Couponing 101

There was a short couponing 101 article in The Birmingham News Extra that ran on April 14, 2010. Articles giving couponing tips are excellent way to gain couponing knowledge. As I read this article several things jumped out at me, and I knew I had to share them on the blog!

First of all, if you are not into coupons yet, either because you just don't think it is worth the time to clip them, or you never remember to use them at the store once you clip them, or whatever your excuse might be, remember this tip. "Look at coupons as cash in your pocket. You'll be less likely to toss them." How true! There are things that I buy on a regular basis like shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, a number of Pillsbury products, diapers, and so much more that I WILL NOT buy without a coupon! Coupons for these things are everywhere, and it is such a waste to not get your 50 cents or $1 off the product! I'll have to do a post soon on certain products that you can literally always find a coupon for. The coupons are out there, I promise. You just have to want to find them!

The second piece of valuable info I found in the Couponing 101 article was a breakdown of which stores double coupons. I'm guilty of only shopping at Publix (because I know their couponing policy well), and Walmart (because it is so conveniently located to my house), but now that I have this information I'm going to try out some other stores...especially if they are running a sale on a product that I have a coupon for!

• Publix, Food World, Winn Dixie, and Bruno's double up to 50 cents.
• Western doubles up to 65 cents.
• Food Giant doubles up to 90 cents on Mondays only.
• Aldi does not take coupons.
• Walmart takes coupons. However, they do not double and they do not take competitors coupons. You can ad match and use coupons on a product.
• Target and Publix will let you use one of their coupons and a manufacturing coupon on the same product.

I'll add one more couponing tip. I did not read this one in the article, and I can only attest to the fact that it works at Publix. The tip is that on the BOGO (buy one, get one free) sales, you can use two coupons...one for each product. I know it doesn't seem logical to be allowed to use a coupon on an item you are getting for free, but Publix apparently doesn't care...they let you do it anyway! Also, if you only need one of the BOGO items or you only want one, because you only have one coupon that's perfectly fine. Publix only advertises the stuff as BOGO. In actuality, it is more like 50% off. If you only get one product, you pay half the price. If you get the two products (BOGO) you pay the full price of one item, but get two. I love this rule, because I don't always need two of an item, and many, many times I have just bought the one.