For starters, the time has come where Kroger will end their double coupon policy :( It sucks, but maybe they will bring back certain events or days where they will double manufacturer coupons (like they use to!) Anyway, I think a lot of people (myself included) will start to spread their business to other stores since there will be little advantage to shopping at Kroger (besides the wine selection and fuel points).
I just wanted to share a couple of experiences I have had recently:
Let's begin with Walmart's Ad Match policy:
Recently, Andrew and I took advantage of this wonderful idea by 'matching' prices featured in a Walgreen's ad (this was the ad week of 4/21-4/27). Walgreens (if you're unfamiliar) uses something called "register rewards" where when you buy the qualifying item, you receive a coupon (printed with your receipt) good on your next order. All of the times I have posted "I received a checkout coupon", this is what I was talking about. Walgreen's calls them Register Rewards, most stores (Target, Food Lion, Kroger) call them Catalinas (because that's what the printer is called)--anyway, these RR (Register Rewards) can be obtained WITHOUT needing a Walgreen's card or account. That means anyone who walks into Walgreen's can buy the item, or however many items, and get the coupon (no card needed). I decided to 'match' the deal below at Walmart (I was really just seeing how it would work, and it did!): To see the pic of what I got, click here
Ad price/deal at Walgreen's on Planter's Nutrition Peanut Butter: 2.99 each, get a 2.99 RR (for next purchase) The ad stated "like getting purchase FREE". I wanted to 'match' the FREE price at Walmart, because, as I explained to Walmart cashier, if I went to Walgreen's, I would pay 2.99 and get 2.99 back, so FREE. The cashier had to call over a head cashier, but simply rang up my items (I bought 2) and then typed in "vendor coupon" to take off Walmart's price (3.28). THEN I used a manufacturer coupon for $1 off 2 Planter's PB, so yes, I did get $1 overage at Walmart simply for ad-matching :)
I also bought 4 12-packs of TEN soda (A&W, Sunkist, Canada Dry)--I matched the Walgreen's price, which was 1.99 each (5.96 for 4 total) and used two manufacturer coupons (found on the boxes of soda) for $1 off 2 packs. In order to make this deal work the way I wanted, I purchased 4 Almay eye makeup removers @ $1.24 each (4.96 total for 4). I used two manufacturer coupons for $5 off 2 Almay products, so these coupons gave me $5.04 overage to pay for my soda :)
The transaction worked like this:
$4.96 (Almay) 1.24 each
$6.56 (Peanut Butter) 3.28 each, then matched to Free
$15.92 (soda)--Walmart price was $3.98 each, but matched to 1.99 each
Total pre-coupon/pre-match: $27.44 (plus tax)--match brought down to: $10.92
Total after coupons/match: $0.11 (the coupons took off a total of $13.00...which took off most of my tax too, which on the previous Walmart price total was $0.81)
I went back later in the week to try the Peanut Butter match again, and the cashier was extremely rude and unhappy about it--she called the head cashier over and both tried to tell me it would not work because that was not their policy. I told them I had done it just earlier in the week (and got the name of the manager who did it the first time) so eventually, it worked for me and I got two more jars of PB free. My impression is that the ad-match guarantee is hit or miss depending on the cashier. Personally, Walmart is not my go-to choice for store shopping because the employees are never as educated as I think they should be on many things, especially coupon policy. The cashier the second visit proceeded to tell me "I didn't even know we had a coupon policy".......really?!? Anyway, my advice is just try it sometime if you want. If it will not work to your advantage, walk away and don't fret. In my experiences, I have learned to just walk away and if all else fails, call or email corporate and get them the clarify.
I usually have pretty good luck couponing at Walmart and other stores, and Walmart's policy clearly states that overage (extra $ from a coupon) CAN be applied to the basket purchase or simply handed over in cash (yes, they will do it, I have seen it)--although, like my second, less educated cashier, some employees will try to tell you otherwise and will say they can't give cash or overage. Just show them the policy (I printed mine from the website). As for the ad-match policy, there is not a universal Walmart policy to matching--some stores will match the "like getting purchase free" price, and some will simply only match the price shown (in my example, the peanut butter was on sale for 2.99), so some Walmart's would only match the 2.99 price...bummer. Either way, it is worth at least trying sometime!
Report on CVS Magic Hours:
I have found a loophole to couponing at CVS. I already love CVS, no doubt, but found that it can get even better. Some stores (the one I am positive of is on Main Street in Salem, near the Lowes and post office) begin their following week sales on Saturday evening. This particular store starts the Sunday sale at 4:30pm on Saturday. The awesome part of this (because you are probably thinking, big deal...) is that the two weeks of sales will overlap. For instance, if say Sally Hansen nail polish is all 50% during week 1, this is a good sale. But starting week 2, spending $10 on any Sally Hansen gives you $5 extra bucks, although it is full price. So, one gives you a good sale up front, but the other gives you money back..which do you prefer? Well, it so happens that you could get both scenarios at once, during this "all coupon stars align" time at CVS, like I said at the one I mentioned it is between 4:30pm and midnight. I mean, that's no different timing than many of those moonlight madness sales. If you took advantage of my example above, you would get half off the product AND $5 back, simply by using both weeks of deals at once, and the fact that the store puts their signs out early and triggers the computer to recognize the sale early. I have done this only once at that Salem store (on Almay, not Sally Hansen, by the way) and the cashier was wonderful to work with! She assured me that if the Extra Bucks did not print, she would simply print them manually. She had to print them because the register did not trigger them, so I am thinking that is more common, but since she was able to type them up for me, it all worked out. I will look forward to trying this 'magic hours sale' again!
Those are just a couple of things that have happened lately, but I will share more about Kroger in my next post in which I will break down some of my best deals yet. And, I will share how I got a patio table for $5 with Extra Bucks at CVS :)
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