Getting Started

At first this might seem all a little overwhelming and confusing, but I can promise you that if you give it a try it will come in no time. With that said, if saving money is not something that brings you joy, this is not for you. It will take some time and planning on your part to do this, so only do it if you are committed and saving makes you happy.

The first thing to do is start saving the Sunday coupons that come with your paper. Mark the date you received the insert on the front. There are three types of inserts you will be collecting. The first is Red Plum (RP), the second is Smart Source (SS), and the last is Proctor & Gamble (PG). Not all inserts will be each paper each week and there are even weeks where there are no inserts. Ideally you will need one set of coupons for each member of your household. This ensures you are getting enough product to meet your families needs.

It takes a little bit of time to build up your coupons, so your initial savings will not be as high as in a month or two. By pairing coupons you have with items that are on sale you ensure maximum savings. For example if you had a $1 off coupon for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese but the price was $2.99 but the generic brand cost $1.50, it would be most cost efficient to buy the generic brand. However, if the local grocery store has marked down Kraft Macaroni & Cheese to $1.50 and you use your $1 off coupon, your cost will end up being $.50! Now, if you are receiving 4 copies of the inserts (because you have a family of four) that means you can buy 4 boxes for a total of $2.

This method will help you to build up your food storage and feed your family for less! Also, there are tons of coupons available online. You only need to print the coupons you are actually going to use. This saves the cost of ink and the time spent cutting out coupons you are never going to use. There are also coupons on boxes of items you purchase, fliers that come in the mail, on grocery aisles and much more. Keep an eye out and you will be amazed how often you will see them.

Now that you have the basics of getting started, check back here often to see where your dollar will get the most bang. Keep collecting those coupons and see how your grocery bill can dwindle.

Getting Started: The Slang

When you first start couponing the slang used online can be a bit overwhelming. Here are some of the commonly used acronyms and slang:

BOGO-Buy One Get One

Blinkie-A coupon that prints out in the store. They are usually located by the product they print out for.

Catalina-A coupon that prints out with your receipt during check out.

GC-Giftcard

IP-Internet Printable Coupons

MFG-Manufacturer

OOP-Out of Pocket

OYNO-On Your Next Order

P&G-Proctor & Gamble

Peelie-Coupon stuck to products in the store.

RP-Red Plum

RR-Register Rewards (Walgreen)

Raincheck-A slip you can ask for when a store is out of a sale item, guaranteeing you the sale price.

SS-Smart Source

Stacking Coupons-Using both a manufacturers coupon and a store coupon for the purchase of the same item.

POF-Proof of Purchase

SAMP-Same As Mainland Price

UPC-Barcode

V-Valassis

WYB-When You Buy

Wags-Walgreens

$X/Y-X Dollars off of Y Purchases

Getting Started: Walgreens

Shopping for deals at Walgreens can save you quite a bit of money, but is overwhelming to say the least. Here are the tricks you need to know before you go in to help you get through.

• Walgreens runs specials where you buy so much of an item and receive $x of Register Rewards (RR). RR is money which can be used only at Walgreens. It prints out at the bottom of your receipt, so do not throw it away!
• RR cannot be used to pay for the purchase you just made. It must be used on a future purchase, even if that means breaking up your purchase into groups.
• You cannot receive multiple RR on the same product in one transaction. RR will only be given on one of the product. To receive multiple RR on the same product you must break up the transactions.
• RR cannot be used on the same product you got the RR from. For example, you if there is a special that you receive RR for buying 2 of an item and you want 4, you cannot pay for the first 2 and then use the RR for that to pay for the second 2. You can though use those RR to pay for something else that will earn you RR and then use the second set of RR to pay for the second 2 of the item you wanted.
• RR count as a manufacturers coupon. Walgreens requires that you have equal manufacturer coupons and products. If you have a coupon for everything that you are buying and plan on paying with RR you must purchase a filler item. A filler item is something cheap, such as a candy bar that you are purchasing just so the RR can be used.
• The best way to hand your coupons are 1) Manufacturer coupons 2) Walgreens in-ad coupons and 3) Register Rewards. This will allow for possible overages.
• And the age old adage, be nice to your cashier and start building a relationship with them. They are your friends and they can help you.

Getting Started: Target

So far I have been quite pleased with the excellent deals to be had at Target. Here are some of the tricks of the trade to help you:

1. Because Target is a national chain some, but not all, of their deals are the same as on the mainland. Whenever I see this I know that this is a great deal for the islands!
2. Target has some wonderful sales. Look for those orange clearance stickers, especially after holiday or seasonal sales. I bought bags of candy for under $1 after Easter this year.
3. Go here for wonderful Target store coupons. (You can tell the difference between a manufacturers coupon and a store coupon because the coupon will have the seal of the store on it). Best of all, there is no print limit on these coupons, so print to your hearts desire. Also, you can still print past coupons for Target on this site. Target will allow you to stack savings by using a Target coupon and a manufacturers coupon on a single item. Sometimes this even works out for a free item. Note: if the amount of your coupons is higher than the cost of the product the register will beep and not let the transaction go through. The cashier must manually put in the amount of the coupon for the remaining balance only. Sometimes the cashier is unaware of this and will try to tell you the coupon cannot be used. Take the Target coupon policy with you.
4. Target carries quite a few trial/travel size products. While many coupons exempt trial size products, some do not and this almost always results in a free product. This is often a case where the coupon will beep when scanned and the cashier needs to enter the cost of the product by hand. Bring the Target coupon policy with you.
5. Target has gift card promos from time to time. An example of this would be that currently if you buy 2 bags of Beneful dog food you will get a $5 gift card. When you use a coupon toward the product and factor in the gift card you can get products fairly cheaply. Be careful though to make sure what you are purchasing falls under the promotion.
6. Mostly, just be nice to you cashier. Try to go to the same people and build a relationship with them. Using coupons can be stressful for the cashier and if you are nice to them and build that relationship, it will make your shopping experience that much better.

Getting Started: Target Coupon Policy

Take the following with you when you shop at Target just in case you run into any problems, but mostly, remember to be polite!

Dear Target Guest,

Thanks for asking again about using coupons at Target. Coupons are a great way to save even more when shopping at Target, and we make it easy to use them at our stores. But because of the variety of coupons available to our guests, we do have some guidelines for how coupons can be redeemed at Target:

-We accept two kinds of coupons: Target-issued coupons and manufacturer-issued coupons.
-We'll accept one Target coupon and one manufacturer coupon for the same item, unless either coupon prohibits it.
-We can't give cash back if the face value of a coupon is greater than the purchase value of the item; in that case, we'll adjust the value of the coupon to equal the price of the item.
-We can't accept coupons from other retailers, or coupons for products not carried in our stores.

-All valid coupons should be presented to the cashier at the time of sale.

In addition, Target empowers the store to limit the number of items a guest buys with coupons. We reserve the right to limit purchases to reasonable family-size quantities. Have questions or want more information about using coupons at Target? Check with a Guest Services Team Leader at your local store. You can also give us a call at (800) 440-0680, or visit us on Target.com. Either way, we're here to help!