Here are some insider tips to make your coupons work harder for you. While these qualify as extreme couponing tips, they are fairly easy to incorporate into your shopping trips. Especially since our coupon tips include using money-saving apps on your smartphone.
You probably know that coupons can save you money at the store on everything from cleaning supplies to groceries. What you may not know is how to use the extreme couponing tips to get the most out of your coupons to maximize your savings.
Extreme Couponing Tips
Know what the store’s policies are regarding taking coupons. With so many people couponing now, many stores have tightened up their policies, but there are still a lot of insider ways to save money with coupons that many people don’t know about such as ad matching and special double coupon sales days.
Learn How to Stack Coupons – Select stores will allow you to use both a manufacturer’s coupon you have clipped and a store coupon you have clipped on the same item. Learn more about how to stack coupons here.
Don’t be afraid to get to know the store manager. If you have a particular store that you use your coupons at regularly, make sure to get to know the cashiers and managers that work there. They may be willing to let you in on specials that are coming up that have not been printed in ads yet and allow you to make multiple purchases on the same trip.
This is one of the coupons tips that many fail to utilize. Sometimes you are only allowed to use one coupon on an item per trip. Some store managers will allow you to divide up your purchase into multiple purchases, so you can use one of those types of coupons with each “trip”.
Know that the best way to get the most out of your coupons is to watch store ads closely. Match your new coupons with these sales and you might get some items for free. Use the Favado app to find the best sales at all of your local stores.
Using high-value coupons on items that are already on sale is how you get free groceries! Here are more tips for getting free stuff with coupons.
Learn where to find coupons besides the newspaper. There are many ways to get coupons such as social media fan pages for brands, newsletters, on products in stores, at the register and with local coupon swapping groups that you can usually find through Facebook. Below are more sources for printable coupons and mobile coupons.
Printable Coupons
- Coupons.com Printable Coupons
- SmartSource Printable Coupons
- RedPlum Printable Coupons
- Target Printable Coupons
Mobile Coupon Apps
- SavingStar – Here is how Saving Star eCoupons work.
- Checkout 51 – Here is how to use Checkout 51 from your computer or Smart Phone.
- Ibotta – Here is how the Ibotta App works.
Here are tips for getting the most of mobile coupons.
Be willing to go to multiple stores to get the deals you want. Never just shop at one store to avoid having to skip around to others. This is what retailers want you to do. They hope to draw you in with a great coupon match to one of their sales in the hopes you will buy other items at full price because of the convenience. Go in, get what you need and go to the next store. This does take more time, but it ensures you won’t pay full price. Here are more grocery spending traps to avoid.
Use rain checks to your advantage. If the sale item is not in stock, but you have a great coupon that will help you get something free or almost free, it is well worth it to get a rain check as the items will probably be back in stock in less than a week, but the sale will be over by then. A rain check allows you to get a product at the sale price even after the sale is over.
Make sure to watch as things are rung up at the register. Sometimes with sales, they won’t show up at the correct price. Be ready to politely point out if you are overcharged for something. You won’t get that much of a savings if items are not rung up at the correct sale price, to begin with.
Don’t worry too much if you miss a sale. Sales on items generally cycle through and it will be back again in a couple months along with the coupons to match them.
Change your frame of mind. Don’t only buy items as you need them. Buy them when they are at their best price. This works because even if you don’t need razors right now, if you can get a year’s supply for a few dollars, you won’t need them for that year and it removes it from your budget. Here are tips on how to build a stockpile.
Do you have any additional tips when it comes to making your coupons work harder? I would love to hear about them in the comments!
More Ways to Save on Groceries
- How to Save Money on Produce
- How to Save Money on Meat
- How to Save Money on Milk and Dairy
- 10 Ways to Save Money on Organic Food
- How to Get Started Couponing
- 10 Ways to Save on Groceries without Using Coupons
This article was originally published March 26, 2014. It was updated April 6, 2018.
Katie says
I could use downloaded/printed coupons IF the local stores here would take them. Even though I have pointed out that they come from the manufacturers’ websites, the stores here (all but one) have refused to take them (they cite fraud as the reason).
Alea Milham says
Wow, that is too bad! Definitely, try using the mobile coupons.