Social Retargeting by Chango

Articles for Coupons & Savings

Myfrugaladventures.com features the latest deals, special offers, bargains, discounts, coupons, printable online coupons, savings, and more! Come look for new deals and savings!

01
Feb
2012

Reader Question: Difference Between Per Purchase and Per Transaction?

02/01/2012

Share

 

One thing that tends to cause confusion on coupons is when it reads “one coupon per purchase”. I have had a few questions about this recently and wanted to clarify.

Per purchase refers to each item you are buying. You can buy 1 item or 20 of the same items and you may use one of the same coupon on each of those items.

This is most pronounced on the Proctor and Gamble coupons.  They will write in red letters “limit one coupon per purchase.”  That does not mean you can only use one like coupon per shopping trip, it means you may use one of those coupons on each like item you buy.

Now if the coupon reads “one coupon per person” or “one coupon per transaction” that does indeed mean you can just use one each time you shop.  It doesn’t matter how many of the same items you buy, you only get to use one of the exact same coupon.

The Proctor and Gamble coupons do not limit you to one per transaction but they do limit you to four coupons per shopping trip.

Now the example of the Iams coupon above is nice and easy because they say “one per purchase” and then right underneath “limit four per transaction” so to me that is pretty clear. You can use one of those Iams coupons per bag you buy and you can buy 4 bags in total per shopping trip and use (4) of the coupons.

It does get a little blurry with other coupons. Recently some Johnson & Johnson coupons have had a new clause “no more than 4 coupons (of any kind) for the same product in the same transaction.”

Now that is clear as mud really but the coupon also says “limit one coupon per person.”  So that is the starting place for me- you can buy one Cortaid at a time and use a total of one of the same coupons.

I believe that they are saying with the no more than four coupons is in very special and very rare circumstances when multiple coupons can be used on an item.  The best example I can think of is at Publix where they will sometimes accept a manufacturer coupon, a competitor coupon and a Publix store coupon on an item.  That would be 3 coupons for that item.

Another example is at Walgreens where they can occasionally have an in ad coupon, a coupon booklet coupon and a manufacturer coupon for the same item.  That would be a total of 3 coupons on the same item.  If for some reason there was another store coupon for that same product from a different source (like an activity book or a store flyer) well that would be 4 coupons on the exact same item.  That would be the limit and you could not use a 5th coupon.

So obviously those situations almost never come up but that is how I read the new clause on those coupons.

Print Friendly

{ 5 comments }

11
Jan
2012

New Coupon Barcodes

01/11/2012

Share

 

Well some of you might have noticed new coupon bar codes when you print some coupons and perhaps on a few of the newspaper insert coupons as well.

You might notice there is now one barcode and not two as well are used to.  This has been in the works for a few years now and the point of these new bar codes is to increase efficiency at checkout for the customer and the retailer.

The main reason we will see a switch from the standard bar codes to the new single bar codes is to prevent fraud.  There are a lot of people that feel that if a coupon scans they can use it for whatever they want, regardless of what the coupon is actually intended for.

I hear this all the time when coupons are released for Disney movies for example.  The coupon will state is is valid for a BluRay combo pack and people will still use it on the regular DVD.  So this new barcode system was designed so that the coupon will only work on the specific item or items it is intended for.  In the case above, a Blu Ray coupon will beep if used on a DVD.

So this should also help retail stores because they can have more confidence when accepting coupons.  The registers are supposed to alert them to exactly what the problem is if the coupon beeps OR if it does scan they can be much more confident that the coupon is perfectly legitimate.

The goal is for the cash register to alert the cashier as to precisely what the problem is (expired coupon, not the correct item etc…) so all the guess work is gone and it should be a much faster process to check out at the grocery store.

Now these bar codes really started popping up at the first of the year, however retailers actually have up to 6 months to change their registers to start accepting these new coupons.

So the short term issue is that many of the new bar codes might not scan at your store.  I have heard about issues with Walgreens and I have personally experienced issues at Safeway and Walmart.  I had coupons refused because they wouldn’t scan and since the coupon policies do say a coupon can be refused if it doesn’t scan… well there isn’t a whole lot that can be done.

Now one issue that some of you might experience is with doubling coupons.  Currently if a coupon states “do not double” it may or may not double at your grocery store.With the new databar bar codes, the chances a Do Not Double coupon will actually double are slim.  Mostly likely they will not.  Unfortunately I don’t have any stores in my area that double coupons so I can’t test this personally.

So again, the bottom line is that these new barcodes might be a headache for the short term.  I wanted to be sure you were all aware of exactly what is going on so you feel empowered when you go to the store.  Hopefully most of these major retailers will have the software updated quickly and the new coupon barcodes should ultimately lead to a much more efficient experience for all of us.

You can read a little more about the new Coupon Barcodes here and the new Databar Bar codes here.

Print Friendly

{ 9 comments }

04
Nov
2011

Holiday Countdown (Free Shopping Worksheets)

11/04/2011

Share

 

Well I really need to get on the ball with the holiday shopping this year.  When my children were smaller I would be nearly finished by now, but as they get bigger and we get busier it seems to make “last minute” par for the course.

SO here is an article from last year that I posted and guess what?  Just 51 days till Christmas and about 3 weeks til Thanksgiving.

Here are some tips for getting your holiday shopping organized and on track!  I really encourage you to start thinking ahead to Christmas, especially if you tend to find yourself with a lot of credit card bills at the first of the year.  This is a great way to make a plan to shop within your budget.

Typically I have a calendar that I create at the beginning of the year and I update it with all the major events we have.  All family birthdays, anniversaries, any baby showers, weddings- all those events you purchase gifts for.  I have a separate list that I keep for Christmas shopping.

As the year progresses, I am constantly on the lookout for great deals.  I have found it is much easier on the budget to spend a little here and there than it is to spend a whole lot at once.  Not to mention once the holidays are in full swing, I find myself getting swept up with the shopping spirit and tend to spend more than I should.

So I am attaching two worksheets for you, if you want to get organized for the holidays.

The first worksheet is the one I use to keep track of what I need to buy throughout the year.  I typically keep track of things by month and check off each event as I purchase the gifts.  I also make notes about what it is I bought so I can easily find what I need.  (And because I tend to forget what I have bought for people.) I actually have all my gifts tucked into boxes at the top of the closet.  This gift list is tacked to the wall in the closet and I can easily update it as I pop items into the boxes.

For those of you with a lot of children’s parties throughout the year, you might especially consider getting started using the buy ahead idea.  I know you can’t always predict every party, but we will see wonderful deals on toys and things during the next few weeks and after the holidays.  It is a great time to buy a few extra items to put into your gift closet so you are prepared for those last minute party invitations next year.

The second sheet is just for organizing your holiday shopping list.   There is space to jot down names, what it is you purchased, your actual spent vs budgeted amount and a checkbox for when you have completed your shopping for that person.

Hopefully this is a little motivation to start really planning your wish list and to establish a budget ahead of time…51 days and counting!

Print Friendly

{ 4 comments }

22
Sep
2011

Halloween Candy Stock Up Prices

09/22/2011

Share

I went back through the candy deals from last Halloween to sort of give you an idea of what deals we can probably expect to see.

It looks like the fun size bags of candy- that are roughly 11oz- the best price we saw was about $1.00 for those.  It looks like those deals ran pretty close to Halloween.

That works out to about .09/oz for candy after coupons.  This week CVS has large Wonka bags for $5.50 for 4lbs- which is roughly $.08/oz.

So if you want to get your candy and just get it out of the way, that seems to be a good price.

My opinion on buying candy early vs. closer to the holiday is to only buy now if eating all the candy won’t be an issue for you.  If I went and bought the Wonka stuff my husband and kids would have the 4lbs gone before October 1st.

Now if I bought the snack size Snickers or something that is $1.25 this week- well they wouldn’t have a chance at it because Mommy would polish that bag off herself.

If you have more willpower than we do, I’d say to just get it and that is one less thing to worry about.  If you happen to have the same issue that I have, I would suggest printing the candy coupons as they come along and then sit tight for a few weeks and get your bags a little closer to Halloween.

**

I also wanted to mention that you don’t necessarily have to give out candy for Halloween.  Last year we saw crazy good deals on fruit snacks at some stores or some of you may have spotted great deals on Rice Krispie treats and those can be great alternatives to candy.

I am going to hold out myself and wait until October 1st to see what Amazon has in store for us.  Last year they ran promotions with Yummy Earth lollipops- which are organic.  The lowest price I remember is $10 for 5lbs of lollipops.  I bought those and they work great for trick or treaters plus it is something I feel a little less guilty about giving my kiddos if there are leftovers.   I am hoping Yummy Earth starts getting aggressive with prices in October and I will keep you posted!

(So now you know if you see me buying “Halloween candy” on a shopping trip just look the other way and pretend it really is for the children.)

 

Print Friendly

{ 7 comments }

19
Sep
2011

Extreme Couponing: How to Stack Coupons

09/19/2011

Share

The next step in the Extreme Couponing course is to learn:

How to Stack Coupons

To “stack” a coupon means using one manufacturer coupon and one store coupon on the exact same item. That is not to be confused with “doubling” coupons which is something totally different.

Often times, stores will issue their own coupon- perhaps in a printable form on their website, via the weekly sales flyer, or in coupon booklets sent to your home or found in store.

Those types of coupons can often be stacked with a second manufacturer coupon for the same item to basically get double the savings.

And example of a store coupon is this one from Safeway:

So there are a few key points that you can note.

  • The first is the top where it tells you “Safeway coupon.”
  • The second is the bottom of the coupon- you can see the standard remittance information is not listed.  On a manufacturer coupon you will always see instructions to the store as to how they can send the coupon in for payment.
  • Last, you can check the barcodes.  In this case I am not posting barcodes because that leads to other issues but one look at the barcode instantly told me that this doesn’t look like all the other manufacturer coupons I have and so something is different here.
Now the coupon is above specifies a price ($2.99) but it could also just be $1.00 off Tombstone pizza etc..


Now this is also a Digiorno coupon but it is a manfacturer coupon.  If this was the same product (Tombstone), I would be able to stack this with the store coupon above and get each pizza for $1.99.

To determine if a store does allow you to stack coupons, you can go online to the store website (such as Target.com) and look for a coupon policy.  You can also check out the compilation of Coupon Policies I have listed or you can simply go to customer service and ask for a copy.

Here are the things that seem to cause the most confusion for people:

Q. The fine print on the coupon says “can not be combined with other offers” so that means I can’t stack the coupon.
That actually means you can not use more than one manufacturer coupon per item you purchase. It does not mean you can’t stack a manufacturer coupon with a store coupon.

Q. The coupon says “limit one coupon per offer or transaction” so I can’t stack it.
That means you may only use one like coupon per item you purchase. If you buy 1 box of Cheerios you can use a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon. You can’t use (2) store coupons on the same box or (2) manufacturer coupons on the same box of cereal.

Q. I think this is a store coupon but it says manufacturer at the top?
There are a few stores that throw us curveballs and I hate it as much as you do. Walgreens and Rite Aid or the worst offenders and this can create a lot of confusion with consumers as well as with store staff.

This is an example of the type of store coupon that can create confusion.  Now the best advice I have in this situation is to arm yourself with as much patience and information as you can.  The coupon above is a Rite Aid coupon from their weekly sales flyer.  Now the coupon says “manufacturer’s coupon” at the top but don’t be fooled.  This is actually a store coupon- you can see there are no redemption instructions for a retailer, it says “good only at Rite Aid” and the bar code is clearly for Rite Aid stores.

So I can tell you already many cashiers will refuse to allow you to stack coupons because they will tell you that is a manufacturer coupon.  What you can do is to go back to the Rite Aid coupon policy and look for this clause:

No more than one “48” Rite Aid Valuable coupon, one “49” Rite Aid Manufacturer coupon, and one “5” Manufacturer coupon can be used on a single item. Rite Aid may accept up to 4 identical coupons for the same number of qualifying items as long as there is sufficient stock to satisfy other customers within the store manager’s sole discretion

So you can see that they expressly allow for the stacking of a manufacturer coupon (that is the 5 coupon they mention- see the pizza coupon above the barcode starts with a 5, the Rite Aid coupon I have pictured says “RC49″ at the beginning. So as you can see the policy does allow you to stack these coupons.

Finally, just a quick note about when the stars align and you can really get the most bang for your buck.  Certain stores will frequently offer a total purchase coupon.  CVS is the store we see these from most often and what that means is when you get a coupon for say $3 off a $10 purchase or $10 off a $50 purchase.

More often than not, you can also stack that coupon along with others you might have!  The only trick you need to keep in mind is that the total purchase coupon should always be given first.  This is one of those times that the order you hand your coupons to the cashier is extremely important.  Take this example:

Huggies Diapers $10.00
Use $2 manufacturer coupon
Use $1 CVS coupon for Huggies diapers
Use $3 off a $10 purchase CVS coupon

If I hand over the manufacturer coupon first, well now my total bill is $8.00.   If I try to give the cashier the $3 off a $10 purchase coupon it will likely be refused because my purchase is actually $8 not $10.  So it is important to give that total purchase coupon first and then the other 2 coupons and now you pay just $4 for your diapers.

Here are guidelines for a few of the stores you might already shop at.

 {Walgreens}
You can stack a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon. They frequently show this as an example in the weekly circulars. My suggestion is to save one of those circulars if you find one with a good example because many stores can be very difficult about stacking coupons. Find the Walgreens coupon policy here. One other small note is that the coupon policy says “applicable Walgreens coupon(s)” which indicates to me that if there happens to be more than one Walgreens coupon for the same item, you should be able to use all of them on that product.  An example would be an in ad coupon and a coupon booklet coupon for the same item- you would just want to double check that the bar codes are different.

{Rite Aid}
Rite Aid allows up to three coupons on a single item- a manufacturer coupon, a store coupon starting in “48″ and a store coupon starting in “49″. The total combined coupon value can not exceed the purchase price of the item. Find the Rite Aid coupon policy here.

{CVS}
CVS does allow you to use a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon on one item. If you also have a total purchase coupon, you can use that as well. See the CVS coupon policy here.

{Target}
Target allows you to use one store coupon and one manufacturer coupon per item. The store coupons do say limit of 1 and it is up to the individual stores as to whether they allow you to use multiple like coupons. For example, if I have a Target store coupon for Oatmeal and a manufacturer coupon that is no problem. If I have (2) of the same sets of coupons and I want to buy 2 oatmeal, you would need to check with your store and see if they enforce the limit of 1 per transaction. The majority of stores will not enforce the limit.  See the Target coupon policy here.

You can find more Couponing 101 articles below:

  1. Extreme Couponing: Where to Begin
  2. Extreme Couponing: Understanding coupon matchups
  3. Extreme Couponing: Ready for Action
  4. Extreme Couponing: Determining a Realistic Savings Plan
  5. Extreme Couponing: Understanding Buy One Get One Free Coupons
  6. Extreme Couponing: Organizing Your Coupons
  7. Extreme Couponing: Free Item Coupons
  8. Extreme Couponing: Using the coupon database.
Print Friendly

{ 2 comments }

15
Jul
2011

How to Extreme Coupon: Price Matching at Walmart

07/15/2011

Share

Here is a little vlog I did on how you can do price matching at Walmart. The major advantages to price matching include:

1. One stop shopping (saving time and money)
2. Cherry Pick the best deals from a variety of stores.
3. Shop at your convenience without worrying about inventory issues and out of stocks.
4. Walmart’s policy is to give overage on all coupons, so you might be able to get overage on a coupon rather than having it adjusted down.

The major disadvantages to price matching at Walmart include:

1. Employees that are not trained properly on the policies.
2. Not finding identical items to what you want to match.

Hopefully this video helps to explain how the entire process works! If you have trouble viewing this video, you can find my You Tube Channel here.

You can find the actual Price Matching policy for Walmart here and find the Walmart Coupon Policy here.

You can also find more articles on How to Get Started Extreme Couponing here.

Print Friendly

{ 26 comments }

23
Jun
2011

Extreme Couponing: Using the Coupon Database

06/23/2011

Share

We had a little conversation about this a few weeks ago on the My Frugal Adventures Facebook page.  There are lots of you that might not be aware of a fantastic resource that is available on My Frugal Adventures.

You can utilize the free coupon database at any time and find any coupons you might need in just a few seconds.

So let me start by telling you how to find it.  You can bookmark the coupon database or just look for the box pictured above on the right sidebar —–> and click.

To use the database is very simple.  You simply enter what it is you need and all the available coupons will pop up.  So if you are interested in Grey Poupon Mustard, you might type in “Grey Poupon” or “Grey Poupon Mustard.”  I tend to play with how specific I am.  If I am looking for a Colgate Total coupon I might try Colgate, Colgate Total, or Colgate Toothpaste and see what I get.

When I searched for Grey Poupon (by typing that in and clicking on Search), I can see only one result.  It shows me the description of the coupon (Grey Poupon mustard), the value of the coupon, the date it expires, and the source.  Sometimes you find printable coupons, you will see a link that you can click to go directly to where the coupon is located to print it out.  In this case the Grey Poupon coupon says source “SS 6/12/11″ and that simply means the coupon is inside the 6/12 SmartSource insert.

Now if I wanted to do more of a general search, I could type in “Mustard” instead.  Now that is going to give me lots more options:

If you find that you have a popular product with a lot of results, you do want to note how many pages are listed:

This is at the top of the results and again at the bottom.  If there are multiple pages of coupons you might want to be sure to check each page.

You do want to make sure to note if a store is listed- all the monthly coupons for Walgreens and Rite Aid as well as the Target coupons are often listed in the database.  Don’t waste your time looking at coupons that are specific to Walgreens if you are planning your Kroger shopping trip.

Once you are more comfortable using the database, you can also click on the Advanced Search link and start narrowing down precisely what you want.  If you are a new couponer, you might want to narrow down under “Type” and just look for printable coupons.  Maybe you just want a coupon for a specific value- you can click on “value” to see tons of options.  Maybe you want to find just store coupons.  Click on “Store” and you can search by Walgreens, Target, Publix etc.. etc…

So this really is a great tool to use when you are planning your shopping trips.  I use the coupon database numerous times a day.

A few notes that I do want to make about the database in general:

  • If there was a Grey Poupon coupon released in a specific insert and Arizona got $.50/1, Chicago got $1/1 and Georgia got $1/3- well sometimes the database will have all three listed and sometimes just one of those coupons.  Because it is listed in the database as $1/1 doesn’t necessarily mean that is the exact coupon that your newspaper will have.  You will still have to double check your inserts and see.
  • Some regional coupons are not listed in the database.  The one specifically that makes me nuts is Golden Grain pasta.  That is a very regional product and the coupons are never listed in the database- so keep in mind just because a coupon isn’t listed doesn’t mean it isn’t available.
  • And finally, just remember this database was built and is maintained by human beings.  So there are sometimes errors in the database- like when a recent coupon was listed as “Fruity Pebbles” which you would assume was the cereal and the coupon was actually for Fruity Pebbles Treats which is very different.  Obviously that was a mistake that was made when entering the coupon.  There is usually a bit of a delay in how quickly the coupons are updated.  For example, when I did the grocery store ads on Tuesday, the coupons from the prior Sunday insert still had not been entered in.  And also printable coupons can change at any time.  So if you see a link to a coupon there is always the chance it has been removed, is out of prints etc…

Overall I think this is a great resource and I have found it very simple to use.

If anyone has questions about the database feel free to ask in the comments below!

Here are more articles available to help you learn to use coupons:

  1. Extreme Couponing: Where to Begin
  2. Extreme Couponing: Understanding coupon matchups
  3. Extreme Couponing: Ready for Action
  4. Extreme Couponing: Determining a Realistic Savings Plan
  5. Extreme Couponing: Understanding Buy One Get One Free Coupons
  6. Extreme Couponing: Organizing Your Coupons
  7. Extreme Couponing: Free Item Coupons

And you can also check the Where to Begin section of the blog!

Print Friendly

{ 4 comments }

15
Jun
2011

Extreme Couponing: Free Item Coupons!

06/15/2011

Share

Well here is another step in the road to learning how to effectively use coupons.  I wanted to discuss a bit about free item coupons and how to obtain and best use them.

WHAT:

So a free item coupon is exactly what it sounds like.  A coupon that is valid to try a product for free.  There are a few ways to get your hands on these types of coupons.

  1. Via social media promotions. Most often these are on Facebook.  There are all sorts of these types of promotions, from Purina to organic yogurt to Coffeemate Creamer. It used to be that these promotions would last for a few hours but now there are a lot more people out there seeking these freebies and coupons, so often times they might be gone in a matter of minutes or even seconds.
  2. Via word of mouth marketing programs. There are a ton of programs you can sign up for and they really do send coupons or products (full size) totally free.  Some examples are Vocalpoint or Kraft First Taste.  Another type of program would be rewards programs like Huggies and Pampers or Recyclebank where you get free product coupons once you enter enough codes to qualify.
  3. Via coupon inserts. We used to see free item coupons frequently in the paper.  Especially when new products were launching.  These days they are pretty few and far between but they are occasionally in your Sunday paper.  Now the coupons can be regional (meaning only some cities will get them.  An example of this was about 2 months ago.  A very small demographic received coupons for a free Marzetti salad dressing (about $3-4 value).  That same week some people in another demographic received coupons for a free hot sauce (about $3-4 in value).  So depending on where you live your newspaper may have had a great coupon inside.
  4. Via the manufacturers directly. One popular thing to do is to attempt to get free item coupons by contacting the manufacturers of various products and either ask directly for coupons or compliment them/offer feedback on specific products in the hopes that they will send you coupons.

One important thing to understand about free item coupons is if they are printable coupons or not.  There has been a wave of fraudulent printable coupons over the past year or so and as a result most stores will no longer accept these types of printable coupons. Occasionally manufacturers still release these coupons, in fact Lipton actually just offered a coupon for a free iced tea that was available to print at home.  These coupons can still be redeemed but it is important to understand that you may need to try a few stores before you find one that will actually accept the coupon.

A free item coupon that is not printed at home on your computer (such as one mailed to you or in the Sunday paper) is another matter entirely and the vast majority of stores will accept those with no problems.

HOW:

So now that you know where these coupons typically originate let’s move on to how the heck you can get your hands on them!  I try to pass along as many of the free item coupons as I hear about on the blog.  You really have to be in the right place at the right time though because these promotions can go incredibly fast.  Usually following me on Facebook is the best way to find out about them because we can all work together on the Facebook wall to learn when coupons are live etc..

You can register for the word of mouth programs like Vocalpoint, Kraft First Taste, House Party etc… and hopefully get coupons that way.

You can purchase free item coupons online.  An example would be the Sunday insert coupons I mentioned above.  If your area did not receive a coupon for a product or if you want extra coupons, you can purchase coupons from clipping services or from Ebay.  One thing to note is that you want to be VERY careful buying coupons from Ebay.  There are occasional sellers that never send the coupons, send out photocopies or otherwise altered coupons (that are fraudulent and should not be redeemed) and so on.  If a coupon seems too good to be true- say a $5 off Tide coupon, most likely it is too good to be true and it is best to not take any chances.  I have personally used Ebay a handful of times and I have not had problems but I have heard from lots and lots of people that were burned so again just use caution.

And the last way I wanted to mention was via manufacturers directly.  I used to do this a lot when I started couponing and then I had baby #2 and now there simply aren’t enough hours in the day.  You can select random manufacturers for products that you like and call them, email or even write a letter and compliment or offer constructive critisism on their products.

Sample Letters:

What I used to do was pay attention to the products I already had on hand and make a mental note to contact those companies.  For example, during bathtime am I using Burt’s Bees baby wash?  Well why not drop them a line.  In the morning as I am brewing my coffee- is it Coffeemate creamer I always have in the fridge?  Well why not contact them!  You can often just turn a package around and find contact information or a simple Google search will more often than not turn up contact information.

When contacting companies it is important to be honest with your feedback but still polite.  Telling Luvs that you hated the diapers and they gave your baby a rash is probably not going to get you very far.  Here are some examples of things that I have said to companies in the past:

I contacted Huggies when I had a pack of diapers that were defective.

“I have used Huggies diapers on my girls for the past 3 years and have always had great luck with your product.  I also appreciate the convenience of finding Huggies diapers in almost every store I shop.  I did want to let you know that I recently purchased a package of Huggies Overnights diapers in a Jumbo pack at Target (UPC #:) and the side tabs were missing from 3 diapers in the pack.  I have never had any quality issues before and I certainly intend to continue purchasing your product.  I just wanted to make you aware of the problem. “

Now that really did happen to me and I really did send them a note about it.  Huggies responded by sending me a coupon for a free pack of diapers and two $5 off coupons for any product.  So if you do run into any legitimate problems don’t be shy about letting these companies know!

Another example might be something your family enjoys like Newman’s Own Pasta Sauce.  You might send something like this:

“I just tried the new Newman’s Own Stockarooni pasta sauce tonight and wanted to let you know how much our family enjoyed your product!  Your pasta sauce is a staple in our house and my kids love it on homemade pizza or spaghetti and I love the convenience of just pouring something right from a jar and dinner is served!  I also love that your products are organic as that is such an important thing for our family.  We will continue to purchase your pasta sauce regularly and if you happen to have any coupons available for consumers, I would sincerely appreciate them!  My address is:  …..”

And even if you are not a huge fan of a product or you simply want to try something different, you might send a note.  Like I happen to be a Coffeemate girl.  So I might send something like this to International Delight:

“I tend to purchase Coffeemate creamers most frequently and I do use creamer in my coffee every morning.  I recently saw an ad for the new Breve creamer from International Delight and I am really interested in trying this product.  I love the packaging on the creamer and the flavors sound wonderful- especially the Caramel Macchiato.  If you have any coupons available for consumers, I would really appreciate them as I would love to try your product and see if I like it as much as what I currently use.   My address is…”

So emailing companies can sometimes get you incredible coupons and sometimes get you absolutely nothing.  I have received several free item coupons from manufacturers, I have received nothing at all in response to my emails and coupons that were very low in value (say $.35 coupons on a $5-6 product.)

If you want to give this a whirl, I would suggest getting started by just looking at the products you use regularly and contacting those companies when you can.  You can also see a long list of companies to get in touch with (and hopefully) you will get free coupons in return.

Remember to try to be specific and to be honest with what you say.  ”I love Huggies please send me coupons” is probably not as effective as the samples listed above.

WHERE:

Now that you know how to get these coupons, I wanted to mention where to use them.  Most people get a coupon for whatever product and they hit the closest store, get the product and leave.  That is great but I try to be a little more strategic with these coupons.

I actually tend to hoard my free item coupons.  Many of them will have long expiration dates and I like to wait for the best possible time to use them to really maximize savings.  So what would be an example of that?  Well I had a free coupon for a pack of Kraft cheese recently.  I waited until I found a Buy One Get One Free sale on Kraft cheese and plunked that coupon down to get 2 packages for free.  Another example would be to hold your coupon until you can possibly make a profit via drugstore rewards or rebates.  An example of that might be a coupon for a free pack of Huggies diapers.  Maybe you hold onto that coupon until CVS is offering a $3 ECB when you buy Huggies.  Use that free package coupon and you get a free product and still get the $3 ECB.  So not only did you get free diapers but you made a profit!

I also love to use these coupons as fillers for store coupons.  For example, my local grocery store offers store coupons for free products when you spend a certain amount (CVS and Rite Aid also offer these types of coupons with $5 off $20 purchase coupons or $3 off $15 purchase coupons.)  So for example I might need to spend $20 at that store and if I do, I get a free package of cereal.  Now I just have to hit $20 before coupons so if I had a coupon for a free pack of Huggies diapers- well that is likely going to get me almost halfway to the $20 mark.  So if I am smart and hold onto those free item coupons until I have a little stash of them, I can use them at the right time to get the best possible deal.

Hopefully this is clear and I would love to hear from you guys that actually do regularly contact companies.  What has your experience been and do you have any other suggestions?

You can read more articles about learning to coupon:

Extreme Couponing: Where to Begin

Extreme Couponing: Understanding coupon matchups

Extreme Couponing: Ready for Action

Extreme Couponing: Determining a Realistic Savings Plan

Extreme Couponing: Understanding Buy One Get One Free Coupons

Extreme Couponing: Organizing Your Coupons

and you can get even more information from the Where to Begin section of my blog!

 

Print Friendly

{ 16 comments }

©2008-2012 MyFrugalAdventures.com — All rights reserved. My Frugal Adventures

This site runs on Starbucks, Chocolate and WordPress using the Thesis Theme

Site Design and Theme Tweaking by Moritz Fine Designs and Joy @ Five J's Design