Never Trust the Pictures on the Coupons

Never Trust the Pictures on the Coupons

A common mistake made by the beginning couponer and not properly trained employees, is to assume that the pictures on the coupons are actually the products that are on sale. This is not the case! Most of the time, the picture is of a more expensive product. The words are what controls the coupon. Make sure you read the words so that you understand what exactly is being offered and what you can actually save.

One "Store Trick" that You Should NEVER Fall For!

You can call it what ever you want to call it, but I simply just call it a store trick. This "Store Trick" happens with all stores in some way or the other. Notice the picture above, the bright yellow color with the words "Low Price" caught my eye as I was walking the aisles of one of my local stores. The bag of candy was, what I would call, a medium size bag. I thought $6.39 was a bit high for a good sale price.

That was my first big mistake, no where on the sign does it say "sale price." I fell for it, because I saw "Low price" in yellow, my brain automatically thought this bag of candy was on sale. DO NOT fall for this "trick"----I pulled back the sign, and the candy was not on sale at all! The regular price was the same as the "Low Price" $6.39. (SEE PICTURE BELOW!) There was NO change in price whatsoever!

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How to Save Money when Shopping at Target

Earlier we had an online discussion over on the Swappin' Spoons Facebook page about how you can save money by shopping at Target. In case you missed it, I have combined everything in this one post. Happy Reading!


Shopping at Target, Part 1: When shopping at Target or any other store, you really need to know their coupon policy, matter of fact, you need to print it, read it, learn it, and take it with you when you do your shopping. Print Target’s Coupon Policy here.


Shopping at Target, Part 2: Stack Those Coupons to maximize your savings! Now that you have read over the coupon policy you know that Target will accept 1 Target Coupon and 1 Manufacturer coupon on 1 Item! Click Here to take a look and print any Target coupons that you might need.


Shopping at Target, Part 3: Sign up for a Target {DEBIT} Card, Know as the REDcard---you will save 5% on top of using your coupons! The Target {Debit} Card is linked to your checking account---it is NOT a credit card…however they do offer one!

Shopping at Target, Part 4: If you haven’t already signed up for Target’s Cartwheel ---go do it now, you will save 5% - 30% on things that you are already buying. You will need a smart phone to use this app and you can down load it from your app store off your smart phone.

#1 Choose Your Savings
Add offers to your Cartwheel from hundreds of available products. New offers are added regularly!

#2 Go to Target
Going on a Target run? Simply bring your smart phone or your printed Cartwheel to the store. It's that easy

#3 Scan to Save
At checkout, display your barcode to the team member and with one quick scan you'll automatically save on all the offers on your Cartwheel.

Now you can choose what you want to save on, every time you shop.
With offers in every area of the store, something on your Target list is sure to be in Cartwheel. Go on, feel free to use the same deal over and over again. They don't mind.

Stack up the savings.
Yep, Cartwheel deals even work on top of coupons, sales and your REDcard discount. Happy saving!

The Dollar Tree Death Trap (Read Article before you Throw Stones at Me!)

Who doesn't love shopping at Dollar Tree---where everything is one dollar, even a loaf of name brand bread! Plus, now all their stores take manufacturer coupons. Talk about a win-win!

WRONG!

Dollar Tree carries many name brand items like, Crest, Colgate, Maybeline, Kelloggs, Suave, Hersheys, International Delight and many others and we can now use manufacuterer coupons on those items.

If you have been couponing for any length of time, you know exactly where I am headed with this post, but new couponers beware of the what I call the "Death Trap" to your savings.

With $1 off coupons, you can get some freebies at Dollar Tree, but be careful if your coupons fall below that $1 amount!

Dollar Tree does not double a coupon, so if I am buying a box of Kellogg's cereal for $1 and I have a $0.50/1 coupon; I would only pay $0.50 for that one box.

50 cents is still 50 cents!

Compare to shopping at a grocery store when I do the same transaction above, but only my coupon doubles at the grocery store. I get the cereal for free! Plus, there are several stores that will let you use a store coupon with a manufacturer coupon, resulting in overage at the grocery store.

Per Dollar Tree's coupon policy, you are only aloud 4 like coupons, per transaction. With that in mind, compare these transactions:

Dollar Tree
Buy 4 Kellogg's cereal at $1 each
Use (4) $0.50/1 manufacturer coupons
Total after coupons, $2 for all four boxes (most would think a good deal right?)

Well, $2 is still $2!

Any Grocery Store that Doubles coupons:
Buy 4 Kellogg's cereal at $1 each
Use (4) $0.50/1 manufacturer coupons (each coupon will double up to $1 each)
All four boxes for FREE after coupons!

And FREE is still FREE!

True, $2 does not seem like much, but what if you shopped at Dollar Tree, bought 48 items, used $0.50/1 coupons on each item and spent $24 out of pocket. I bought the same items at the grocery store, used the same coupons (except mine doubled) and I got everything (all 48 items) for FREE!

Do I ever shop at Dollar Tree, yes---I was even employed there for a few months. :)

My point is don't get caught up with everything being a dollar and think that it's a great deal, because those dollars add up quickly! If you have an option, shop where you can get the best deal!
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Couponing 101: Learn how Below

In order to become a good couponer, you must first realize that coupons are money. If your throw $1 coupon away, you are throwing $1 in actual money away.

::You must also know your store's coupon policy---never go into a store ready to coupon without knowing their coupon policy first.

::Next you need to have a good stash of coupons, you can get them from the Sunday paper, print them etc.. If you do decide to print or order coupons from a clipping service, wait until you know what is on sale at your local grocery store first unless it is a really good value coupon $1 or more then print away ( you are aloud two prints per computer, iPhone, ipad, etc...)

::Now that you know your store's coupon policy and you have your coupons, now you need to organize them,...you can put them in a binder, carry along box, envelopes or organize them by store---try different ways to see what works for you. I have done several different ways and actually like to carry mine in a small accordion or even in an envelope if they are clipped. If I have whole inserts, I file them by date and only clip the ones I need when I am heading to the store.

::How many "Like" coupons do you need?
If you are just starting to coupon I suggest one coupon per person in your family. If there are only 3 people in your family, you will need 4 like coupons (always round up, not down and remember to have an even number of coupons for the buy one get one free sales).

*Another reason to have more than 1 of the same coupon is because when you get your first free tube of toothpaste---you will be hooked and I guarantee you will have wished you had another coupon.

::Now that we have our coupons, whether from the Sunday paper or from online AND we know our store’s coupon policy, AND we know what is on sale, whether looking at the sales ad or following a local deal blogger (just Google it to find one); let’s go to the store.

First thing you will need to do is get a store loyalty card, if you already don’t have one---you will only get sale prices and if your store doubles coupons, your coupons will {ONLY} double with this card.

*Again I cannot stress enough to know your stores policy. Many stores double coupons--some do not. *Many stores will accept a manufacture coupon and a store coupon. This is called “stacking.”
*Many stores will accept an eCoupon, manufacture coupon and a store coupon for ONE item…talk about savings!

::Coupon Verbiage! You really need to know what the words on the coupons mean. If you are new to couponing, you will really want to read this blog post of mine. http://swappinspoons.blogspot.com/2013/03/coupon-verbiage-what-words-really-mean.html

::We have our coupons ready, we have them organized and understand the wording on the coupons; now we are off to the store, we are {ONLY} using our coupons on sale items , right?

The best sale is a “Buy One Get One Free Sale” this kind of sale is already putting your grocery item at 50% off, use your manufacturer coupon to get it for 60% off or possibly even free.

Use manufacturer Coupon, store coupon and ecoupon to get it for free plus overage if your store allows

Now just think, what if you had 10 coupons and got 10 things for free---or 20 coupons and get 20 items for free.

Oh wait it get's even better, What if your item only cost $1 on sale, you have $1 manufacturer coupon and $1 store coupon YOU WILL MAKE $10! The $1 man. coupon makes it free, and the $1 store coupon makes it $1 overage for each one that you have.

Most stores will want you to use that overage on other items in your cart/buggy. So think, free milk, free diapers, free laundry detergent.

Oh wait, what if you have 50 of each of these coupons, that's $50 overage!

Again it is important to know your store's coupon policy, some stores will only allow 10 or 20 sale items per transaction...but you can certainly stand there and do multiple transactions.

And last but not least, whether you are just starting your coupon journey or have couponing for a while, you really need to be using this program. You will save even more with SavingStar---I just love it! Click here to check it out for free!

Note: Some of the links in this post are my referral links. Read my disclosure policy here.