I have tried to use coupons many times in the past without much success.  I think that if you just buy a random Sunday paper now and then, clip only a couple of coupons and stick them your wallet, it probably won’t even cover the cost of the newspaper.  I will write more in the future about how to use coupons effectively, but before I get into the specifics of different stores and their programs, I wanted to start with a few core concepts.

The Drugstore Game

This refers to the practice of shopping at drugstores with the goal of getting things for free or cheap.  The three drugstores involved are CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid.  All three advertise certain items as free upon occasion.  CVS has a store loyalty card, which the deals are tied to, and you get the money back as coupons on the bottom of your receipt immediately on purchasing the required items.  Walgreens and Rite Aid have rebate programs.  Both of them allow you to enter your receipts online or mail them in monthly.  They will then send you a check or gift card for the purchase amount.

Stacking

You can “stack” a manufacturers coupon and a store coupon at most stores.  Manufactuers coupons are the ones you see in your Sunday paper or anywhere else you might find a coupon. Store coupons are typically found in the store or on its website, and are only available at that store.  For example, this week, the Schick Quattro razors are $8.99 at Walgreens.  There’s a $4 manufactuer coupon (from this week’s paper) and a $4 March Easy Saver coupon. You can use both of these coupons and get the razor for $0.99.  That’s a pretty good deal! (Not as good as free, but close.)  Check your individual stores to see if they allow this.  Walgreens, Rite Aid and CVS all do.

Overage

The holy grail of the couponer is overage. Overage is when you use a coupon in such a way as to actually make money on the transaction.  For example, if I use a $5 coupon on a $3 item, I will get the item for free, plus $2 worth of credit on the other items I’m purchasing.  This is such an important concept, and one that people often have a hard time understanding.  Yes, it is totally worth it to buy something you don’t need if it gives you overage.  I do not recommend this because I am against excessive amounts of waste, but if you absolutely feel you must, you can throw the overage-giving item away and still come out ahead.  Realistically, though, it would be much preferable to give it away to friends or donate it to a local charity (or put it in your yard sale!)

Deals that give overage are often referred to as “moneymakers”.  Note that most stores will not actually give you money back if your total falls below $0, so make sure you have additional items in your transaction to cover it–stuff that you can’t often find coupons for would be a good choice.  Some stores allow overage and some do not, as a matter of policy.

A deal can also be a moneymaker with some combination of manufacturers coupons, store  coupons and store rebate programs.  That’s often the easiest way to get things for a profit. If an item is free after rebate, and you have a coupon for it, then the face value of your coupon is what you end up “making” on the product.

Multiple Transactions

There are many reasons to split your orders up into multiple transactions.  Here are a few:

  • Coupons that can only be used once per transaction.  Sometimes, the stores will release $X/$X coupons that give you a certain amount off of your purchase of a set amount, for instance, a $5/$25 will give you $5 off your transaction of $25 of more.  If you are buying $75 worth of merchandise and you have three of these coupons, split your order up into three transactions!  You will immediately save $15 off your purchase for the day. Usually, you can only use one of these coupons per transaction, though some stores will allow more as long as the total of your merchandise is enough to cover it.
  • Spending less out of pocket. You can use multiple transactions to spend less money by using ECBs and RRs from the previous transaction as payment for the next.  For example, I want to buy toothpaste for $3 (with a $1 coupon, and receiving $2 ECB–a pretty common scenario there), shampoo for $3 (with a $2 coupon)  and two candy bars for $.50 each at CVS.  If I buy it all at once, I will spend $4 plus tax and receive $2 in ECBs.  If I instead buy the toothpaste first, and the shampoo and candy in a second transaction, I will have only spent $2 altogether.  The first transaction will come to $2, and I will receive a $2 ECB.  The second transaction, I will use the ECB from the first, and will be out of pocket $0.  This way, you can keep control of your cash.
  • Rolling ECBs/RRs. To take the previous example even farther, the ideal scenario is one in which you spend your ECBs or RRs in one transaction on items that will give you ECBs/RRs.  If you received $2 in ECBs for the shampoo in the previous scenario, that would be a good example of rolling.
  • Separate accounts/cards. Some people have multiple cards or accounts for different household members, depending on the store’s guidelines.  You won’t be able to qualify items for two programs if you have only one receipt.  Check your store for whether or not this is allowed.  I know for a painful fact that it’s one per household at Rite Aid.
  • Rebates.  You may need to mail your receipt in to take advantage of mail-in rebates for particular items.  It’s easier if you don’t have to send in a receipt three feet long, or for items that you may need the receipt for later.  You may need to return the item, or find another mail-in rebate for an additional item. I recently received a $2 rebate from Sucrets for having purchased it (for free after Single Check Rebate at Rite Aid) several months before. When I found the rebate form, I dug through my filing cabinet and sent it in.  $2 is $2.  Well, technically, in this case, $2 is $1.58, since I used a stamp to send it in but let’s not quibble about technicalities here.  I sold my receipt for $1.58, that’s what I’m trying to tell you.  It did, however, have an item on it that I later wished I had the receipt for, so keep that in mind.
  • Purchasing items for someone else.  Once your friends and family realize exactly how little you pay for everyday things, they may start asking you to buy things for them.  You may want to ring things up separately to give them a receipt, if feasible. I never do this because the final price I pay for something is usually pretty complicated, after rebates, RRs or ECBs are taken into consideration.

So far, every cashier I have ever encountered has been okay with splitting my purchases up into multiple transactions. I do not do more than three at a time, as a general rule. (I think I did four once.)  If there are people in line behind you, it is good form to go to the back of the line between transactions.  I will often allow someone with only a few items to get in line before me, too, if I know that I have a complicated transaction.  This is not just to be nice to the other customer.  It makes the cashiers like you better (you WANT them to like you, believe me) and it also keeps you from feeling stressed about the people waiting impatiently in line behind you.  If you’re stressed, you’re much more likely to mess something up.

Organization

My Walgreens cashiers often comment on how organized I am. (Sadly, I am almost never as organized at CVS. I don’t know why.  My favorite cashier there thinks I’m scatter-brained, I do believe.)   I have a plan, I have my transactions ready to split up at the register, I have my coupons stacked, and I keep in mind what coupons I need to use and when. (Yes, coupon order is important, but it depends on the store and the situation.)

To accomplish all this super-organization, I make a shopping list every week, using the deals listed for each store at the Slickdeals Drugstore forum, Hot Coupon World, and various ladies of the blogosphere. It contains all the stores I go to and what items I want to buy there that week, along with relevant information about coupons. I especially try to keep notes of any item that requires an ad or store booklet coupon that I don’t have with me while making the list, because those are the ones I’m most likely to forget about.

I also keep my coupons clipped and organized and with me. There are a lot of ways to organize coupons and I still don’t know what the best way for me will be, but right now, I am trying out the binder method. I will write about various methods of organization later.

I do 95% of my deals shopping with a toddler with me. Evelyn sits in the cart and is usually really good, as long as I keep a steady supply of crackers out for her. :)  She does take much more of my concentration than I would prefer, though, so I have found that the more organized I am to begin with, the better our trip is.  It’s really difficult for me to calculate prices and dig through my binder for coupons if I just go in without a plan.