Saving money with coupons is the ultimate goal. But, how do you know if you are using them in the right way to really save as much as possible?
When it comes to coupons, the idea is simple. You buy a product, use the coupon and save more money. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it?
While that works, it is not necessarily the best way to use coupons. The truth is using coupons requires strategy and planning. When you can combine those two, you will see the benefits turn into money you aren’t spending at the store.
Make sure you check out our How to Use Coupons page for the help you need to start learning to save more money!
THE WEEKLY AD
Your store’s weekly ad is the first place to start each week when it comes to saving money with coupons. You’ll see which items are on sale, which means you can use your coupons to save even more.
The Front Page
The front page of your store’s ad lists the best deals of the week. These are often referred to as loss leaders. They are called that as these items may not result in profits for the store, but are used to get people there to shop. Most people will not only purchase those sale items, but other products as well, resulting in overall profits for that retailer.
You can use the loss leaders to your advantage. Look at the non-perishable items listed on the front page. Since these are already at a low price, this is the time to buy. Even if you don’t need it this week, buy it at the lowest price and keep it in your pantry. Then, when you do need it, you’ll not only already have it on hand, but have also purchased it at an incredibly low price!
Center Pages
There can be some good deals hiding in these pages as well. These might include offers such as buy one get one or save $x with the purchase x items. Those can often be items you should stock up on as well. Using your coupons on these offers can maximize your savings.
Short Sales
Sometimes, stores offer short sales. These are sales that run along side the weekly ad, but only for a period of a few days. Most will be anywhere from 1 – 4 days long. These sales also often have additional loss leaders listed.
Review these ads and stock up on anything you can where you can pair your coupon for maximum savings. And then, make sure you shop during one of the short sale periods so you can make one trip to the store and get all of the savings at once.
Weekly Ad Tips
- Shop the font page loss leaders and pair with coupons.
- Look for other special offers within the pages of the and use coupons
- Time your trip to shop not only the weekly ad, but the short sale where your coupons will save you even more
Also see: How to coupon: A guide for beginners
Buy One Get One Coupons & Sales
One type of coupon that creates a lot of confusion is buy one get one free, also called BOGO. The way you use them and the offers you will get depend upon the coupon, the store and/or the sale. See why this is confusing?
The first thing you need to do is understand your store’s coupon policy when it comes to buy one get one offers and coupons. Take time to read those policies so you have a clear understanding before you shop.
Combing BOGO Coupons with Value-off Coupons
One thing I need to address before we go further is if you can use a BOGO coupon + another value off coupon (i.e. $1.00 off one). The short answer is – No. You can’t.
The reason is that your BOGO coupon has already been used on two products. The requirement to use the coupon is to buy two. Look at at a $0.50/2 coupon. That requires you purchase 2 in order to redeem the coupon. That is the same case with a BOGO coupon. You can’t use multiple coupons on a single product.
BOGO Coupons + Regular or Sale Priced Items
This is pretty straight forward. If you have a BOGO coupon, you will buy two items, but will only pay for one of them. That means you are paying 50% on each item. It is best to use these on products that are on sale, as you can take advantage of the sale price, making your out of pocket cost even less.
BOGO Coupons + BOGO Sale
This is one of the most confusing scenarios to explain. The reason is that some stores will allow you to use a coupon on a free product, but others will not. CVS, for example, will allow this. However, Target does not. This is why you must read your store’s policy to know for sure.
If your store allows you to use a BOGO coupon on a BOGO sale, both items will end up being free. The reason is that the sale gives you a free item and so does the coupon, so they end up cancelling one another out, making both items free.
Sample deal – Buy 1 Deodorant at $3, get 1 free
Buy 1 Deodorant for $3
Buy 1 Deodorant for $0
Use BOGO coupon
Final Price: $0 – the BOGO made the cost of the $3 deodorant drop to $0
If your store does not allow you to use a BOGO on a BOGO sale, you will need to double your purchase. Since you have a coupon, you need to purchase 2 to use the coupon AND then you will also need to purchase 2 for the store’s offer. That results in 3 products being free and paying for just one.
Sample deal:
Buy 2 Deodorants for $6 ($3 each)
Buy 2 Deodorants for $0
Use 1 BOGO coupon
Final Price: $3 for 4 items, or $0.67 each
BOGO Coupons + B2G1 Free Sale
There are also instances where the store will run a buy 2 get 1 free promotion. Again, the way that this will work depends whether your store allows you to use a coupon on free product or not. In order to get the most from both your BOGO coupon and the sale, there are ways you will want to shop these promotions.
If your store allows you to use a BOGO coupon on a BOGO sale, buy 6. Six!?! Yep – six. To really maximize your savings, you will want to have 3 BOGO coupons though.
Sample deal:
Buy 4 Deodorant for $12 ($3 each)
Buy 2 Deodorant for $0
Use 3 BOGO coupons (one will apply to each of the 4 purchased above)
Final Price: 6 for $3 or $0.50 each
If your store does not allow you to use a BOGO on a BOGO sale, you will need to double your purchase. Since you have a coupon, you need to purchase 2 to use the coupon AND then you will also need to purchase 2 for the store’s offer. That results in 3 products being free and paying for just one.
Sample deal:
Buy 2 Deodorant for $6 ($3 each)
Buy 1 Deodorant for $0
Use 1 BOGO coupon (will apply to one of the 2 purchased)
Final price: $3 for 3 items or $1 each
BOGO Coupons + BOGO % off Sale
Stores also sometimes run buy one get one % off sales. The two ways this will work is that you the free purchase will be applied to the item at a % off or towards the full priced item. There is no way for you to control this, as the store has it programmed into their system. Of course, getting the full-priced item is the best case scenario, but it may not always work that way.
Coupon deducts the full priced item. In this case, you would pay the 50% off price on both products. If it the price was $3, you would get two items for $1.50, making them $0.75 each.
Coupon deducts the % off item. In this case, you would pay the full price for both items. Again, if the item is $3, you would get both for $3, making them $1.50 each.
TRACK THE SALES
If you ever watch your store, you will notice that certain items tend to follow a sales cycle. That is how you can determine when to shop to stock up and how long it will be before the next sale runs.
For example, our family eats quite a bit of pasta. Every 8 weeks, my grocery store puts my favorite brand on sale. If we have pasta once every 2 weeks, I know that I need 4 packages to get me through each 8 week period. When it is on sale, I stock up. That way, when we want it for dinner, I am not stuck paying full price.
In order to properly track this, you will need to create a price book. You will keep track of everything you buy for several months. Over time, you will be able to easily identify when the products you need tend to go on sale, so you can plan your shopping trip according.
STACK COUPONS
Coupon stacking is where you can use more than one coupon on a single purchase. Some stores allow this and others do not. In order for this to work, your store must have their own store coupons. When you can combine manufacturer’s coupons along with store coupons, you maximize your savings.
Saving money with coupons is simple to do, once you know the tricks and tips the experts have figured out. By applying these principles, you can easily slash your own grocery budget.