Miz Couponista Clipping Coupons Before Coupon Clipping Was Cool!

*UPDATED* The ones in bold are the coupons I received. At the bottom is a list of what I got, but not listed in the preview.

Sharpen your scissors it’s almost Sunday! Here is a sneak peek at tomorrow’s coupon inserts.  As always, keep in mind coupon inserts and coupon values vary by region.

~D

Smartsource

Breakstone’s any new zesty blends sour cream Save $1/1 (7/31)
*Curad any product Save $0.50/1 (9/19)
*General Mills any cereals Save $1/2 (7/30)
Green Mountain Coffee any variety in a 10- or 12-oz bag Save $1.50/1 (7/31)
Jell-O any refrigerated snacks$0.35/1 (7/19)
K-cup any boxes of select brands portion cups Save $2/2 (7/31)
Kraft Dressing any 14oz or larger bottles Save $1/2 (7/17)
Kraft Mayo or Miracle Whip any 22oz or larger Save $0.75/1 (7/17)
Mayfield dairy ice cream & Broughton dairy milk Save $1.50 wyb both (8/31)
Nasbisco any cookies or crackers 3.7oz – 25.2oz Save $1/2 (7/30) DND, DNT
*OFF! any deep woods personal insect repellant Save $0.75/1 (8/13)
*OFF! any personal insect repellant$0.55/1 (8/13)
Oscar Mayer any packages of hot dogs Save $1/2 (8/14)
Playtex any gentle glide tampons 18ct or larger Save $2.50/2 (8/13)
Scott towels or bathroom tissues redeemable at dollar general Save $1/1 (7/17) ETS
*Yoplait Original or Light Yogurt 4pk any flavor Save $0.50/1 (8/13)
*Yoplait any multipack (fiber one, yoplus, delights, yoplait light or original 4pk, yoplait   greek 4pk) Save $0.50/1 (8/13)
*Yoplait any flavor yogurt of: gogurt, kids cup, trix multipack, splitz Save $0.75/2 (8/13)

NOT LISTED, BUT I GOT IT IN MY INSERT.

Blue Dry Dog Food 12lbs or larger.  Save $5 (7/30)

Blue wet dog or cat food. B5G1 free  $2.49 value (7/30)

Blue Dog Treats any bag Save $1 (7/30

Johnsonville smoked Chicken Sausage. Save $1 (9/19

WYB 1.5 qt or larger variety of Meadow Ice Cream + 1 Gallon MG Milk. Save $1 (8/31)

Any Schiff Move Free 80 count or higher. Save $5 (8/31)

Frenches Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce. Save $1 (9/30)

Any 2 Pantene products. Save $3 (7/31)

Lemi Shine Rinse. Save .50 cents (7/30

Can someone answer this question for me? Why do we only get coupons based on our region? How does that work? Who dictates what areas get certain coupons, while others don’t?  I can understand difference in values, but to not get certain coupons all together frazzles me.

Since I started stepping up  my coupon game I have put, and continue to put, a lot of time and effort into it. I’m yet to save more than 50-60 % on my bill. I knew it would be a challenge because of where I live. It’s still frustrating.

I may be speaking for myself, but here in Montana we take showers, eat a variety of foods, change our children’s diapers and catch colds and the flu. We may be one of  the poorest states in the country, yet we still shop til’ we drop. Throw us a freakin’ bone here coupon people!

I was so pumped last week after reading about Sunday’s up and coming coupons. Yes, I was warned and in turn warned others that not every coupon would be available to us. I still crossed my fingers. I was dying to get my hands on the $2/1 Dial coupon. When I got the paper and combed through the inserts I saw that we didn’t get it. We sell Dial in our stores! Also missing (there is more, but these were the two I wanted/needed/had to have) was the Goodlife Recipe cat treats coupon. I have 5 cats and I’m sure I’m not the only Montanan that has them.

I guess I’ll  just need to work harder. I’m not out to become an “Extreme” couponer, but I do want to save big time money.

~D

Target has made changes to their official coupon policy.  I recommend printing off a new copy of this policy to keep in your binder.

1. BOGO coupons cannot be combined (i.e. you cannot use two BOGO coupons on two items and get both for free). Unless stated otherwise on the coupon, the use of one Buy One Get One Free coupon requires that two of the valid items are presented at checkout of which one item will be charged to the guest and the 2nd item will be discounted by its full retail price.

2. A second cents-off coupon of the same type cannot be redeemed towards the purchase price of the first item.
In other words Target is now prohibiting the use of a $ off manufacturer’s coupon on the non free item when using a manufacturer’s B1G1 coupon.  For example, if you have a buy one get one free coupon for Tide, you would not be able to use a $2/1 coupon on the Tide that you are “paying” for.

3. If a Target BOGO coupon is used, one additional manufacturer coupon maybe used on the first item.
You can no longer use 2 manufacturer’s coupons against a Target B1G1 Store Coupon. This means if you have a B1G1 Free Pantene Target Coupon, you may only use one $1/1 Pantene Manufacturer Coupon.  You can no longer use 2 manufacturer’s coupons against both items.

4. If a Manufacturer BOGO coupon is used, one additional Target coupon may be used on the first item.
You can no longer use 2 Target Coupons against a Manufacturer’s B1G1 Coupon. So in other words if you have a B1G1 Old Spice Body Wash Manufacturer’s Coupon, you can no longer use two $1/1 Old Spice Body Wash Target Store Coupons along with it. you may only use 1 store coupon.

What do you think of these changes?  Since I’m still pretty new at this, I’m not bothered. Perhaps I don’t quite understand the ramifications these changes bring.

~D

Thank you Totally Target

CVS Pharmacy is a great place to find fantastic deals. Often times, it is possible to save up to 90% or more on your transactions if you plan carefully.  But before you tackle CVS, here are a few pointers that should help you get the most bang for your buck.

Become Familiar With Your Store’s Policies.

CVS has some corporate policies (for example, you can use one manufacturer’s coupon and one store coupon per item), but they also allow regional and store managers to set policies. Some stores will accept coupons printed from the internet others may not. Many stores will issue rain checks for items that earn Extra Care bucks while others will not. Some stores will also limit the number of coupons you can use during each transaction. If you know your store’s coupon policies, you can save time and embarrassment during the check out process.

Extra Care Program

The Extra Care Program is CVS Pharmacy’s customer loyalty program. You can sign up for an Extra Care card in store or online.  After you sign up for the Extra Care Program, make sure that you register your Extra Care card online.  You will receive a coupon in your e-mail for $4 off your next CVS purchase of $20 or more and they will send you valuable coupons from time to time.  In addition, you can check your Extra Care earnings online and print your quarterly Extra Care Bucks.

Extra Care Bucks

Extra Care Bucks are card specific and can only be used with your CVS Extra Care card. Your Extra Care Bucks will print at the bottom of your receipt and typically have an expiration date that is about a month from the purchase date.
Earning Extra Care Bucks is easy. Look in the weekly CVS ads found in your Sunday paper. In addition to their weekly specials, they will have specific items highlighted in yellow – when you purchase these promotional items, you will earn Extra Care Bucks (also referred to as ECBs).

In addition to earning Extra Care Bucks for purchasing promotional items, you can also earn “quarterly” Extra Care Bucks.  You will earn a quarterly ECB based on 2% of your out of pocket spending (this means after all coupons and other discounts have been applied).  You will also earn 1 ECB for every 2 prescriptions you purchase in store or online at the CVS Pharmacy.

The earning and payment dates for quarterly ECBs are as follows: (your quarterly ECBs will start printing on your receipt on these dates and you can also print them online.)

• For ECBs earned December 15th-March 14th:  print date is on April 1st
• For ECBs earned March 15th-June 14th:  print date is on July 1st
• For ECBs earned June 15th-September 14th:  print date is on October 1st
• For ECBs earned September 15th-December 14th:  print date is on January 1st

What If You Lose Your ECBs?

Make sure you keep your ECBs in a safe place! Think of them as money. If you lose them, you cannot replace them.  SOMETIMES customer service will reprint any unused quarterly ECBs you have earned as a courtesy, but don’t rely on this.

How Many ECBs Can I Use In One Shopping Trip?

You can use as many ECBs s you would like in one trip!

Explain This “Rolling” ECBs Thing.

To “roll” an Extra Care Buck means to use it to pay on another advertised deal that has an Extra Care Buck offer attached to it and receive that Extra Care Buck after you pay. Thereby rolling the old Extra Care Buck into a new one. If the limit is more than one, you can roll one Extra Care Buck into another for the same item, it isn’t prohibited, and another Extra Care Buck will print!

CRTs

CRTs are additional coupons that will print out on the bottom of your receipt.  These typically have a shorter expiration date than ECBs (ranging from a few days to one or two weeks) and are “store” coupons so they can be used in addition to manufacturer’s coupons!   Look for red “scanners” in your stores and scan your Extra Care card at these machines whenever you visit a store – CRTs will also print from these machines.  Typically, the CRTs you get will match up with upcoming promotions and help you save even more money!

Buy One, Get One Free Promotions

If your store is having a Buy One, Get One Free promotion and you have a Buy One, Get One free coupon for that item, you can get two items for free!

A Few More Tips

If you are participating in a promotion that says “Spend this amount, get an ECB for this amount”, you do not have to spend the total amount all in one store or in one transaction.  If you look at the bottom of your receipt, it will tell you how much you have left to spend.  This really helps if your store doesn’t have everything you need in stock!  This also applies for a “Buy 2 items, get an “X” ECB” promotion”

The amount you have to “spend” is based on your total BEFORE coupons!

Shop Early In The Week

If you shop early in the week, you will have a better chance of finding sale items in stock. If sale items are out of stock, remember to ask for a rain check. CVS rain checks are not store specific and do not expire.

~D

What is so hard about saving money at Walgreens?  It’s not the lack of coupons.  It’s not the lack of in store deals. It’s that there are so many ways to save at Walgreens it’s hard to decide which to use first.  If you’re new to couponing and strive to maximize your savings it can make your head spin. I’m starting to get the hang of it, and you can too.  A few more trips and I might even consider myself a pro. And if not at least I will be on a first name basis with staff!

So, here we go with ways to save at WAGS.

Register Rewards

Register Rewards are special coupons that are printed at the register using Catalina machines. They are Walgreens specific coupons (i.e. you can’t use them anywhere else). They are linked to specific products each week. Sometimes you only need to buy one item to earn Register Rewards.  Sometimes you get them for buying a certain amount of products. Make sure to check out the Walgreens weekly ad found in the Sunday paper to find out what Register Rewards deals are featured.

Example: You buy Bounty Paper Towels and a $1 Register Reward prints, or you buy shampoo AND conditioner and get a $2 RR.

How RRs work.

Specific Register Rewards can only be used once per featured item.  You can not use Register Rewards to purchase an item and then use that specific Register Reward to try to purchase the same items again.  The next RR will not print. This is how Walgreens limits the number of deals per person.

Example: If you purchase toothpaste and get $2 RR, you cannot buy another toothpaste and use that RR to get another RR.

Rolling RRs

You can “roll” your RR by using them on a different Register Reward deal as long as you are not using them on the same products (see above). If you want more of a Register Reward deal then alternate you purchase with another purchase.

Example: Buy Toothpaste, get a $2 RR. Then buy Shampoo, use the a $2 RR, get a $3 RR. Buy another toothpaste, use the $3 RR and you will get another $2 RR. Confused?  It can be daunting to those new to couponing, but it will make sense the more you do it.

Troubleshooting Register Rewards

Some Walgreens stores have reprogrammed their Catalina machines. If you buy an item and are told that using a coupon made your RR NOT print, you are probably in one of those stores. There is nothing in Walgreens policies that state you cannot use coupons.  As a matter of fact, Walgreens allows you to combine their in-ad and/or in-store booklet with manufacturer coupons AND your register rewards. CHA-CHING!  So… If your RR does not print, don’t bother with the store management (they can fix it, but they usually don’t like to).  Your best bet is to simply leave and call 1-888-8COUPON and talk to the Catalina company. They will HOPEFULLY mail you the RR that should have received in the store. You should be able to avoid this by giving your coupons, Register Rewards and store coupons in this order…

• Any $/$$ (like $5 off $20 purchase)
• Register Rewards
• B1G1 (Buy One Get One) manufacturer coupons
• Other manufacturer coupons
• Store coupons

This is often where I get confused/forget or just screw my order up! To me it seems backwards to use your register rewards first. Technically they are considered a manufacturer coupon, so the system will kick them out if you have already used a coupon from that manufacturer.
Another thing I learned is that Walgreens coupons are really price changing codes rather than money off coupons. So you want to use these last. You want the computer to think the item is full price when you use your manufacturer coupon. Then use the store coupon to reduce the price to .59¢ or whatever the coupon is for. If your store is quick to use store coupons first then keep your store coupons out of sight until after manufacturer coupons have been used. Put manufacturer coupons on top of the products to help them get scanned first.

Filler Items

One caveat to Walgreens coupon policy is that you cannot have more coupons than items in your transaction.  If you have a single item in your transaction, and you have 2 coupons for that item, you must purchase another item to complete the transaction, since you have 2 coupons total, but only 1 item. This is where filler items come into play. Filler items are low cost items that you can add to your transaction in order to complete it. One of my favorite filler items is the $.39 caramels that they often have sitting at the register.

Although saving money at Walgreens can be a somewhat confusing task, if you work at it, the rewards are well worth it. If you are patient and polite, chances are your cashier will be too and your transactions will go smoothly. As with any store that you shop at, know the store coupon policies. Print them out when possible and keep them in your binder. 🙂