Be An Empowered Consumer

Time to post this again to encourage you to be an empowered consumer! I posted this one year ago here and it still contains relevant information for today.

Be an empowered consumer by learning as much as you can about coupons, free samples, store policies, and manufacturer policies. It’s all about standing up for yourself and it might just save you some money! I’ve blogged about several topics that relate to this theme, here is a summary of those.

You have the right to use your Target coupons!

Thanks to Northern Cheapskate’s post “Don’t Let Target Deny Their Coupons!” I was inspired to make a phone call to Target Customer Service 1-800-440-0680 to ask a question about my last Target shopping experience. The last time I went to Target the cashier told me that they no longer accept both a Target coupon and a manufacturer’s coupon on one item. After calling Target customer service, I found out that the store is in error and that they will be reminded that Target does accept these coupons.

I will admit that I don’t like shopping at Target because it seems like very time I shop there I have a bad experience trying to use coupons. I know enough about using coupons at Target that I know they should accept the coupons I try to use – but they usually have a problem with at least one of them. Usually I will ask to speak to the store manager, because they often will accept my coupons – but the last time I went to Target the store was about to close and I didn’t have time to wait to speak to the Store Manager. So, the cashier would not accept my stacked Target coupon and manufacturer’s coupon (both from the Sunday ad insert) for one item. So I simply did not buy the item.

Unfortunately Target does not have a written coupon policy on their website – but please call their customer service number if you encounter any problems using coupons there. Save your receipt so they know which store you went to and which cashier checked you out. Be specific about what problem you had – what coupons they would not take and why the cashier said they would not take them. You’ve got to be outspoken about any coupon problems you encounter, because you have the right to use your coupons! The individual Target stores can not arbitrarily set their own policies, according to my conversation today with a Target customer service representative.

My Coupon Filing System

I wanted to share my method for keeping a coupon filing system for manufacturer’s coupons to help you set-up or improve on your own system.

I have a “coupon tote” that I keep my coupon files in. The purpose of the tote is to hold not only my coupon files, but also hold all of my necessary tools for maintaining my coupon files. The tote is actually a scrapbooking tote, but works perfectly for the purpose of holding my 4 accordion-style coupon files. Here is a list of some of the tools I keep in the tote: scissors, pens, paper clips, tape, sticky notes, sticky flags, label maker. The tote is perfect for me because I can grab it, take it into any room or my car, and clip and organize my coupons.

Here is one of my coupon files. I like the plastic accordion style files that are about 10 ” in length and 5″ tall. I have used accordion files where the accordion is exposed on the bottom of the file (rather than wrapped with the outer file material so that you can’t see the folds) and I did not like how it expanded in a lop-sided manner. These files are very affordable. I actually found this blue plastic accordion file at Target in the “dollar section”. I label each plastic tab for each section with my label maker. I have found that by having specific categories for my coupons, I can easily find the coupons I’m looking for.

These are the four categories for my four coupon files: Grocery, Drugstore, Baby, and Cleaning/Household. An important recent addition to my files is the address label sticker on the front cover with my phone number on it. Consider labeling your coupon file, because someday you may leave it in the shopping cart like I did! Luckily I was able to reclaim it at customer service later in the day, but the funny thing was that mine was not the only coupon file that was in their “lost & found”.

When I go shopping I usually just take one coupon file with me into the store, along with my list and coupons I plan on using. I like to write my list on the outside of an envelope and put the coupons for the items on my list inside the envelope. Even though I’ve already pulled my coupons to use for my shopping trip, I still bring my coupon file because I will need to occasionally look-up a coupon to use (especially on clearance or mark-down items). If I go to the drugstore than I often will take my entire coupon tote to have in the car. They have such a large variety of items (and lots of clearance) at the drugstore that I have often found something and said “darn, I have a coupon for this, but not in the coupon file I have with me”.

I clip my coupons on an irregular basis. I almost always have a stack of coupons to clip and do a little bit here and there. I also purge the expired coupons on an irregular basis. I just don’t see a need to sit down and go through my entire file on a regular basis. The expiration dates vary so much that it would be hard to keep your file “current” at all times.

Ok – now you know just how obsessed with coupons I am. There is no need to go to this extreme. Do what makes you happy. Don’t spend more time on your coupon system than you want to! I hope that my coupon tips are helping you shop smarter, save time, and save money!

Coupon Stacking

During my focus on using coupons last year, I learned about “coupon stacking” and wanted to share what I’ve learned with you since I think it will be new information for some of you. Coupon stacking is the ability to use more than one coupon on one item purchased if your store’s policy allows it. Coupon stacking is a store-specific opportunity to save even more money, and get some things for free. Here’s a breakdown of what I’ve learned about these stores:

TARGET
Target allows you to use one manufacturer’s coupon and one Target store coupon for one item purchased. Obviously both of the coupons have to be specifically for the item you purchase. The Target coupons will say “Target Coupon” at the top of them instead of “Manufacturer’s Coupon” and can I have found in the following formats: printable, mailed to you, peelie coupons attached to products in your store, and printable cash register coupons. Here are the printable Target coupons, compliments of A Full Cup where they have created a cool program that allows you to print a specified number of coupons on one page.

WALGREENS
Walgreens also allows you to stack one manufacturer’s coupon and one Walgreens coupons for one item purchased. I have found Walgreens coupons in the weekly sales ad, the monthly EasySaver catalog, delivered via e-mail, and sometimes in the Entertainment Book. The Catalina coupons that print at the register are usually not Walgreens coupons, but manufacturer’s coupons that Walgreens issues.

CVS
CVS may be the best-known store where you can stack coupons because in addition to the one manufacturer’s coupon and the one CVS coupon you can stack a third $/$$ coupon on top of that if your overall purchase qualifies. When using a $/$$ coupon you will need to ask the store manager at your local CVS what their policy is because some stores only allow you to use one coupon like this per transaction. Other stores will allow you to use more than one, but your total purchase must add up to the total $$ indicated on the coupons you want to use. For example you could use a “Save $2 on $10 purchase” and a “Save $3 on $15 purchase” if the total of your entire purchase was at least $25 (and if your CVS stores allows this type of coupon usage). Here are a few of the printable coupons available from CVS (read the details carefully for each). You can only use each coupon once with your ExtraCare Card (the code is tracked on your card, you can not use one code more than once):
These coupons have expired

I hope that you learned something in this brief overview of “Coupon Stacking” and I welcome your comments on what you have learned from using this type of coupon magic during your shopping trips! Remember that each store has their own individual policies, in addition to the company-wide policies, so your experience may vary from store to store.