Coupons have become a way of life for me. When you live on a tight budget and try to stretch every dollar, you become addicted to those pennies and dimes you save. And then when I can score an incredible deal and save $5, $10, even $20 on something, watch out! I’m happy enough that I might even suggest we go out to dinner [gasp].
To be fair, I am not a coupon expert. I follow plenty of money-saving blogs where coupon clipping is broken down to a very specific science; and while I do my best to follow their advice, for me, it always feels like a part-time job (that I don’t have time for). I still can’t for the life of me understand how those “coupon queens” manage to pay $3 for $300 worth of groceries. I HATE when those segments are on TV; they make it look so easy and fun – both of which, I would say, it is not. But I digress…
While I don’t clip and strategize to get next-to-nothing groceries, I do have certain coupon rules that I adhere to. One of those includes never shopping at a specific store or buying specific items without coupons (unless I really, really have to).
Here are some of my coupon tips on stores I never shop at without coupons (for those of us who only have five minutes to devote to coupon clipping):
JoAnn Fabrics:
As an avid crafter, I rarely head to JoAnn Fabrics without my coupons. They send mailers every few weeks and I also receive a few emails every week with 40-50% off printable coupons. I usually wait to buy my fabric until I have a 50% off coupon, because $3.49 a yard sounds much better than $6.99 a yard. The salespeople look at me like I’m crazy when I hand them a 50% off coupon for a $0.99 zipper, but gosh darnit, I want my $0.50!
JoAnn’s will also let you use as many coupons as you want on regular-priced items, so I usually show up with 4 or 5 in hand. Of course, I think they purposely put things on sale for 30% off so that you can’t use 40% or 50% off coupons… So you have to pay attention to what you’re getting and see if the sale price is worse or better than if you were to use a coupon.
Cost Plus World Market:
I love Cost Plus World Market. From their curtains to their dinnerware, there’s plenty for me to be enamored with. They can be a little pricey, however, so when I know there is something I want to get from there, I try and wait until I get a coupon. These come in the mail about once a month, or in my email inbox (join their Explorer rewards program, you’ll get regular coupons plus some other goodies like a free $10 on your birthday!). The coupons I am talking about here are $10 off a $30 purchase. For me, this is a great savings! I have purchased window treatments, shower curtains, and chair cushions for $10 of the regular price thanks to this coupon.
Babies “R” Us:
I didn’t think I would visit Babies “R” Us much after my daughter was born and I had stocked up on all my baby-raising needs, but it turns out I go there quite a bit. I frequently get mailers from them with 20% off coupons, plus other random savings. Every couple of months, I go to buy chlorine-free diapers from Earth’s Best or Seventh Generation (I supplement my cloth diaper supply with these), and sometimes Babies “R” Us offers $1-3 off these brands in their mailers. Earth’s Best and Seventh Generation also have manufacturer’s coupons on their website, so when I stack those with the Babies “R” Us coupon, I usually save $3-5 on a package of $11 diapers.
While I’m there, sometimes I will take advantage of the other savings happening at the moment, like buy one get one 50% of their feeding items (I’m constantly replacing sippy cups and forks), or their great deals on clothing. Every few weeks they seem to offer an extra percentage off of their clearance clothing (they’ve also done buy-one-get-one free), and I can usually find a couple of good items in there; particularly staples like solid-colored pants or tee shirts. They also have a clearance aisle with (what I can tell) is completely random items. I once found Aveeno face lotion for only $3 (it’s usually $13 at your average pharmacy).
CVS Pharmacy:
I’m sure there isn’t a CVS in every state, but I am so glad they are here in California. I buy almost all my toiletries from them, and it amounts to a huge savings. Two things I love:
- If you sign up for a free ExtraCare card, you get free money (to be used in store) at the end of every quarter based on how much you’ve spent.
- If you purchase a Green Bag Tag for $0.99 and place it on a reusable bag, they will scan it every time you are in the store and you receive $1 in ExtraCare Bucks every 4th time you scan it.
Many of their sales amount to really great savings with your ExtraCare card (you either get an immediate savings, or you receive ExtraCare Bucks, which is money you can use toward your next purchase). When you combine these with manufacturer’s coupons (oh did I mention CVS accepts expired coupons? So don’t throw them away!), it’s not uncommon for you to get something for under a dollar or even free.
You can sign up to receive weekly emails from MoneySavingMom.com that will list the deals happening at CVS that week and how to combine them with coupons to save big (in addition to CVS, she offers this with tons of stores). With this strategy, I like to stock up on cheap shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, etc. and keep them in the house so that I’m not paying full price when we run out of a particular item.
I think that might be all the money-saving info your brain can handle for the moment (my eyes are starting to glaze over, and I’m the one writing…). Check back for more tips and tricks on saving big at more of your favorite stores.
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