Basic Couponing Lesson Number Four: Using Coupons at the Appropriate Time

Using Coupons at the Appropriate Time

As mentioned previously manufacturers promote their products in waves, coupons being the first wave. What they want you to do is to purchase the product at full price when the coupon comes out with minimal savings, then purchase the product again 3 or 4 weeks later when the product is on sale again for minimal savings. Think about the first example in lesson one I showed on the fake sale on the frozen Taquitos. The sale was for just $4.40 when the regular price was $4.59. The manufacturer wants you to buy with a coupon on that day and save only 22%. Then when it is truly on sale later he wants you to buy it again 39% off (when you no longer have a coupon for it). To get the most benefit, however what you need to do is hold on to that coupon and wait until the item is on sale and take advantage of both promotions. If you wait until it is on sale at $2.80 then use your coupon to buy at $1.80 you are saving 60%. Buy several at that time or even buy just two and you save 60% overall. Buy the other way and your average savings is just under 30%.

Take the other example in lesson one, the picture of the true sale I showed on Smithfield and is originally priced at $4.19. There was a coupon available for $.55 off. Using the coupon at regular price produces a mere savings on only about 14%. However waiting for it to go on sale to $2.50 a savings of 40% and then using the coupon boosting the savings closer to 55%. If all transactions in your order are like this you can see how you can start to average 50% a week on your savings. And of course the best scenario would be to have several coupons buy several and then freeze what you won’t use that week.

Manufacturer and Store Coupons

The scenario can get even better if you can combine a store coupon with a manufacturer coupon.

For example V8 Fusion is normally priced at $3.99 at a local Grocery Store. They were put on sale for 2 for $5 or $2.50 each, not too bad savings of 37%. There was then a store coupon for $1.00 off of two bringing the price down to $1.99 and a savings of 50%. Lastly there were manufacturer coupons for $.50 off one. As an added bonus this particular store doubles all coupons up to $.50 meaning the store gives you an additional $.50 off when you use any coupon $.50 or lower. So the final cost was $.99 each making the final savings 75%!

Buy One Get One Free Coupons

Many buy one get one free sales actually ring up as 50% off each item. If that is the case then you can use a manufacturer coupon on both items for even more savings! Check with the store manager or refer to the stores coupon policy my section on Coupon Policies for more details.
Additionally if the coupon policy of a store permits it you can use a Buy One Get One Free (BOGO) Coupon with a Buy One Get One Free promotion to get both items for free. Recently there was a BOGO coupon for Chapstick and Rite Aid ran a buy one get one free store promotion shortly after. I was able to buy two chapsticks for $.18 only paying tax and I saved $2.99 on each a total of $5.98 and a savings of 97%!

Other promotions

Another type of coupon that stores will offer is a certain amount off if you buy a certain dollar amount. For example $4 off when you purchase $20 worth of items. This is common in the pharmacies. When you are able to use these be sure to hand this coupon to the cashier first to be deducted. If you don’t your other coupons may bring you below the specified limit and you won’t be able to use this coupon.

Lastly local grocery stores will promote a certain dollar amount off if you buy a certain number of products in a group. Or if you buy 10 of items in a certain group getting the 11th item free (which would be equivalent to a certain amount of.) These promotions are good as well, if you have any free coupons or if the price of an item comes to free after a coupon, many times you can create overage that can be used on other items.

How though will you be able to prepare effectively for a shopping trip and know what things are truly on sale? Again this is where your price list will help you. You will compare that to the sales fliers that come out. This does take time and practice and until then there are many many coupon match-up sites that will do a lot of the work for you. I do match-ups for a couple of stores and link to the best deals I find here.  I found my favorite coupon match-up site on here.

This week’s task

Find a coupon match-up site that suits your needs
Check Local and National Grocery Store websites for Store Coupons
Review Coupon policies of your favorites stores or request from your local grocery store if one is not available