Coupon Update and Tips

I did it! I tried to follow as many tips as I could on a shopping trip. I did a pretty good job and was encouraged to see the $30 in coupon savings at the bottom of my receipt! :) Like I said, it was pretty good, but it wasn't one of those experiences that you see on TV where the total bill is like $100 and then after all the coupons the person only pays $10! I'm not sure I'll ever get that good at working the system. Maybe some of you will master it and can give me your tips! ;)

One thing, I think I've posted about before is to find out if stores match competitor ads. I know this is NOT a couponing tip, but it can help you save time and money if they honor other store's prices. I know this is probably annoying to the people behind you because check out doesn't go as quickly, but I can't even tell you how much money I've saved just by matching ads. For example, last week one local store had General Mills cereals for $1.49 (which is what I was charged instead of the $3-$4/box b/c of the price match), combined with my General Mills coupons, I got boxes of cereal for about $1. Another store around here always has great deals on avocados (which we eat a lot of and they aren't cheap this time of year!) for 3 or 4 for $0.99, rather then driving to that store for just one or two items, I show the ad at Walmart and save myself at least $4-$6 on that alone!

Couponing--Here's what I know & have done:

-Register your "loyalty" card. If your store offers a card to get additional discounts, go online and register your card, often times they'll send you additional coupons in the mail for the items you buy regularly! :)

-Another benefit is that some stores offer ecoupons that you can just add to your card, so when you check out, they automatically take off the extra savings.

-Bring in printed or clipped coupons, even if you have the ecoupon, they'll (at least the store here does) use both for the same product. On top of that, they will double your printed/clipped coupons up to $1.

-Some stores (NOT Walmart) will let you use multiple printed coupons for the same item. For example yesterday I bought some frozen bread that I had 3- $1 off coupons for. They used all 3 of my coupons, so instead of paying $4.99, I paid $1.99!!

-Look through the sales and match your coupons with their sales.

I'm not an expert yet, but as I learn more, I'll be sure to tell you how it's done! ;) Yesterday, it paid off pretty well.

By the way, if you're local, all of these tips work at King Soopers. For non local readers, this store is part of Kroger, so if you have one near you, that may work for you too.