Coupon Class Sunday

This week let’s go over some Coupon Rules, the does and the dont’s. As always, if you have any questions, palease feel free to contact me, I will be more than happy to help you save and stay on a budget 🙂

Coupon “Rules”

1.) When getting a Buy One Get One (B1G1/BOGO) sale, you are getting TWO products, therefore you can use TWO coupons- EVEN though 1 is “free”. (The free item is the store sale-not the manufacturer’s sale) SO if the sale is B1G1 hot dogs, you can use TWO coupons- one for each pack.

2.) You can use a STORE coupon AND a manufacturer’s coupon for the same item (but NOT two manufacturer’s coupons for one item). SO if you are buying a box of mashed potatoes, you can use one STORE coupon (like a Publix or Target store coupon) AND one manufacturer’s coupon. Once in a while I run into a cashier that doesn’t know this rule- just tell them to ask the manager.

3.) You can also use a B1G1 coupon AND one other coupon for 2 items. For example, I want to buy 2 candles. I can use my B1G1 coupon (which goes towards your free item) and my other coupon which goes towards the item I bought. Sometimes a cashier doesn’t understand this, however, and you may have to tell them to talk to the manager.

4.) If there is a B1G1 sale, AND you have a B1G1 coupon- your item is FREE! This is how that works: The B1G1 SALE is put on by your store, therefore your STORE is “buying” your free item. Your coupon is put out by the MANUFACTURER. So the manufacturer is “buying” your second item. The same rule applies to using a STORE coupon AND a manufacturer’s coupon. If you have a B1G1 COUPON from the STORE AND a B1G1 coupon from the manufacturer, you can use BOTH coupons and your items are free.

5.) For most stores, you cannot have more number of coupons than you do number of items. For example, if you are using a lot of store coupons stacked with your manufacturer’s coupons, you cannot buy 4 items and have 8 coupons. You must get what we call “fillers”. You would need 4 “filler” items, so that you have a total of 8 items & 8 coupons. (cheap fillers = bananas, Ramen, Koolaid, etc.); Some stores doen’t care, but the register blocks the additional coupons, you can ask your manager on duty to kindly override the register, takes a little longer and they don’t mind doing that, and it avoids buying extra items that you wouldn’t need or want, and saving you money. If you are already buying extra stuff then it doesn’t matter…. 🙂