Spending Coupons Not Cash

We hope everyone is having a great time saving money and not getting too overwhelmed!  If you are just getting started, couponing can seem a little stressful but I assure you that it gets easier and will not take any time to get started. Here are the questions that were asked this week via our facebook page or email.

Question:  If I receive a coupon booklet in the mail from Kroger, am I able to use a manufacturer coupon I got out of the Sunday paper with it? The Kroger coupon can be only used at Kroger but it says manufacturer coupon.

Answer: This question is a little hard to explain because I can not see an image of the actual coupon.  However this is a “gist” of what you can expect from a store coupon: First you will have to find out your store’s coupon policy.  Some stores allow a store coupon stacked with a manufacturer’s coupon but some don’t.  Sooo… the most important part is to learn your store’s coupon policy!!! If it does allow a coupon stack, look at the numbers under the barcode if it starts with a “5″ in almost all cases it will be a Manufacturer’s coupon meaning that you will not be able to stack it with another coupon.  When the coupon states it can only be used at a particular store, that will be the only store that will get reimbursed from the manufacturer for the coupon

Continue reading “Your Couponing Questions- Week 2” »

Alright part of my New Year’s Resolution on the blog is to help others understand how to coupon, and clarify any questions you may have.  Each week I will answer questions that have been asked on the blog, via email, and from our Facebook page.  Please feel free to contact us with your questions, remember if there is something you don’t understand the best way to learn is to ask!

Question: Do coupons that say “Save $$ when you buy 2″ and “Save $$ on 2″ mean the same thing?

Answer: Yes they do, different companies use different wording but this means the same thing.  The one coupon is good for 2 items.

Question: If you use a binder for your coupons, what catagories do you have and what order do you put them in? ( the order of your tabs)

Answer: We do in fact use a binder and everyone sets their tabs up different but the way that works easiest for me is to alphabetize.  My binder is split into 2 different sections, FOOD and NON-FOOD.  Each section is alphabetized in categories.  For example our food categories start: Beverages, Breakfast, Cereal (too many cereal coupons are available to combine with breakfast),  Candy, Canned foods, etc. Same thing for the Non-food section.

Question: How do you make a binder?

Answer: The post above may be helpful in figuring out the categories, and other than that it is really simple.  I personally suggest splurging a bit and get a zip up binder that has a couple accordion slots in the front.  This will save you from a) dropping your binder and coupons going everywhere and b) the accordion is great to shove whole inserts into.  The only other things you need are dividers/tabs (I just use tabs, its cheaper) and baseball card protectors.  You can find them at the front of Walmart/Target/KMart with all the baseball cards.

Question: What coupons can be doubled?

Answer: This almost always depends on the store you are shopping at.  There is the occasional coupon that will say “Do Not Double/Triple” which means that even if you bring them into a store that doubles you will only get the coupon for the amount it is worth.  Of course there are always exceptions, some stores will override that and allow the coupon to be doubled.  You will have to call your local stores or get a hold of their store policy to find out what their double policy is, some will only double a coupon when the value does not exceed $.50 meaning you will get $1 for the coupon, others will double $1 meaning you will get $2 for the coupon.  Every store is different so make sure you ask.

Question: How do I go about getting the best savings?

Answer: This is hard because everyone has a different STOCK-UP price, depending on their area and the deals offered.  What I personally believe and preach to others if NEVER pay for toothbrushes, floss, or toothpaste.  There is a list of other stuff I personally won’t pay for any longer but before I found those “FREE” deals I did pay for my razors and bodywash, just made sure they were on sale.  Never again will I do that but it took a while for me to get those deals!  I personally recommend shopping at your drugstores for toiletries and household goods because they give you rewards back on your next purchase and if you plan carefully you can continue to roll those over each week while building your stockpile.  Main idea of this question though: Never pay more than you did the first time.  If you bought bodywash for $1 after coupons/rewards don’t buy it again until it is less than that.

Question: When Using a coupon that says Buy 1 Get 1 Free,can you also use another coupon on the same product that takes like another $1.00 off of the product?

Answer: In most cases this will be up to the store, some allow and some don’t.  The interpretation of a B1G1 FREE coupon is that if you buy 1 product the 2nd one is FREE.  Therefore, unless the store states differently you should be allowed to use a $1 off coupon for the product you are paying for.  Make sure you know your store policies, to know which stores you can utilize these coupon situations at!

Please feel free to contact us at melissa@couponsnotcash.com with your questions or post them as a comment below, and next week we will feature your questions.