra Bucks are checkout coupons which print on the bottom of your receipt when you make a qualifying purchase. Extra Bucks promotions are advertised in the CVS weekly ad and, of course, in the deals posted at TheKrazyCouponLady.com. Here’s an example of how we’ll write up an Extra Bucks deal:
Vicks NyQuil 12 oz $6.00This particular Extra Bucks deal required that we purchase NyQuil in order to earn a $3.00 Extra Bucks coupon at the bottom of our receipt. To make the deal even better, we use a manufacturer coupon on our purchase. After we pay for the Nyquil, we can look at our receipt and see the $3.00 Extra Bucks which we may use on a future purchase.
Buy 1, Receive $3.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 2
Use $1.00/1 Vicks Product from PG 10/2
Pay $5.00, Receive $3.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $2.00
Limits: Extra Bucks deals have limits, which are associated with your Extracare card. In the above Nyquil example, the limit is two. This means that we can only purchase two Nyquil Extra Bucks during the entire week’s sale. Even if you shop at multiple stores, you will not be allowed more than two $3.00 Extra Bucks from Nyquil.
CVS often runs Extra Buck promos such as ”Spend $15 on participating candy, Receive $5 Extra Bucks.” It’s important to note that the $15 minimum purchase requirement is the subtotal reached before customer uses any coupons. If you purchase 5 bags of candy at $3.00 each, you may use manufacturer coupons (and even previously received Extra Bucks) to reduce the amount you must pay, and you will still receive your $5.00 Extra Buck. One cool thing about the Extra Bucks program being tied
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Walgreens Coupons 101: How to Coupon at Walgreens
Walgreens can be an overwhelming place to shop with coupons, but once you understand how to do so correctly, you’ll have a hard time staying away from this store!
Walgreens In-Ad Coupons
Walgreens store coupons are found in the weekly Walgreens sales circular released every Sunday. You can find this circular in your Sunday paper or in the grab-a-free-copy near the entrance of your local Walgreens store. Any coupon found in the Walgreens weekly ad may be used in addition to a manufacturer coupon on the purchase of one item. This is called “stacking” and is specifically allowed by the Walgreens Coupon Policy, which reads:
When purchasing a single item, Walgreens accepts one manufacturer coupon and applicable Walgreens coupon(s) for the purchase of a single item. . .
Walgreens in-ad coupons nearly always state a limit on the number of products you may purchase using the coupon. If a Walgreens in-ad coupon entitles you to purchase iced tea at the discounted price of 2/$1.00 and states “limit 4″, this means you may only purchase 4 iced teas at the price of $0.50 each. If you purchase a 5th tea and use the coupon, you will pay $2.00 total (for the first four teas) plus the shelf price of $0.79 each for the 5th tea. If you wish to purchase more than the limit the coupon stipulates, you must break your items into two separate transactions. To do so, you’ll need to make sure you have two copies of the in-ad coupon: one for each shopping order. Your store has the right to limit the number of items you purchase, so please remember to consult your local management and be courteous to other shoppers eager to get the same great deal!
When stacking a Walgreens coupon with a manufacturer coupon at Walgreens, it is important to remember to hand the cashier your manufacturer coupons first, followed by store coupons. Truthfully, it really only matters when you’re shopping with Buy One, Get One coupons, but I like to stay in the habit of doing it this way so I never forget.
Halls Cough Drops $1.39, regular price
In-Ad coupon: Halls Cough Drops $0.99 each, limit 4BOGO Free Halls Cough Drops manufacturer coupon
In-Ad coupon: Halls Cough Drops $0.99 each, limit 4BOGO Free Halls Cough Drops manufacturer coupon
If you hand the in-ad coupon first, here’s how the transaction will go:
Buy 2 Halls Cough Drops $1.39
Use in-ad coupon makes them $0.99 each (savings $0.80)
Then use BOGO Free manufacturer coupon (savings $0.99)
Final Price: $0.49 each, when you buy 2
If you use the manufacturer coupon first, it will go like this:
Buy 2 Halls Cough Drops $1.39
Use BOGO Free Manufacturer coupon (subtracts $1.39)
Then use in-ad coupon (savings $0.80)
Final Price: $0.29 each, when you buy 2
When you present the manufacturer coupon first, the full retail price of the “free” item will be subtracted from your total. If you present the in-ad coupon first, the products will be discounted first and your BOGO coupon will deduct only the lesser price from your total. So, it’s manufacturer coupons first, in-ad coupons second, and then finally Register Rewards last.
Register Rewards
Walgreens has a promotional checkout-coupon program much like the Catalina “Your Bucks” programs you may be familiar with from your local grocery store. Walgreens’ program is run by the same company, but their checkout-coupons go by another name: Register Rewards. A Register Reward (sometimes abbreviated as RR) is a long, receipt-like coupon that prints after you make a qualifying purchase. Flip through your Walgreens sales circular and look for products which state that you will “receive register reward” with purchase. After you complete your purchase of the advertised item, you will receive a Register Reward to use on your next purchase. It’s important to reiterate that the savings you receive will not be on the product you’re buying but on a future purchase, example below:
Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief 360 Toothpaste, 4 oz $4.99
Buy 1, Receive $3.00 Register Reward, Limit 1Use $1.00/1 – Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief Toothpaste – (colgate.com)
Pay $3.99, Receive $3.00 Register Reward
Final Price: $0.99
Register Rewards are typically good for “$X off your next in store purchase”. They usually expire 2 weeks from the date they printed.
Rolling Register Rewards
- Register Rewards nearly always have limits; most often the limit is one. This means that if toothpaste is producing a $3.00 Register Reward, limit 1, and you want to buy two of them, you’ll want to separate your order into two transactions. If you purchase both toothpastes in one shopping order, you will only receive one $3.00 Register Reward. But if you purchase one toothpaste, receive a $3.00 Register Reward, then purchase your second toothpaste in a new transaction, you will receive another $3.00 Register Reward. Please remember that stores have the right to limit the quantity of promotional items which you purchase. Be respectful and abide by all policies.
- Register Rewards will not “roll”. This means that if you follow our instruction and separate your two toothpastes from the above example into two transactions, you should not use the $3.00 Register Reward produced from the purchase of toothpaste #1 to offset your payment of toothpaste #2. If you do, you will not receive a new $3.00 Register Reward for the purchase of toothpaste #2.
- To maximize Register Reward savings, you have two options.
Alternate between different products. Continuing with the toothpaste example, if, in addition to purchasing toothpaste, you also want to purchase the body lotion, which is producing a $2.00 Register Reward, you could do the following:
Buy 1 Colgate Toothpaste $4.99
Use $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon
Pay: $3.99, Receive $3.00 Register RewardBuy 1 Nivea Lotion $8.99
Use $3.00/1 manufacturer coupon
Use $3.00 Register Reward from Colgate
Pay: $2.99, Receive $2.00 Register RewardBuy 1 Colgate Toothpaste $4.99
Use $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon
Use $2.00 Register Reward from Nivea
Pay: 1.99, Receive $3.00 Register Reward
lather, rinse, repeat. . .
If you receive a Register Reward generated by the purchase of product X, you cannot use it to buy a second product X if you want another Register Reward to print. The best way to get around this is to find 2 different products that trigger a similar value Register Reward and alternate buying those items in separate transactions. Pay for product Y using the Register Reward from product X, then use the Register Reward from product Y to pay for your second product X and so on. (Now go ahead, reread this paragraph a few times until it clicks!)
Roll week-to-week. I like to use as little brain power as possible (since my brain cells are dwindling with every new day of motherhood), so I prefer to roll my Register Rewards from week to week. This means that during my very first shopping trip to Walgreens as a “coupon virgin”, I paid quite a bit out of my pocket, probably about $30. But I walked out with a wallet full of $24 in Register Rewards, which I saved for the next week. Then during week two, I used all my Register Rewards from week 1 and didn’t have to worry about any conflicts like I would have by separating product X from product Y. For me, rolling week to week is a no-brainer.
Monthly Savings Book
Another great way to save at Walgreens is with their monthly coupon booklet found near the entrances by the weekly ads. You will not need to clip these. If you are buying 2 of the same item and there is a coupon for it, simply show it to the cashier and she will scan it once. If you bought 2 items, it will apply the coupon 2 times. These are store coupons and can be used in conjunction with manufacturer coupons to maximize savings.
Coupon Booklets
These free magazines are usually found near the pharmacy or beauty counter. They have articles as well as a mix of both Walgreen store coupons and manufacturer coupons. The store coupons, obviously, must be redeemed at Walgreens. The manufacturer coupons may be redeemed at any store.Coupon-to-Product Ratio
The cash register at Walgreens will not allow the cashier to accept more manufacturer coupons than total products purchased. If you are purchasing five items, using five manufacturer coupons and a Register Reward, the cash register will make an angry beep and reject the sixth coupon. The cashier will not be able to override this action, so you, as the consumer need to know how to troubleshoot the problem! A Register Reward is recognized by the computer system as a manufacturer coupon. Each manufacturer coupon contains a barcode, and the register matches each manufacturer coupon with one of the products in the shopping order. When the cashier attempts to scan the sixth coupon in the above example, the register cannot find a correlating product and rejects the coupon.
To solve this dilemma, you may purchase what we call a “filler” item. This refers to any inexpensive product in the store that you add to your purchase so the register will accept that extra sixth coupon. This might be a small candy caramel ($0.39) or pencil ($0.05) near the register or — my personal favorite — an extra copy of the Sunday paper. It doesn’t matter what the product is or even what it costs. You just need to ensure that you have at least as many items as manufacturer coupons. Here’s the equation: total number of Register Rewards+ total number of manufacturer coupons cannot exceed total number of products purchased. Got it?
Right now, couponing at Walgreens may seem about as easy as doing long division, but I promise it isn’t as bad as you think!
Right now, couponing at Walgreens may seem about as easy as doing long division, but I promise it isn’t as bad as you think!
