Updated 5/27/11
At a coupon gathering on 5/26, one of our members mentioned how she hasn't been able to get anything free yet. We talked about a few ideas for finding deals. Here are a couple:
Keep your eyes open for the word 'Free' anywhere in a sales ad. One type of 'free' is when you pay the ad price for an item, and the amount you paid is returned to you in the form of a future coupon. At Walgreen's this is called Register Rewards, and the CVS version is called ExtraBucks (assuming you use an ExtraBucks card). Think of these coupons in the same way as cash - almost. Usually you cannot use the coupons on items such as gift cards, postage stamps, alcohol and dairy (the exclusions are printed on the coupon) - or tax. However, they are good for nearly everything else. And as you get going with couponing, you'll find plenty of deals at these 2 stores which make it worthwhile to pursue these types of sales, where you can earn and then apply these coupons toward future purchases.
Some things to be aware of with these coupons:
1) be sure to use them by the expiration date;
2) (if its a taxable item) you'll pay tax on the full price; so, just because you buy a $9.00 razor that comes with a $9.00 register reward, it still costs you $.70.
3) Some of these coupons will not 'roll', that is, you cannot use it to purchase another of the same item you earned it for.
4) At Walgreen's, you can only use the number of manufacturer & Register Rewards coupons combined, as you have in number of items for your purchase. That is, if you have 2 manufacturer coupons and 2 Register Rewards, you need to purchase 4 items.
Here are links to a couple of good explanations about how to use these types of coupons, along with scenarios.
CVS
Walgreens:
Another type of deal is 'Buy 1 Get 1 Free' sales, combined with a B1G1 coupon. When a store has a B1G1 deal, you usually pay for the cost of one item, and the register system reduces the total bill by deducting the second item. When you have a coupon for B1G1 for that same item, use it on this purchase! The register rings up 2 items, discounts 1 item, and the cashier reduces your total by the amount of 1 item - net result is that the price of both items have been reduced off of your total bill. (Assuming the item is taxable) you still need to pay the tax on both, though.
Whenever I see a coupon insert which includes a B1G1 coupon for something I'll use -- I automatically buy 2 more papers. They are valuable.
Scolaris:
Scolari's doubles many coupons up to $1.00, so you may be able to find some free, or low-cost deals here. They will not double coupons over $1.00, or coupons that have 'DO NOT DOUBLE' printed on them, as well as a few other exclusions. I've bought yakisoba for free using this strategy.
Scolaris coupon policy: Link
CVS:
This week the CVS scanner/coupon printer was printing a coupon for a free CVS bag tag. Buy one of these, and attach it to any reusable bag. From now on, take this bag with you on your CVS shopping trip, and have it scanned during checkout. For every 4th visit, a $1.00 ExtraBuck will print on the bottom of your receipt. Use it for free soda or a pack of gum, or $1.00 off most anything on your next trip.
You may want to search some of the couponing websites for information about stacking coupons. In many cases, stacking can result in a free purchase as well.
Finally, I hope you consider subscribing to the online version of All You's daily deals:
All You Daily Free Sample
An email is sent to you daily, with a link to a daily free deal. Sometimes these deals link to a manufacturer's website, where you can print a coupon or be mailed a free sample. Sometimes, the link is to a Facebook product page you need to 'Like' in order to receive a sample. Sometimes you need to complete a survey. It's up to you to determine how much information you choose to share, in order to receive a freebie, but I must say, since I've been receiving free samples of items, it gives me a chance to a) try something new that I wouldn't have tried otherwise, and b) receive a sample item for free, which sometimes comes with a coupon!
What are your tips for finding free deals?
