How to Shop : at Kroger

I got into couponing around the same time that kroger decided to stop doubling and tripling Coupons in the Houston market. This was pretty dissapoinging for me but I have managed to find some great deals by pairing great sales with coupons. Below are a few things that you must do to shop at Kroger.

Weekly Ad

 Look at your weekly ad and plan your trip. I get my Kroger at in the mail on Wednesday. My sales date are Weds - Tues. I look for the items on Sale and match them with Coupons to get an even bigger discount.

Kroger Plus Card

When making purchases at Kroger it is important to get a Kroger Plus Card. You can do so by stopping by customer service, getting one from the cashier and visiting HERE. Fill out the information required. Your address will allow them to mail you coupons. Your phone number will allow you to access your Plus Card when your card is not present.

Loadable Coupons

There are Coupons that you can load directly to your Kroger Plus Card from Kroger Website and Cellfire. You will have to register your Kroger Plus Card membership number. These Digital Coupons will replace paper ones. Please remember that you can not stack these coupons, meaning that you can not use a Digital Coupon and a Paper Coupon on any item. Since they are both Manufacture Coupons. 

Houston Market

Houston does NOT double or triple coupons anymore.

They will take coupons at face value.

Make sure to contact your local Kroger to find out if they have a limit on like coupons.

Other Markets

 Outside of the Houston Market, Kroger continues to double and triple coupons. They Double coupons ($0.40 - $0.50) and Triple Coupons (up to $0.39).

Please Check with you local Kroger to be sure of their policy, since it does seem to vary in some Markets.

 Sales

There are different Sales that Kroger has, the following are some of the best to pair with coupons!

Buy 10, Save $ X :  This sale requires you to purchase 10 items to save $ X, usually is either $10 or $5. With these sale you MUST  have 10 items or it will not work. If you have 1 more or less it will not work and not give you the discount.

10 / $10 Sale:  These sales do NOT require you to purchase 10 items. You can purchase as many items and they will be sales price of $1.

* Make sure that you pay attention to the ad.

Some of the best deals I have made have been at Kroger, they don't happen very often but I have shopped there and only spend a few dollars on a cart full of groceries. The best transaction I've made was a savings of 101% , it was also my first Coupon transaction ever!

How To Shop : at HEB

Weekly Ad

Make sure you look at your Weekly Ad, my weekly ad comes in the mail on Wednesday. My HEB runs their sales from Weds - Tues.

In Store Coupons

 HEB offers a variety of In Store Coupons.  Many times the Coupons are hanging by the products. My HEB has a wall of Coupons by the entrance, be sure to check your store to know where these coupons are. These Coupons are Considered Manufacture Coupons.

M Coupon

 The In Store Coupons are considered Manufactures Coupons. They are often referred to as "M" Coupons and have a small M on the bottom left corner. These Coupons cannot be combined with any other coupon.

B Coupon

 B Coupons or Big Savings Coupon have a B on the bottom Left Corner. HEB allows you to combine a B Coupon with a Manufactures Coupon.

Combo Loco's

 A Combo Loco deal has the customer purchase 1 item and get several items for free. For Example, purchase Hamburger patties and get buns, a soda, cheese, and chips for free.

On this deal you can not use a coupon for the Free Items.

 You are able to use a Coupon for the Main item.

* Please Make sure to bring a copy of the Coupon Policy with you when you shop.

Price Matching at Walmart

 

 

 

 

Price Match : Walmart allows you to Price Match LOCAL competitors advertised ad, thats the key word.. LOCAL. It states on their Ad Match Guarantee that you are NOT required to have the ad to honor the price... However, Take the Ad with you, save yourself time when you quickly show them the price on the ad.

1. Check all the grocery ad's that you receive in the Mail. I like to compare them to the items I have to purchase that week for my household. I find the cheapest price and write it down.

2.During my Check out I put all the items that I am Not Price Matching first on the belt. The items that I am Price Matching go last, I like to sort them by store. I let the cashier know that I am Price Matching before they ring up the item. This will save you some time and help the cashier.

* Please Pay attention to their Price Match Policy : it states that they will Not Honor

Buy 1 Get 1 Free sales.

% off a product (example, 10% off Milk)

Buy X item and get Y and Z for Free

Going out of Business Sales or Close out Sales

Items that require purchase to get a Gift Card

Coupons.com

 The beginning of the month means NEW coupons on Coupons.com. You can go to this website and print coupons for items that you are going to purchase.

Here are a few things to remember:
1. Coupons come and go without notice.
2. New Coupons appear at the beginning of the month
3. If  a coupon is popular it can run out of prints quickly.
4. You do have to download Coupon Printer software.
(this software is to insure that people don't print more than 2 Coupons per computer)
5. You can print 2 coupons per computer.

Coupons.com is one of the most popular site where people print their Internet Coupons. Coupons can vary from zipcode to zipcode. Popular zipcodes to use are 90210, 77477 be sure to check your own zipcode as well.

* You can print the Coupons that you want, and match them up with Sales that stores are having. These Coupons usually last anywhere from 2-4 Weeks before they expire.

How to Shop : at CVS

CVS is by far one of my favorite places to shop at. I wouldn't shop here very often because if you don't use coupons at this store, items can be very pricey. Now that I've learned how to combine Sales with Coupons I Usually Never Spend any more than $5 per Visit.

1. You have to get a CVS card, that's the first thing to do. You can either sign up for one at there register, you can also go on to their website HERE sign up for an online account and the Extra Card.

For Card members, CVS has a rewards program called Extra Care Bucks

 (you'll hear me and others call them ECB)

They Print out at the bottom of your receipt, make sure you don't toss it!

These are just as good as Cash and can be used on any transaction.

These ECB can be used on everything except : tobacco, prescriptions and alcohol.

2. When you walk into the store, before you do anything else make sure that you scan your CVS Card at the Coupon Center. Also known as their price checker. If you can't find it, ask one of the associates and they will direct you to it. When you scan your card you will receive in store coupons that you can stack (use in combination with) your manufacture coupons.

3. This next step you hopefully have already done, Check the ad and made a List of the Items you want to purchase.  On your First transaction you will have to make an initial investment.

 I started with $10.

The first purchases I made had me pay $10 Out of Pocket (OOP) BUT I received ECB equalling to $10. I have been able to maintain not spending more than $5 per visit.

4. Don't be afraid to make more than one transaction. Do keep in mind that a store like CVS usually only has 1 cashier. If I have to make more than one transaction to "roll" (use the ECB on one transaction to receive more to use on a next transaction) my ECB and I notice that there is a line forming behind me I only make one transaction and move to the end of the line and wait my turn again.

I've found that Cashiers are nicer if you do that, I have see some cashiers that flat out tell a customer that they can not make more than one transaction. Now I can understand the Cashier's frustration, her line had at least 7 people. I was kind and politely asked if I could get back in line and have another transaction, she looked at me and said it was no problem.

5. It might be a little tricky to understand the CVS ad at first. But once you get the hang of it, you will see that there is nothing tricky about it.

The Ad will read as follow :

Most blogs will post this Deal as :

Buy 1 Paper Mate Grip pens 8 ct (limit 1)

$1.99, Get $1.99 ECB

Total Price : $1.99 OOP, Get $1.99 ECB

This means that you will spend $1.99 for the pens out of pocket. Once you check out you will get $1.99 ECB at the end of your receipt to use toward another purchase. Please note that there is a limit of 1 per household with card. * IF you were to try this deal twice you would not receive the $1.99 in ECB on the second Transaction.

Buy 1 Crest or Oral B  $2.99, Get $2.00 ECB (limit 2)

Pro-health 4.2 oz, scope outlast, 3d White 4oz toothpaste,

multi-protection rinse 8.4 oz or Satin Floss 27-55yrd

Use (2) $0.75/1 Crest Toothpaste 7/3 P&G Insert

Total : $4.48 OOP, Get $4 ECB

Final Price $0.48 or $0.24 ea

With this transaction you were able to use coupons to save even more money. Since there was a limit of 2 you can purchase 2 of these items and get the ECB for both!

Remember that you will have to make an initial investment. After that you are able to roll your ECB toward your next purchase. Don't feel intimidated ! Once you get the hand of it, nothing will be simpler than this. Start Small and work your way up to a larger purchase!

Happy Shopping at CVS!!

How to Shop : at Walmart

Price Match : Walmart allows you to Price Match LOCAL competitors advertised ad, thats the key word.. LOCAL. It states on their Ad Match Guarantee that you are NOT required to have the ad to honor the price... However, Take the Ad with you, save yourself time when you quickly show them the price on the ad.

1. Check all the grocery ad's that you receive in the Mail. I like to compare them to the items I have to purchase that week for my household. I find the cheapest price and write it down.

2.During my Check out  I put all the items that I am Not Price Matching first on the belt. The items that I am Price Matching go last, I like to sort them by store. I let the cashier know that I am Price Matching before they ring up the item.  This will save you some time and help the cashier.

* Please Pay attention to their Price Match Policy : it states that they will Not Honor

Buy 1 Get 1 Free sales.

% off a product (example, 10% off Milk)

Buy X item and get Y and Z for Free

Going out of Business Sales or Close out Sales

Items that require purchase to get a Gift Card

Using Coupons : Using Coupons at Walmart should not be a tricky thing to do. The problem that I have run into is that Cashiers are not well informed on their Coupon Policy. Make sure that you take a look at their Coupon Policy and learn the types of Coupons that they accept.

Walmart Accepts:

Print at Home Internet Coupons

- Must be legible

- Must have "Manufacture Coupon" printed on them

- Must have a valid remit address for the manufacturer

- Must have a valid expiration date

- Must have a scannable bar code

- Buy 1, get 1 free coupon with a specified price

- Acceptable in black and white or color

- May not be duplicated

Manufacture Coupons

- For dollars / cents off

- For free items (except those printed off the Internet)

- Buy 1, get 1 Free Coupons

- Must have "Manufacture Coupon" printed on them

- Must have a valid remit address for the manufacturer

- Must have a valid expiration date

- Must have a scannable bar code

- Buy 1, get 1 free coupon with a specified price

- Acceptable in black and white or color

- May not be duplicated

Competitor's Coupons

- A specified item for a specified price, for example, $2.99

- Buy 1, get 1 Free coupon for items with a specified price

- Valid expiration date

Soft Drink Container Caps

Checkout Coupons " Catalinas"

- Printed at Comptitors' registers for dollars/cents off  on a specified item

- Must have "Manufacture Coupon" printed on them

- Must have a valid remit address for the manufacturer

- Must have a valid expiration date

- Must have a scannable bar code

- Buy 1, get 1 free coupon with a specified price

- Acceptable in black and white or color

- May not be duplicated

Walmart will Not Accept:

- Dollar / Cents off the entire Basket purchase

- Percentage off the entire Basket Purchase

- Print at Home Coupons that do not require purchase

- Dollars / Cents off at a specific retailer

- Buy 1, Get 1 free coupon without Specified price

- Double or triple value Coupons



Pick out a Cashier : I know its horrible to say this out loud... BUT choose your cashier carefully. The reason why I say this is because choosing the right cashier will help you have a smoother check out process.

Coupon Policy and Price Match Policy : Always Remember to bring a copy of BOTH the Coupon Policy and the Price Match Policy. Remember that not everyone is trained accurately and might think that you are trying to do something you are no supposed to. Not that you are trying to do something you're not supposed to.. BUT sometimes I get the feeling like they think I'm trying to. Simply Remember to know what you are doing and do it correctly.

Price Match Guarantee

Coupon Policy

Happy Shopping at Walmart!!

Couponing 101 : Personal Infomation

Sharing Personal Information:
I know that I've been posting a lot of deals where you get a free sample or a coupon for a free item. It does require you to give up some personal information or in this Social Media Age it does require you to LIKE them on Facebook. Here are some tips about how to receive Free Items without putting yourself or your family in any risk.

Create an New Email Address:
This is important because you don't want your inbox to be filled with offers, junk mail or emails sent to you be a manufacture. You can go to Google, Yahoo, Hotmail etc. and sign up for a Free email address which you can use for your coupons or spam mail. This is the best way to separate a Personal email from the Junk email.

Too much Personal Information:
When you sign up for a freebie, sample, coupon offer they will ask you for your information. Information such as your Name, Address, Email Address and sometime Phone number are commonly asked when you fill out the forms.
*only give your phone number if you want to be contacted by phone, if its required on a form I always "happen to mix up my numbers" .

Some companies ask for more information than what I mentioned before. Information such as how many people live in your household, how many kids do you have and what are your birth dates are asked because they want to know your demographics and who is purchasing their product.
*If I am asked this information I tend to give the household number, I never give the exact date of my child or husbands birthday. I always use the Year, that way the company can get the correct age of the people in my household. They don't need to know my child or Husband's name.

NEVER EVER give out your Social Security Number. No one needs to know your Credit Card Information or Bank Information. A free sample of detergent does not And SHOULD NOT require any of this information.

Please also read the fine print! Some offers may require you to sign up for monthly offers. That means that you are obligated to purchase something every month for a particular time.
* When you see an offer only posted by a Blogger make sure that they are reputable and you trust what they say!

Please don't let this information scare you out of getting free coupons or samples. Just be Careful and if you don't feel right about something, then don't do it!
* Feel free to ask me any questions!!