This is Part 6 of our Couponing 101 blog series. Check out Part 1 or continue on to Part 7.
Our next shopping trip example will be to a store that doubles coupons. We’ll pick Harris Teeter. Harris Teeter doubles coupons up to 99 cents, and anything above that is redeemed at face value. Review your coupon matchup site to see what’s a good deal this week, and let’s get ready to go to the store.
You’ve got a sore throat and notice Ricola cough drops are on sale, or maybe you want to stock your medicine cabinet. They’re BOGO for $2.19, so the price of one bag is $1.09 (remember, BOGO at HT means ½ off each item). Our coupon is for 75 cents off. Since HT doubles coupons, our coupon is actually worth $1.50 off the price of one. That means the cough drops are free! Remember, if you have two coupons you can have two free bags – good for stocking up your medicine cabinet or donating to a local charity.
Remember that some stores double coupons up to different amounts. The Kroger in my area doubles up to 50 cents, and anything above 50 cents is worth face value. But that policy varies even by store, because some stores will double up to 50 cents, and everything from 51 cents to a dollar is worth one dollar. Be sure to ask your store about their double coupon policy.
Some of the stores that double coupons occasionally have special coupon events. Every couple months or so, Harris Teeter has either Super Doubles or Triples. At Super Doubles, all coupons up to $2.00 double. This really lets you get some amazing deals. Suppose you have a coupon for $2 off a Digiorno frozen pizza, which is on sale for $4.99. Your $2 coupon doubles to $4, and your pizza would cost 99 cents!
Triples is just like doubles, but instead of doubling coupons, all coupons up to 99 cents are tripled. So a 75 cents off coupon would be worth $2.25 off. So if you have 75 cents off Axe deoderant, which is on sale for $2.99, you only pay 74 cents! Recently, Harris Teeter held a “Super Triples” event where they even tripled $1 coupons!
Coupon events usually last a week, though sometimes they may be as short as a single day. They’re usually filled with freebies, but freebies and the lowest-price items tend to sell out very quickly. I would recommend going to the store as soon as they open on the first day of the event to get the most deals. Most stores offer rain checks that never expire, so if a sale item you wanted is out of stock, the store will issue you a certificate stating that you can have it for that price – for example, Healthy Choice frozen meals for $1.99. If you had a 75 cents off coupon that would have tripled to make the meal free, you’ll be able to use your rain check at the next coupon event. Your coupon might be expired, but remember that new coupons for the same products tend to come out every 6 weeks or so.
Coupon events do have restrictions, so again, be familiar with their policy. Pay attention to make sure all your coupons scan and multiply at check out. Most importantly, have fun while you’re learning how to do it and you’ll see that coupons really are worth it.
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