Winning at the Grocery Game Part I: Terminology

Hi there Seedlings! Megs here with the first in a series about strategies to reduce your grocery expenditures.  This series will cover basic couponing skills, including terminology, where to find coupons, the basic couponing process, and also specific tips for stores with special coupon programs.  Today's post will cover couponing terminology. Using coupons and stacking coupons with store sales, you can expect to save 40 to 50% (or even more!)on your grocery bill.  Nice, right?

Before we get into the nitty gritty, a word of caution.  It is important to check the fine print on your coupons BEFORE using them at the store.  Each coupon is different; some coupons will only apply to a specific type of product, not any product within that brand family.  Size is also important; on cereal, for example, manufacturers will state a "minimum" box weight that the coupon applies to.  This is because if they were to allow a coupon to apply to, say, a trial size item, the coupon might make that item free and then they make no money.  Also, and this is HUGE folks, using a coupon in a manner that violates the terms stated on the coupon is COUPON FRAUD.  That's a big deal, and we don't want to do that! :)  Along with the terms stated on the coupon, each store will have its own coupon policy.  Visit the store website to make sure you are following that store's rules.  
Ready to get couponing? Let's get started!

• "Transaction" versus "Purchase"

Guess what? These have different meanings! A transaction is the process where you spend money at the register. So all the stuff in your cart that you buy at one time? That is one TRANSACTION.

PURCHASE means each individual item that you buy. So, if a coupon says "Limit one per purchase" what they really mean is "You can use one coupon for one item." If the coupon says "Limit 4 like coupons per transaction" what they mean is you can only use that coupon (if you happen to have 4 of that coupon, such as if you bought multiple papers) 4 times per "check out." Different stores have different policies about how many coupons you can use; Albertsons and Safeway seem most friendly in my area. Walgreens has a rule that you can't have more coupons than items, so a tip is to buy candy that is super cheap on clearance (like seasonal candy)or pencils (usually 4/$1) if you have too many coupons.

Look at the fine print here.
You are allowed to use two of these coupons per "shopping trip."

• "Any one" versus coupons that list a quantity

Pay attention to the fine print on your coupon. Some coupons (the best kind, really) are for one item per coupon. This maximizes the value. Often though, the coupon is only good if you are buying more than one item (such as $1.00 off any 2, or $4 off of any 4, etc). Check the fine print and whenever possible match it to a store sale.

• Doubling

Unfortunately in my area, this is rare, but Albertsons and other stores often will double coupons up to a dollar in value. So say you have a coupon for 30 cents off mustard; the store will double that to 60 cents, making it much more of a savings. Our Albertsons will put doubling store coupons in the local paper/weekly ad, often with just 4 store coupons that allow you to double per paper. If you need to stock up on something it might make sense to buy multiple papers or bum one off of a friend or relative to maximize your doubling! Keep in mind this might mean multiple trips through checkout or even several trips to the store over several days, so only do this if you won't be spending more on gas/time than it is worth.

This manufacturer coupon prohibits doubling.

• Rain Check

Sometimes when an item is on sale and is out of stock, you can get a rain check for that item and price, guaranteeing that the next time you go in, you will get that good sale price on the item you wanted. Some stores will say "no rain checks" in the ad, as will some store generated coupons.

• Stacking

Probably THE COOLEST part of couponing. This is when the store is having a sale, and you make it better with coupons. Often a store will have an in-store coupon (basically a coupon from the store that you can only use with them) with a very tight limit on quantity (such as Oreos for $2 a box limit 2). Well, if you have a MANUFACTURER'S coupon, you can "stack" that for a bigger discount. Remember the rule about transaction versus purchase? You can often use that rule to your advantage and get multiple of the same deal :)

• Store coupon vs. Manufacturer's coupon: These are different, but stores sometimes make things confusing. STORE COUPONS are the kind that the store puts out as basically a "limited quantity" loss leader/special. The manufacturer is not reimbursing the store for these coupons. A MANUFACTURER COUPON is a coupon produced by the manufacturer (like Kraft foods) that applies to one of their products. This will be sent to a coupon warehouse after you redeem it and the manufacturer pays the store "back" for the coupon value. Now here is the confusing part! Some stores now have digital coupon loading where you can "load" coupons to your store card. THESE ARE CONSIDERED MANUFACTURER COUPONS most of the time. For example: Safeway has a program called "Just for U." There are three different things going on here:

COUPON CENTER is where you can load Manufacturer Coupons to your card. This is just like the coupon you might get in the newspaper, but in digital form so you don't have to clip it. If, however, you want to do more than one coupon you will need to use paper coupons for multiples as usually these are one only. PERSONALIZED DEALS is an area where you can add "special prices" to your card. This is based on what you buy and is probably intended to get you to try new things. It works :D

YOUR CLUB SPECIALS is where you can find the weekly sale flyer for that store.

I will go into greater detail on how to stack coupons at Safeway in a later post.

Make sure to read the fine print on the coupon. An example of stacking to clarify: You can only ever use one manufacturer's coupon at a time, but you can typically also use a "store coupon" (the kind they print in flyers with special prices, where they typically have a very tight limit on number of items per person) where you can stack coupons.  An example: Recently I had an ad from Fred Meyer with a clippable "coupon" (really just another word for special store sale) for Starbucks drip coffee pack, 12 oz, for 5.99 each limit 2.  I had a MANUFACTURER coupon for $3 off any 2 Starbucks coffee, so I was able to stack these as they were different kinds of "coupons."  The coffee ended up being just $4.50 per bag, which is a steal based on the usual price of $10 per bag :)  That's where you start to see the big savings.

That's it for today. Happy Couponing Seedlings!